The 27-year-old, versatile attacker returns to City of Discovery for a second consecutive season after completing his first year of pro-hockey.
In his rookie season, Sanche featured in a total of 58 games, scoring 28 times and assisting on 26 more goals.
The 5-foot-5-inch shift forward joined the club from the Canadian college league, USports, where he iced with Concordia University Stingers for four seasons.
The Canadian was brought in last summer to provide an offensive punch to the Stars attack and for his leadership qualities, after captaining his junior team, Blainville-Biosbriand Armada, in his final season in the QMJHL.
Sanche impressed many coaches and fans up and down the country with his clinical finishing and skilful abilities, but he also extended his streak of appearing in at least two playoff games in every season since 2010.
Discussing the return of Sanche, Stars Head Coach and GM, Jeff Mason said: “From coaching against him, I saw how much of an impact he had for the team last season.
“He is a quality offensive player, who was liked by his teammates and liked by the fans.
“I am extremely happy to get him back and he is going to be heavily counted on to provide offence for us and to help lead the team going forward.
“So, I am happy it has worked out and I expect big things from him next season.”
After securing the return of another member of last season’s roster, Mason spoke about the importance of having players who are used to our unique league.
Jeff said: “In a league where there is a lot of player turnover year-on-year, you get a lot of new players who do not always know what to expect.
“However, when you have a player coming back who has quality and calibre, you know what you are going to get from him.
“Phil clearly enjoyed his time in Dundee and wanted to come back, which is great as we certainly want people that want to be here and to be a part of the club, so it was important for me to get him back.”
After confirming his return to Tayside, Sanche added: “I am excited to be back for another year!
“We did some great things last year and I really wish we could have moved on in the Challenge Cup, like we did to the Final Four in the playoffs but I think the club is going in the right direction.
“I was really happy with my talks with Jeff and his visions going forward, so I am really excited to get back to Dundee.”
The native of Mercier, Quebec then added: “It was a great experience last year, especially the playoffs against Sheffield and the fans were electric and it was amazing to see.
“So, that will be the goal again for this season to make it to the Final Four and hopefully we can have a better set of results at that weekend, but we certainly have better ambitions for this year.”
Sanche also comes back to Dundee to play under a new head coach and he then explained what helped him make the decision to return to Scotland.
Philippe said: “Jeff was not talking about the future too much, but more about how I felt about my game last year and what can we do to improve the club, which I really liked.
“I think he will bring a different experience to the team and I am looking forward to getting back to Dundee.
“He comes across as a true professional and it is clear to see he wants to do great things with the Stars.”
Philippe is our 2nd signing of the summer and joins Craig Garrigan on the roster for next season.
You can get your season tickets to watch these two0 players and the rest of the team in the 2022-2023 campaign by contacting: [email protected]
Sanche will again wear the #10 Stars jersey next season.
To view Philippe’s career stats on Elite Prospects click HERE.
