Axemen welcome Ernst to the Hockey Program

WHL alumnus Ethan Ernst commits to Acadia

The Acadia Axemen are proud to welcome Weyburn, Saskatchewan’s Ethan Ernst to the hockey program this fall.

The 5’11” forward is a WHL alumnus of 5 years, spending his first three seasons with the Kelowna Rockets, which included the pandemic season in 2020-21.  He then moved on to the Tri-City Americans for his last 2 years where he had 24 points in 61 games in 2021-22 and a breakout offensive year last season with 63 points, including 32 goals in just 62 games; earning him the nod as the Tri-City Americans Offensive Player of the Year on the season. For his WHL career he played in 245 regular season games, notching 112 points.

Ernst decided on Acadia saying, “When Acadia reached out to me late in the season, I knew it was one of the top schools for me because of both the hockey and the education.  There was also a bit of a connection having played hockey previously with Brady Burns, so I knew a little bit about the school already. Once I got the opportunity to see the university and some of the guys showed me around the community, I knew it would be a great fit for me.”

Prior to his time in the WHL, Ethan won the Telus Cup Gold Medal with the Notre Dame Hounds U18 AAA in 2017-18.

He describes himself on the ice as “an offensive player who sees the ice well and can make plays; and this past season I found a scoring touch, which I’m hoping I can bring to this team next year.”

Coach Burns is very happy with the addition of Ernst saying, “We are very excited about adding Ethan to our team. We have followed him since his bantam season with the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan. Our familiarity with him as a person and a player makes this a perfect fit. We know his commitment as a player who loves the game. His integrity and work ethic growing up in Saskatchewan is something we value. He knows hard work and what is needed for a program to succeed. On the ice, his ability to shoot and create plays will translate very well in the AUS. He showed this past season that he will be a huge addition to our powerplay. His offensive instincts will be a huge asset for our program, and we look forward to helping him reach his goals here at Acadia.”

Ernst joins goaltender Thomas Couture as the announced recruits thus far for the Axemen for the upcoming season. Stay tuned for more announcements of new players committing to Acadia in the coming weeks!