by John Humphrey
The LaSalle Vipers have changed the direction of their 2025-2026 Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL) regular season after struggling mightily earlier in the campaign.
After losing 10 of 11 games in October and November, the Vipers were forced to change their strategy significantly sitting in eighth place in the league’s 12-team Western Conference with a 10-10-2 record by mid-November.
Clearly, opposition teams have been put on notice that playing against the Vipers at the Vollmer Centre or anywhere else around the league was about to become a whole lot tougher for the remainder of the regular season and into the play-offs.
“We had a young team last season and many of our players are starting to take the next steps in their development,” offered Vipers general manager John Nelson. “We’ve turned our season around,” he continued. “And we’re heading in the right direction.”
And Nelson had no trouble identifying the many reasons why his club had become more successful as the season went on. Three highly skilled players, who are small in physical size but big in talent, received particularly high praise.
“Nicolas Rosati was the most valuable player in the entire province at the Junior C level with the Lakeshore Canadiens last season and he is in his first season with us,” Nelson offered. “After getting used to a new league and a new team, he has started coming into his own and he has been playing on a line with another first-year guy, Kaidon Harmon and they are developing tremendous chemistry.”
The pair have been playing with fourth-year forward and LaSalle native Connor Chartrand on a talented forward unit that Nelson referred to as the ‘waterbug’ line as all players are 5’8″ and shorter.
“They might not be big in stature, but they are big in terms of talent and skill,” he said. “They have been leading the offensive charge for us, and they are a big problem for opposition teams every time they are out there on the ice.”
Harmon signed with the Vipers after attending the training camp of the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires and has already seen action in one game with the Spits so far this season. Rosati, a Spits draft pick, also attended Windsor’s training camp before being assigned to LaSalle.
On and off the ice, the Vipers continue to be led in 2025-2026 by the team’s leadership group that includes team captain Chartrand and assistant captains Adriano Tonin, Gage Evans, Matteo Villardi and Joseph Gingras.
Nelson had completed only one trade by mid-November but did not exclude making more in the future if needed. In the team’s sole transaction so far, forward Seth Coomber was traded to the London Nationals in exchange for a Player Development Fee on November 14.
A talented Vipers’ blueline group has been strengthened in 2025-2026 by three skilled defencemen – Spits draft picks Evans, Grady Spicer, and Luke St. John. While Spicer and St. John are in their rookie seasons with LaSalle, Evans has returned to the Vipers after spending last season in Sault Ste. Marie. The 19-year-old son of former Spitfire Cory Evans has only played three games this season due to an upper body injury, but Nelson was hopeful he would return sometime in December.
The only other injury to a Vipers player this season has been to forward Jace DeForge, who was scheduled to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery on November 21. The 18-year-old rookie has already gone back home to Michigan.
Starting netminder Jake Windbiel and backup Adam Bartel have both been solid in net for the Vipers in 2025-2026. While Windbiel, a native of Chicago, Illinois, is in his sophomore season in LaSalle, Bartel, who is from Sarnia, is in his first season in a Vipers uniform.
In addition to reversing their fortunes as of late, the Vipers have also realized two milestones so far in 2025-2026. Tonin, who is from LaSalle, notched his 100th career point in his fourth season with his hometown junior b team while the Vipers won their 500th franchise victory of their GOJHL tenure. Both feats did not go unnoticed by Nelson.
“Adriano has been a loyal player and he has worked hard to improve his play with us in every season,” he claimed. “He has has been a tremendous asset for us for both as a skilled player and as a young man.”
The Vipers eclipsing the half-century mark for the franchise wins was also a sizable achievement not to be overlooked by the team’s longtime general manager.
“Reaching 500 wins is a testament to the growth and stability of our organization,” Nelson claimed. “Everyone knows that there has been great entertainment in LaSalle on Wednesday nights for a long time. And we will keep it going.”