Whynot, Levy, & Burns selected to provincial teams

Pictured Left to Right, Brent Levy, Brady Burns, and Cameron Whynot, all from the Valley, were named to their respective age groups provincial hockey teams.

Congratulations to Cameron Whynot on being selected to the Nova Scotia U14 team that will be participating at the upcoming Atlantic Challenge Cup. Cameron played last season with the Valley Wildcats Major Bantam team as an underage.

Congratulations to Brady Burns and Brent Levy on being selected to the Nova Scotia U15 team that will be participating at the upcoming Atlantic Challenge Cup. Brady and Brent played last season with the Valley Wildcats Major Bantam team.

Cameron, Brady and Brent are all products of the Acadia Minor Hockey Association and Acadia Hockey Camps. They recently traveled with Acadia Hockey Development teams to Boston to participate in the prestigious Chowder Cup Tournament.  All three have shown excellent dedication and leadership skills for young hockey players in the Valley.  We wish them continued success as they continue to work towards their goals.

The Atlantic Challenge Cup will be held Oct 7-10^th in Moncton, NB. The tournament consists of provincial teams from NFLD, NB, PEI and NS.

Full Day Camp + 3 Additional Ice Sessions with Axemen Goalies

Monday Aug 15^th – Friday Aug 19^th

Acadia Hockey Development is proud to present Finn Goaltending Program this August. AHD’s goalie camp has always proven itself to be one of the best in Atlantic Canada with excellent instruction and motivation for goalies of all ages. This year we are pleased to announce that we are adding Finn Goaltending to our lineup. Jack Hartigan’s passion for this position coupled with excellent goalie to instructor ratio with many hours of ice will prove to be an excellent opportunity for your son or daughter to improve dramatically at this position.

Also, as a bonus we will also offer three additional ice sessions for free on Aug 30^th, Sept 1^st and Sept 2^nd which will be run by the Acadia Axemen goalies. This will be an opportunity for everyone to get on the ice right before try outs and get some additional goalie instruction. The ice times will be from 6:15pm-7:15pm.

Drop off: 7:30am

Pick up: 4:00pm

Cost: $399

Please Register at – https://central2.acadiau.ca/my/camps?step=1

Space is Limited, Register Today!

AHD (Acadia Hockey Development) is proud to announce our “Two Line Hockey” Skill Development and Game Play Prep Camp that will be held at Acadia Arena on Aug 1^st – 5^th. This is a great opportunity for kids born in 2007, 2008 & 2009 to work on skill development and game play.

Camp Instructors Include:

• Matt Pearl
• Matt Kossatz
• Kris MacDonald
• Darren Burns
• Members of the Acadia Axemen

Camp includes:

2 one hour ice sessions per day

• Skill session
• 2 line hockey game

1 hour of off-ice sport each day

1 Snack/Film Session

Schedule: (Players schedule will vary depending on the day)

** PLAYER MUST HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE PLAYING IN GAMES IN ORDER TO ATTEND CAMP

Where: Acadia Arena

When: August 1-5th

Cost: $260

PLEASE REGISTER AT:

https://central2.acadiau.ca/my/camps?step=1

Acadia Prep Camp a big hit for campers & instructors!

(Left) Campers being instructed by Notre Dame’s Jeremy Mylymok; (Centre) Campers working on off-ice strength & conditioning with Acadia University’s Elliott Richardson; (Right) Halifax Mooseheads Assistant Coach, Jim Midgley running campers through drills.

Our Acadia Hockey Development Prep Camp kicked off this week with a great group of campers from all over Atlantic Canada for ’05 to ’01 age groups! The campers were treated to top notch instruction from the likes of Athol Murray College of Notre Dame’s coach and hockey coordinator, Jeremy Mylymok; Memorial Cup winning assistant coach of the Halifax Mooseheads, Jim Midgley; Nelson Ayotte, DSc, Strength and Conditioning coach for the past 10 seasons with the St. Louis Blues hockey team. Acadia’s own Elliott Richardson was also on hand to train players on strength and conditioning.

We caught up with camper Alex Power, who came in from St. John’s Newfoundland for the camp, about the competition and his experience at the camp.

Alex Power, of St. John’s, NFLD

“I felt that the level of competition at the camp is very elite. Everyone at the camp is a very skilled and dedicated player which makes up for a very good learning and improving environment. It really makes me want to develop as much as i can to keep up with the players there. It also makes me learn a lot as a person as well, besides from the hockey aspect.

My favorite part of the camp is for sure the practices and drills. I felt every drill required me to focus on the little details of them and make you more alert as a player. I also loved how most of the drills focused on the speed of anything you do, whether is was my passing, skating, or my thinking. Having such a highly skilled group of players with you really helps getting your speed up as well.”

Power concluded saying, “Thanks for having me at the camp this week. Very fun and great hockey.”

For Notre Dame’s Mylymok, he also owns and operates hockey camps throughout Idaho, after a playing career that included 4 yrs in the NCAA Division 1, and 11 season playing professionally in the AHL, ECHL, and IHL.

On top of winning a Memorial Cup with Halifax, Jim Midgley also coached as an assistant coach with the Acadia Axemen from 03-07, before taking on the assistant role with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs from 07-09, prior to joining the Mooseheads. Jim has coached within the Team Canada and Team Nova Scotia programs throughout the past number of years.

Coach Midgley expressed his positive thoughts on the camp saying, “It’s always great to get back to Acadia University to work with coach Burns, his players and the rest of his staff. The skill level, dedication and work ethic of the staff is reflected in the effort the players put in during the camp, and the knowledge they take away. I look forward to working with staff and athletes next summer.”

Ayotte is recognized as one of the top sports performance training coaches in the world and is a level five of the National Coaching Certification Program which is the highest level. Out of one million coaches, only 76 have finished the program since 1974.

Brent Levy of Wolfville, NS

Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns wrapped up the camp saying, “It was a fantastic two day camp which brought some of the top kids from the 05 to 01 age group in Atlantic Canada. To be able to host an event like this at Acadia is very exciting to our Hockey Program. It was great to see how excited these young hockey players were to be here.”

For more information on summer hockey camps or to register, visit http://acadiaathletics.ca/community/camps/hockey

Space is limited, so ensure to register today!

Special guest Theo Fleury, with Florida Panthers Logan Shaw!

There has been a change for the annual Acadia Axemen Celebrity Hockey Dinner on June 16th. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Chris Chelios is not able to attend. Former NHL star Theo Fleury will headline this year’s dinner. We are excited to also welcome Florida Panthers rookie forward Logan Shaw to this year’s event. Logan is a native of Cape Breton and played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when he was drafted by the Panthers. Welcome to Wolfville Theo and Logan!

Get your ticket to join us Saturday April 9^th at the Wolfville Lion’s Hall

2016 Acadia Axemen Graduating Players’ Banquet

Saturday April 9^th at the Wolfville Lion’s Hall

Doors open at 12:00pm with lunch beginning at 12:30pm

Cost: $20.00

Come celebrate this year’s graduating Axemen:

Mike Cazzola, Dylan Anderson, Travis Randell & Evan Swire.

Please email Kris MacDonald at kris.macdonald@acadiau.ca to reserve your tickets for this year’s event.

CIS Hockey Award Winners named in Halifax

HALIFAX (CIS) – Guillaume Asselin, a third-year right-winger from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, was named the CIS player of the year in men’s hockey, Wednesday night.

Second year Acadia Axemen defenseman Matthew Pufahl was named to the 2nd Team All-Canadian squad. Pufahl had a +/- of +18 and had 3 goals and 25 assists this season.

CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: www.universitycup.ca

Asselin, a business administration student from Quebec City, became only the third Patriotes standout to merit the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy since the award was first presented back in 1970. Forward Alexandre Tremblay and goaltender Luc Bélanger had been honoured in 2003 and 1999, respectively. Read more ›

19th Annual Dinner featuring HHOF Chris Chelios

Thursday, June 16, 2016

6pm Reception – 7pm Dinner

Andrew H. McCain Arena, Wolfville

Headline guest

Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman

Chris Chelios

Former NHL All-Star defenceman Chris Chelios spent 26 astounding years in the National Hockey League before retiring at the age of 48 in 2010.  He was a member of the Canadiens, Black Hawks, Red Wings and finally a short stint with the Thrashers in his final year. Read more ›

Four great years for two Axemen greats

Mike Cazzola & Brett Thompson, Axemen scoring leaders over the past 4 years. (Photo By Josh Schaefer/CIS University Cup)

Mike Cazzola and Brett Thompson, two Ontario born hockey players, came to Acadia University together 4 years ago. What they’ve done since has been instrumental to the success of the Acadia hockey program, including an AUS Championship, 2 CIS National Tournament appearances, multiple All-star selections, one leading the AUS in points, the other leading the AUS in goals in separate season. Just to name a few of the accolades.

After successful junior careers in the OHL, Thompson scoring 139 goals and 255 points in 310 games, while Cazzola notched 225 points in just 219 games, the two former junior teammates decided to come to Acadia University together to suit up for the Axemen. They spent much of their four seasons as linemates with the Axemen, and became home town fan favorites, with their skilled, high octane, in your face style of play. They teamed up with Liam Heelis to be one of the most potent forward lines in the CIS.

The pair took no time fitting into the AUS, Thompson put up 26 points in 28 games in 2012-13, while Cazzola scored 29 points in 28 games. The stats landed both players on the AUS All-Rookie team for the season, and Cazzola was named the AUS Rookie of the year.

2013-14 saw Cazzola represent Canada at the Universiade in Italy, along with teammates Chris Owens and Liam Heelis. Mike went on to score 9 points in just 6 games in the tournament, helping Team Canada win the championship, while playing against teams which included many KHL players, which is the Russian Pro Hockey League.

The Axemen went on to win the AUS that season, earning themselves a birth in the CIS National tournament in Saskatoon, Sask. En route, Cazzola tied linemate Liam Heelis for the most points in the AUS with 42 points in 28 games, earning both players’ selections as 1^st team All-Stars in the AUS for 2013-14.

2014-15 saw Brett Thompson lead the AUS in goals with 19, to go along with 38 points in 28 games, earning him 1^st team AUS All-Star status, and also being named to the 2^nd team CIS All-Stars. Cazzola landed on the 2^nd team AUS all-star team for the season, scoring 32 points in 26 games. The pair led the Axemen to their second straight appearance at the CIS National Tournament, this time in Halifax, NS. Read more ›

Pufahl, Schemitsch, Cazzola All-Stars, Farrell All-Rookie

HALIFAX, N.S. – The AUS announced today All-Stars and Major Awards for men’s hockey. Four Axemen were honoured including Matthew Pufahl named as a first team AUS All-Star; Mike Cazzola and Geoff Schemitsch named as second team AUS All-Stars and Kyle Farrell named to the AUS All-Rookie Team.

Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2015-16 AUS men’s hockey major award winners and all-stars as selected by the conference’s eight head coaches following regular season play.

Second-year StFX forward Eric Locke of Toronto has been named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player.

Other AUS major award winners announced today were Dalhousie’s Phil Gadoury of Montreal, who was named rookie of the year; Saint Mary’s Ben Duffy of Lower Sackville, N.S., who was selected as the most sportsmanlike player; StFX’s Nathan Chiarlitti of Maple, Ont., who earned the Godfrey award for student-athlete community service; and StFX head coach Brad Peddle, who was named the AUS coach of the year for the first time in his career.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (Kelly Trophy): Eric Locke, StFX

The Atlantic University Sport men’s hockey most valuable player is Eric Locke of the CIS No. 5-ranked St. Francis Xavier University X-Men.

Locke, a third-year human kinetics student in his second year of eligibility, notched 35 points in 28 games played this season—the third most in the Atlantic conference. Read more ›