News

Redmen duo receive invite to NHL rookie camps

Published: 7 July 2011

(LEFT: Habs legend Guy Lafleur poses with 2009 Lafleur scholarship university winner Marc-Andre Dorion. RIGHT: Lafleur poses with Nicholas Therrien, a 2010 scholarship recipient from the QMJHL)

MONTREAL - Marc-Andre Dorion of the McGill University men's hockey team and Nicholas Therrien, a key Redmen recruit from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, have been invited to try-out for a couple of National Hockey League teams this fall.

Dorion, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound defenceman from St. Hubert, Que., will be going to the Phoenix Coyotes rookie camp in September, while Therrien, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound rearguard from Chateauguay, Que., has received an invitation from the St. Louis Blues to participate in the 14th annual NHL Prospects Tournament, an annual event held in Traverse City, Mich.

Last month, another McGill player -- forward Andrew Wright of Toronto -- participated in a development evaluation camp held by the Montreal Canadiens.

It will mark the third tryout at the NHL-level for Dorion, a two-time all-Canadian who attended the Toronto Maple Leafs rookie camp in 2010 and a Dallas Stars rookie camp before enrolling at McGill in 2008. Dorion, a 24-year-old physical education junior who will need just 13 points in his senior year to become McGill's all-time top-scoring blueliner, owns a 30-111-141 record in 129 games overall since joining the Redmen in 2008.

Therrien, who has committed to skating for the Redmen this fall, played in the QMJHL with both Chicoutimi and Lewiston. The 21-year-old blueliner won the league's Prix d'excellence Guy Lafleur scholarship last month. During his four seasons of major-junior hockey, he tallied 18 goals and 82 points in 185 games, including a 12-32-44 record in 68 contests last season, while serving as team captain of the Sagueneens.

Other recent McGill players to participate in an NHL camp after toiling for the Redmen include David Urquhart (New York Rangers, 2009; Montreal 2010), goaltender Mathieu Poitras (Anaheim, 2008; Washington, 2005), forward Greg Davis (St. Louis, 2001) and defenceman Todd Hanrahan (Pittsburgh, 1994).