RECRUIT PROFILES: East coast contingent strengthens with additions of Plante, Ward

Depth down the middle has quickly become a positional strength for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Men's Hockey team following the additions of centres Jean-François Plante and Kyle Ward to round out off-season recruiting.

Plante joins the program for his final season of university hockey following a four-year career with the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus. The AUS all-star is known as a stellar sniper, scoring 62 goals in 115 games, including a career high 28-goal campaign in just 30 games during the 2016/17 season.

Assistant Coach Brent Sullivan said when discussing Plante with current Gee-Gees, his scoring abilities were quickly brought up by the players.

"We're extremely excited to add him for his fifth year of eligibility and he's excited to come here as well. He's a threat we can add up front," Sullivan said. "We have guys with high-end skill, and to complement that with a player like Jean-François, it's very exciting stuff."

With Plante preparing to pursue a master's degree this fall, he focused foremost on academics before considering a hockey program.

"I'll be doing my master's degree in physical activity, I'll be doing a research project that I'm really excited about," Plante said. "I talked to [Head Coach] Pat [Grandmaître] about joining the team and playing my last year. I'm not ready to stop playing hockey yet."

Ward is fresh off captaining the Edmundston Blizzard to their first Maritime Hockey League championship and lead the team in goals with 31 in 38 regular season games and added 15 more in 17 playoff games.

"Our guys know him very well, and have spoken great things about him. We're getting a top-end kid, character-wise," Sullivan said. "On the ice, he competes. He's plays a two-way game both defensively and offensively, not to sound too cliché."

"Last year, he was almost a goal-a-game pace in a good league. When we saw him in Ottawa at the Fred Page Cup, he came up big in big games. Add that with the fact he's won at every level he's been at, the winning pedigree is a nice addition."

Ward, who will be studying business in the fall, hopes to continue that trend of on-ice success.

"I'd like to have a great year academically, and a great year on the ice. Possibly going to nationals and bringing home a title," Ward said.

The duo join a significant amount of players and staff with connections to New Brunswick and the greater Moncton area. Ward, in addition to Cody Drover, Mathieu Newcomb, and Michael Poirier won a championship together with the Dieppe Commandos before the trio joined uOttawa in 2016. Plante, along with Moncton Wildcats alums Jacob Sweeney, Graham Hunt and Assistant Coach Christian Gaudet have all spent time playing in the city during their hockey careers.

"It'll definitely help having those guys there and making that transition," Ward said. "We won a championship together in Dieppe, it'll be nice to have some hometown guys around."

A familiar face in the dressing room for Plante will be captain Eric Locke. The duo entered the AUS as rookies in 2014 for Moncton and St. FX respectively, and battled head-to-head over the course of three seasons.

"Eric was always the big guy to watch on St. FX. He sees the game so well, and on top of that he's so talented, he never gives up on a shift," Plante recalled. "He's a tough player to play against, and we'll be playing together now so I'm really looking forward to that."

"I witnessed first-hand Jean-François' ability to score when playing against him, which should really help us this year," Locke added. "Like the OUA, the AUS is a battle every night. Bringing in a player who knows what it's takes on a daily basis can really help get us where we want to be."

Both Locke and Plante will be entering their final season of eligibility this year, while the majority of the program will be in their third year. Ward and Yvan Mongo will be the only players on the first year of eligibility — a stark contrast to just two seasons ago when the Gee-Gees dressed 24 rookies over the course of the season.

"I think we've made the turn now where we are no longer considered a young group," Sullivan explained. "I wouldn't put a 'win now' label on it, but we expect our team to win. We have high expectations for this group, and we know our players have high expectations for themselves. We still have a lot of work to do and we'll need to be ready to compete every single night."

Ahead of the regular season, the Gee-Gees will play a four game exhibition slate, including a home game against the St. FX X-Men on September 22. The game will feature Grandmaître and Locke taking on their alma matter for the first time.

Written by Cameron Penney