Marc Lajoie might be the next big league Bear

His recent performance of a natural hat trick aside, Marc Lajoie for the University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey team has had an exceptional year.

He’s made plays good enough to count for the assist, while appreciating the simple “man my zone game” — an area of play he’s been finessing since his last season with the Edmonton Oil Kings. This ultimately earned him the attention of the Edmonton Oilers and an invitation from their farm team in Bakersfield.

“That was a great experience, just being able to go to Bakersfield and see what the pro level is like. I was there for a month, and to see how those pro players handle the day-to-day and how their practices run. And I was able to play in one game there too. I think it really helped me come in here,” Lajoie said.

Lajoie makes waves at Oilers rookie camp

As if playing a pro-level game and signing an amateur tryout wasn’t enough, Lajoie attended the Oilers rookie camp in September, alongside former Bear and current Oilers call-up, Noah Philp.

But what did the guys giving Connor McDavid advice like about Lajoie?

“They liked my size and the way I can play a 200-foot game. I think I’m good at my own zone, but can also contribute offensively.”

There’s not much to complain about at 22 points in 20 games or the second highest plus-minus in Canada West.

His only critique — “skating.” This seems obvious, but at 6 foot 6 inches tall and 227 pounds, picking up speed, turning on a dime, and cross-overs can be a challenge.

“Skating has been a big thing for me that I’ve been trying to work on. And that’s what they want me to work on, too. And that was a big reason, of coming here, was all the extra practice time,” Lajoie said.

The decision to join the Bears

That “extra practice time” comes from playing 25 regular season games with the Bears, as opposed to 68 in the Western Hockey League (WHL) — a solid argument to convince a top WHL grad to play for you, but it’s not the only one.

Lajoie’s father, Serge Lajoie, former player and coach for the Bears, as well as his sister, Pandas hockey captain Izzy Lajoie, made it a “pretty easy choice.”

“With my dad being here, I knew a lot about the program coming in, and how good of a program it is. With it just being my hometown, it was a really easy decision to come here,” Lajoie said.

Only downside? You go from playing on ice that’s largely considered the best in the National Hockey League (NHL) to Clare Drake — an arena that hasn’t been changed since Lajoie’s father played there. But neither have atmosphere.

“Obviously, Edmonton is an NHL barn. It’s pretty special and the ice is good there, but the [Clare] Drake and the atmosphere, the student section and whatnot, it’s a great place to play.”

Now that he’s with the Bears

At 1.10 points per game as a defensemen, it’s worked out pretty well for Lajoie. So well that he’s second in defensive points only to his partner Aidan de la Gorgendiere who, at 1.17, has been a “huge help in the first half.”

“I went to the Colorado camp, and he was there too. We actually roomed together. So there was that chemistry, and then with him being on the team last year, he went through it all already. And obviously we’ve had a pretty good start, so we’re just trying to keep that rolling in the second half,” Lajoie said.

A weekend sweep against the University of Calgary Dinos seems like a good way to keep the momentum going — and a reminder of just how dominant the Bears can be in U Sports, especially for how underrated it is.

“I definitely think it’s an underrated league, and it definitely doesn’t get the kind of respect it deserves. With my dad coaching, I was able to realize at a young age how good of a league it actually was. I don’t think everyone really realizes that there are really good players that come to this league,” Lajoie said.

“You can see all the players that are in the NHL that have [come] from U sports and it seems to be more and more guys.”