LEWISTON – According to the general managers in the Ontario Hockey League, he wasn’t good enough.

The Saint John Sea Dogs went so far as to call him a loose cannon.

But to Lewiston Maineiacs’ coach Ed Harding, Lucas Labelle is just right.

“He’s a hard-nosed type of player,” Harding said the day after the team claimed the 19-year-old off of waivers from Drummondville. “He’s a kid who plays hard every shift, and that’s the kind of player I like to have on my team.”

After a full week of practice, Harding wouldn’t say whether Labelle would see action this weekend against Cape Breton and Rouyn-Noranda.

But Labelle was certainly ready to go.

“I hope so,” Labelle said. “I don’t know yet, but I’m hoping.”

Harding said Labelle’s status would be a game-day decision.

Labelle admitted Thursday he’s bounced around a bit, due in part to his style of play.

“You’re always happy to be where someone wants you,” Labelle said. “I’ve traveled a lot, made some good friends, but I would have liked to stay in a couple of places. After I got released from Cape Breton (in 2005-06) the Oshawa Generals back home asked me to come play, but I liked it better in the Q, and I wanted to come back here.”

Labelle landed a tryout with Saint John during last year’s training camp, but that didn’t last long, either.

“I was too wild, they said,” Labelle laughed. “They didn’t know if they could control me. I told them that that was just on the ice, that off the ice I’m a mature kid, but they didn’t want to take a risk.”

Labelle ended up with Acadie-Bathurst, which then flipped him to Drummondville, where he was put on waivers last week.

The Maineiacs could probably use Labelle for his energy this weekend. They’ll need plenty of it, going up against two teams with a combined 15-4-1-0 record. First up are the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who are off to a surprising 9-2 start through 11 games. Their goaltender, 16-year-old rookie Olivier Bellavance-Roy, was named the Canadian Hockey League’s goaltender of the week last week, and several younger players left over from last year’s run to the league semifinals are playing very well.

Saturday, the Maineiacs welcome to town Andre Tourigny and his Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Lewiston swept Rouyn-Noranda in last year’s league semifinals, and the Huskies again return a solid group of forwards with a strong nucleus of players left over from last year’s run.

Both today’s game and Saturday’s game at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee start at 7 p.m.