The bench staff that coached the Fort Frances Lakers to a regular season finish atop the division will return next season recharged and hungry to take a shot at winning it all.
The Lakers announced on social media that Head Coach and General Manager Luke Judson will return to lead the team as they hope to make a run back to the Bill Salonen Cup Finals and finish the job in 2026-27.
Joining Judson will be his returning staff of assistant coaches Joe Basaraba, Foster Couvier and Mike Parisien, as well as Athletic Trainer Jessie Pettinger.
Judson returns after leading the Lakers organization to its first regular season title in 10 years and was named Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) coach of the year, with the team improving from a .490 win percentage in the prior year to .813 last season.
Basaraba returned to Fort Frances last year after wrapping up a playing career that saw him taken by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the 2010 NHL draft. He spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he helped the Bulldogs win a national championship in 2011.
Professionally, Basaraba played nine seasons between the AHL, ECHL and top leagues in various European countries.
A Lakers alumnus, Couvier spent last year as the team’s hockey operations assistant and will be an assistant GM this year.
The former defenceman’s role covers a variety of areas within the organization, including coaching, scouting and recruiting, as well as travel and game planning.
Judson said that Couvier’s work with the team last year was invaluable.
“He’s proved his value beyond the ice and on the bench,” Judson said. “He’s done a lot off the ice, in the dressing room and in the community.”
Parisien has coached teams in the region for more than 15 years, working with high school, AA and AAA teams. Parisien spent two years playing in the Western States Hockey League, where he was a member of the Phoenix Polar Bears before returning to Fort Frances to play with the then Jr. Sabres.
Pettinger joined the Lakers as an athletic trainer last season, having formerly worked with the Kam River Walleye through their SIJHL championship season in 2023 and attending the Centennial Cup with the team.
A former USports goaltender at Nipissing University, Pettinger graduated from Lakehead University in 2025 with an Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Kinesiology with a focus on concussion rehabilitation. He also hosts goalie camps and clinics throughout northwestern Ontario with Edgework Goaltending.
The Lakers are preparing for several offseason events, including a golf tournament on June 20 at Kitchen Creek Golf Course. They will also be scouting players at the NWO showcase, which allows players to be seen by Junior A teams from across the country from Aug. 7-9.
