By: John Humphrey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tilbury Times Reporter
It appears to be the same old story for the Lakeshore Canadiens for the 2026-2027 Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) season, as the team is another powerhouse club capable of winning a championship, or, at the very least, having a long run in the PJHL play-offs next spring.
That is exactly what the Canadiens did last season, and according to longtime general manager Mark Seguin, his 2026-2027 squad is primed to go farther this campaign. The Canadiens won the PJHL’s 2025-2026 Stobbs Division championship in the playoffs before advancing to the Schmalz Cup playoffs, where they lost in six games in the semi-finals to the Tavsitock Braves.
“We finished as the third-best team in the province last spring,” Seguin observed. “And we will be contending again this season. By the time the play-offs come around next spring, we will be in the championship picture.
“We are a very strong team.” he added.
The team held one minicamp during the shortened off-season.
“We didn’t invite as many players to our mini camp, and we also cut down on the number of players we brought into our main camp. We have 16 players back from last season, and there weren’t going to be many spots left on our roster.”
Head coach Brent Walker is back for his second season, joined by two new assistant coaches, Zack Gervais and Spencer Higginbottom.
“Zack was the head coach of the Amherstburg Admirals in our league last season and he left to coach the Under 16 Sun County Panthers,” Seguin offered. “But that team (Panthers) folded two weeks before the start of their season, so he called me, and we were able to work something out to bring him aboard.
“Spencer Higginbottom, who won a couple of Schmalz Cups with us (2022 and 2024) as a forward and was coaching minor hockey locally, has rejoined us as an assistant coach, and we are thrilled to have him back,” Seguin continued, adding that Conor Jamieson has returned as the Canadiens’ video and statistics coach.
The aforementioned bench bosses will no doubt have their jobs made easier by a talent-laden veteran squad, augmented by a few skilled rookies.
The 2026-2027 Lakeshore Canadiens’ leadership group comprises team captain Michael Kopcok and assistant captains Tyler Greene and Conor Costello.
“We will probably name one or two more assistant captains in a month or so,” said Seguin before turning to evaluate the considerable talent throughout his roster this season.
“Our forward group is loaded. That is the strength of our team. We have a ton of talent up front,” he claimed. “We have eight guys who are all capable of scoring a point or more per game.”
“We also have third and fourth-year guys on our fourth line,” Seguin continued. “For lack of a better term, we can call them our checkers.
“We can roll four lines every single game,” he said. “We are big, we’re fast and all four lines can score.”
Highly skilled forward Nicolas Rosati has returned to the Canadiens after spending last season with the LaSalle Vipers of the Greater Ontario Hockey League. Rosati won the inaugural Doug Kennedy Memorial Rookie of the Year Award for the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) in the 2024–2025 season while playing for the Canadiens. Rosati was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires in the 11th round of the 2024 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
“Nicolas is going to be on our team. He is currently attending Michigan State but will come back and play with us,” Seguin claimed. “He will probably play north of half of our regular-season games, and he will be with us for the entire playoff run.”
Two other talented forwards, Kade McGeen and Adriano Tonin, who also played for LaSalle last season, have joined the Canadiens this fall.
And the Canadiens’ talented blueline contingent will be a difficult group for opposition players to play against.
“Five of our six defencemen have three or four seasons of junior hockey experience,” Seguin pointed out. “Our sixth defenceman, Drew Strahlbrand, was also with us last season, and we expect big things from him this season.”
“We have all kinds of experience on the back-end and that is another position of strength for us.”
Between the pipes, the Canadiens have Landon Dimitroff, acquired in a trade with the Amerstburg Admirals in exchange for overage puckstopper Hunter Welk and rookie goaltender Nolan Meadows. A native of Thunder Bay, Meadows played last season with his hometown midget hockey team.
“Our goaltending is young right now, but both are very talented and have been excellent so far,” observed Seguin. “The way we play and defend, as long as our goalies stop the shots they are supposed to, we are going to do very well.”