Forward Grant Hebert — who tied for third on the University of Maine’s hockey team in scoring last season — has decided to leave the program and pursue a pro career.
Hebert scored seven goals and had nine assists for 16 points in 29 games last season. The fifth-year senior transferred to UMaine from Robert Morris University after the Pennsylvania school dropped its hockey program.
Hebert, who was used at both center and wing, played in only eight of UMaine’s 17 games this season and had a goal and two assists.
He hadn’t played since Nov. 5, 2022, a 3-2 loss at UConn in which he picked up an assist.
UMaine head coach Ben Barr said he met with Hebert and they discussed his future.
“It was a mutual decision. He’s a great kid. I wish him nothing but the best,” Barr said. “He was struggling to get into the lineup. He had wrist surgery at the end of last season and wasn’t able to train like everybody else.”
The coach also said Hebert had already earned a bachelor’s degree and would rather pursue a pro career than a master’s degree, Barr said.
“He can still make a play but he wasn’t able to play with every-night intensity because his body wasn’t holding up,” added Barr, who noted that Hebert had to deal with a number of injuries throughout his career.
UMaine had 10 new forwards this season to go with the six returnees.
The 6-foot-3, 198-pound native of St. Andrews West, Ontario was the Most Valuable Player in the Central Canada Hockey League in 2016-17 when he had 27 goals and 64 assists in 60 games.
The following year, he helped lead the Fargo Force to its first Clark Cup title in the United States Hockey League by collecting 15 goals and 39 assists in 57 regular season games and 3 goals and 7 assists in 14 playoff contests.
In his three seasons at Robert Morris, he notched 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points in 74 games, including 8 goals and 15 assists in 24 games in 2020-21.
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