The Windsor Lancers men's hockey team organized a small reunion.

Article content

The University of Windsor Lancers men's hockey team organized a small reunion.

The program's nine OUA recruits for the 2024-25 season include five local players, four of whom were teammates on the Windsor Junior Spitfires Zone's AAA team before moving on to junior hockey. was.

Article content

“I'm going to be hanging out with some of my best friends that I've played with since my minor hockey days at Windsor AAA,” said 6-foot-2, 190-pound forward Alex Cunningham. “It's an honor to be able to play with them in college and it's like something out of a movie. I can't wait to get started with the Lancers.”

Article content

Cunningham will join Sun County minor alum Kyle Metson in the class, along with Windsor minor alums Max Donoso, Kayden Faust and Ray Hamlin, son of Lancers head coach Kevin Hamlin. . Rounding out the recruiting class are Saskatchewan forwards Kirk Mullen, Ty Hilbig and Logan Linklater, along with American forward Salvatore Collora.

“We've worked a lot to get them here,” Kevin Hamlin said. “I'm really satisfied with the class.”

For many locals, it's been a long hockey journey back to Windsor.

Donoso, a 20-year-old goaltender, spent one year with the Hawkesbury before transferring to the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League, finishing his junior career with his home team, the Windsor Spitfires.

“I'm very excited to be joining a team that has had so much success in the past and a team that I've watched since I was a kid,” said Donoso, who ranks in the top 10 in wins for the '67s. . Lancers. “I’m really looking forward to the next four years.”

Cunningham, 21, played in Junior A with Pickering, Brantford and Haliburton before joining the Remington Flyers last season and appeared in the team's first season in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, scoring 31 points in 55 games. He scored a goal and 57 points.

Article content

Article content

The move reunited him with Faust, who is 5-foot-10 and weighs 194 pounds. Faust played two seasons with the Navan Glades east of Ottawa before returning to captain the Flyers.

“It's a great opportunity to be able to play college hockey at home with my friends and family and go to school,” said Faust, 20, who played in 54 games with the Flyers and had 20 goals and 63 points. “I’m really looking forward to starting this next chapter.”

Hamlin, 21, traveled from Coquitlam, British Columbia to Maryland, USA, then joined the Flyers before returning to B.C.'s Merritt Centennials for the season.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Hamlin said of joining up with his former teammates: “We've stayed in touch and it's really great to be together now.” “It's great to have the opportunity to be coached by (his father) again.

“I've seen over the years how passionate he is about coaching the Lancers, so I'm confident we'll have a good relationship. I've been a Lancer for as long as I can remember. I've seen the games, so it's really cool to be able to play in these games.”

The older Hamlin has close ties with the four and actually coached the group when they played minor bantam together at Windsor.

Article content

“Some of the best moments that year were those 9-10 p.m. practices in Central Park,” Hamlin said.

Metson, a Belle River native, scored against four men during his time with the Sun County Panthers and met some of his new teammates while playing in Junior A in Burlington and the Powell River Kings in B.C.

“I'm very excited to come home and play at my hometown college,” said Metson, 20. “It’s an honor to be a Lancer and he couldn’t be more excited.

“After being away for the past three years, I felt it was time for me to return home for my schooling and play locally here in Windsor.”

The 2014 Windsors Queen's Cup winners were built on a strong local foundation, and Hamlin feels that is reflected in this group, which has 10 homegrown players on its 26-man roster.

“It's just unique,” Hamlin said. “There's nothing to take away from out-of-town talent, but it just emphasizes in-city talent.”

Mullen, who is 6-foot-3 and 188 pounds, Hilbig, who is 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, and Linklater, who is 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, all played two seasons in the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Collora, who played three seasons in the WHL with Regina and Lethbridge, has also added significant size as a forward for the Lancers.

“These kids make us bigger, heavier and more skilled,” Hamlin said. “I’m really excited about Lancer Hockey.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

twitter.com/WinstarParker

Article content