The Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League are pleased to announce graduating forward Justin Bernier has signed a pro contract with the Brest Albatros in France. The Albatros compete in France Div1. Justin is coming off impressive offensive season with the Storm posting a team leading 78 points in only 59 regular season games. The 2017/18 AJHL MVP nomination stayed among the top 3 leading scorers in the AJHL the entire season and was a threat to score at any time!
Keillor says it was a matter of time “when we spoke with Justin at the beginning of the season it was clear his goal was to turn professional after junior. With the impressive output he displayed this season he had lots of options, obviously France would be a great fit for him and I think he made the right decision. He’s going to have a ton of fun over there. Our entire staff from Rixy, Cozzy, Bomber and myself have played in Europe and it’s a once in a lifetime experience that you wouldn’t give up for anything. Brest is getting an offensive talent and we hope he continues destroying goalies confidence over there”
Justin will follow the footsteps of Assistant Coach Blake Cosgrove who played two seasons in France for Reims Phenix and the Caen Drakkars during his European pro career. The Storm are very happy to see Justin achieve his goal of turning pro and wish him all the best in France!