Axemen announce commitment of Bailey Peach

Falmouth native to join the program for Fall 2022

The Acadia Axemen are proud to announce the commitment of Falmouth, NS native Bailey Peach to the Acadia hockey program beginning in the fall of the 2022-23 season.

We asked Bailey why he chose Acadia, he responded saying, “Committing to Acadia to be an Acadia Axemen just felt right, I wanted to have the opportunity to continue my hockey career on a competitive AUS hockey team. I spent many years attending the Acadia Axemen skills camps as a young player and I want to be able to give back to the community.  I’ve been coached by Burnsy in Minor Hockey and his leadership and compassion to improve players is the best you can ask for.”

Acadia Axemen Head Coach Darren Burns is looking forward to having the Falmouth native in the lineup next fall saying, “We are very excited to have Bailey joining our program in September. To have a player of Bailey’s caliber join Acadia, after playing in our minor hockey association, is tremendous. We are very familiar with Bailey as a person and he has always had an excellent attitude since a young age. He is an extremely intelligent player who can score goals with a lot of offensive upside. His vision and his thinking are at a very high level. He will no doubt be a player who displays a high intelligence level and we feel he will adapt quickly to this league.”

The 5’10” forward started his major junior career with the Sherbrooke Phoenix after being selected 11th overall at the 2017 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft. He played three-and-a-half seasons in Sherbrooke, Que., before being traded to the Charlottetown Islanders in December 2020.

With a difficult season and a half for all junior players due to the Covid-19 pandemic, last spring Peach had a goal and three assists in eight playoff games to help the Islanders make it to the deciding game of the semifinals before losing to the eventual champion Victoriaville Tigres.

Bailey’s top junior season to date was in 2019-20 where he scored 19 goals and 46 points in 52 games with Sherbrooke. His career totals in the QMJHL were 107 points in 184 regular season games.

This fall, with Charlottetown already icing the maximum three 20 year olds on their roster, Bailey joined the Victoria Royals of the WHL as an overager.  At the time of writing this article, Peach is having a strong campaign on the west coast, already with 9 points in 12 games.

When we asked Peach about his style of play and what fans can expect from him next fall, he said, “I look forward to meeting all the Acadia fans as they are a big part of the game. Fans can expect me to bring a strong work ethic, positivity, high energy and passion to the team. I am a strong two-way forward that can bring offence and also take care of the defensive zone. Also, I’m excited for the opportunity to bring my game back home to the East Coast next Fall!”