On the day celebrating the 249th birthday of the United States, it was a Canadian that provided the biggest fireworks for Northeastern hockey fans as defenseman Marcus Kearsey posted he had committed to the Huskies for the 2026-27 season.
Kearsey is a 19-year-old, 5-foot-11 inch, 175 pound left-shot defenseman from Deer Lake, Newfoundland, Canada. He plays for the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he has played three seasons. He was most recently the captain of the Islanders in 2024-25, and is expected to once again captain the team in 2025-26. He was assistant captain in 2023-24. He suffered a shoulder injury last year but still put up 28 points (7 goals) in 46 games. He played 68 games in each of the two seasons previous, putting up 78 points in those 136 games, with a career high of 49 in 2023-24 which tied for 5th-best among QMJHL defensemen that season. In 2023 he won the QMJHL Rookie Defenseman of the Year and was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team.
On the ice, Kearsey profiles as a two-way defenseman who plays with speed and pace. He is an intelligent, pass-first defenseman who drives play while being agile and good on his skates and keeps his head up. His mobility is considered his main asset. He is adept at using time and space to both take what the opposing defense gives him, but also is skilled at getting both the puck and his body to high-danger areas. He defends with a low center of gravity, leveraging position to box out defenders to make up for his lack of physical stature. He does well to catch pucks while in motion and turn them away from defenders and up the ice. He was considered one of the better undrafted players from the 2024 NHL Draft by both The Athletic and The Hockey Writers, and attended Development Camp in 2024 with the Detroit Red Wings. He has drawn comparisons to Lukas Cormier, a former 3rd round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights who played for Charlottetown and has since made his NHL debut.
Off the ice, Kearsey is arguably an even more impressive young man than he is on the ice. He is a back-to-back recipient of the Scholastic Player of the Year Award presented by the University of Prince Edward Island. He was also named the 2024 QMJHL Humanitarian of the Year for his work in the community, including establishing the Kearsey’s Kids program, where in conjunction with Big Brother Big Sister he hosted a Big Brother or Big Sister and their match at Islanders games. He also represented the Islanders in the “Hockey Gives Blood” campaign; did work with the Charlottetown Humane Society Animal Shelter to advocate for the adoption of animals; and volunteered his time to work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, among other contributions to the community. Interestingly, one of the finalists for QMJHL Humanitarian of the Year in 2024 was incoming freshman Jacob Mathieu.
When looking at total package for Kearsey: his abilities on the ice as a pace-pusher and puck-mover, his leadership as a captain and one who has battled through the adversity of injuries and will be returning to Charlottetown likely for his second year as captain; and the maturity beyond his years as evidenced through his community and humanitarian work; Kearsey looks like a player that Northeastern can continue to build a foundation upon once he enrolls to Northeastern. He is someone that we project will be a stalwart on the left side of the defense from the first day he arrives to campus, potentially starting as high as on the second pair. But just as important as his skills as his player is the quality of person he will be in the locker room and at practice and as a teammate, and every report and article about him glows about that aspect of his game as well.
We look forward to watching Kearsey and Charlottetown this season and can’t wait to see him arrive to Northeastern next Fall. Congratulations to Marcus on his commitment!
As always, go Huskies!