MIRAMICHI – Miramichi Timberwolves star defenceman Chris Owens will play with the Acadia Axemen in the Atlantic University Sport hockey conference next fall.
Owens, a 20-year-old from St. John’s, played four seasons with the Timberwolves in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. He led the league in scoring with 92 points, including 23 goals, in 49 games last season. He was named the league’s player of the year and top defenceman.
Owens, who finished with 258 points in 213 MJAHL regular-season games, is Miramichi’s all-time career scoring leader. He also holds the league record for most career points scored by a defenceman.
Owens was sought after by several teams, including the St. Thomas Tommies, University of Prince Edward Island Panthers, St. Francis Xavier X-Men and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. After some consideration, Owens said Acadia seemed like the best choice.
“I visited the school there and I just really liked the environment, the school, the surroundings and stuff. And I met all the guys (on the hockey team) and they all seem great, and I like the coach (Darren Burns),” said Owens, who was the Timberwolves’ captain last season.
“It was a hard choice” picking which school, he said. “A lot of schools seemed great and they all seemed to have good programs, but I liked this one the best.”
Owens never won a Kent Cup MJAHL championship in his time in Miramichi, but hopes to bring an AUS championship to Acadia. The Axemen finished in second place with a 19-6-3 regular-season record last season, but fell to the eventual Canadian champion Saint Mary’s Huskies in a conference semifinal.
Owens said he still hopes to play professional hockey in the future, but intends to focus on academics for now and earn a degree. He’ll study business at the Wolfville, N.S. school.
“Business is really just what interested me the most. Maybe someday I’d like to have my own business or work in marketing,” he said. “I’m just getting started, I guess, so I’m not really too sure yet. But that seems like a good starting point.”
Owens extended his thanks to Miramichi for helping him build as a hockey player. He made note of T-Wolves head coach and general manager Bill McGuigan, who Owens said helped turn him “into a better player and a person.”
