Speed Read Times & Transcript (Print Edition) section MayB 21 • 4:00 AM page B1

Wildcats standout is top defenceman in QMJHL

Moncton Wildcats standout blue-liner Jordan Spence has been rewarded for another strong season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Spence was chosen on Wednesday the recipient of the Émile Bouchard Trophy as the QMJHL defenceman of the year.

The 18-year-old from Cornwall, P.E.I., playing his sophomore season in the QMJHL, recorded 52 points, including nine goals, in 60 regular-season games before the campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spence finished fourth in scoring among defencemen and led all blue-liners with a plus- 49 rating.

He’s a fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2019 NHL draft.

This is the third consecutive season that Spence has won a major award. He was named the Maritime Junior Hockey League rookie of the year while playing for the Summerside Western Capitals during the 2017-18 season and was honoured as the QMJHL rookie of the year in the 2018-19 campaign.

It’s the second QMJHL award won by a Wildcats player this season. Moncton captain received the Frank-J.-Selke Trophy as most sportsmanlike player last week.

Former Aigles player wins coach of the year

Former Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues player Geneviève David has been selected a Hockey Canada, BFL Canada Female Coach of the Year recipient.

David, for high-performance, and Fredericton’s Shellany Brewer, for community coach, have been honoured as the two New Brunswick winners of the award.

One high-performance and one community coach from each province and territories are being recognized, with a national winner in each category. In the 2019-20 season David was an assistant coach with the St. Thomas Tommies women’s university team while also serving as head coach of the New Brunswick under- 18 girls’ team that attended the Atlantic Challenge Cup as well as Team Atlantic that competed at the Canadian under-18 championship.

The selection committee included Olympic gold medallists Cassie Campbell- Pascall, Caroline Ouellette and Gina Kingsbury, director of women’s national teams with Hockey Canada. They were joined by Steve Lacoste, national practice leader and vice- president – sports and leisure with BFL CANADA, and Teal Gove, manager of hockey development with Hockey Canada.

Volleyball Aigles land Alberta recruit

Zoryanna Kahanyshyn-Fontaine, a native of Edmonton, will join the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues for the next Atlantic University Sport women’s volleyball season.

The Franco-Albertan will pursue a bachelor of science degree at UdeM. She’s been playing with the Sharks Volleyball Club under-18 squad and completed her third season for her Austin O’Brien High School team in Edmonton.

“After completing my high school in an English program, I realized that I needed to continue studying in French,” Kahanyshyn-Fontaine said in a news release. “My strengths on the court are my leadership, my efficient communication and my work ethic.”

Kahanyshyn-Fontaine will suit up for an Aigles Bleues team that is coming off finishing in fourth place with a 4-16 regular-season record and missing the AUS playoffs this past season.

“I am impressed with her passion on the court,” said UdeM head coach Monette Boudreau-Carroll. “She will leave her mark on our program in the next few years.”