For the second season in a row the Briercrest men’s hockey team will have an American college transfer join their ranks, as Jackson, Mississippi’s Marvin Powell will be transferring from Williston State for the 2015-16 season.

Briercrest head coach Jamie Ramer is looking forward to adding Powell’s skill set to his returning group of players for 2015-16.

“I am excited to have Marvin join our school and hockey club next season,” Ramer said. “I believe he has the desire to continue to grow as a player and that he will be a great fit for our culture here. He will also bring some great leadership experience as well as adding some size to our group of forwards.”

The 6’ 0” forward will be entering his third year of eligibility this year, as he competed for Williston the past two seasons. In his two years at Williston he helped the team to the National Championship game each year, winning in 2013-14 and named runner-up in 2014-15.

Previous to Williston Powell played for several team in several areas of the USA.

“I graduated from Madison Central High School in Madison, Mississippi,” he explained. “I played AAA travel for Nashville Southern Flyers in Nashville, Tennessee, and AA travel for the Memphis Blues in Memphis, Tennessee. I then played one year of junior hockey for Laconia Leafs in Laconia, New Hampshire, before playing two years in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) for the Twin City Steel, in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota.

Hailing from Mississippi, Powell didn’t enter the sport in the same way that a small town Canadian would, and had to make several unique sacrifices in order to get where he is in hockey.

“I started skating when I was seven years old as a figure skater,” he explained. “I began to play hockey a few months later, balancing both sports. At the end, I chose hockey and began to play for my local travel team until the age of 13, simply because where I am from the sport had died out. In the summers, I played for a AAA team named Team South which took on the best players in the South and formed a team to travel all over the nation. When I turned 13, I began to commute 6 hours every weekend to play AAA hockey for the Nashville Southern Flyers where I played until I was 17. After all the years of commuting back and forth, I decided to play closer to home and play for the Memphis Blues.”

“After my final year of amateur hockey, I played my first year of junior hockey for the Laconia Leafs where I received the award for Most Improved Player on my team,” he continued. “My second year of juniors, I played for the Twin City Steel where I truly learned the ins and outs of hockey and where I found myself as a player. I was selected on as one of the players in my division to participate in the NA3HL Top Prospects tournament. My last year with the Steel, I was selected team captain and was awarded the team Leadership Award.”

Powell’s interests go beyond hockey, but he also loves to sing, and cook on the grill. He is excited to move to Canada this fall.

“I plan on studying psychology at Briercrest,” Powell said. “I am looking forward to attending school and to just be in the atmosphere of not just teammates, but the student body that share the same faith and worship with on a daily basis.”

For more information about the Briercrest Hockey team like the “Briercrest Hockey” facebook page.