Truro Bearcats goaltender Sam Berthiaume has been named to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, set for August 3rd to 8th at Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton, AB.
The 16-year-old from Stellarton, N.S. had a 12-4-0-0 record for the Bearcats with a 2.29 goals against average, .927 save percentage, and two shutouts. Berthiaume was 52 minutes played shy of being a qualified goaltender for league leaders, or his GAA and SV% would have been considered the best in the MHL. Still, the young netminder had a rookie season to remember, allowing two or fewer goals in nine of his sixteen games. Berthiaume made at least 30 saves in eight of his games, including 43 in a 7-1 win over Summerside on December 20th and 44 saves in a 4-2 loss to Amherst on March 7th. He won the Young/Knickle Award as the top goaltending tandem with teammate Louca Connolly. Berthiaume was named the MHL’s Top Rookie and an Honourable Mention for Top Goalie in February/March, and was named to the Eastlink South Team of the Week three times.
In the Metalfab MHL Cup Playoffs, Berthiaume was outstanding, leading all goaltenders with a 1.71 goals against average and a .947 save percentage with two shutouts and a record of 8-4-0 in twelve games. He was injured during warmups of Game 1 of the league final against Edmundston, but became an MHL champion when the Bearcats downed the Blizzard in five games to advance to the Centennial Cup in Summerside.