Carter Kucher is a champ
Sault Ste. Marie product Carter Kucher now has the elite experience of being a championship defenseman. The 16 year old youngster recently hoisted the title trophy as a member of the Chatham Maroons of the Greater Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
One of the youngest — if not the youngest — players in the entire GOJHL with a December 14, 2008 birth date, the 6 foot 4, 227 pound Kucher become a regular on the Chatham blue line as the ’24-25 season progressed.
An 11th round pick by the Flint Firebirds at the 2024 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, Kucher began the ’24-25 season with the AAA Soo Indians of the under 18 level of the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association.
After skating in 45 games and producing two goals, six assists, eight points for the AAA Indians, Kucher (in photo above) was given the opportunity to move up to the junior level and sign with Chatham for the balance of the ’24-25 season. And the lad certainly got to play a lot in Chatham.
Kucher got into 20 regular season games with Chatham and then played in 19 playoff matches for the Maroons en route to their GOJHL championship, which culminated with a six game conquest of the St. Catharines Falcons. In all Kucher played in 39 games for Chatham and scored one goal, seven assists, eight points from his defence position as the Maroons won their first GOJHL championship since 1999.
Playing at the junior level at such a young age — and being part of a championship team in Chatham no less — was part of an “unreal experience” Kucher relayed to Hockey News North.
“It felt so amazing,” said Kucher. “It’s hard to explain how good it felt to be a part of a championship team in my first year of playing junior and to skate around the ice with the trophy.”
Kucher noted that moving up from AAA level hockey in Sault Ste. Marie to the junior game in Chatham only enhanced his development.
“Playing against so many older players with so much more of a physical style really helped me with my game,” the friendly youngster noted. “I got to play a lot of minutes as the season went on.”
Moving away from home mid season to play in Chatham was not as much of a transition for Kucher as one might expect. In the fall of 2022, at age 13, Kucher left home in Sault Ste. Marie for the Greater Toronto Hockey League, where he would spend two seasons.
“Going away to Toronto at such a young age definitely helped me to grow up and mature a lot faster,” said the son of Frank and Erin Kucher.
Next up in the hockey life of young Kucher will be to attend his second OHL training camp with Flint ahead of the ’25-26 season. Kucher hopes to sign an OHL contract with the Firebirds of Flint.
ANOTHER FROM THE NORTH
Carter Kucher wasn’t the only player from northern Ontario to be a part of the Maroons of Chatham winning the Sutherland Cup as ’24-25 champions of the GOJHL.
Ian Lachance, a 2007 birth year forward from Timmins, was also a key performer for Chatham on its run to championship glory. The lanky forward played in 69 games for Chatham — regular season and playoffs included — over the course of the ’24-25 campaign and produced impressive totals of 35 goals, 38 assists, 73 points.
The 6 foot 1, 177 pound Lachance was a second round pick by the Saginaw Spirit at the 2024 OHL supplemental draft after starring for the Timmins Majors of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League.