by Brian Rappleyea
The playoffs are here and the Ottawa Junior Senators are currently tussling with the Renfrew Wolves in the second round, with eyes on a league championship. The Junior Senators finished first in the CCHL in the regular season, with 90 points in the 55 game grind. That’s even points better than their closest adversary, the Hawkesbury Hawks.

The effort of those, such as Anthony Provost, provide a much more detailed view as to why the Senators have been so successful this season. Provost, a first-year Senator, notched 34 points, including 12 goals, in 51 games played, a clip of two points every three games, finishing as the fifth-highest goal scorer on the team. He’s added a goal and two assists in seven playoff games.

“During the last year, I talked with (former GM & Head Coach) Martin Dagenais on a few occasions. I did have a few options on the table. I knew Simon Isabelle played for OJS, and everything I heard about the organization was positive. I then decided to join them,” said Provost on his arrival to the team.

And it has been a success on many fronts, not just with Provost’s points production, but in the other areas of his game, “I play hard and try to bring some physicality,” he explained. “I like that side of the game. I bring speed and create chances for the offense. I have improved my transition from defense to offense and timing plays better. I also played the wing for the entire season, which was a big adjustment for me, having played center for most of my hockey career. I think I’m a more complete player now.”
Standing at 5-11 and weighing in at 196 pounds, Provost previously played in the QCHL (Ligue de hockey collégiale du Québec), with the André-Laurendeau Boomerang, where he finished the 2019-20 season with 18 goals and 19 assists, good for 37 points in only 29 games played.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a year of not playing, Provost began the year with Ottawa by playing simple, but would refine his game, finding ways to get himself in shooting positions, especially on the power play.

“I don’t focus on points because it’s never been my whole game,” he added. “I can bring much more to the team than goals and assists. I can have a couple of games with no points, but bring some physicality and good defensive awareness, which is just as important sometimes. You just have to help the team as best as you can.”

Provost started playing hockey when he was five years old, in his native St-Michel in the province of Québec. “My dad [Robert] built a rink outside the house, so I was playing a lot.”

As a 2002 birth year player with a year of junior eligibility remaining, Provost is taking things step by step and staying focused on the job at hand. “We’re proud of the season we’ve had,” he said. “The playoffs are here, and our focus is 100% on that and only that, so we have to keep doing what we have been doing: working hard and staying focused.”