The Trois-Rivieres Lions have announced that they have re-signed defenseman Jacob Paquette for the 2024-25 season. Paquette joined the Lions after he played three seasons in USports with Queen’s University, where he put up four goals and 18 assists for 22 points in 61 games and was a Second Team All-Star in his final two seasons. The former seventh-round pick of the Nashville Predators would also spend four seasons in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs, Niagara Ice Dogs, and Peterborough Petes, where he put up 13 goals and 71 assists for 84 points before making the jump to USports. The Ottawa native would also win a Gold Medal with Canada at Universiade 2023, where he put up a goal and four assists for five points in seven games.
Paquette would join the Lions in mid-February and would play in 13 games, with the Lions putting up one assist. He would put up a goal and an assist during the Lions Kelly Cup Playoff run. The Lions have four defensemen signed so far for next season and have a mix of some experienced blueliners to go along with Kirby Proctor and Paquette on the backend. One thing I have noticed is that Head Coach Ron Choules likes his left-handed shot defenseman, as six of the nine defensemen TR had last year were left-handed shots, and all four signings on the blueline so far have been left-handed shots. I would expect the Lions next signing on defense to be a right-handed shot to help balance things out.
