By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
Justin Tremblay came down from Becancour, Quebec, and certainly gave everything he had to the Northern Cyclones over two years, including helping the organization to the 2023 USPHL Premier National Championships.
He certainly left it all in New Hampshire – and now he’ll be coming back in the fall to leave even more on the ice, but this time for Saint Anselm College. Saint Anselm competes at the NCAA Division II level with the nation’s only hockey conference at that level, the Northeast-10 Conference.
Former Saint Anselm player and now Head Coach Larry Rocha actually first approached Tremblay at the Cyclones’ Development Camp last summer, between seasons.
“We then kept talking during the season. The coach liked how I played on both sides of the ice, my competitive level, and my vision of the game,” said Tremblay, coming off a Cyclones Premier career in which he scored 124 points in 98 regular season and playoff games. “I had a lot of interest in Saint Anselm College because it is a great school academically and has a great hockey program. The school was offering the major I wanted to pursue and I really like the campus and its location.
“Also, the fact that the arena is on campus is a great thing for athletic development, because you can always work on your game whenever you want. The other facilities like the gyms, locker room and trainer’s room are also impressive,” said Tremblay.
The tour of the Goffstown, N.H.-based college that Tremblay took earlier in this 2023-24 season certainly had a great impact and really helped him seal the deal in March.
“I was able to visit the campus earlier in the season and I thought it was beautiful. I liked the way the campus looked where every building was close to each other which makes a good welcoming community. Every time I saw someone walking on campus they would wave at me or say Hi and when we met hockey players they would tell me how great it is to play for the Saint Anselm College Hawks,” said Tremblay. “This gave me a good idea of what I could expect if I attended the school and it made me decide to make the commitment official.”
Academically, Tremblay is looking to combine his interests in science and mathematics to take on a Health Sciences major at Saint Anselm.
Tremblay came to the Northern Cyclones after a season at Kent Hill School, along with fellow Cyclone Jakub Kloboucek. He made an immediate impact, putting up 49 points in 42 games in 2022-23, along with six points over their 10-game playoff run that ended at the very top.
“I loved my time at the Cyclones. It’s a great organization where the winning culture is important. Every single team of the program wants to win championships and every coach cares about their team and the development of their players,” said Tremblay, after seeing the Cyclones’ USPHL Elite team also win a National Championship this year. “They have great facilities like their own rink and brand new gym right next to the Cyclones Hall. I had a great first year as a Cyclone, winning the USPHL National Championship which made me re-sign with them.”
The Cyclones didn’t experience the same postseason success this year, but Tremblay was also able to take advantage of the team’s vertical development model, playing five games with the Cyclones’ Tier II NCDC team.
“I was fortunate to be able to play with the NCDC team at the end of the year. It was nice to experience a different level of the game and meet new teammates and friends, even if it was for a couple of weeks,” he said. Tremblay put up a goal and two assists for three points in his five games with the NCDC Cyclones. “I loved the intensity and adrenaline I was getting in all the games that I played and really enjoyed my time with the team.”
For two years, he got to experience the full offerings of the world’s largest junior hockey league, including a trip to Florida this past December for the USPHL Florida College Showcase, as well as many other events in the unparalleled USPHL Showcase Series.
“I think the USPHL is a great hockey league where you can develop and then move on to the next level. With the good amount of games played during the year, the showcases and the national tournament, the exposure is pretty good and you can get good looks from college coaches and have a great chance to get recruited,” added Tremblay. “The level of the game and the competitiveness in this league make you a better hockey player every day.”
It’s now time to make the transition from junior hockey to become a college hockey student-athlete, and he knows the work doesn’t begin on campus at Saint Anselm – it begins at home, now.
“I’ll be working on my physical strength this summer to be able to compete at the college level,” Tremblay said. “I will also be working on every aspect of the game like skating speed, shot and stickhandling to make sure I am ready for next season.”
The USPHL congratulates Justin Tremblay, his family, the Northern Cyclones and Saint Anselm College for his commitment.
