vann williamson's change of heart good news for frontenacs, captain looks forward to finishing business with team
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defenceman vann williamson, who was named the kingston frontenacs' captain in january, has informed the team that he'll be returning for his overage year this season, after having committed to clarkson university several weeks ago. (photo from the kingston frontenacs)
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the kingston frontenacs executives received heartening news last week when defenceman vann williamson informed them that he’d be reporting back for training camp next month and looking forward to his fifth season with the club.
a few weeks ago, the 20-year-old whitby native had caught the club off guard when he accepted a scholarship offer to clarkson university in postdam, n.y., for the coming season. management had foreseen williamson opting for a u.s. college for the 2026-27 season when he was named captain of the frontenacs after the trade of jacob battaglia to the flint firebirds.
gm kory cooper had been disappointed when williamson signed with the college — the c had been sewn on his sweater with the idea that his captaincy would carry over to his overage year. and when the frontenacs season had ended after losing to the ottawa 67’s in the first round of the onhl playoffs, williamson gave no hint that anything else was on the table.
“i had some time to reflect,” williamson said. “i can see going to the ncaas down the line, but i feel like i have unfinished business with the frontenacs. we played really well in the second half of the season with a really young team, probably the youngest in the league. with the players kory picked up in the draft, i’m excited about being a part of their development and building on a leadership role.”
with the trades of veteran first-liners tyler hopkins and battaglia in mid-season, an already young kingston team became effectively a kiddie corps that might be challenged just to make the playoffs.
instead, the frontenacs surged in the second half of the season and made a run to finish sixth in the eastern conference. and when williamson moved to the point of the power play, the frontenacs’ unit, which had been worst in the league for four months by a fair margin, moved into the league’s elite down the stretch.
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it would be understandable that williamson’s play last season might generate interest for u.s. college recruiters and coaches.
“with the recruiting and commitment, all of this is new and just sorting through it is pretty tough to figure out sometimes,” williamson said. “we were sorting through the paperwork (to go to clarkson) this school year. but i’ve enjoyed all my time in kingston, and i have a great relationship with kory and (head coach) troy (mann). my time in the program has been great for my game and for me personally. there’s a lot of unknowns (going to u.s. college), but there’s no rush. i know and really appreciate the frontenacs and i think i can grow taking a leadership role from day 1 this season.”
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