AA goalie gets NOHA invite
Sebastien Brassard of Sault Ste. Marie is the only AA level goalie among five others from the AAA category to get an invite to the February 16-17 Team NOHA selections camp to be held in Powassan.
The Team NOHA roster that is subsequently selected will meet later at the annual OHL Cup tournament which is slated to be held the week of March 25.
Players invited to the Team NOHA selections camp are, in general, exclusively from the AAA level Great North Under 18 Hockey League. And while five of the six 2008 birth year goalies invited to the upcoming camp are from various teams in the Great North U18 HL, Brassard tends twine for the AA level Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Nickel District Minor Hockey League.
The 6 foot 1, 175 pound Brassard is a casualty of Sault Ste. Marie again not having an under 16 AAA level team this season. Brassard did try out for the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North U18 HL last fall but was unable to unseat either of the two older veteran goalies — 2006 birth year A.J. Borrelli and 2007 birth year Nick Marson — who played exceptionally well in the league last season. Borrelli and Marson are again two of the better goalies in the Great North this season.
But now, thanks to the keen eyes of director of scouting Marc Gagnon, young Brassard will get an unexpected and pleasant surprise opportunity to make the Team NOHA roster ahead of the OHL Cup.