KINGSTON, Ont. – The Queen's Men's Hockey team will welcome ten new players to the fold this season. Head Coach Brett Gibson made the announcement today. The Gaels 2012 recruiting class includes four defencemen and six forwards, and features a trio of OHL products (Jordan Auld, Braden Corbeth, Chris Van Laren), but also has a strong western flavor, with three recruits (Patrick McGillis, Brendon Macdonald, Steven Schmidt) joining from the B.C. Hockey League, and one each from the Alberta (Drew McLaughlin) and Manitoba (Andrew Wiebe) circuits. The Gaels will also welcome two transfers: David Pratt, formerly of Clarkson, and Chris Van Laren, who was at St. Thomas. Pratt will be eligible this season, while Van Laren becomes eligible in 2013-14.
 
"At the end of the season our staff set out to improve our size and depth. We feel that the 2012-2013 recruiting class fills those voids in our line-up,” said Gibson. “All ten of these players come in highly recommended and have the qualities we define as critical to team success. With all our veterans returning healthy, along with the addition of our new faces, we will look to move back up in the extremely competitive OUA East."
 
Jordan Auld – 6' 2”, 200 lbs. – Defence – Toronto, Ont. / Brampton Batallion (OHL)
Auld spent two seasons with the Brampton Battalion, notching 30 points (3G, 27A) in 127 regular-season games. A defensive defenceman, the 19-year-old has also seen time on the Brampton power play in the past season. Auld was named the Central Division's Academic Player of the Month for December 2011. Prior to joining the Battalion, he won a national Midget AAA silver medal with the Mississauga Reps.

Taylor Clements – 6' 2”, 196 lbs. – Centre – Toronto, Ont. / St. Michael's (OJHL)
Clements spent most of the last two seasons with the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, scoring 40 (21 G, 19 A) points in 49 games last season. The 20-year-old also had stints with the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL and the OHL's Barrie Colts. Clements' junior career started with the Wellington Dukes in 2009, where he played as a 17-year-old before being transferred to Bramalea.
 
Braeden Corbeth – 5'11”, 189 lbs. – Centre – Oakville, Ont. / Belleville Bulls (OHL)
Corbeth played for three seasons with the Belleville Bulls, scoring 20 points (8G, 12A) in 111 career games. The speedy 20-year-old was limited to only two games in 2011-12 due to injury. Prior to joining the Bulls, Corbeth played midget hockey in Oakville, scoring 88 points in 67 games in his final year of Midget AAA, leading the Rangers to the Ontario Hockey Federation championship game.
 
Brendon Macdonald – 5' 11”, 190 lbs. – Right Wing – Calgary, Alta. / Powell River (BCHL)
Macdonald played three seasons in the BCHL, primarily with the Cowichan Valley Capitals. He was the Capitals' captain until moving to Powell River at the trade deadline this season. A rugged forward, he scored 35 points and racked up 315 PIM in 143 games with the Capitals. The 21-year-old scored 11 points and recorded 17 PIM in 18 regular season games with Powell River.
 
Patrick McGillis – 5' 10”, 185 lbs. – Forward – Calgary, Alta. / Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
McGillis spent three seasons with the Vernon Vipers of the B.C. Hockey League, winning the RBC Cup in 2010. A 21-year-old, McGillis captained the Vipers in 2011-12, scoring 25 points (11G, 14A) while being limited to 31 games due to a lower-body injury. For his career, the Calgarian scored 71 points in 125 games, and scored 14 points in 16 playoff contests.
 
Drew McLaughlin – 6' 0”, 195 lbs. – Defence – Sherwood Park, Alta. / Fort McMurray (AJHL)
McLaughlin has played four seasons of Junior A hockey, starting with the Amherst Ramblers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. After two seasons in Nova Scotia, he returned to his home province in 2010 to join the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. In 100 career games with the Barons, McLaughlin scored 26 goals (5G, 21 A) and racked up 133 PIM, and added one assist and 29 PIM in 15 playoff games.
 
David Pratt – 6' 0”, 183 lbs. – Defence – Napanee, Ont. / Clarkson Univ. / Wellington Dukes (OJHL)
Pratt, a Napanee native, played for Clarkson University in 2010-11, scoring nine points in 20 games for the Golden Knights. The 21-year-old returned to the Wellington Dukes last season, playing 23 games and scoring 19 points. A defensive defenceman, he scored 79 points in 208 combined regular-season and playoff games at the Junior A level, was a league all-star and captained Canada East in the 2009 World Junior A Challenge.
 
Steven Schmidt – 6' 3”, 195 lbs. – Forward – Campbell River, B.C. / Powell River (BCHL)
Schmidt was an alternate captain for the Paper Kings last season, scoring 36 points (14G, 22A) and recording 71 PIM in 51 games. He helped lead the Kings to the BCHL Coastal Conference championship in 2012, scoring seven points in 15 playoff games, before falling to Penticton, the eventual Canadian champions. He joined Powell River for their playoff run in 2010, before spending the last two full seasons on the Sunshine Coast.

Chris Van Laren – 6' 2”, 198 lbs. – Defence – Kingston, Ont. / St. Thomas Univ. / Guelph Storm (OHL)
Van Laren will return to his hometown after spending last season with St. Thomas University, and the previous four years in the OHL with Niagara, Sudbury and Guelph. The 22-year-old will redshirt in 2012-13, and be eligible to play in the 2013-14 season. Last year, he scored five points and had 34 PIM in 22 games with the Tommies. He played 241 career OHL games, scoring 41 points (8G, 33A) and racking up 425 penalty minutes.

Andrew Wiebe – 6' 3”, 210 lbs. – Winger – Thunder Bay, Ont. / Portage Terriers (MJHL)
Wiebe played for three seasons with the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The 21-year-old captained the Terriers last season, as they won a league championship and advanced to the RBC Cup tournament for the second straight year. The 21-year-old scored 47 points in 41 games last season, and 12 points in 21 playoff contests. The Thunder Bay, Ont., native scored 113 points over his three career seasons.
 

The Gaels open the 2012-13 season with the annual Lou Jeffries Game against RMC on September 15 in Gananoque.