(FREDERICTON, NB) Sam Harvey is leaving one champion and joining another.
The 21-year-old Alma, Quebec native, who backstopped the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to the 2019 Memorial Cup, has signed a U SPORTS Letter of Intent, and will join the University Cup champion UNB Reds, beginning in the 2019-2020 Atlantic University Sport season.
“The thing that appealed to me when I thought about UNB was the excellence,” said Harvey. “For a hockey player, the Reds are well known as a great program for winning, development and reaching goals.”.
Harvey is coming off a stellar overage season with the Canadian Hockey League champions.
In 43 regular season games, he posted a 35-8 record, a respectable 2.08 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.
In 25 playoff games, Harvey was 20-5 as the Huskies won the Memorial Cup for the first time in franchise history.
In 199 regular season QMJHL games, Harvey is 129-46-9.
“My strength as a hockey player is my work ethic, on and off the ice,” said Harvey. “I take pride on always being prepared and being a good teammate.”
“Sam is a tremendous addition to our UNB Hockey program,” said Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall. “His pedigree stands by itself. He had an outstanding major junior career, capped by winning the prestigious Memorial Cup. In addition to his high-performance standards on the ice, Sam is known as a top-notch team leader with a relentless work ethic and an enthusiastic personality.”
Along with helping Rouyn-Noranda win the Memorial Cup, Harvey has been part of two President Cup winning teams. He’s a two-time Jacques Plante Trophy winner, awarded to the QMJHL goalie with the best goals against average, and a two-time QMJHL first team all-star. He attended prospect camps with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, in 2018, and the Carolina Hurricanes, this year.
“We have been fortunate to have a history of outstanding goaltending here at UNB, and we feel that Sam and Rylan Parenteau will certainly continue that excellent tradition,” said MacDougall.
Leaving one champion and joining another, Harvey is hopeful the winning can continue.
“As a Red, our goal every season is to win the national championship. With three championships in the last four years, it is a goal for the upcoming season,” he said. “In the future, I’d like to get my degree and sign a contract with a pro team.”
Harvey will study Business while attending UNB.