BROOKS, AB (October 10, 2018) – The Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are proud to announce that 1998-born forward William Lemay (Marieville, QC) has committed to attend and play for the University of Vermont, beginning in the 2019-2020 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season.
Located in Burlington, VT, the Vermont Catamounts play in the Division I Hockey East conference under 16th-year head coach Kevin Sneddon. He follows several recent Bandit players to become Catamounts, including Nic Hamre, Derek Lodermeier, Anthony Petruzzelli, and Chris Muscoby.
So far in his Bandit career, Lemay has registered points in all but one of his 9 games played, recording 3 goals and 8 assists for 11 points, and ranking 9th in the AJHL so far this season in assists.
“Will came here with a goal of becoming a Division 1 hockey player and we are proud that in such a short amount of time he’s accomplished that goal,” said Bandits head coach and general manager Ryan Papaioannou. “He has proven that he can score in different leagues and has taken a big step physically in the early part of the season.”
The 6’0”, 190lb forward was recruited to the team after leading the Saint-Hyacinthe Lauréats of the Quebec College Hockey League in scoring with 70 points (22 goals, 48 assists) in 35 games. He then suited up for Collège-Français de Longueuil in the Quebec Junior Hockey League (QJHL) in the playoffs, ranking second in the league in postseason scoring with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 11 games and winning a league championship, then leading all players at the Fred Page Cup regional championship tournament with 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 5 games.
“Will has great hockey sense and is turning that into offensive opportunities for his line along with playing strong defence,” Papaioannou added. “Will has been a welcome addition to our program and we are looking forward to his development over the course of the season.”
Previously, he scored 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists) in 43 games for Longueuil in the 2016-17 QJHL season, adding 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) in 14 playoff games as his team reached the league final.
He is the 12th player on the 2018-19 Bandits roster committed to an NCAA Division I institution, joining:
• Andrew Lucas (University of Vermont)
• Brandon Scanlin (University of Nebraska Omaha)
• Luke Bast (University of North Dakota)
• Mack Hancock (University of Alaska Anchorage)
• Ray Christy (Colorado College)
• Nick Hale (College of the Holy Cross)
• Jakob Lee (Canisius College)
• Andranik Armstrong (University of Massachusetts-Lowell)
• Tyler Campbell (Dartmouth College)
• Simon Boyko (University of Vermont)
• Arnaud Vachon (Colgate University)