RSEQ Announces Division 2 League
Concordia Men’s Hockey Will Join 2023-24 Inception
The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec announced the men’s Division 2 collegiate hockey league that will commence in the 2023-24 season. The launch announcement was made in a written statement that was sent out on Feb. 3.
Three university teams will be added to the division 2 and 13 collegiate-level division 1 programs. All teams will play 12 games in the regular season. The three university squads will hail from Concordia University, the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and the École de technologie supérieure.
“We are beginning to implement the recommendations of the report from the Comité québécois sur le développement du hockey,” wrote President and General Director of the RSEQ, Gustave Roel. The original message has been translated from French. “We believe that vertical development will allow college student-athletes to pursue their studies and passion at the university level.”
Despite the Concordia team lacking affiliation with the Concordia Stingers Athletics program, the Head Coach of the Stingers’ men’s hockey team Marc-André Elément played a key part in getting the division 2 league off the ground.
“I started [the project] two years ago to give more guys an opportunity to practice every day and play a sport they love,” Elément said. “I’m happy the project is expanding and that there is a will from the RSEQ and the provincial government to implement hockey for university players.”
Following the good fortune that came from the 2021-2022 collegiate division 1 men’s all-star game, the RSEQ is delighted about the partnership’s continuation. The league’s written announcement stated that they are confident that the initiative will be successful and that the project’s goal should help to advance the growth and progression of hockey in Quebec.
“[The division 1] league is so good right now that we recruit all the [Quebec Major Junior Hockey League] and [Canadian Hockey League] players,” said Elément. “But there are so many other leagues that funnel players. So, the more teams you add at that level, the more opportunities that players will get to play the sport that they love.”
This article originally appeared in Volume 43, Issue 11, published February 7, 2023.
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