Manotick Mariners Getting Ready To Hit The Ice In September

Senior A hockey is coming to Manotick.

The Manotick Mariners will begin play in the Eastern Ontario Super Hockey League next month.

It will be the first venture into senior hockey since the Manotick Kings played at the Manotick Arena more than 30 years ago.

The team will be made up of former minor league and European league professional and collegiate players, with many of the players from the Manotick and Barrhaven area. Among the local players signed are Manotick’s Liam Dennison, who played in the United States Hockey League with Youngstown before spending five seasons with NCAA Division 1 hockey power Merrimack College. Last year, the 25-year-old defenceman finished the season with the Utah Grizzles of the AHL.

Another signed player is Ottawa native Brett McKenzie. A point-per-game player in the OHL with North Bay, he was drafted in 2016 by the Vancouver Canucks. He has spent the last seven years playing in the ECHL and AHL.

The team is owned by Talaal Baroudi, owner of the Vault Restaurant and Bistro in Manotick. Baroudi is a former Senior A hockey player with Maniwaki of Quebec’s LNAH.

“When I talked to the league about putting a senior hockey team in Manotick, they were hesitant to put another team in the East,” Baroudi said. “They told me the Cornwall team was for sale, and the best way to get a team in Manotick would be to buy the Cornwall team and move it to Manotick.”

Baroudi originally wanted to call the team the Kings, to remain consistent with the heritage of senior hockey in the village. The Kings were originally formed by local sports icons Vince Daly and Alf Taylor among others in the late 1980s.

The name was not an option for Baroudi, as it was to close to the Tweed Oil Kings’ name. After a lot of consultation, Baroudi settled on the Manotick Mariners as the club’s name.

There are 16 teams in the EOSHL divided into four divisions:

East A – Arnprior Rivermen, Bytown Royals, Manotick Mariners, Paugan Falls Rapids.

East B – Glengarry Pipers, North Dundas Rockets, South Grenville Rangers, South Stormont Mustangs.

West A – Frontenac Phantoms, Gananoque Islanders, Smiths Falls Rideaus, Westport Lumberjacks.

West B – Desoronto Bulldogs, Lindsay Barncats, MV Wolves, Tweed Oil Kings.

The league has a 20-game schedule, with each team playing 10 home and 10 away games. Home games in Manotick will be on Saturday nights. The Mariners’ home opener will be Sat., Sept. 21.

The team is going to be very local in its business and marketing approach.

“We have a number of local sponsors in place,” Baroudi said. “We will also be donating 2,000 tickets to local minor hockey teams. We will also have a 50/50 draw each game, and we will be supporting organizations like ROSSS, YOMA and the Manotick Legion with proceeds from the draw. Being a part of the community is very important to us.”

Cody Waite, who played Junior B hockey with the Richmond/Stittsville Royals and has EOSHL experience in playing , coaching and management, has been hired as the team’s General Manager. He was the assistant GM of the Cornwall Prowlers last season.

Baroudi said the team is in the process of finalizing its coaching staff.

“The games are going to be fun and entertaining, and it will be a great thing to have in Manotick,” Baroudi said.