A dynamic duo forged on ice
Outstanding junior hockey tandem Thomas Hébert and Jesse Carrière discuss their future as Concordia Stingers
Marc-André Élément knows the team culture he wants to build.
Smiling throughout an interview after the Concordia University men’s hockey team defeated McGill University 4-3 to win the Corey Cup on Feb. 7, Élément spoke of the team’s recent success. He also took the opportunity to honour the packed house at Ed Meagher Arena, a rare occasion that Élément wants to see normalized.
“The rink should be packed every game,” Élément said. “That's why we're working hard at building this program with the good recruiting and getting kids that want to promote the Stingers.”
After following up last year’s Queen’s Cup triumph as champions of Ontario University Athletics with a heartbreaking loss in the quarterfinals this year, the Stingers are prepared to undergo major changes. With 10 seniors departing from the nation’s top-ranked team, fresh faces will have to step up.
But who will walk through the doors to sustain success after two seasons spent competing for a national championship?
It takes a special kind of player, one with the talent to scorch the ice and the maturity to stay calm in the heat of battle. It takes one with the team’s values already instilled within him, who recognizes familiar faces in a new home. Maybe it would take more than one.
That’s where Thomas Hébert and Jesse Carrière come in.
Hébert and Carrière’s relationship started on the ice. Both took after their fathers when starting their careers in hockey, hopping on the ice at just five years old. It was there, on a summer hockey team in Châteauguay, that their lives would become intertwined.
“We were on the same team to play spring hockey, summer hockey,” Carrière said. “Tom easily became my best friend because both of us had the same passion for hockey.”
Hébert and Carrière’s parents got along, too—a major bonus for the young pair. When the families got together, the young hotshots would lace up their skates to hone their skills against each other or scamper to the basement to play ball hockey.
That bond grew over time as the pair continued to play together, up to their stint with the Châteauguay Grenadiers in the U18 AAA Hockey Development League. Throughout their careers, it was clear that the two had the potential to go far.
“I’ve always been a guy recognized by my peers as someone who is very passionate, ever since I was very young,” Hébert said. “I think that over the years, you can see it. Most of the time, I became one of the best players in my age group.”
Under that hard-working exterior, though, is a person that Carrière describes as “a big Care Bear.” Just the idea of Hébert’s two distinct sides makes him laugh.
“On the ice, he’s a fierce competitor. He’s hard-nosed. Sometimes he might take a stupid penalty, but that’s part of his game. He competes all the time," Carrière said. "And off the ice, it’s completely different. He takes care of everyone.”
“Having that experience with him brings something extra to both of us when we move on to the next level. Doing it with him—it’s about spending as many years as possible with your buddies. You want to surround yourself with good people. It’s really fun.” — Jesse Carrière
Still, as both Hébert and Carrière’s careers grew, they inevitably went their separate ways.
After Châteauguay, Hébert bounced around the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), with stints in Gatineau, Shawinigan, Val-d'Or and Chicoutimi.
Carrière, meanwhile, took his talents to the Sherbrooke Phoenix, splitting time with them and the team he would eventually reunite with Hébert on: the Valleyfield Braves.
Before the duo could reunite, both had to find their place. Hébert, a natural defenceman, played as a forward for extended stints in the QMJHL, stunting his growth as a player and denting his confidence.
“I loved my experience, but toward the end, there was a small constraint with ice time,” Hébert said. “I wanted more ice time.”
Hébert joined the Braves in the 2024-25 season and immediately made an impact. His two-way play helped stabilize a team on pushing for a championship, and let him return to his preferred position.
“With Valleyfield, I had the opportunity to get more ice time and to play defence,” Hébert said. “I was able to give myself the confidence to make plays that maybe in major junior I wouldn’t have given myself the confidence to try.”
Carrière, on the other hand, joined an immediate contender with the Phoenix, seeing spot minutes on a team that featured current Laval Rocket forward Joshua Roy. Despite grinding his way through the next couple of years, he started to see the writing on the wall as he reached 19.
“I was starting to get a bit older, and I saw the direction the GM and the coach wanted to go,” Carrière said. “They wanted to go into a rebuild. They wanted a younger team.”
However, Carrière wouldn’t have to wait long to find his new team. Within five minutes of being cut by Sherbrooke, Valleyfield head coach Bruce Richardson called him.
“The plan he wanted to put in place last year with the players we had—it was a no-brainer. I wanted to go play there and have a chance to win,” Carrière said.
And win they did. Both Hébert and Carrière stepped up their scoring in the 2025 playoffs to push Valleyfield to the Quebec Junior Hockey League final against the Collège Français de Longueuil. In a tight six-game series, Valleyfield emerged victorious to hoist the NAPA Cup.
“Thinking about all the guys I’ve played with since I was young,” Hébert said, "it was really special to win that.”
And as Hébert and Carrière looked to continue the trend into their university stint, they zeroed in on one school: Concordia.
Élément coached with Richardson for a year with the Châteauguay Grenadiers in 2013-14. The two developed a strong relationship, with Élément praising Richardson’s influence on Hébert and Carrière
“When you take players from good coaches, it helps us because they know how to play the right way, so it's going to be an easy transition,” Élément said.
Richardson encouraged Carrière towards Concordia through his connection to Élément. Carrière commented on his future coach’s similarities to his current one.
“I think they have the same mentality,” Carrière said. “I think the way the Stingers play is the same way we tried to play with the Braves.”
Hébert appreciated the closeness and human approach that Richardson and Élément shared. He also acknowledged the chance to prepare and develop as a young player in a university system.
“You look at the number of games in U Sports—I think there are 30 or 32 games total in the season—that really gives you time to develop physically, mentally,” Hébert said.
Comparatively, he said that in some other North American leagues, players are expected to perform from a young age.
“It’s not the right time for you, you’re not ready to perform and really play at a high level with guys who are fully mature at 24, 25, 26 years old,” Hébert said.
Carrière discussed the team’s current record and the opportunities that await after the departure of the Stingers’ massive senior class.
“The older guys will leave next year. That leaves room for younger guys like me and Tom (Hébert) coming in,” Carrière said. “We’ll be able to make our place right away, not wait, not sit out games, basically not spend a year in the stands.”
Both Hébert and Carrière want to complete their bachelor’s degrees as well, placing a premium on their education. But most of all, they want another chance to play together and to compete for championships together.
“It’s special to share this with someone you’ve known since you were five or six years old,” Hébert said. “Sometimes you arrive somewhere far away, and you don’t always know people, but here, it’s special. You’re living these moments with someone you know really well.”
Carrière echoed the sentiment.
“Having that experience with him brings something extra to both of us when we move on to the next level,” Carrière said. “Doing it with him—it’s about spending as many years as possible with your buddies. You want to surround yourself with good people. It’s really fun.”
This article originally appeared in Volume 46, Issue 11, published March 17, 2026.
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