LEWISTON – It used to be that Maine high school hockey players would have two main options to continue their career after finishing up their senior season: college or prep school.

On Friday, defenseman Scott Geoffroy, a two-year captain at Lewiston High School, invoked an increasingly popular third option – he’s going to play junior hockey.

“I had heard from friends that had gone to colleges before me that more and more they wanted junior hockey players, those with more experience than just straight out of high school,” said Geoffroy. “This was the best option for me, I think.”

Geoffroy will play next season with the Ottawa Junior Senators of the Central Junior A Hockey League, based in the province of Ontario. The league is the same one St. Dom’s graduate Jamie Gilbert played last season, as a member of the Cornwall Colts.

“I talked with Jamie when I went up to a showcase this summer,” said Geoffroy. “He told me he had a great time and that he liked the league a lot.”

Gilbert will start his freshman season at the University of Massachusetts this fall and will play goalie for the Division I hockey team.

“My goal, ultimately, is to get to the college level,” said Geoffroy. “This seemed like the right way to go.”

High school standout

Geoffroy was a four-year starter at Lewiston High School, making his mark as a sophomore and rising to the rank of captain as early as his junior season on the blue line.

“He’s a prime example of a kid that got better quickly, mostly due to his commitment to his off-ice training in the offseason,” said Lewiston High School coach Tim Smith. “He played on the state championship team as a sophomore and that helped him too. He played a lot that year.”

That season Geoffroy showed somewhat of a mean streak, using his body to create room in front of his own goaltender and to ward off defenders as he rushed the puck, creating an offensive rhythm for his team.

“He was smart about jumping into the offense,” said Smith. “He learned well to take care of the game out back, on defense, first. He knew when to go and when to stay put, and it was rare that he gave up an odd-man rush.”

It was his assistant coach at Lewiston, Steve Farrar, that started him on the path to the juniors, setting him up with a tryout in Cornwall with the Colts.

One team or another

At Cornwall, Geoffroy realized that he could skate with the players in the league. Unfortunately for him, though, the Colts returned several players from a strong team.

“They invited me to training camp, and told me that I could stay with the team, but my playing time would be almost nothing,” said Geoffroy. “That was in late August. They had too many defensemen coming back that would be ahead of me.”

So, in the best interest of both parties, the Colts’ coach introduced Geoffroy to the Senators’ general manager, Archie Mulligan.

“We certainly liked what we saw out of him in Cornwall at their camp,” said Mulligan. “We see a lot of potential in that young man. He is a complete defenseman. I like the way he sees the ice, the way he can jump into the play and help out the offense. That is more of a modern style of defenseman, and I tend to like that. It’s hard to find a kid that sees the ice the way he does.”

Geoffroy left Friday for training camp, and will play in his first exhibition games with the team Monday and Tuesday.

“I was told I’d be on one of the first two defensive pairings there,” said Geoffroy. “I’m pretty excited.”