Concordia Stingers men’s hockey coach Marc-André Elément is pleased to officially welcome goaltender Julio Billia, a five-year veteran from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“I’m really happy to have him on board,” said Elément. “He’s a very athletic goaltender and he always strives to be the best. He’s got a great attitude. He’s a really good student who has been accepted into the John Molson School of Business. He’s going to fit in well to our program.”
Billia, a St. Leonard, Que. native, enjoyed a successful midget AAA career with the Laval-Montreal Rousseau Royal and was an all-star at the U17 World Hockey Championships in 2012-13.
He joined the Sags after being selected in the second round, 29th overall, in the 2012 QMJHL draft. He went on to play five seasons in Chicoutimi and owns the franchise record for most games played in a career (206 in the regular season) by a netminder.
The five-foot-11, 170-pound goalie was an second team all-star in 2015-16. He also had the best save percentage (.919) in the league that year. This past season he was the QMJHL’s Goaltender of the Month in January. He helped Chicoutimi finish second in the East Division with a 38-25-5 record. Billia played 17 games in the playoffs helping his team reach the league semifinals.
