Lots of optimism around UPEI men's hockey team

With a lot of optimism surrounding the program, it’s an important year for the UPEI Panthers.

And no one is more aware of that than veteran head coach Forbie MacPherson.

After a solid 17-13-0-0 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses) regular season and advancing to the AUS Men’s Hockey Conference semifinals, the Panthers are looking to build on that momentum.

“It‘s that time of year when every team is really excited to get going and unless you’ve had a significant changeover through graduation and were fortunate to have a big recruiting class, sometimes it could be a little bit of a rebuilding season,” said Panthers head coach Forbie MacPherson. “We had a massive recruiting season the year after we hosted the (2023) nationals, and now this core has been together for a couple of years, and they’re well climatized to the league.

“We feel like we’re going to be in the thick of things this year… We’re at a point where we should be competitive every single night and this group has high expectations for themselves, so that that’s a good thing.”

The Panthers split their first two regular-season games on the road last weekend — defeating the Acadia Axemen 4-2 and losing 4-1 to the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

The Panthers host the Moncton Blue Eagles in their home opener at MacLauchlan Arena on the UPEI campus in Charlottetown on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m., before heading back out on the road to play the defending-champion UNB Reds on Oct. 17, also at 7 p.m.

In goal, Jakob Robillard returns after an outstanding 2025-26 season, which included a .906 save percentage while logging a heavy workload.

“Jakob Robillard was our team MVP and he took a step forward last year,” said MacPherson. “He finished the season on an injury, but for the bulk of the season he remained healthy and took that next step in this league.”

Veteran Joe Ranger is also back between the pipes and the Panthers have added Carter Bickle.

“If Joe wasn’t a goalie, he’d be wearing a letter on this team, for sure,” said MacPherson. “He’s a big part of our culture and he brings a lot of things to the table and he’s excited to get his opportunity this year whenever it comes.

“Then we also recruited Carter Bickle. He’s transferred over from NCAA and he did spend a year on Prince Edward Island with the Islanders and that season he was their team MVP. He’s part of this present group for sure, but he’s also part of the solution as far as in the future when Robillard and Joe have graduated.”

The Panthers blue-line features a mix of youth and experience. Cole Larkin and Derek Pys are in their fourth year of eligibility while former Summerside Western Capitals Isaac Vos and Antoine Michaud are entering their sophomore seasons and the Panthers have added three freshmen — former Capital Simon Mullen, Lucas Vacca and Cole McKenna.

“We have a good mix there of some older players that provide a lot of leadership and are kind of mainstays in the league,” said MacPherson, referring to Larkin and Pys. “Then Miche and Vossy, coming into their second year, they’re a little bit more comfortable and have a real good idea of what their role is and how they fit into our group and then we mix in the three freshmen.

“It‘s a little bit of a different-looking D core, but we’re really happy with where it’s at right now.”

MacPherson described Mullen, the 2025-26 Canadian junior A hockey defenceman of the year, as a good puck distributor.

“He’s a really good puck distributor and we feel like we have a pretty skilled forward group,” said MacPherson. “One of our focusses from our D core is we wanted guys that can move the puck and get the puck on a D-zone exit or quick through the neutral zone; get the puck to our forwards so they can kind of go to work,” said MacPherson. “That’s what Mullie excels at. He’s an elite passer and early on through exhibition in the first couple of games, he’s definitely shown signs of that.”

Vacca caught the attention of the Panthers at the 2026 Centennial Cup in Summerside. Vacca played in the Canadian junior A hockey championship with the Toronto Patriots.

“He ended up being named top D in the tournament,” said MacPherson. “We started the recruiting process, and he ended up choosing UPEI. So, that event was really good to us.”

MacPherson said Vacca has a similar make-up as Mullen and a real strong shot. MacPherson added all three first-year defencemen have been given an opportunity to play and get acclimated to the AUS.

“All three have proven to adjust very well in the early parts,” said MacPherson.

The Panthers feature lots of experience at the forward positions as team captain Ben McFarlane, Keiran Gallant, Elias Cohen, Michael Stubbs, Josh Currie, Yanic Crete and Patrick LeBlanc are in their fourth year of eligibility.

“We feel we have guys that can manufacture goals and put the puck in the net,” said MacPherson. “One area we felt that we needed to look at in the off-season during recruiting was our size and when we were looking at forwards, we wanted – if we could and the fit was right – to add forwards with size and we feel like we’ve accomplished that.”

Enter six-foot-four, 210-pound winger Sebastian Bradshaw out of the BCHL.

“He was drafted by the Dallas Stars, and he’s adjusted really well to our conference so far,” said MacPherson. “We’ve added Mark Corbett out of Amherst (junior A).

“He was a guy that I watched probably 10 to 12 times last year and he’s a really good fit for our group.”

MacPherson said the six-foot-three Corbett plays with an edge, is good on faceoffs and has good size.

“We see a bright future for him at this level and, specifically, this year, as a role player, he’s really fitting in nicely as far as what we’re looking for from him,” said MacPherson.

Another addition up front for the Panthers is Brett Arsenault of Charlottetown. Arsenault graduated from the Western Capitals after previously playing in the QMJHL.

“Brett has some Q experience then obviously playing with the Caps last year, where he was leaned on to produce offensively,” said MacPherson. “Obviously, Brett skates very well, competes hard and has some size, too.

“He’s not as big as the other two recruits (Bradshaw and Corbett), but he’s not small. He’s six feet, 180 pounds and like I said, he skates very well and we feel like he can definitely help us in a specific role this year.”

Defence

• Cole Larkin, Mermaid.
• Isaac Vos, Charlottetown.

Forwards

• Brett Arsenault, Charlottetown.
• Donovan Arsenault, Richmond.
• Keiran Gallant, Covehead.
• Colby Huggan, Charlottetown.
• Simon Hughes, Stratford.
• Keefe Marshall, Cornwall.

UPEI head coach Forbie MacPherson: “It’s always been a priority for us to recruit that local talent. Obviously, when there’s an elite player for our level from Prince Edward Island, then they’re a priority. It is our job to try to put together the best team possible, but if the opportunity presents itself that one of those players can be an Islander, then, obviously, that’s a main focus for us.”

Jason Simmonds is a sports reporter at The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at jsimmonds@postmedia.com and followed on X @JpsportsJason.