Brick boosts baby Beavers
They have their share of veteran performers who have helped vault the Blind River Beavers to five victories in eight outings through their first two sessions of cohort play in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
But four rookie players — two with 2004 birth dates and two others who were born in 2003 — are baby Beavers who have made an early splash in Blind River for veteran coach-general manager Kyle Brick.
The two Beavers with 2004 birth dates were both Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft picks in 2020 — forward Devin Mauro by the Sudbury Wolves (11th round) and defenseman Mason Chitaroni by the London Knights (fifth round.)
And the pair who were born in 2003 and are doing well in Blind River thus far this 2020-2021 NOJHL season are defenseman Teegan Dumont and goalie Gavin Disano.
Mauro is third on the Blind River scoring chart through eight games this season with three goals, eight assists, 11 points. Meanwhile, Chitaroni and Dumont are taking regular turns on the Blind River blue line and Disano has a spotless record of 3-0-0 to go with a 3.56 goals against average and .908 save percentage.
And Brick, as the fifth-year coach and GM of the Beavers, had a lot of good to say to Hockey News North about the fab four freshmen.
“Devin’s numbers speak for themselves. It was nice to see him rewarded for his play by being named NOJHL rookie of the month. Any time you can make the jump from midget to junior and have the impact that Devin has had, it is easy to see that the kid will have a great future in the game,” Brick said of the 5-foot-8, 155 pound Mauro.
“It is tough stepping into our league and being an effective defender but Mason has found a way … currently he plays on our top pair and logs big minutes. What is most impressive to me is his attention to detail away from the rink … the kid loves video and wants to get better. We are looking for a very strong second half from Chitter,” Brick said of the 5-foot-11, 170 pound Chitaroni.
“Teegan is a player we were really excited to get, he is developing really well and we are excited to see what he will become. It has been a bit of a learning curve for him as he is a player who likes to be physical and the new rules do not allow it so we have been working hard on making him more effective in other areas. Teegan has a pro shot and a sneaky offensive upside,” Brick said of the 6-foot-2, 220 pound Dumont.
“I don’t want to say I am surprised by Gavin’s play but he has definitely stepped up in a big way. Every game, every practice his compete level is off the charts. I want to say his numbers are among best in the league. He came to Blind River in a back up role but he is competing daily to be our guy. It would be safe to say Dizzy is the future of the Beavers in net,” Brick said of the 5-foot-9, 185 pound Disano.
Of note, all four are northern Ontario lads.
Mauro and Disano are both Sault Ste. Marie products, Chitaroni is originally from Marathon and the family moved to the Sault a few years back, while Dumont hails from Elliot Lake.
BRICK HOUSE
With the aforementioned Kyle Brick at the helm as coach and GM, Blind River takes a record of 5-3-0 into 2021.
The Beavers began with a 3-1-0 record against the Soo Thunderbirds before posting a 2-2-0 mark against the Rayside Balfour Canadians.
Notably, the Beavers have had nothing but winning seasons since Brick arrived in Blind River in 2016, having posted successive records of 32-20-4, 33-19-4, 25-24-7 and a franchise-best 37-15-4.
By comparison, in the four seasons before Brick came on board in Blind River, the Beavers won only 33 of 212 games.
