Downturn of hockey up north

Once upon a time, teams in the Ontario Hockey League were all in on players from the north. And not just from the bigger northern communities of Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay and Timmins.

I can vividly recall — as a hockey writer covering the annual event — players from much smaller northern towns such as Iroquois Falls, Kirkland Lake, New Liskeard, Elliot Lake, Wawa, Kenora and Fort Frances going as high as the first or second round of a particular OHL priority selections draft.

Not any more. Not even close. These days, most OHL general managers and scouts probably haven’t even heard of the above mentioned small towns of the north, let alone have reason or inclination to head up that way to look at a player.

At any rate, just off the top of my head, I can come up with 10 players who were drafted by OHL teams in the first or second round, right from the small northern Ontario towns that they played in. (And we are not even talking about players from Sudbury, the Sault, North Bay or Timmins.)

In chronological order, they are as follows.

• Forward Tim Coulis was chosen by the Soo Greyhounds in the second round of the 1975 OHL Draft from the Kenora Thistles.

• Forward Arthur Rutland was picked by the Greyhounds in the second round of the 1976 OHL Draft from the Wawa Legionnaires.

• Forward Don Roach was selected by the Greyhounds in the second round of the 1977 OHL Draft from Fort Frances High School.

• Forward Mike Allison was chosen by the Sudbury Wolves in the first round (first overall, no less) of the 1978 OHL Draft from the Kenora Thistles. 

• Forward Paul Gagne was taken by the Windsor Spitfires in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1978 OHL Draft from the Iroquois Falls Abitibi Juveniles.

• Forward Shane Whelan was picked by the Oshawa Generals in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1984 OHL Draft from the Kirkland Lake Legion 87’s.

• Forward Glen Johnston was selected by the Cornwall Royals in the second round of the 1986 OHL Draft from the Elliot Lake Contractors.

• Forward Terry Chitaroni was taken by the Sudbury Wolves in the second round of the 1988 OHL Draft from the New Liskeard Cubs.

• Forward Jeremy Stevenson was picked by the Cornwall Royals in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1990 OHL Draft from the Elliot Lake Contractors.

• Forward Mike Richards was snagged by the Kitchener Rangers in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2001 OHL Draft from the Kenora Stars. 

Those were the days — and they are unlikely to ever return. Many of the elite players from the smaller northern communities began heading to the larger northern towns with the introduction of the AAA programs. And now, with freedom of player movement as mandated by the Ontario Hockey Federation, high end youngsters from the northern towns of Sudbury and the Sault have been migrating to various teams in southwestern Ontario and the Greater Toronto area.

To be sure, the Northern Ontario Hockey Association’s Great North Under 18 League is not what it used to be. As recently as a few years ago, teams from Sudbury, the Sault and North would combine to have 15 to 20 players taken at the annual OHL priority selections draft.

And then came this year’s 2025 OHL Draft. It was the worst showing ever by the NOHA as only five players from the Great North were taken. Yes, only five.

North Bay Trappers had three players chosen while the Soo Jr. Greyhounds and the Kapuskasing Flyers each had one skater selected. The Sudbury Jr. Wolves did not have a single player picked.

Yikes.