The 26-year-old center may be small in stature at 5-foot-5-inches but he packs a punch with his scoring ability and brings very strong leadership qualities to the team.
Sanche will make his professional hockey debut with the Stars this September after spending the past four seasons in the Canadian college league, USports, with Concordia University Stingers.
The Canadian also spent four years playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and has appeared in at least two playoff games in every season since 2010.
Born in Mercier, Quebec, Philippe is a former teammate of ex-Stars, Anthony Beauregard (Concordia University, 2016-2018) and Fabrizio Ricci (Blainville-Biosbriand Armada, 2014-2015), but also of newly signed forward, Alexandre Ranger (Chateauguay Grenadiers, 2010-2011).
After completing the signing of Sanche, Stars General Manager and Head Coach, Omar Pacha delightedly: “Philippe is one of the guys who I targeted really early on in the summer and he is a guy that I followed when he was playing in Concordia.
“The feedback on him was really good, but first and foremost I think he is a really solid hockey player.
“However, what really stands out about Philippe is his character and I think what really speaks to that is one of his old junior hockey teams named a trophy after him because of his perseverance and his character.
“He plays hard every night and is difficult to play against and he is also a guy that will do anything for the team.
“He was captain in Concordia and a captain in juniors as well, so you can see there is a lot of leadership in him at a young age.
“Philippe also has a good hockey IQ and knows the game really well, he is also very fast and there is so much more that I could talk about, but the main thing is that he can produce well offensively.
“He will be a go-to guy in a lot of situations for us and is a really complete player, who has the heart of a guy that is seven-foot-tall.
“Philippe is just an absolute warrior for the team, and we are really excited to have him.”
Once he put pen to paper on his first professional contract, an ecstatic Philippe said: “At first, when I told myself that I wanted to go play in Europe, I thought about the UK.
“I knew a lot of guys that played in the Elite League, so they always told me it was a great league and I used to play with Beauregard, who played in Dundee and he said he really loved his time there.
“So, I had some really good meetings with Omar and I really liked the plan he had.
“I already love the country and it is somewhere that is on my bucket list, so it was a no brainer for me to sign with Dundee.”
Speaking about other players that influenced his decision to move to the UK, Sanche explained: “I also know Greg Moore, who played there a few years ago.
“I play hockey with him sometimes and train in the mornings with him, but he told me he loved it too.
“So, it was just another case of someone I know convincing me to go to Dundee but most guys I know who played in the Elite League all said they loved the league in general, not just the team they were on, so it was an easy decision in the end.”
Philippe also shared more about his goals for the upcoming season and what he hopes to achieve in his rookie year.
He said: “I am the kind of guy who just wants to do his best for the team, but personally I do not like having too many objectives, but of course I will be aiming to help this team win a championship and make the playoffs.
“I know we are going to have a good team this season, as one of my friends, Alexandre Ranger, signed for Dundee too and I also know Gabriel Desjardins, so it will be nice to see familiar faces.
“I believe we are going to have a really good team this year and compete night in and night out, so that is my main goal, just to show up to every game, do my best and prove to everyone that I can play pro hockey.”
Philippe’s career started back in 2009, when he was playing with Suroit Express U15 AA, before moving up to the U17’s league with Lac St-Louis Patriotes Espoir.
In the 2010-2011 season, the Canadian netted 16 times and recorded the same number of assists in 22 games, but towards the end of the campaign, he then joined Chateauguay Patriotes for six games.
That summer, the 157lbs, right handed forward, was then drafted into the QJHL and he was selected in the 13th round, at #171 overall, by Lachine Maroons.
Staying with Chateauguay, the following year, Philippe then led the team in scoring with 54 regular season points (28G, 26A) from 42 games and he then added five more (4g, 1A) in five playoff matches.
After graduating from midget hockey, Sanche would begin his junior career in the QMJHL with Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, who drafted him the 2012 Entry Draft, in the sixth round at #96 overall.
In his debut season, the then 17-year-old matched his previous season’s points total, scoring a total of 23 goals, whilst creating 36 more, all in 62 league appearances and nine playoff ties.
The 2013-2014 campaign brought a total of 53 points (14G, 39A) for Philippe, but he then had his best season to date the following year, hitting 75 points (38G, 37A) after icing 71 times for the Armada.
After an outstanding year, the centerman earned a promotion to team captain for his final season of junior hockey and he delivered 45 points (20G, 25A) from just 44 games.
Ahead of the 2016-2017 season, Sanche committed to Concordia University and began his career as a Stinger that autumn.
The Canadian kept up his six-year streak of making the playoffs and reached the post-season in all four years of his time playing in USports.
Philippe hit 29 points (11G, 18A) in 31 games of his freshman year, before going on to score a further 41 goals and 37 assists in his final three years with the Stingers.
Therefore, in his career so far, Sanche has featured in 444 matches, scored 195 goals, assisted 235 times, and has collected 406 penalty minutes.
Philippe is our 16th signing of the summer and joins Drydn Dow, Craig Garrigan, Kris Inglis, Alexandre Ranger, Connor Sills, Craig Moore, Kyle Haas, Brett Orr, Dillon Lawrence, Gabriel Desjardins, Brython Preece, Toms Rutkis, Timi Lahtinen, Spencer Dorowicz and Adam Morrison on the roster for next season.
You can get your season tickets to watch these 16 players and the rest of the team in the 2021-2022 campaign by contacting: [email protected]
Sanche will wear the #10 Stars jersey next season.
To view Philippe’s career stats on Elite Prospects click HERE .
Featured Image: QMJHL.
Banner Image: Vincent Ethier/RDS.
