TWO VOYAGEURS NAMED TO ACAC SECOND ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

RED DEER – An historic Portage College Voyageurs' season finished with an exclamation point last Friday night. Less than two weeks after their best-ever season ended, two Voyageurs were named to the ACAC Men's Hockey Second-Team All-Conference squad. Centre and team captain Xavier Halterman and defenceman Jett McCullum were named to the team, voted on by ACAC coaches. Both received their awards prior to puck drop of Game 3 of the ACAC Finals in Red Deer.

"It is a great honour to be recognized by the league as a top forward," said Halterman, who just completed his fifth and final year in the ACAC, all sporting Portage colours. "As a competitor it was always something at the end of the year that I saw posted that I wanted to be included and talked about in that status. But I know that this feat is not possible without my support system of my wife, my coaches, and my teammates."

McCullum, in his first season with the Voyageurs, was surprised and chuffed to receive such recognition.

"I got the news a couple of weeks after the season… but yeah, I was pretty happy about it," he said. "The first year, it's cool to get an award."

The players' head coach, himself awarded Coach of the Year for leading the Voyageurs to their first playoff berth in 12 years and their first-ever playoff series victory, was pleased both players were recognized but even more excited for what the awards say about the College's hockey program.

"For McCullum and Halterman both to get those awards…is unbelievable," said Kevin McClelland. "You know, Halterman, I didn't know if he was going to get first (team) or not, he must've been close, that's for sure. Still, second is unbelievable when you're talking about six forwards. And then Jett, he was going against a bunch of good D-men so it's a tribute. But again, those guys had help from their teammates too so for the organization, it was great to see those two awards and I guess the award that I got is everybody's award. It's great for the College."

Captain Leaves His Mark

For Halterman, the all-conference nod marks the culmination of an impressive five-year journey, marked by hard work, dedication, leadership, scholastic excellence, and considerable community involvement. He endured some lean years on the ice, with the team frequently out of the playoff race by Christmas, but kept improving every season. Indeed, in his first season (a shortened, 16-game schedule), he notched three assists. He subsequently scored eight, 22, 28 and 36 points in the seasons that followed, serving as team captain in 2025-26. Not coincidently, the Voyageurs play improved every year, culminating in their historic season this year. Halterman credited support from the coaching staff and his family, as well as his own determination as factors in his impressive evolution as a hockey player.

"Starting with an opportunity from Macker, he continued to work with me and trust me in all situations, even after a slow start to my college career in year one and two," said the St. Albert native. "For myself, I have a lot of passion for hockey and continually want to be the best player I can be. I believed in myself every year and worked hard in the off season to improve myself not only physically but mentally, making sure I gained a better understanding of the game of hockey. As a competitor, I want to help my team win, wanting to make sure I was the best in every area of the game and continue to work on my game to achieve that development. Along my side, though, was my wife and teammates who competed with me in practice."

In his first season with the Voyageurs, McCullum certainly noticed and appreciated all of his captain's talents and leadership qualities.

"I think X does everything for this team," he said. "I think he's not just our captain but he's kinda like a coach too. I think everyone looks up to him a little bit."

Four-time Stanley Cup Champion McClelland paid Halterman the ultimate compliment, noting that he reminded him of his Oilers' teammates.

"He's a hockey player, man. You know, he's out of the mold from my days," said the fifth-year Voyageur Head Coach. "He's a sponge, he's always soaking everything up. He's a great teammate. He just got phenomenal progress and learned the systems and did well, and you know, he just kept getting better and better and better. He passed a lot of guys in his career through the College that you know, probably five years ago he was taking a shorter stick to and now all of a sudden he passed them so tribute to him."

As he contemplates his future endeavours, whether that's playing hockey in Europe or starting his path to refereeing high-level hockey, Halterman will never forget his time at Portage. It's where he met and married his wife, where he ingrained himself in the community through countless hours of volunteering, and where he excelled academically and athletically. Asked what he will cherish most about his five years with the Voyageurs, he was unequivocal in his response.

"The simple answer is the memories; the long answer is to name them all," he said. "But truly the camaraderie of all my teammates through the years on the ice, in the dressing room, on road trips are many memories I will cherish for life. And of course this year and our playoff run will be something I can never forget. Winning Game Two at home and seeing the support from the community in the crowd was an all-time feeling"

Jett Has Jumbo First Year

For his part, McCullum was thrilled to be named a second-team all-conference player but even more excited to see how much progress the Voyageurs made this season.

"I was really impressed with what we had here when I arrived," said the rookie defenceman, who posted 18 points in 24 regular season games in his first ACAC campaign. "Like I knew the team wasn't successful the past few seasons but everything I've experienced, I see we have everything we need to succeed and I thought it was a good step we took this year."

His captain echoed the sentiment.

"I think it is an honour to see another teammate honoured with a nomination," said Halterman. "I think it proves how strong of a team we had overall this year and how great of a season Jett had in his first season. I think the College should be proud of this feat being achieved by their team as it's the first time in 12 years and it shows the talent we had on the ice this season."

McClelland added that he was confident putting McCullum out in all game situations, and relied on him heavily during the season.

"He put up a lot of points and put in a lot of minutes for us out there," he said. "He soaks up a lot of minutes for your hockey club and that's huge on the back end."

The D-man from Moncton, N.B. is already chomping at the bit for next season. McCullum has committed to returning for the 2026-27 season and can't wait to build upon the success of the past year. He recognizes that there will be heightened expectations for next year's squad but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"It seems like the last few seasons there wasn't a lot of veterans, like third and fourth years, but it sounds like next year we'll have a good group coming back," said McCullum. "I think it will be easier for coaches to recruit this year after a successful season. And as far as expectations and goals for us, I think it's more towards being top end of the league, hopefully getting to the finals. I know I'd like to win it all. We'll see how it goes and set goals when everyone comes back here next season. It should be a pretty exciting year for us."

Photo credit ro RDP athletics