Lorette’s Laliberte living and learning

Avery Laliberte brought a tried-and-true approach to Winnipeg Jets development camp and came away with an important conclusion.

The Lorette product was one of the undrafted free agents who earned an invitation to the camp that concluded on Friday morning and he was quick to soak it all in.

“It’s been a lot of fun. You try to be a sponge when you come to things like this and try to learn as much as you can,” said Laliberte, who spent last season with the Niverville Nighthawks of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. “Mouth shut, ears open kind of thing.

“I tried to observe and really listen when the coaches and everybody were talking,” said Laliberte. “It’s always fun getting out here and playing with the best of the best. It’s a good test for yourself. You get to see how they play and the little details in their game and I always enjoy stuff like that.”

Laliberte, who is 6-2 and 196 pounds, played hockey in the Eastman Selects system before heading to the Rink Hockey Academy for the U18 Prep Program.

The two-way defenceman had seven goals and 39 points in 53 games with the Nighthawks last season.

“I can jump in the play when necessary, but also shut it down (defensively). My year was good. I had a leadership role and took a big part of that on. My coaches were great and they put me in positions where I had a lot of opportunities and positions to succeed. I valued playing big, meaningful minutes and anyone who watched me throughout the year could see my development.”

He is proud to come from a small town and represent those players that aren’t necessarily viewed as a can’t-miss prospect.

“I was never the best guy on my team and I never really stood out too much at all,” he said. “It’s nice for small-town community kids to see that it’s possible to chase their dreams.”

Laliberte was proud to see a number of his former teammates and Rink Hockey Academy alumni hear their names called at the 2025 NHL Draft last weekend.

One of those players was Oakbank’s Owen Martin, chosen by the Jets in the third round.

“We live 10 or 15 minutes apart, so we grew up working out together,” he said. “I was pretty ecstatic (for Martin). I had a few buddies get drafted, so I was bouncing off the walls with excitement for those guys. Happy and proud for those guys to have their dreams come true.”

Laliberte got a call from Jets director of player development Jimmy Roy during a round of golf with the invite to development camp and he was thrilled to accept.

“As the year went along, my advisor thought there could be a chance I could be invited (by the Jets) if I continued to grow,” said Laliberte. “When they asked me, it was a no-brainer. To come here and get this experience, it’s been great.”

After spending the past two seasons in the MJHL, Laliberte is heading to the USHL to play for the Waterloo Blackhawks and then will join the Northern Michigan Wildcats of the NCAA for the following campaign.

Choosing an NCAA program can be a big responsibility, but Laliberte never forgot the first recruiter that showed interest in him.

“Dave Shyiak is the head coach there and he’s from (Brandon) Manitoba and during the time when you couldn’t play major junior and college, he was the first guy to talk to me about playing college hockey when I was about 14 or 15 years old…,” said Laliberte, who plans to major in sports management and minor in business. “When I went to Northern Michigan for a visit and saw the facilities, the place itself reminds me of the Canadian shield, so it felt like home a bit. It felt too good to say no.”

Laliberte was appreciative of the development camp experience and is confident he’s on the right path.

“Being a kid from a small town, with a lot of players, you kind of put them on pedestals but for me, my biggest takeaway is that I’m right there and I can play with these guys,” he said. “That boosts my confidence a lot to see these guys are human too. I still have a long way to go, but it’s nice to use this as a measuring stick to see where I am.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld