By: Jadon Frank

Second year Josh Dufresne is in his first season as team captain for the Briercrest College men’s hockey team. The 6-foot-one product of Portage La Prairie, MB is a dedicated student-athlete who leads by example, from athletics to academics, from what he eats to how he trains, how he plays the game and how he treats people. 

Men’s hockey coach, Dalton Stoltz says, “Duf is a great leader.  He cares about the team and understands that Briercrest hockey is about honoring God in every area of his life.  I believe Duf will be a successful leader in life and I look forward to his growth here at Briercrest”

Before moving to Caronport to be a student-athlete at Briercrest Dufresne played for his hometown Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). In 2010-11, the Terriers won the MJHL Championship and then the ANAVET Cup over the La Ronge Ice Wolves in Game 7. He brings that leadership and knowledge of what it feels like to win a championship to Briercrest.

Dufresne’s rookie 2011-12 season was cut short by eight games due to strange complications that arose from a hit, but he still managed to finish 12^th for points among defensemen in the ACAC, and 6^th overall among Briercrest skaters. The concussion-like symptoms continued into the summer until a chiropractor pinched a muscle in his shoulder and massaged out the pain. He is grateful for the opportunity to play the game he loves and, as the only returning defenseman from Briercrest’s 2011-12 team, Dufresne will be looked to for leadership on both the defensive and offensive ends of the ice, as well as mentoring the rest of the young defense corp.

Dufresne describes his biggest strengths as his “dedication to working hard, leading on and off the ice. I want to help my teammates out where ever they are at.” He wants to not only do the best he can in the classroom, but more importantly wants to learn the most that he can. As a player he wants to “work as hard as I can in a way that honours God.”

When asked what brought him to Briercrest, Josh quickly said, “it was the Lord’s leading. I had been growing a lot spiritually in my walk during my final year of playing junior and wanted to continue that and learn more. I had one more year of eligibility, but felt it was more important to grow spiritually. My first year was awesome, learned a lot and met some great people.”

Dufresne is studying to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies, and wants to build a ministry geared towards the First Nations people. He says, “I believe God has really put them on my heart and they are in need of healing that can only come through a relationship with Jesus Christ. My career ambition is to minister to the First Nations people by whatever means necessary to bring them to an understanding and relationship with Jesus Christ.”

The best advice that Dufresne could give is that “putting yourself in uncomfortable or vulnerable situations is the best way for a person to really grow in any area of their life. The only thing Christians should fear is God alone.”