Brody Fournier: Arts student athlete bringing experience to a rebuilding Tigers team

Hockey requires skills, determination and leadership throughout its ups and downs. Brody Fournier brings all of this and more to the Dalhousie University men’s hockey team. 

The five-foot-ten winger from Perth, Ont. began playing professional hockey in the Maritimes in 2022, after signing as a free agent with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Prior to playing in the QMJHL, Fournier was drafted by the then Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League in 2020, but never suited up for the team. He played for the Smiths Falls Bears of the Canada Central Hockey League before joining the Mooseheads.

Fournier was traded after his second season with the Mooseheads to the Saint John Sea Dogs during a season when he rattled off 26 points in 35 games. Fournier watched as the team that traded him, the Mooseheads, made the 2023 QMJHL finals but lost to the eventual Memorial Cup champions, the Quebec Remparts. 

Fournier says that it was a big jump from his U18 AAA career to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. 

“It was definitely quite the difference going from about 2,000 fans to 8,000, and in Halifax, it’s quite the crowd there and environment,” Fournier says. 

Eligibility to play in the QMJHL is restricted to players aged 16 to 20. Once Fournier’s junior career ended, he committed to staying in Halifax and joined the Tigers’ organization. Fournier said he had offers from teams in Ontario and the Maritimes after his stint with the Sea Dogs, but ultimately chose Dalhousie as the next challenge in his career. 

“I wanted to live in the city, and I knew that the hockey team was kind of in a rebuild,” Fournier says. “I was interested in taking a step to be the guy to try to help regroup and rebuild the program.” 

Last season, the Tigers posted only three wins in the 30 games played, and Fournier notched 14 points in 27 games. 

This season, Fournier has already produced more points than last season, but Dalhousie only won one game before the winter break. This year, he’s focused on going into each game with the right mentality.

“It doesn’t matter the record, but just having the right mindset and wanting to show up and put in the work every day.”

Fournier, a bachelor of arts student, is taking in every moment of his collegiate career, even the long and gruelling road trips.

“You’re definitely making a lot of good stories and memories with your teammates,” Fournier says. “Just being in the hotels and the bus, the card games and being in the hotel for hours with each other and having the same roommate all year.” 

With wins hard to come by, 22-year-old Fournier brings professional experience to the Tigers’ locker room.

“[It’s a] great group of guys to have in there, with a lot of experience, and it’s nice to always have guys who you can feed off each other with and have conversations with,” he says. “We help each other out along the way.”