Joe Feamster, brother of Flames' new head captain, first defenseman in DI men’s hockey’s recruiting class

Joe Feamster, the younger brother of sophomore forward and new head captain Sam Feamster and son of former Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Dave Feamster, is the Flames first defensive recruit in the Fall 2024 class.

Joe Feamster, brother of Flames' new head captain, first defenseman in DI men’s hockey’s recruiting class

5/1/2024 11:00:00 AM | Men's D1 Hockey

After helping the Montana Bighorns capture their first NA3JH national title this season, the Pueblo, Colo., native has his sights set on helping Liberty claim its first Murdoch Cup next spring in St. Louis.

Following in the footsteps of his father, former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Dave Feamster, and his older brother — sophomore forward and new head captain Sam Feamster — Joe Feamster committed during last week's Select Camp to be the first defenseman in Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team's incoming recruiting class.

"I am beyond excited, honestly," Joe Feamster said. "This is a dream come true for me, ever since I put skates on when I was 3 years old."

He is looking forward to joining his brother on the ice, helping to hold down the defensive end while supporting him on attack.

Joe-Feamster-Liberty-hockey-recruit — Joe Feamster played the past two seasons with the Helena Bighorns.

"This will be the first time we've ever played together on an organized hockey team," Joe Feamster said. "For him to be made captain, I am excited to be there and support him through that and see how he leads this team."

The two brothers are very similar in appearance but approach the game from opposite ends of the spectrum, dictated by their positions.

"We have different styles of play," Joe Feamster said. "He's a little bit bigger than I am and he's more of a guy who goes to the paint more, and has a bigger presence in front of the net. We are similar in the way we move the puck and how we see the game and see the ice. Being a smaller guy, I've learned to use my speed a little more, with deception."

As siblings, they are like-minded once they tape their sticks, lace up their skates, and take to the ice.

"We have the same kind of compete," Joe Feamster said. "We are not afraid to get after it and go into the corners and put in the work. We both want to win and are willing to do what it takes to win."

Joe Feamster played a part in leading the Helena Bighorns to their first-ever NA3HL championship after reaching the Fraser Cup final for the third consecutive time this spring. He scored five goals and distributed 23 assists in 40 games to help them to a 42-2-1 regular season before they won 12 postseason games to capture the cup.

Sam Feamster led the Bighorns to a Frontier Division title and the Fraser Cup final in 2021-22, when he scored 40 goals and distributed 33 assists in 38 regular-season games before adding 6 goals and 8 assists in eight playoff games.

"My first year in Helena was the year after Sam was there, and it was a great two years in which I grew the most as a player, probably, and as a person," Joe Feamster said. "Having to live on my own for the first time, I grew into myself and became more outgoing. To cap it off this last year by winning a national championship in the league was one of the proudest moments of my life. It was a great group of guys, a great team, and great community, which made it really special to bring the trophy back. We set that goal at the beginning of the year and were able to accomplish it."

He would like nothing better than to experience the same type of run as a freshman with the Flames.

"It was so special and so much fun winning a Juniors championship and I can only imaging how special it would be to win one at the collegiate level, especially with Sam still here," Joe Feamster said. "There's no other place I'd rather be than here at Liberty, and it is an absolute goal of mine to win a national championship here and leave here with a couple rings to show for it. I want to come in here and make this program a better program and keep up the winning tradition alive."

He realizes, as Sam quickly did, that there will be an adjustment process jumping from the NA3HL to ACHA Division I.

"I'll be going from being an older guy in Juniors and hitting the reset button and being a young guy again, so I will have to play against guys that are bigger and stronger, and the speed of the game will pick up," Joe Feamster said. "Being in practice every day competing against the best players in the country, that's going to make my game improve and improve my compete level, and get me ready for all aspects of the game."

Joe-Sam-Feamster-kids — Joe and Sam Feamster grew up in hockey together as the son of an NHL player.

He will be living with his older brother, as well as fellow defensemen Grant Morton, Nick Pomerleau, and Luke Heimann, and will look to Sam for guidance as he acclimates to life at Liberty.

"It is going to be nice to have him as a mentor, knowing that if I'm going through tough things, I'll be able to lean on him and ask questions," Joe Feamster said. "He is an easy guy to follow. He's always doing the right things, and as long as I am on the right page, I think it will work out well for me."

While Sam Feamster is pursuing a B.S. in Business Administration — Entrepreneurship and may someday take over his dad's six Little Caesars restaurants, including four in their hometown of Pueblo, Colo., Joe Feamster plans to study Sport Management at Liberty.

"I want to be a player agent one day, and explore other opportunities in sports management as well," Joe Feamster said, noting that working in various roles for his father's business was his only occupation growing up in Colorado. "That was a fun job, really cool to see how my dad runs things and how professional he is as a business owner and how involved he is with the community. It was definitely inspiring to see how to grow a business in a community."

He said witnessing the professionalism of Liberty's Hockey program, led by Head Coach Kirk Handy, Associate Head Coach Jeff Boettger, and Assistant Coaches Jonathan Chung and Dan Berthiaume as well as his son, Recruitment & Summer Planning Coordinator Brett Berthiaume, has been equally inspiring.

"There is a lot to love about Liberty for me," Joe Feamster said. "It has a beautiful campus and as far as the school goes, it really is everything I've dreamed about, with big-time (NCAA) Division I football and basketball."

Growing up, Joe Feamster played everything from organized baseball to soccer, as well as competing on an area swim team, before specializing in hockey in middle school.

"I was always with friends playing football and basketball, though it's hard to play those organized sports in the hockey season," he said. "I still like to get on the golf course, and I am a big fan of watching sports, which is why I want to go into sport management. A lot of my friends are athletes, and that's where I have the most fun in life, being in the sports environment."

More important, however, in his decision to attend Liberty is the spiritual emphasis evident in every aspect of the college experience.

"The cherry on top is the faith side of things," he said. "The fact that Jesus is the main priority in this school is a huge thing to me and I'm extremely excited to grow in my faith here at Liberty. The whole environment here trains up great guys and faithful human beings. I've seen Sam grow as a person the last two years, and seen his faith just flourish, so I am excited to be a part of that culture here and to grow in the same way and become the same type of guy he is."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Megan Lovelace/Club Sports Assistant Director of Social Media & Creative Content