Cougars recruit homegrown talent in McBeth

There’s no denying Chloe McBeth’s ideal destination of where to lace up the skates next year was in her hometown — so when she heard she had the opportunity to join the Assiniboine College Cougars hockey club, the only thing left to do was draw up the paperwork.

The 17-year-old Brandonite became the first commitment of the Cougars 2026-27 recruitment class after AC announced it had signed the defenceman from the Portage la Prairie-based Central Plains Capitals on Thursday.

“I’m so excited. The main factor for me, obviously, being from Brandon, was that I get to stay at home,” said McBeth, who also played in her hometown last season with the U18 women’s AAA Wheat Kings for their inaugural season. “It just helped a lot with my decision, not having to leave my family or leave my friends.”

Over the past two years, McBeth had taken part in some invitational skates during Cougars camp, which gave her a chance to meet some of the players and coaching staff to get more familiar with the program. She said this year, the Cougars had expressed quite a bit of interest in having her on the squad for next season, so she kept that possibility in the back of her mind.

She had other offers on the table, but she ultimately decided her home was destined to be with the Cougars.

“I just knew that it was going to be the best decision to play with ACC,” the five-foot-seven defenceman said. “I had skated with them like a week ago, and it just felt so, like, refreshing and just nice to be on the ice with those girls, and (coach) Charles (Tweed) is awesome and so understanding. He didn’t rush me to make this decision at all, gave me all the time, and was just so supportive in whatever decision I was making.

“So that was definitely like the turning point, just how awesome the organization was and how welcoming and supportive everyone was. The girls were so nice when I walked in there none of them knew me, so I was obviously nervous, but it was just an overall great experience.”

Through 11 games this season with the Capitals, McBeth has one goal and five points. The forward turned defenceman describes herself as a very energetic, positive energy player who shows up with her tenaciousness and compete each and every night. She also has a winning pedigree, having won the U15 rural Manitoba championship in 2022 and then followed that up with another U15 AAA Manitoba Female Hockey League championship title.

She expects Tweed to make use of her versatile tool kit, given the fact she knows how to play both the defence and forward positions.

“He knows that I also play forward and said he might need me to play some forward, which is also like totally okay, and I’m totally comfortable playing that position, which is also why he said that he was interested in me,” she said.

McBeth hadn’t played forward since she was around seven-years-old but got a good taste of action last season with the Wheat Kings after they sustained some key injuries up front. She felt a little out of place at first, but eventually found her footing and was able to give her team a reliable type of game. She’s hoping she can grow that part of her game even more with the Cougars, if needed.

“I think it’s definitely going to be like a faster and more physical game, and working on the mental aspect as well, but I feel like I’ll be okay to adapt to that level,” McBeth said. “I’m just definitely going to have to just work on that part of the game, like even getting stronger and just increasing everything positively and stuff.”

McBeth doesn’t really know anyone on the team right now but has played against goaltender Clair Merckx and Kali and Lexi Remillard. She said she’s not only excited to make new lifelong friends but also join a program that will look to be at the top of the list in terms of contending teams, given the fact the Cougars have made two- consecutive trips to the ACHA Div. 2 championship.

“It just seems they have so much support, and like everyone’s cheering them on and stuff, and I just want to be a part of it,” McBeth said. “I want to be cheering, I want to be playing and getting cheered on. It’s so awesome how they always go to the finals and are always pretty close. I think it’d just be an overall great experience to be a part of.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com