When Liam Souliere was traded from the Nepean Raiders of the Central Canadian Hockey League (CCHL) to the Brockville Braves of the CCHL in 2018, he was coming into training camp as a 19-year-old. Expected to be a leader on the team, the general manager and coaches introduced him to Simon Mack, an already established leader on the team.
Mack had played for the Braves the year prior, and was in his second year of playing CCHL hockey.
Growing up, Mack watched former Nittany Lion, Liam Folkes, play for the Braves. Folkes played for the Braves from 2014-2016 before coming to play for Penn State. A Brockville native, Mack always dreamt of playing junior hockey in his hometown.
"I think just as a whole, the whole year, it was a really tight group in Brockville. We had a really good team… It was a really great experience as a whole… one of the closest teams I've played with," Mack said.
Mack and Soulière became especially close though, and spent a lot of time away from the rink together. Their favorite way to kill time was to play Xbox. "A lot of Xbox," Soulière confirmed.
While Soulière only spent one year with the Braves, he and Mack continued to keep in touch. The two played together during the World Junior A Challenge for Canada East U19 in 2019, which brought them even closer.
"We kind of followed each other's paths a lot, and funnily enough, I ended up committing to Penn State when he was already committed here," Soulière said. "… I kind of just followed (Mack's) coattails until I got here."
Mack committed to Penn State in 2017, and one year later in 2018, Soulière committed as well.
When Mack heard Soulière was visiting Penn State, he didn't say much on the topic, even though the two texted frequently.
"To be honest he was a little quiet because I don't think he wanted to jinx it... I think that's how he is – he's a little superstitious about that stuff," Soulière said.
Mack and Soulière were supposed to join the program together in 2020, and they were even planning on being roommates.
But Mack sustained an injury during his first year playing for the Des Moines Buccaneers in the United States Hockey League in 2019, and was out for the entire season. Due to the injury, he delayed his arrival to Penn State by a year.
"When I reached out to Souly to tell him I wouldn't be coming in, we were both upset. I was upset a little bit, but at the end of the day it was my decision to not come in," Mack said. "I reached out to Coach Gadowsky, and we talked things over and came to that decision together, that it was best with my injury… that I should play another year of juniors. And I think it was the best decision for me."
Soulière and Mack had both sustained injuries at the same time while playing for Brockville, and when Soulière heard he had been injured – and wouldn't play a single game for the entire season – he "felt the pain."
"Having a guy like that, being unable to play it always hurts, even if it's not you," Soulière said. "So, I reached out and just told him to take his time… and make sure he's fully prepared to be the best that he can when he comes here."
Last year the two texted often, and Soulière was excited for Mack to become a Nittany Lion. A year later, the two former leaders of the 2018-19 Brockville Braves are teammates once again.
"It's great to be back playing together and we're both super excited," Mack said.
"I think it's pretty cool," Soulière added. "Two kids, especially coming from Tier-II together, not a lot of guys get to do that and come play at Penn State, so it's pretty cool to be able to represent those guys back home."
