Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – A seasoned journeyman, playing for 12 different teams since finishing his minor hockey career with the CAC Canadians in 2015, Brett Epp is coming home for his final season of university eligibility.
The 6-foot-1 goaltender will bring a veteran presence to the Griffins men's hockey team in 2024-25, entering the season as a 26-year-old with experience in multiple post-secondary, pro and senior hockey leagues over the past few seasons.
"For me, it's about the veteran leadership for him," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "I think he can come in and help us win games. We're going to have a rookie goalie and we have Wardo (Eric Ward), who has just one year of U SPORTS experience, so he's going to be a great person that they can lean on, learn from.
"He's a fantastic kid and really, really good teammate, so I think he's going to help our young goalies out in leading by example."
After graduating from CAC in 2015, Epp played in three different junior leagues over the next three seasons – Drayton Valley (AJHL), OCN (MJHL) and in the U.S. with the Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL).
He remained States-side to play two seasons in NCAA Div. III with Nichols College in Dudley, Mass, before transferring to U SPORTS over the pandemic, playing in the OUA for Nipissing from 2020-22.
Brett Epp had a .915 save percentage in six games with Nipissing in the OUA in 2021-22 (Brian Doherty photo).
He joined the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers after the 2021-22 season wrapped up for a couple games and continued his minor pro journey in 2022-23 with the Vermilion County Bobcats in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The team folded late in the season, which led to three other minor pro teams appearing on his Elite Prospects profile for 2022-23 – Fayatteville (SPHL), Norfolk (ECHL) and Atlanta (ECHL).
Finally, Epp returned to Canada last season, splitting Senior AA games between the St. Walburg Eagles and Wetaskiwin Longhorns.
Needless to say, that's a lot of varied experience to bring into what will be a one-season tenure with the Griffins in his fifth season of eligibility.
"I just think experience is so valuable," said Dailey. "This league is just bigger, faster and stronger than kids coming out of junior are used to, so anyone who has experience in that league has a little bit of a leg up. They've been through the school grind, which is taxing – going to school and having the expectations of being a very good student and then also having the expectations of performing in hockey.
"I think the experience is very, very valuable and I just know he's a fantastic teammate who wants to be here to help people out. I think that's a good template that we have had so far, and it's been successful."
Epp is the third-straight veteran transfer goaltender the Griffins have gone with since joining U SPORTS, following Ty Taylor (New Hampshire) in 2021-22 and Ashton Abel (Boston University) the last two seasons.
"Calmness is one thing," said Dailey about bringing in veterans. "That obviously went quite well with Ashton Abel being a calming presence. Brett is kind of the same way where up or down he's quite calm. He's technically sound and again is someone who just really wanted an opportunity to play.
"He's just hungry to prove to people that he still has game. We're excited to see that. We believe he can still play and win games for us."
