NCDC 2024-25 Awards: Mercer’s Thibault Named Atlantic Division Rookie Of The Year
By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com
The National Collegiate Development Conference congratulates the Mercer Chiefs’ Justin Thibault for being named the 2024-25 Atlantic Division Rookie Of The Year. The 2008-born native of Levis, Que., is coming off a huge season of 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 points in 44 games in his junior debut campaign.
“It’s an honor, I couldn’t be happier to receive this award. I think I had a great year this year, stat-wise and development-wise and there were so many good rookies in the Atlantic,” added Thibault. “I’m just so thankful to have gotten this recognition from the division’s coaches.”
After previously playing in the Quebec AAA league for his hometown Levis Chevaliers, he made the jump to the NCDC after talking with Head Coach Rob Broderick following the 2023-24 season.
“I was originally looking for an opportunity to come play junior hockey in the U.S. to have the opportunity to play against older, better and stronger guys while also getting some exposure towards colleges, and so I came to Mercer main camp and had great talks with Coach Broderick and I just felt like Mercer was the place to be for my development this year,” added Thibault.
“I wasn’t wrong. I created so many relationships this year and grew so much as a player and as a person in Mercer, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to play, and a better group of guys, and I can’t leave out the awesome coaching staff we had too that helped me all year long,” added Thibault.
Thibault was among the youngest players in the NCDC this year, the fifth youngest regular player to be precise, but he credits Coach Broderick and his teammates for helping make the quick transition from AAA to the second highest level of U.S. junior hockey.
“Like I said, I think playing juniors at a young age really changed my development. I was playing against older and bigger guys all year so I learned a lot from that,” added Thibault. “I think I really improved skill-wise playing in a league like the NCDC with a fast-paced game and I just think I really improved on all aspects of my game, and you know I got give some credit to my teammates and coaches too, helping me get better every day on and off the ice and having so much trust and confidence in me all year long.”
During the season, the Chiefs had their thrills and some spills, but the thrills definitely were in the majority. After a second place finish in the Atlantic Division, the Chiefs went on to defeat both the No. 3 Jersey Hitmen and No. 1 P.A.L. Jr. Islanders in the division playoffs. They defeated the Jr. Isles in a five-game series, that win sending the Chiefs on to the Dineen Cup Championships.
“We had a rough start to the season that’s for sure, but we kept our head up, and made some roster moves. We just kept building our team chemistry more and more every week as the year went on, and we just became one big family and I think that’s why we had so much success this year, we were all so close and we always had each other’s back,” Thibault said.
“Like I said we improved a lot throughout the year, and we faced a lot of adversity especially during the playoffs going down 1-0 in our first series against the Hitmen, and going down 2-0 in our series against P.A.L, but we always believed until the end and stuck together and showed a lot of character, so we were able to bounce back in both series and make it to the Dineen Cup Championships. Although we didn’t get the results we wanted at the Dineen Cup Championships, we still enjoyed the moment and had fun all along.”
Not long after the conclusion of the Dineen Cup Championships, Thibault was selected by the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League Draft.
“My plan coming to the U.S. was to get some exposure from the USHL and the NCAA to open up some options for my hockey career, and I think I did just that. If plans go accordingly, I will hopefully be joining the Sioux Falls Stampede next year in the USHL,” said Thibault. “As for college, I haven’t made a decision as to where I want to go play college hockey yet, but I have been talking to some schools and am planning on playing college hockey in the NCAA in the future.”