Big tournaments await T-Bird midgets
His team won the Great North Midget Hockey League championship in 2014-2015 — and Soo Thunderbirds coach Jim Capy is already at work prepping for the 2015-2016 campaign.
Capy, who has been a head coach at the major midget and Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League levels on both sides of the International Bridge over a 25-year span, has lined up a number of high-end tournaments for the Thunderbirds to take part in this coming season.
First up will be the HockeyNewsNorth.com/LSSU Showcase Tournament that is slated for September 18-19.
The tournament will feature four major midget squads — the Thunderbirds, Michigan Soo Indians, West Michigan Elite and Lake Forest Academy — and will be played at Lake Superior State University’s Taffy Abel Arena.
Of note, Lake Forest Academy is coached by athletic director Darrin Madeley, a former national championship goalie with the LSSU Lakers who went on to play in the National Hockey League with the Ottawa Senators.
And the Indians are coached by Pat Carricato, formerly of the NOJHL’s Soo Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds and Indians will co-host the showcase.
Besides playing one another at the showcase, the Thunderbirds and Indians will face off against one another four more times in a home-and-home set over the course of the 2015-2016 season.
“The opportunity to play the Soo Indians five times over the course of the season allows us to compete against a team as good as any in Michigan and Ontario without any additional travel costs,” said Capy.
“Our relationship with the Soo Indians has never been better,” Capy added. “This will lead to bigger and better events in the future.”
At any rate, besides the HockeyNewsNorth.com/LSSU showcase, the Thunderbird midgets will play at three other major tournaments.
Capy confirmed that the Soo midgets will take part in the HoneyBaked/Compuware Tournament in Detroit, the Big Nickel Tournament in Sudbury and the Golden Puck Tournament in Waterloo.
Tryouts for the 2015-2016 edition of the Thunderbird major midgets are slated to be held August 15-17 at John Rhodes Community Centre, times to be announced later.
A seven-team league in 2014-2015, the GNMHL is expected to be an eight-member loop in 2015-2016.
And for the first time, Sault Ste. Marie will be represented by two teams in the GNMHL.
Besides the Thunderbirds, the Soo Carstar Titans under-16 minor midget team has been accepted into the GNMHL.
Hats off to Jimmy — he and Kevin have brought Major Midget Hockey back to Town and they have done it in a positive manner that develops player’s.