CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE May 1, 2019
The Shawville Express Junior hockey franchise that has been in the works since last year is looking for players and management staff for the upcoming season.
The team was proposed last year by the owner of the Maniwaki Mustangs, Eric Gauthier, who was hoping to expand the eastern division of the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League, an Ontario-based league founded in 2016 and sanctioned by the United Hockey Union.
The CPJHL bills itself as a development league that aims to provide a recruiting ground for colleges and universities.
The team’s name is a reference to Frank “The Shawville Express” Finnigan, who played in the NHL in the 1920s and 30s.
Francois Dugas, who hails from Aylmer and plans on being Shawville’s head coach this year, said that preparations to establish the team started too late last year and he hopes that more lead time will make this year’s season a reality. Dugas said that last year’s tryout didn’t bring out enough players and the several of those that showed up ended up playing with Maniwaki.
The Mustangs hosted several exhibition games at the Shawville barn over the winter, to give folks a taste of the league’s quality of play. The CPJHL covers an enormous area, with many teams based in southwestern Ontario or the GTA.
Dugas said the quality of players is fairly high, as Maniwaki attracted players from Europe and some alumni went on to play in leagues such as NCAA Div. 1 and the QMJHL.
He added that he has experience coaching minor hockey, but never at the junior level. He noted that the organization is still looking for more coaching staff, billet families and volunteers for the games, in addition to players born between 1999 and 2003.
This year’s first tryout will be held at 1 p.m. on June 2 at the Masham arena. For more info, contact Dugas at expressjunior19@gmail.com or 819-684-5111.
