Soo midgets have good history
What’s in a name change? Not much, really. For years, they were known as Soo Legion and for more many more years, they were the Soo North Stars.
The past two years, they have been called the Soo Major Thunderbirds.
And now, Sault Ste. Marie’s entry in the 30-year old Great North Midget Hockey League has adopted the name of the town’s Ontario Hockey League team and is known as the Soo Greyhounds.
The list of players who have represented Sault Ste. Marie at the GNMHL level and who have advanced to the OHL and beyond is simply astounding.
Over the past few years, in an effort to upgrade the calibre of play and eliminate weaker clubs, the GNMHL has purposely reduced its number of member teams from nine to seven.
Locally, while the flock to try out for the Soo major midget squad is not as plentiful as it once was, the level of play in the GNMHL appears to be on the upswing again.
I took in opening-weekend action as the Greyhounds played host to the Kapuskasing Flyers and was impressed — and pleasantly surprised — with the calibre of play and the overall skill level of many of the players.
Highlight players who are expected to light the lamp for the Greyhound midgets this season include reigning scoring champion Lucas Theriault and rookie forward Camaryn Baber.
Theriault was a 12th-round pick of the Niagara IceDogs at the 2016 OHL draft. And looking ahead to the 2017 OHL draft, Baber is already considered a top prospect.
By the way, Baber’s dad, Brad Baber, is a graduate of both the Soo midgets and the GNMHL and the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL.
Founded in 1986, the GNMHL has had a presence for that long in the Soo from the Legion to the North Stars to the Thunderbirds to the Greyhounds. Those who have had an association with the program as coaches, advisors and/or managers include the illustrious likes of the late Mike Zuke, the late Don Kurylo, Abbie Carricato, Mike Hall, Danny Bertoncello and George Parsons.
Those who have gone on from the Soo’s GNMHL entry to play in the OHL and the National Hockey League include wingers Denny Lambert and Ken Belanger and defenseman Colin Miller. Goalie Marty Turco also played for the Soo midgets before advancing to the University of Michigan Wolverines and then the NHL.
Judging from what I saw on opening GNMHL weekend, the Greyhounds and Kapuskasing both boast a number of skilled players with the capabilities of advancing to higher levels, be it the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, the OHL or the college ranks.
The GNMHL and the Soo major midget program has taken a few shots from the higher-ups over the past few years. I am not saying that either the league or the Soo team is flush with plum prospects but from what I saw on the weekend, there is a definite jump to the play with an impressive skill level of players with OHL potential.
To be sure, the GNMHL and the Soo major midget program both have a strong history of developing and advancing players to, in particular, the OHL.
Saginaw Spirit of the OHL used high picks to take two players from the GNMHL at the 2016 draft. And both the aforementioned Theriault and big forward Keegan Stevenson (5th round, Guelph Storm) of the Soo were taken at the 2016 OHL draft.