Bonnyville Pontiacs Alumni AJ Macaulay Transfers To Bemidji State

Bonnyville Pontiacs alumni and former Alaska-Fairbanks defenseman, AJ Macaulay is transferring to Bemidji State through the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) transfer portal. Macaulay, a Bonnyville native, will join the Beavers from the 2024-25 season. During his first two seasons in Alaska, Macaulay accumulated 24 points across 67 games, which he says was a “great experience”. But he joined the transfer portal when he decided he wanted to move somewhere less travel intensive. It wasn’t long before Bemidji State University (BSU) invited him to play college hockey in northern Minnesota.

A positive yet stressful transfer

Although Macaulay was excited to become a Beaver, the entire transfer experience wasn’t easy for him. “The transfer portal and just the way they have it now and it being basically free agency, it’s stressful”, Macaulay said. The NCAA transfer portal was first introduced in October 2018 as a way to help college athletes move around more easily and find schools that match them better. Yet, the portal is often misused and misunderstood, which leads to frustration. But, the NCAA recently changed the rules to make transfers easier for college athletes. Before, only a one-time transfer was permitted for players, while unlimited transfers are now possible.

“I just think that the portal all the transfer rules that are coming out, it can be a good thing, right?”, Macaulay said. “You might be able to transfer four years in a row, and it kind of lessens the commitment. If you don’t like a school, you can move on. And then, if you don’t like that second spot, you can move on again”. Indeed, many college athletes use the transfer portal to switch schools and take their collegiate careers to the next chapter. Plus, recent changes now allow college athletes to profit off their personal brand, which puts them in even greater control of their careers.

“Lucky” to play for Bonnyville Pontiacs 

Macaulay got his start playing junior ice hockey with the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and considers himself lucky to have had the opportunity. Finding somewhere small—similar to Bonnyville with a population of almost 6,000—was a priority for Macaulay when launching his college sports career. “I’m a small-town kid and I don’t think being at a big school would be my type of thing,” Macaulay said. “There’s a lot of good teams in the [Central Collegiate Hockey Association] conference, and I think it gets overlooked. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the coaching staff. Bemidji State has a great facility there. There’s just a lot of good things that checked the boxes.”

Macaulay’s also happy that his Bonnyville-based family will be able to more easily watch his matches as BSU isn’t too far from Alberta. “I kind of had a few teams in mind after I went in the portal. When things kind of started getting serious with Bemidji, I was like, ‘You know what, this team’s really close. This is going to work out perfectly.’”