David Quesnele’s tenure with the Lakehead Thunderwolves has come to an end.
The veteran forward was one of two players cut, the OUA hockey team announced on Tuesday in a release issued to media outlets.
Local walk-on defenceman Jonathon Masters was the other player let go.
Coach Bill McDonald said it wasn’t easy finalizing his 26-man roster.
“After a competitive training camp, there were some difficult decisions to make. It’s never easy to tell someone that they didn’t make the cut. That being said, I like this squad. Now it’s my job as coach to bring them together and attempt to reach the team goals we set for ourselves.”
Quesnele, 24, joined older brother Mike in Thunder Bay in 2013 and spent three seasons with Lakehead, where he scored six goals and 21 points in 64 regular season contests.
Masters, 20, a former Thunder Bay North Stars prospect, spent the past two seasons with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
He had two goals and seven assists in 66 games for Gatineau in 2015-16.
McDonald’s team will consist of 16 forwards, seven defencemen and three goaltenders. A total of seven freshmen made the grade, while only four players are in the senior or fifth-year category.
Among the newcomers brought aboard in the team’s quest to mark a return to the playoffs after missing out last season are forwards Zack Whitlock, Evan Mignaualt, Liam Alcalde, Devin Fullum and Grant Valiquette.
First-year blue-liners include transfer Dillon Donnelly, who played last season for the St. Thomas Tommies in New Brunswick. The school abandoned its hockey program, freeing Donnelly to choose a new place to play in 2016-17.
Patrick Murphy is the other first-year defenceman to make the grade.
The goaltending brigade will be led by sophomore Devin Green, with Justin McDonald and SIJHL grad Riley Corbin fighting for time as the back-up.
McDonald said his players will have to fight to get into the lineup each night.
“There is still going to be ongoing competition for ice time, because we’ve got 26 men on our roster and we can only dress 20 players a game.”
The Wolves regular-season debut is Friday night against the visiting Windsor Lancers.
