Lincs back at the PRC for workouts; skates are Wednesday and Friday nights
By Pat Payton
He’s a player St. Marys Lincolns didn’t want to part with last season.
But now he’s back, and Lincs’ management couldn’t be happier to have forward Ethan Lamoureux in their 2020-21 plans. They believe the 18-year-old Ilderton native will fit in nicely with the group of players they’re putting together for the upcoming GOJHL season.
“Ethan was a player at the deadline last year that we didn’t want to give up, but when you want to bring in good players sometimes you have to send good players out,” Director of Hockey Operations/GM Greg Smale said after acquiring Lamoureux recently from St. Thomas Stars in a straight cash deal.
“We’re excited to have Ethan and his family back here in St. Marys. He’s a good hard-working kid who plays the game the right way. He’s going to fit into this young core that we’re building here.”
At the Jan. 10 OHA trade deadline last season, Smale added depth and scoring punch when he obtained veteran forwards Brock Trichilo and Jake Robinson, both 20, from St. Thomas. Going to the Stars in the four-player deal were Lamoureux and fellow forward Quinton Pepper.
In 30 games with the Lincolns, Lamoureux had eight goals and 18 points. Special to note that the rookie winger had four game-winning goals.
“I look at Ethan as one of those safe players,” head coach Trent McClement says. “He’s really smart on the ice, and isn’t going to do anything that will cost us defensively. Offensively, he keeps it simple and cycles pucks in the corner. A lot of his goals last year were just nice tap-ins around the net.
“As a coach, you can just check off all those boxes with Ethan. He’s going to be really durable near the end of games when we have leads.”
Lamoureux is also a good team player in the dressing room, McClement notes.
“Ethan’s really good in the dressing room, and a lot of guys were excited when they heard he was coming back. He’s a real character guy and he wanted to come back here. It just shows what we’re doing here as an organization. St. Marys is a destination where players want to be now.”
Lincs back at the PRC
Lincolns recently returned to the PRC for workouts. For the month of October, they will skate on Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“We’re allowed to have 35 skaters, so we hope to have a three-week training camp in November,” Smale says.
Six exhibition games–home and away against three teams–are also in the plans for next month, the GM notes.
Dec. 1 is still the target date when the GOJHL regular season is scheduled to begin.
Jr. hockey notebook:
–The Welland Jr. Canadians, of the Golden Horseshoe loop, recently announced that they are taking a leave of absence for the 2020-21 season. The GOJHL is looking forward to having the Canadians back for the 2021-22 season.
–Former Lincs’ defenceman Bob Boughner (1987-88) is the new head coach of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. He’s the ninth head coach in franchise history.
Boughner, a Windsor native, served as the Sharks’ interim coach after guiding the team for 37 games during the 2019-20 season.
Previously, Boughner spent two seasons as head coach of the Florida Panthers. He has also served as an assistant coach in Columbus and San Jose.
