Truro, N.S. (March 17, 2024) – The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is pleased to announce the All-Star and Rookie All-Star Teams for the 2023-24 season. Players were selected based on nominations and subsequent votes from officials with all twelve MHL teams.
Eastlink North
Forward – Félix Bédard (Edmundston Blizzard)
The 20-year-old from Laterrière, Quebec finished second in league scoring with 92 points in 51 games. Bédard was fourth in goals with 37 and his 55 assists were second to Fredericton’s Carter McCluskey, who had 59. Bédard was tied with Valley rookie Spencer Caines and West Kent’s Alexis Daniel for the third-most powerplay points this season at 26. He was named Top Forward in December and January, and selected to the Eastlink North Team of the Week five times. Bédard was held off the scoresheet just nine times this season and had at least three points in seventeen games. His season-high was five points, which was accomplished twice in a three-game stretch.
Forward – Ludovic Dufort (Miramichi Timberwolves)
The 21-year-old from Laval, Quebec set a new franchise record for goals in a season with 46, eclipsing the 43 from Andre Gill in the 2004-05 season. Dufort finished the year third in league scoring with 82 points in 52 games, including 36 assists. Miramichi’s captain finished one goal behind Fredericton’s Carter McCluskey for the league lead and was second to West Kent’s Alexis Daniel for most powerplay goals with thirteen. Dufort tallied five goals on January 28th against Summerside, which was the most for any player in the MHL this season. He had nine multi-goal games and fourteen games with at least three points. He was named Top Forward in February and was selected to the Eastlink North Team of the Week six times. Dufort was also just named the CJHL 2nd Star of the Month for February.
Forward – Philippe Collette (Edmundston Blizzard)
The 18-year-old from Saint-Antoine, N.B. was seventh in league scoring with 76 points in 52 games. Collette had 29 goals and 47 assists, finishing behind Félix Bédard for second on the team in both categories. His 1.46 points per game was twelfth-best in the MHL. Collette scored in eight consecutive home games for Edmundston, collecting thirteen points, which was the longest stretch for any player on home ice this season. He had 24 multi-point games, with a season-high five points (two goals and three assists) against Campbellton on February 9th. Collette was named to the Eastlink North Team of the Week three times.
Defense – Olivier Beaudoin (West Kent Steamers)
The 20-year-old from Sherbrooke, Quebec finished second in scoring among defensemen with 49 points. Beaudoin tallied twelve goals and 37 assists in 49 games for West Kent. He was second in goals to Campbellton’s Jett McCullum and second in assists to Summerside’s William Irvine among defensemen. Beaudoin did most of his damage on the scoresheet during Steamers powerplays. He led all blueliners in powerplay goals with seven and all players with 22 powerplay assists. His 29 powerplay points were second only to Fredericton’s Carter McCluskey, who had 31. Beaudoin was also one of three defensemen with three game-winning goals. He was named Top Defensemen in December and an honourable mention for the award in January. Beaudoin was selected to the Eastlink North Team of the Week six times.
Defense – Jett McCullum (Campbellton Tigers)
The 19-year-old from Moncton, N.B. was traded from Summerside to Campbellton on December 4th and finished third in defenseman scoring with 46 points in 45 games. McCullum led all defensemen with thirteen goals and had the fourth-most assists with 33. McCullum also led MHL blueliners in shorthanded goals with two. He was named the league’s Top Defenseman in September and was selected to the Eastlink North Team of the Week five times. McCullum found the scoresheet in seventeen of 26 games after arriving in Campbellton and had ten multi-point games overall.
Goaltender – Nicholas Sheehan (Edmundston Blizzard)
The 20-year-old from Moncton, N.B. was named the league’s Top Goaltender in five of seven months this season. Among the many categories Sheehan led this season were games played (40), wins (30), goals against average (2.29), minutes played (2,383), saves (1,135), save percentage (.926), shutouts (5), and shootout wins (3). Overall, he posted a 30-9-1-0 record for the Blizzard. Sheehan allowed no more than two goals in half, or twenty, of his games played and only allowed more than three goals on just six occasions. He was selected to the Eastlink North Team of the Week ten times.
Eastlink South
Forward – Will Chisholm (Yarmouth Mariners)
The 20-year-old from Lunenburg, N.S. finished second in team scoring with 49 points in 48 games, two points back of Nathan Carter. Chisholm had a team-high 24 goals to go with 25 assists. The Yarmouth captain had a team-best five game-winning goals, including in back-to-back games against Valley in late October. Chisholm had fifteen multi-point games. He was one of only three Mariners to eclipse the point-per-game mark for a team that scored the third-fewest goals this season. Chisholm was twice named to the Eastlink South Team of the Week.
Forward – Alex Nadeau (Truro Bearcats)
The 20-year-old from Victoriaville, Quebec finished sixth in league scoring with 76 points in 42 games. Nadeau’s point per game average of 1.81 was second only to Fredericton’s Carter McCluskey. The Bearcats captain had the fourth-most powerplay goals in the league with eleven and led the team in powerplay points with 23. Nadeau was one of just twelve players to hit the 30-goal mark this season. He had 24 multi-point games and hit the five-point mark in three games. Nadeau had a ten-game assist streak between November and December, which was tied with Pictou County’s Ben Mercer for the longest such streak of the season. He also finished the 2023-24 campaign having scored in seventeen straight road games, which was the longest streak in the MHL. Nadeau was an honourable mention for Top Forward in January and was named to the Eastlink South Team of the Week twice.
Forward – Robbie Rutledge (Summerside Western Capitals)
The 20-year-old from Mississauga, Ontario was fifth in league scoring this season with 78 points. Rutledge led Summerside in scoring despite being third on the team in penalty minutes with 131. His 42 assists were tied for eleventh-most in the MHL, and he was tied for fifth-most in goals with 36. Rutledge had ten powerplay goals, which were tied for fifth-most this season. He had a thirteen-game point streak from September 28th to November 19th where he collected 31 points. It was tied for the third-longest such streak by any player this season. Rutledge was named to the Eastlink South Team of the Week three times.
Defense – Coen Strang (Amherst Ramblers)
The 19-year-old from Moncton, N.B. had the fourth-most points for an MHL defensemen this season with 45. Strang’s 36 assists were also third among blueliners, in addition to his ten goals. He had the second-most powerplay assists among defensemen at seventeen, helping to hold the second-most powerplay points with 21. Strang was also one of three defensemen with three game-winning goals this season. He started his season with a four-assist performance on September 20th against Pictou County, which would be his highest point total of the season. Strang had ten multi-point games overall. He was named Top Defenseman in November and January and was named to the Eastlink South Team of the Week five times.
Defense – William Irvine (Summerside Western Capitals)
The 21-year-old from Morden, Manitoba led all defensemen in scoring this season with 56 points in 52 games. Irvine’s 45 assists were tied for the eighth-most among all MHL players and he was third for defensemen with eleven goals. Nineteen of his points came on the powerplay, which was also third-best among blueliners. Irvine was one of only three defensemen to score a shootout winner this season. He was fifth in team scoring and had fifteen multi-point games. Irvine was named Top Defensemen in February and an honourable mention in December. He was selected to the Eastlink South Team of the Week six times.
Goaltender – Thomas Fontaine (Yarmouth Mariners)
The 19-year-old from Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Quebec had the fifth-most wins in the MHL this season, posting a record of 19-10-2-2 in 33 games for the Mariners. Fontaine finished fifth with a 2.91 goals against average, third in minutes with 1,981, second in saves with 1,118, and tied West Kent’s Xavier Fisk for second with two shutouts. He allowed two or fewer goals in eleven games. Fontaine was named Top Goaltender in October and was selected to the Eastlink South Team of the Week four times.
Rookie All-Star Team
Forward – Spencer Caines (Valley Wildcats)
The 18-year-old from Pasadena, Newfoundland ended the season atop the rookie scoring race with 67 points in 50 games; fifteen more than Samuel Massé of the West Kent Steamers, who finished second. Caines led all rookies in powerplay goals (10), powerplay assists (16), and assists (40), while sitting second in goals with 27 to Campbellton’s Tyler Pazin, who had 29. He was named Top Rookie and Top Forward in November, when the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) also named him 3rd Star in the country. Caines was honourable mention for Top Rookie in December and was selected to the Eastlink South Team of the Week three times.
Forward – Tyler Pazin (Campbellton Tigers)
The 19-year-old from Pierrefonds, Quebec finished third in rookie scoring with 48 points in 52 games, but led all MHL rookies in goals with 29. Pazin had four game-winning goals this season, including back-to-back game-winners in his first two MHL games. He scored in all five games played in September, totalling six goals and two assists, helping him win the Top Rookie award for the month. Pazin was named to the Eastlink North Team of the Week twice.
Forward – Logan Roop (Pictou County Weeks Crushers)
The 17-year-old from Brookfield, N.S. finished ninth in rookie scoring with 34 points in 50 games, collecting fifteen goals and nineteen assists. Roop had nine multi-point games, including a season high four points against Summerside on September 28th with one goal and three assists. He was named honourable mention for Top Rookie in January when he tallied four goals and six assists in seven games.
Defense – Kingsley Austin (Pictou County Weeks Crushers)
The 17-year-old from New Glasgow, N.S. finished second to West Kent’s Aiden Diamond among rookie defensemen with 31 points in 49 games for the Crushers. Austin had 28 assists, which tied Diamond and was the third-most overall for rookies. He finished the season strong with points in his final four games, tallying two goals and three assists. Austin was named to the Eastlink South Team of the Week for the final week of the season.
Defense – Aiden Diamond (West Kent Steamers)
The 17-year-old from Stratford, P.E.I. led all rookie defensemen with 38 points, was sixth overall in rookie scoring, and seventh in overall defensemen scoring. His 28 assists were third-most among MHL rookies, and was tied with Pictou County’s Kingsley Austin for the most among rookie defensemen. Diamond had the second-most powerplay assists among rookies at twelve and the third-most powerplay points for a rookie at fifteen. He had seven multi-point games, with a high of three points on December 2nd when he had one goal and two assists in a win over Miramichi. Among all MHL defensemen, Diamond had the fourth-most powerplay points with fifteen and was tied with two other blueliners for the most game-winning goals at three.
Goaltender – Lyam Leblanc (Amherst Ramblers)
The 18-year-old from Trois-Rivières, Quebec had a record of 14-6-1-0 with 3.68 goals against average in 24 games. Leblanc had the fifth-best save percentage in the MHL at .908. He was one of only two goaltenders to post a shutout this season, which was a 32-save performance in Amherst on January 28th against Yarmouth. Leblanc was named the Top Rookie in January and an honourable mention for Top Goaltender that month, where he went 5-0-0-0 with a 2.61 goals against average, .928 save percentage and one shutout. He was named to the Eastlink South Team of the week once this season.
-30-
Media Contact:
James Faulkner
Director of Communications
Maritime Junior Hockey League
jfaulkner@themhl.ca