Koch SUPERU – Change the Way You Grow
Dave Leaderhouse
Playing major junior hockey as a 17-year-old is a major accomplishment and cracking the line-up of your hometown team is even more impressive.
Stephane Huard Jr. did just that last season when he got into 46 games with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Blaineville-Boisbriand Armada. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound forward, who was a third-round selection of the Armada in the 2018 entry draft, scored three times and set up seven others during his rookie season, but a move out west to join the Humboldt Broncos appears to have been a nice transition.
Huard had registered points in five of his first six games with the Broncos and as a result had helped Humboldt move to the top of both the Global Ag Risk Solution Division and overall standings before the season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His seven points were still behind several of his teammates, but Huard’s addition had helped deepen a Broncos’ line-up that was already expected to be much stronger than last season when Humboldt entered the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, but was swept in the opening round by the Flin Flon Bombers.
While Huard completed his midget eligibility playing at the higher level with the Armada last year, his first two years of midget hockey were spent with the College Esther-Blondin Phenix where he amassed 71 points in 81 games over that span. He also got into four games with the Armada as a 16-year-old, but was held off the scoresheet during that audition.
With this season being filled with plenty of uncertainty it is clear that Huard is ready to add some depth and experience to a Broncos’ team that looks ready to make some noise whenever the season resumes. With two more years of junior eligibility remaining, Huard could be a key cog in helping Humboldt return to its glory days when the franchise was one of the most successful in Junior “A” history.
