Canadiens new coach deMossiac excited to begin NEAJBHL season

There is a new bench boss for the St. Paul Jr. Canadiens this season.

Corey deMossiac is taking over the reins as head coach for the outgoing Shawn Germain. DeMossiac has been an assistant on the team for the past few seasons, with the team making the announcement official in early August. 

“I’m actually incredibly excited to be coaching this team,” deMoissiac told Lakeland Connect. “We got lots of great kids returning, we got a lot of local kids and just from the experience that we had last year going to Provincials, and the hunger that I can see these kids have and our coaching staff, it looks like it’s going to be an exciting, fun year. I’m really excited.” 

St. Paul is coming off of a terrific season that saw them make the NEAJBHL Final and finish just two points out of first place in the regular season.

With the Wainwright Bisons hosting Provincials and eventually winning the league, the Canadiens entered Provincials as a wildcard. They went 0-2-1 and hope to use that experience to their advantage in the 2022-23 season.

A lot of the core is returning to the fray as well with only four players aging out.

“The coaches before — Shawn Germain did a great job in building this program, and the coaches before like Joe Young, and those guys, they did a good job of getting these kids here. Now, I think we’re at that next level of we want to push to the next level. And we have so many great kids around here, and some good hockey players. And it makes things a lot easier as a coach,” he said. 

The Canadiens also announced that general manager Dean Smyl, an integral part of recruiting to the team, will return for the season as well.

The bloodlines run thick in the organization as Smyl is deMossiac’s uncle.

“I don’t think anyone’s worked harder in our whole organization this summer than Dean,” said deMossiac. 

“The Canadiens have a massive tradition and tons of alumni. I mean, most people that come from this community have played for the Canadiens and now, they’re starting to contribute back to the program itself, which is amazing. And those are things that not only make our team better, but make our league better, and it’s a great thing.” 

Main training camp is coming soon as the Canadiens will host three days from September 9-11 in Glendon.

The home opener is September 30.