The Tri-City Americans have had a pedigree for developing defensemen in recent years. Blueliners like Juuso Valimaki, Dylan Coghlan, Parker Wotherspoon, and Brandon Carlo have been drafted from the Americans. The Americans feel strongly that 16-year-old and former 14th overall WHL Bantam Draft pick Marc Lajoie belongs in that group.
“Marc is going to play for us this year. He’s going to b a really good hockey player with pro potential. He’s a big man who plays hard and makes good decisions. There’s a lot of leadership skills there… He’s going to be a big-time player in this league,” said Tri-City general manager and governor Bob Tory of his rookie d-man.
Overage defenseman Carson Sass, who himself has played 202 regular season games in the WHL, agrees.
“He’s good. He’s calm and poised with the puck, and on the bench, he’s always asking questions. Not necessarily just me but all the veteran players. He’s willing to learn and skates well and moves the puck.”
Lajoie, who enters his 16-year-old year at 6-foot-4 and 232 pounds, is the son of longtime University of Alberta head coach Serge Lajoie. The elder Lajoie has been in coaching since Marc was two years old.
“I’ve been watching since I was a little kid. He coached in the Dub last year so he knows his way around. He’s always been helping me out,” Marc said.
The younger Lajoie was a point-per-game player last season in the CSSHL for the Northern Alberta X-Treme. After their season ended, he joined the Americans and got into three games of their opening-round series loss to the Everett Silvertips as a 15-year-old.
“It was definitely faster than I was used to, but it was nice getting used to it a little bit. It helped me get ready,” he said.
This offseason, Lajoie prepared for his first season in the WHL. Even the big-framed d-man knew he had to work hard.
“The guys are definitely a lot bigger, stronger, and faster up here so I was working on that. Hopefully, I can adjust to it.”
Specifically, he put a lot of time into working out and actually incorporated some more aggressive forms of exercise.
“I worked out five times a week and I also did some striking and boxing. It was actually really good conditioning.”
Lajoie has leaned on some of the more veteran players like Sass as he tries to prepare himself for a new league.
“(Sass) helps me a lot. He’s 20, so he’s obviously been in the league a long time, so you can ask him anything, and he knows his way through the league.”
As for his team, Lajoie is optimistic and sees a lot of young talent out there who, like him, are trying to establish themselves in the WHL.
“I think it will be a good team with some young guys. I’m excited to play with these guys.”
In three appearances at the Everett tournament, Lajoie has shown he is ready for that next step. Those around him believe he has the potential to follow in the footsteps of the great Americans defensemen who came before him. It’s up to Lajoie to prove them right.
