Eastern Ontario U18 'AAA' hockey league announces new season to start September 24

HEO U18 'AAA' league has a new president for 2022-23

The puck is scheduled to drop on the 2022-23 hockey season for the HEO U18 ‘AAA’ league with an opening-weekend tournament in Kanata, a seven-game showcase that features the league’s 12 club teams.

Locally, that includes the U18 Cornwall Colts and the U18 Hawkesbury Hawks.

The league also includes school teams from the Ontario Hockey Academy (OHA) and 1 team from the Canadian International Hockey Academy (CIHA). All squads will play a 42-game regular-season schedule, of which the September 24-26 is part. The campaign is scheduled to run through February 27, with the hope that this season brings normalcy back to the U18 hockey world following two winters of disrupted pandemic action..

The Colts’ home opener at the Cornwall Civic Complex (AKA Ed Lumley Arena) is slated for October 1 at 7 p.m., with the home side facing off against OHA Maroon.

Meanwhile, the Hawks don’t get a chance to skate on home ice in Hawkesbury until November 12, when the boys will host the Renfrew Wolves. Other Hawks home games are set to occur during various tournaments.

Graphic by Mark Kelly

Following regular-season play, the league will host its championship tournament, which includes the 12 club teams and three hockey school teams.

The 12 club teams will also play in a qualifier tournament to compete at the 2023 U18 national championships.

New president takes the helm

Last week, Sean Marcellus was named as league president.

In the announcement, the league noted that “Marcellus has been involved with the HEO U18 ‘AAA’ league since 2015-16” serving tenures as “its director of hockey operations, league registrar, social media director, and director of game-day operations.”

“I am pleased to accept the position of President and look forward to an exciting year of hockey,” said Marcellus.

“As always, we have an exciting group of rookies coming into our programs as well as a strong roster of returning players looking to continue their development and move up the ranks. This will be my seventh season of involvement with the league, and I am continuously impressed with the talent in the Eastern Ontario region. It has been a treat being able to witness the likes of Mason McTavish, Jack Quinn, Cameron Whitehead, and Cedrick Guindon, just to name a few, come through our programs as part of their development paths. I take great pride helping provide our players with as much positive exposure as possible and will continue to do just that over the course of this season.”

Marcellus studied sports management at Durham College and got his start in hockey as a volunteer with his hometown junior ‘B’ club in Arnprior in the 2012-13 season. He then moved to Saskatchewan, where he worked with the Battlefords North Stars of the SJHL as head athletic trainer.

For the 2015-16 season, he returned to Ontario taking up a post as director of operations with the junior ‘A’ Central Canada Hockey League.