Nicholls is a Majors addition

2003 birth year goalie Evan Nicholls is moving on from the Soo Minor Thunderbirds to the Timmins Majors of the Great North Midget Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Nicholls, who hails from Sudbury, is someone who Timmins coach Brandon Perry is familiar with from the 2018-2019 Great North season.

“(Nicholls) took us to a shootout during a game last year and shut us out so we knew he could play,” Perry told Hockey News North.

Perry added that he talked at length with Nicholls and his parents and with the big goalie’s coach in the Soo last season, Jamie Henderson, in advance of the recent signing of the youngster.

“And after speaking with Jamie, we learned that Evan’s character aligns with what we look for in a player. Furthermore, we had a great conversation with his family and we felt that this will be a fantastic fit and we are excited to having Evan in Timmins and getting to work,” Perry added.

Nicholls had a record of 6-4-3 with a goals against average of 4.05 on a Soo minor midget team that had a 9-11-4 mark in the 24 games that it played within the Great North in 2018-2019.

The addition of Nicholls follows a number of earlier signings that the Majors made at their Easter weekend spring tryout camp.

At that camp, Timmins signed nine players ahead of the 2019-2020 season, including six returnees and three newcomers.

Veterans signed by the Majors include Landon Deforge, Jesse Dupuis, Pierre Racicot, Desmond Brazeau, Mason Berthiaume and Keaston (Sticks) Blais. Deforge, Dupuis, Racicot and Brazeau are all forwards while Berthiaume and Blais are defensemen.

Also signed were a trio of rookies — forwards Brad Moore and Harry Clark and goalie Julien Lefebvre.