UNIVERSEL COLLEGE – GATINEAU CAMPUS
College launches a college hockey program

The Universel College - Gatineau Campus is pleased to announce that they are launching the first college hockey program in the Outaouais. Proudly displaying the College's colours, the teams that will be part of this hockey program will be called the Universel College Unik.

"There is a strong hockey tradition in the Outaouais. Many of this region's talented and passionate hockey players, as well as those from Quebec in general, would like to be able to continue to develop both athletically and academically at the highest level after secondary school. The Universel College wants to provide to these young athletes an ideal post-secondary education environment in which they can flourish academically and practise their favourite sport, all within the beautiful Outaouais region. Our student athletes will thrive in a sports-study program that is primarily focused on academic success, but that also fosters both personal growth and developing as a hockey player," states Mrs. Saloua Zraida, Director General at Universel College.

The Universel College will implement this college hockey program in collaboration with the Académie de Hockey Stéphane Gougeon. The Académie will oversee the coaching, development and training of the student athletes. Mr. Stéphane Gougeon, the Académie's Director, has been active in the Outaouais's hockey community for the past twenty years. "The Académie has been involved in school hockey since 2008 and we have found that when our young players graduated from secondary school, there was no opportunity in the Outaouais region for them to continue to develop in this sport at the college level. There is obviously a need for school hockey to continue on to the college level and we are very happy to be able to work with the Universel College to provide this wonderful opportunity to this region's players," asserts Mr. Gougeon.

The Universel College - Gatineau Campus will build a men's Junior team for the 2018 - 2019 season for players born between 1998 and 2002. This team will be registered with the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League (CPJHL), will play about 44 regular season games and will participate in "Showcase" tournaments. Games will take place in Quebec, Ontario and the United States.

The College will also build a women's team, which will focus on training during the 2018 - 2019 season and will participate in competitions as of the 2019 - 2020 season.

"Student athletes in the hockey program will be provided with daily weekday afternoon training sessions. On-ice and off-ice training will be held Monday to Thursday. Fridays will be dedicated to performance analysis and hockey theory for our players," specifies Mr. Nicolas Rouleau, the Athletics, Activities and Student Life Coordinator.

"I am convinced that our student athletes will find that our College's specific pedagogical approach, which is based on individualized guidance as well as the academic support that we offer our students, in combination with the level of athletic skills development built into our hockey program, provides the perfect environment for them to pursue their passion all while achieving their academic and athletic goals," concludes Mrs. Zraida.