With the successes of last year behind them, many Queen’s teams have had to say goodbye to graduating athletes. To fill the void left by the players, many teams have added fresh faces to change the landscape of next season.

Men’s hockey

After finishing ninth in the OUA in goals per game, the men’s hockey team addressed depth in this years recruiting class.

“We felt as a staff we needed to add a high end defensemen  and needed more depth throughout our forward lines. We feel we have addressed this with this class,” said head coach Brett Gibson.

The team is mostly gaining their forwards from Ontario and British Colombia, including Dylan Anderson (Greely, ON), Luke Bertolucci (Montrose, BC), Eric Margo (North Vancouver, BC) and Ted Hunt (Toronto, ON).

Defenceman Nevin Guy (Mountain, ON) joins the team fresh off his time with the OHL Ottawa 67’s , for whom he played 268 games over four seasons.

Familial connections will run deep on the team this season. Newcomer and youngest recruit, Andrew Ming, 20, (Williamstown, ON) will be joining his older brother and fellow forward, Eric Ming on the roster this fall. Kingston brothers, Brock and Luke  Edwards, will both join the team as forwards — having spent time playing at Niagara University as well. 

The team’s regular season kicks off at home on Friday October 7 at the Memorial Centre in Kingston against the Carleton Ravens.

Men’s soccer 

In an attempt to bolster his defence, head coach Christian Hoefler rounded out his 2016 roster with the announcement of the final two recruits for the upcoming season: Ottawa goalkeeper Tyler Gowdy and east coast defender Cameron Mackinnon (Halifax, NS). 

Gowdy and Mackinnon join fellow recruit, midfielder Michael Chang from Mississauga, whose commitment and signing was announced in the spring. 

18-year-old Gowdy will be joining Queen’s from the Ottawa Fury FC Academy, a professional soccer club in the North American Soccer League (NASL) where he has played since 2014.

The environment and gameplay at Queen’s will likely be a familiar one for Gowdy, as head coach Hoefler came to Queen’s after spending time on the Ottawa Fury staff. 

Mackinnon will be joining the team from Nova Scotia, where he spent four years as the captain of the provincial soccer team and won four Atlantic Championships. 

Signing earlier in spring, Chang will be joining Queen’s fresh off his time playing with Sigma FC in League 1 Ontario. Chang has also experienced both provincial and national championships during his time with the North Mississauga Soccer club. 

The men’s soccer team will begin their regular season on Saturday September 3, in Kingston when they face off against the Nipissing Lakers. 

Women’s hockey 

Head coach Matt Holmberg announced the signing and commitment of four recruits his team for the upcoming 2016-17 season.

Hailey Wilson (Pickering, ON) and Robin Ketcheson (Toronto, ON) will be joining the team as forwards. 

Devon Greenough (Arnprior, ON) and Bryce Desa (London, ON) will be joining the squad as defence. The new recruits are all young, but make up for what they lack in age with experience and skill.

Wilson played 56 games over two seasons with the Whitby Jr. Wolves. Wilson has experienced a number of successes on the ice, including one silver and one bronze medal in the 2015 and 2016 Provincial Women’s Hockey League  Final Four respectively. 

Ketcheson spent the 2015-2016 season playing 74 games with the Burlington Jr. Barracudas.

Greenough spent the last two seasons playing for the Nepean Jr. Wildcats, during which time she played 66 regular season games and had 15 points. 

Desa has played for the London Jr. Devilettes for the last two seasons. Desa was ranked 14th in scoring among defence in 2015-16.

The women’s hockey team will begin their regular season on Saturday, October 15, when they host the Nipissing Lakers at the Memorial Centre in Kingston.

Men’s volleyball

Head Coach Brenda Willis announced seven more recruits to the Gael’s men’s volleyball team for the upcoming season, rounding out the largest signing class she’s ever brought in to the program. 

Joining the Queen’s squad for the upcoming 2016-17 season are left-side Brayden Stoffers (Frankford, ON), right-side Jonathan Reid (Oakville, ON) and libero Lukas Kaufman (Stratford, ON).

Coach Willis has also brought in four middle blockers, Luke Beelen (Toronto, ON), Dylan van Eeden (Aurora, ON), Luka Mijacevic (Oshawa, ON) and Malcolm Prentice (Oakville, ON). The height of the new recruits ranges from 6’ to an impressive 6’6”.

The large signing class comes at a time when close to half of last season’s team has graduated, which has made way for new, fresh talent. According to Willis, having a large signing class allows there to be competition between the players for a spot on the roster.  

The team will begin their regular season on Saturday, October 29, with a home game against the Trent Excalibur.