NOJHL lads from up north
Teams from the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are free to recruit players from across Canada and into the United States. Still, more than 70 players from the northeastern region of Ontario are on current rosters of teams in the NOJHL.
Which just goes to show that teams in the NOJHL are not only staying close to their roots but doing so with impressive numbers. And notably, eight of the NOJHL’s 11 teams — Sudbury Cubs, Powassan Voodoos, Espanola Paper Kings, Soo Eagles, Soo Thunderbirds, Timmins Rock, Blind River Beavers and Hearst Lumberjacks — all have at least five northern lads on their respective rosters.
As for players from northeastern Ontario who are playing in the NOJHL this season as 2009 birth year rookies, no less than five of them were picked at the 2025 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. They are forward Adam Pszeniczny (eighth round to the Owen Sound Attack), forward Owen Smith (11th round to the North Bay Battalion), forward Theo Bourdon-Lemoyne, (12th round to the London Knights), defenseman Karter Buchmann (13th round to the North Bay Battalion) and forward Ty Dubreuil (14th round to the Windsor Spitfires.)
Of further note, following is a list of NOJHL teams who have at least five players from the northeast region on their rosters. Hometowns of the players are listed in brackets.
Sudbury Cubs. Forwards Nolan Newton (French River), Kaedyn Long (Astorville), Mason Walker (Sudbury), Ty Dubreuil (Sudbury), Caden Dubreuil (Sudbury), Cameron Vehkala (Sudbury), Lucas Antonioni (Sudbury), Noah Kohn (Sudbury), Mateo Signoretti (Sudbury) and Aleksander Duguay (Sudbury), defensemen Alex Valade (Sudbury), Kyle Navarro (Sudbury), Brady Bouchard (Sudbury), Nate Lazarus (Sudbury) and Tyson Rismond (Sudbury) and goalie Mateo Beites (Sudbury.)
Powassan Voodoos. Forwards Justin Rousseau (Verner), Jesse Lefebvre (Sturgeon Falls), Caleb Dawson (North Bay), Tyler Brunet (Sturgeon Falls), Mason Brownlee (Englehart), Owen Head (Nipissing First Nation), Cameron Lockhart (North Bay), Heath Bradley (North Bay) and Cayden Kowal (North Bay) and defensemen Karter Buchmann (North Bay), Jackson Culin (North Bay) and Dylan Rousselle (Blind River.)
Espanola Paper Kings. Forwards Carter Drigo (Sudbury), Ashton Pitawanakwat (Sudbury), Cain Savage (Sudbury), Colton Loiselle (North Bay), Owen Smith (North Bay) and Lucas Dubois (Espanola) and defensemen Tyler Thompson (Sudbury), Carter Makasoff (Sault Ste. Marie) and Sam Gravel (Dubreuilville).
Soo Eagles. Forwards Coulson Bell (Sault Ste. Marie) and Carter Huckson (Sault Ste. Marie) and defensemen Cole Wreggitt (Sault Ste. Marie), Liam Watson (Sault Ste. Marie) and Colton Huckson (Sault Ste. Marie.) The Eagles also have four players from northern Michigan — forwards Dom Cicco (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan), Anden Marceau (Alpena) and Brendan Boberg (Calumet) and goalie Dalton Hoornstra (Brimley.)
Soo Thunderbirds. Forwards Gavin Killoran (Sault Ste. Marie), Adam Pszeniczny (Sault Ste. Marie), Aiden Atkinson (Sault Ste.Marie), Deven Jones McDonald (Garden River First Nation) and Callum McAuley (Timmins) and defensemen Brady Real (Sault Ste. Marie) and Carter Carriere (Sudbury) and goalies Nathan Maguire (Sault Ste. Marie) and Cam Boville (Sault Ste. Marie.)
Timmins Rock. Forwards Evan Katic (South Porcupine), Thomas Beard (South Porcupine), Brant Romaniuk (Timmins), Ryan Armitage (Timmins), Mavrick Boucher (Timmins), Travis Poan (Timmins) and Kaeden McArthur (Timmins) and defenseman Zach Secord (Timmins.)
Blind River Beavers. Forwards Danny MacDonald (Sault Ste. Marie), Camden Cowan (Sault Ste. Marie), Caleb Walker (Sault Ste. Marie), Wyatt Jarratt (Thessalon) and Patrice Lafontaine (Timmins.)
Hearst Lumberjacks. Forwards Mathieu Comeau (Hearst), Mikaleb Blier (Hearst), Theo Bourdon-Lemoyne (Hearst) and Chase Thompson (North Bay) and goalie Alex Boivin (Blind River.)