CHARLOTTETOWN  – William Rouleau, who led the McGill Redbirds in scoring, is among six players across the country to merit U SPORTS all-rookie status in men's hockey. The announcement was made on Wednesday night at the All-Canadian Awards Ceremony at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Prince Edward in Charlottetown, host city of the 2023 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms University Cup.
 
Rouleau, a 22-year-old management freshman from St. Basile de Portneuf, Que., ranked 13th in the OUA scoring race with 26 points, including a dozen goals, in 26 regular season games. The six-foot, 166-pound centre added four goals and two assists in four playoff contests. Including non-conference play, he finished with a team-leading 19-21-40 record and just 10 penalty minutes in 35 games overall. Rouleau was recruited to McGill from the QMJHL's Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
 
Among the major awards announced at the gala, Simon Lafrance of the UQTR Patriotes received the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the most outstanding player. Other laureates went to UNB's Samuel Richard (Clare Drake Trophy as rookie of the year); Matt Welsh of the Saint Mary's Huskies (Dr. Randy Gregg Award for student-athlete community service), UPEI's Troy Lajeunesse (R.W. Pugh Trophy for most sportsmanlike player), Saskatchewan's Connor Hobbs (defenceman of the year), Windsor's Nathan Torchia (goaltender of the year) and Calgary's Mark Howell (Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as the Fox40 coach of the year).
 
The Final Eight tournament gets underway on Thursday afternoon at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, and play continues through to the gold medal game, which is set for 7 p.m. (Atlantic) on Sunday. All eight games of the tournament can be viewed on CBC Sports digital platforms (English) and at usports.ca (French).


2023 U SPORTS MEN'S HOCKEY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy): Simon Lafrance, UQTR
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (Clare Drake Trophy): Samuel Richard, UNB
ACADEMICS & COMMUNITY SERVICE (Dr. Randy Gregg Award): Matt Welsh, Saint Mary's
MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENCEMAN: Connor Hobbs, Saskatchewan
MOST OUTSTANDING GOALTENDER: Nathan Torchia, Windsor
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE PLAYER (R.W. Pugh Trophy): Troy Lajeunesse, UPEI
FOX40 COACH OF THE YEAR (Father George Kehoe Memorial Award): Mark Howell, Calgary

FIRST TEAM ALL-CANADIANS
Pos / Athlete / University / Year / Hometown / Academic Program
GOAL: Nathan Torchia, Windsor, 2, Baden, Ont., Sociology
DEFENCE: Connor Hobbs, Saskatchewan, 4, Saskatoon, Sask., Education
DEFENCE: Justin Bergeron, UQTR, 2, Magog, Que., Business
FORWARD: Simon Lafrance, UQTR, 3, St. Eustache, Que., Physical & Health Education
FORWARD: Liam Hawel,STFX, 2, Arnprior, Ont., Business
FORWARD: Riley Sawchuk, Mount Royal, 2, Prince Albert, Sask., Business

SECOND TEAM ALL-CANADIANS
Pos / Athlete / University / Year / Hometown / Academic Program
GOAL: Samuel Richard, UNB, 1, Ste. Catherine, Que., Arts
DEFENCE:Matt Brassard, UPEI, 3, Barrie, Ont., Business
DEFENCE: Noah King, Calgary, 2, Winnipeg, Man., Arts
FORWARD: Troy Lajeunesse, UPEI, 4, Sturgeon Falls, Ont., Arts
FORWARD: Jacob Roach, Brock, 2, Brooklin, Ont., Sport Management
FORWARD: Riley Stotts, Calgary, 2, Winnipeg, Man., Arts

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Pos / Athlete / University / Year / Hometown / Academic Program
GOAL: Samuel Richard, UNB, Ste. Catherine, Que., Arts
DEFENCE: Eric Van Impe, Western, Calgary, Alta., King's College
DEFENCE: Jake Lee, UBC, Sherwood Park, Alta., Arts
FORWARD: Simon Pinard, UNB, Drummondville, Que., Arts
FORWARD: William Rouleau, McGill, St. Basile-le-Grand, Que., Finance
FORWARD: Jakin Smallwood, Alberta, Leduc, Alta., Native Studies

SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca