Fredericton reviving key piece of the city’s hockey history
- Leo Czank
- Sep 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 8
Hockey in New Brunswick’s capital city is getting a facelift.
The Fredericton Express is set to be revived this Fall. The team will take part in the Beausejour Senior Hockey League (BSHL).
Fredericton is taking over for the now-defunct River Valley Lumberjacks. River Valley played their games in Doaktown, a city outside of Fredericton.
The Express signed many players in the offseason who played in Doaktown.
Roger Brun, the commissioner of the BSHL for over 18 years, said Fredericton is building a strong team in their first year, one that should be competing for the “top honours” in the league.
“With this caliber of a league, you need a bigger arena to meet the expenses ... and with a lot of their players coming from the Oromocto and Fredericton area, it just made sense,” said Brun.
Fredericton will face off against seven other teams this season. Those seven teams, plus the Express, are split into two divisions.
Boctouche, Elsipogtog and Amherst are the teams in Fredericton’s group.
Brun said that the division will be “very strong.” He also expects rivalries to be established as the season moves along.
He said that with Junior A leaving the area, it creates a second alternative for the fans.
“What they'll be seeing in our league is players who played at the university level [and] some former AHL players. We even have some who played in the NHL. It's not a gentleman's hockey, it's highly competitive.”
Troy Fasquel, vice-president of the Fredericton Express, has been with the team for a little under a year. He is also the general sales manager for Fairview, the team’s main sponsor.
Fasquel said he is “beyond excited” for the Fredericton Express to return to the capital region.
“It was a huge thing in Fredericton and it was very sought after.”
The Express were a fixture of the Fredericton hockey scene. From 1981 until 1988, the team played in the American Hockey League, a feeder league to the NHL. It was affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks and the Quebec Nordiques.
The team had their home games at the Aitken Centre.
“All of our equipment, the gloves, helmets and pants, matches the originals. Our jerseys are all replica jerseys of the Fredericton Express, so we can look as close as we can to the late 80s and early 90s,” said Fasquel.
Instead of starting a brand-new hockey team, they wanted to bring back an old brand.
Nostalgia is a common theme among residents. Fasquel sees this when he’s selling tickets or attending events around the city.
This time around, the group will try to re-create the memories.
“We had a meet and greet a couple of weeks ago and a guy came in. He had all the old Fredericton Express hockey cards. You should have seen how excited he was. That was pretty neat,” he said.
A unique challenge for Fasquel and the Fredericton Express is attempting to fill the void left by the departure of the Fredericton Red Wings, the city’s junior hockey squad.
The Red Wings relocated to Bathurst last summer. Having the team move farther North left the door open for other hockey opportunities.
Fasquel hopes the team will eventually fill the void. However, sealing the gap may prove to be a challenge, given the contrasting styles between junior and senior hockey.
“The Red Wings were a very good hockey team. It was a very good organization and it was a shame to lose it,” he said. “We have some Red Wings players who are playing with us. I hope it turns into the culture of the Red Wings.”
As for his hopes for the rest of the season, Fasquel wants the team to contend for the playoffs.
“With the team that we have, I believe that our chances are good. We're not taking this easy … The last thing we want is to disappoint the entire community.”
Fredericton will begin its season on the road in Amherst on Oct. 12.
Fans can catch their first glimpse of the team at the home opener on Oct. 18 against the Elsipogtog Hawks.