By Jake Courtepatte

The latest former Tiger to lace up for the Purple Eagles will be leading his flock of NHL hopefuls onto the ice next season.

Noah Delmas was named the captain of the Niagara Purple Eagles in a news conference held by the NCAA Division I team last week, who compete in the prestigious Atlantic Hockey conference.

“We are confident in Noah because has set the expectations of our team high as we continue to grow men through hockey,” said Purple Eagles head coach Jason Lammers in a press release. “Noah embodies our mission as a person, student and player. His own personal growth has been impressive and now he has the honor to lead others by putting ‘we' ahead of ‘me.'”

The Schomberg native spent his entire junior hockey career with the Junior A Aurora Tigers, blooming in his second season in 2014-15 to become one of the top offensive defenseman in the OJHL.

After posting 42 points in 51 games with the Tigers that year, the blueliner earned a scholarship from the Niagara Univesity Purple Eagles, opting to stick close to home to play Division I hockey in Lewiston, New York.

“Playing Division 1 hockey has always been a goal of mine,” Delmas told The Auroran. “Niagara is close to home and provides a great education along with a great hockey program. When Niagara showed interest, I knew that was where I wanted to play.”

Delmas spent his minor hockey years with the York-Simcoe Express AAA system, nine in total.

His fifteen assists in 35 games as a freshman led all Purple Eagles skaters, earning him the role of assistant captain last season. He once again led all Purple Eagles in assists as a junior this season, and finished fourth among all Division I blueliners in both goals with fifteen and points with forty.

Delmas said he was “deeply honoured” to take over the captaincy, and to lead “such amazing players.”

“I'm committed to doing what I can on and off the ice in order to make sure we have a successful year.”

The Purple Eagles program has shown an affinity towards Aurora in recent years, including putting Delmas on the ice with former Tigers captain Robert Angiolella. 2014-15 Tigers leading scorer John Curran posted twenty points with the Eagles as a forward this season, while former Tigers Drake Board and Matthew Bernard had commitments for the 2017-18 season, though both fell through.