Young Nipissing First Nation teen toiling for Burlington hockey squad

By Sam Laskaris

BURLINGTON — The 2022-23 hockey season has certainly been filled with ups and downs for Xavier Beaucage.

For starters, Beaucage, a member of Nipissing First Nation, tried out for the North Bay Trappers’ Under-14 AA squad.

Though he had previously toiled at the AA level, Beaucage did not crack the Trappers’ roster. Then he wanted to suit up at the A level for a Sturgeon Falls squad, but he was also cut from that team.

When Beaucage reluctantly started playing house league hockey instead, there were cries that he was too good, that he was outclassing all other players on the ice, and that his shot would potentially hurt someone.

Though he had to move away from his family, Beaucage, who turned 13 in October, has found a welcome home now.

He’s now a member of the Burlington-based Blyth Academy Bruins, a Prep squad that primarily features Grade 9 and 10 players. Beaucage, a defenceman, is the only Grade 8 student on the squad.

The Bruins do not compete in a league, but they do participate in various tournaments and also stage numerous exhibition games, including contests against American teams.

“At the start, it was a bit of a change for me,” said Beaucage, who is on the ice four or five times per week with the Bruins, either practising or playing a game. “But now I’ve got the hang of it.”

Beaucage has travelled with the Bruins to a pair of tournaments in the United States. He helped the club win the gold medal at an event in Pennsylvania. And the club won the bronze medal at a tourney in Utica, N.Y.

Beaucage is living in Hamilton, where he is being billeted by one of the Bruins’ assistant coaches.

Beaucage’s mother, Terresa, said Nick Rotondi, the general manager of Blyth’s Prep program, has been trying to get her son to play with the Bruins at a tournament for a couple of years.

“It was always short notice and we were never able to get him down there,” she said.

When the Beaucages contacted Rotondi this season and told him he was playing house league hockey, the offer was made to join the Bruins for their Pennsylvania tourney.

“We said this is his one and only opportunity and we made it happen,” Terresa Beaucage said. “Lo and behold, he did fabulous. The coaches were very impressed with him.”

Shortly afterwards, the Bruins offered the young Beaucage a spot on their squad for the remainder of this season.

Though it is a Prep school team, the Blyth club competes against some AAA calibre teams, the highest calibre in Ontario minor hockey.

Terresa Beaucage said she is not surprised her son is faring well with the Bruins after being cut from AA and A teams this season.

“I’m not shocked at all,” she said.

Beaucage’s father Joseph also believes his son has had sufficient talent to make various rep teams.

“For his skill level, he’s probably been one of the better players on the ice surface,” he said.