The Maine Nordiques announced on Wednesday its midget hockey program, the Maine Nordiques Development Program (MNDP), is being relocated to Lewiston from New Jersey for the 2020-21 season, a move that will include a partnership with St. Dominic Academy. 

The MNDP program will be renamed Maine Nordiques Development Program Prep Academy and will have a U18 and a U16 team. This year, the MNDP only has a U18 team.  

“The plan was always to move them up to Maine full-time, and we found a great partner in St. Dom’s,” MNDP Co-Director Nolan Howe said. “The people there have been great to work with so far and the academics are obviously top notch and we think it’s a partnership that will work well for the school and it will work well for our franchise. I think it will be a good thing in the community, as well.” 

Howe said the players that are a part of this program will be full-time students at St. Dom’s and will live at dorm homes that the organization purchased to house the players. 

Midget hockey is the step before junior hockey and has multiple age brackets from the U18 level to the U14 level. 

The Maine Nordiques Development Program Prep Academy will attract players with NCAA Division I aspirations from all over North America and around the world. The program will be separate from the boys varsity hockey team that already exists at St. Dom’s. 

“It’s totally separate,” Howe said. “We will be playing a BEAST (Series) league schedule, an elite (Tier I midget) AAA hockey schedule, not a local high school schedule.”  

The BEAST Series has teams from all over New England and the Northeast.

Maine Nordiques Development Program Prep Academy will also provide opportunities for players to get called up to the North American Hockey League club, the Maine Nordiques.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Junior hockey: Nordiques let lead slip in loss to Johnstown

Next »

College roundup: Andrew Fleming’s 3 beats buzzer, lifts Maine to victory