Three local students named captain of RMC Paladins varsity teams
Three Kingstonians have been named captains of their respective varsity teams for the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins during the 2020-21 school year.
Dylan Hoare, Jenna Kane, and Chris Paquette will captain teams in soccer, fencing and hockey respectively.
Dylan Hoare – Soccer
In men’s soccer, former Holy Cross Crusader Dylan Hoare has earned a spot as one of the team captains in his third year as a Paladin, thanks to his strong leadership qualities and poise in central midfield, read a release from RMC dated Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020. With the soccer team facing a fall with no games, Hoare is focused on keeping his teammates accountable in all aspects of life as a student-athlete.
“Being a leader, it’s more than just on the field; it’s off the field as well,” Hoare said. “For the upcoming season, it’s going to be mostly off the field, making sure guys stay fit mentally, physically, and stay up to date with their academics. It’s going to be a lot harder, but I think between everyone here we can make it work.”
Fellow third-year Anton Buciora (Mississauga, Ont.) joins Hoare as the team’s other captain.
Jenna Kane – Fencing
Former La Salle Black Knight Jenna Kane is the captain of the Paladins women’s fencing team as she enters her third year in sabre at RMC, according to the release. After an injury last season, Kane learned to compete with her left hand, and still held her own around the OUA.
While Kane and a number of experienced fencers, including her twin sister Alyssa, are on campus this fall in leadership roles within the College’s Cadet Wing, the men’s fencing captain, Hugo Clements, remains in his hometown of Belleville, Ont., RMC said in the release.
“In a typical year, since the teams work so closely together, the men’s and women’s fencing captains coordinate on everything and do everything together,” Kane said. “It seems like I will be doing a lot of the hands on stuff here at the College, whereas Hugo will be doing a lot of the background and logistic stuff to help us out in that aspect.”
In spite of the complications brought about by the pandemic, Kane remains optimistic about the 2020-21 season: “It should be a good year. I’m excited.”
Chris Paquette – Hockey
Chris Paquette’s impressive rookie season in 2019-20, the experience he brings from a lengthy Major Junior career, and his fluent bilingualism earned him the title of Assistant Captain on the Paladins men’s hockey team, RMC said in the release. Last year, Paquette, who previously served as an Alternate Captain with the Peterborough Petes (OHL), was named the OUA East MVP and Rookie of the Year after leading RMC with 32 points.
“I’m extremely excited to be in a leadership role this upcoming season, even with the complications we are having with this pandemic,” Paquette said. “I try to show by example, and plan to be more of a leader on the ice.”
According to the release, Paquette will have to wait for his chance for on-ice leadership, as the OUA has postponed the start date of winter sports until January 1, 2021, at the earliest and cancelled the fall sport seasons altogether.
Fourth-year Cameron Lamport (Newmarket, Ont.) will be wearing the “C” this season, while Nicholas Boddy (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Noah Rowe (Nepean, Ont.), and former Kingston Frontenac Liam Murray (Ottawa) round out the Assistants.
The remaining team captains are:
Women’s soccer: Katherine Costello (Ottawa) and Avery Stover (Bowmanville, Ont.)
Men’s rugby: Brayden Gray (Ottawa) and Étienne Boucher (Ottawa)
Women’s volleyball: Maiyah Russell (Ottawa) and Maya Marshall (London, Ont.)
Men’s volleyball: Justin Benoit (Oakville, Ont.) and Jonathan Barton (Kelowna, B.C.)
Full statement regarding 2020-21 seasons, as of Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020: https://gopaladinsgo.ca/news/2020/6/8/general-fall-sports-cancelled.aspx