Nine pucksters selected at QMJHL draft

Five were from the Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League Lac St. Louis Lions, including forward Louis Leblanc, selected in the first round, 17th overall by the Val d’Or Foreurs, forward Mathieu Gingras, in the third round, 53rd overall by the Drummondville Voltigeurs, forward Matthew Whitaker in the sixth round, 102nd overall by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, forward Spiro Goulakos in the seventh round, 121st overall by the Gatineau Olympiques and forward Christopher Reiss in the 10th round, 167th overall by the Halifax Mooseheads. Two members of the midget espoir Lac St. Louis Royals were also taken, including goaltender Sean Coulton, in the fourth round, 60th overall by the Saguenéens and goaltender Alexander Peck, who actually finished the season with the Lions, in the eighth round, 137th overall by the Prince Edward Island Rocket. One member of the midget espoir Lac St. Louis Tigers, defenceman Sébastien Gingras, was selected in the fourth round, 65th overall by the Rocket while one bantam AA player, forward Nicholas Samoluk of the Lakeshore Panthers was taken in the fifth round, 85th overall by the Rimouski Océanic.

Ex-Lions coach

part of u-17 staff

Former West Island Lions head coach Guy Boucher, a Roxboro native, has been named to the coaching staff of the Canadian team that will compete at the under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Hockey Tournament, to be played in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Aug. 14-18.

The 35-year-old Boucher, a former star forward and captain with the McGill

Redmen during his playing days, coached the Dollard des Ormeaux-based Lions from 2001 to 2003. He left the team for personal reasons, going on to land an assistant coaching position in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Rimouski Océanic, before accepting the head job last year with the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

Teams from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States will also compete at the event, which used to be known as the Junior World Cup. The tournament is often the first international competition for young players. Many of the players on the team go on to represent Canada at the world junior championship.



Pointe Claire soccer appoints technical committee

The Pointe Claire Soccer Association (PCSA) recently announced the formation of a technical committee aimed at developing players and coaches in the area. The committee’s mandate will be to introduce and manage programs that will increase the knowledge base and performance level of players and coaches of all age groups.

“It is important we start formulizing a curriculum of education for players and coaches,” said PCSA technical director Jason Broadhurst, who will chair the committee along with Coerver Coaching System director Paul Simard, former AAA player Andrew Moors and Quebec Soccer Federation technical director Valmie Ouellet. “Soccer is the fastest growing sport in the country, and the region, but there is an education gap that needs to be filled in if we are to produce quality players and coaches. The committee will bring new and exciting ideas towards developing soccer in the West Island.”



Swimming news

Stephanie Horner of the Beaconsfield Bluefins Swim Club and Tobias Oriwol of the Pointe Claire Swim Club continued to serve notice last weekend both are definite Olympic hopefuls, by capturing bronze medals at a European swimming competition in Canet, France. Horner’s time of 2:17.71 allowed her to pick up her first international medal.

Meanwhile, Swimming Canada recently announced its team for the first ever North American Challenge Cup, scheduled to take place Aug.10-12 at the University of Southern California. Three area elite swimmers were among the group including on the women’s side Gabrielle Soucisse and Karah Stanworth-Belleville of the Beaconsfield Bluefins and on the men’s side, Steven Bielby of the Pointe Claire Swim Club. The North American Challenge Cup, which will feature teams from Southern California, Mexico and Canada, is a key component of the evolving Swimming Canada’s National Team Development Program.