Soo Eagles + Soo Indians
This is setting up to further establish a pipeline between the under 18 and junior levels of the game. That is, the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are now officially overseeing the operations of the U18 Soo Indians of the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association’s Tier 1 Elite League.
The Indians are part of the U18 Tier 1 MAHA with other Michigan based and Metro Detroit programs such as — alphabetically — Belle Tire, Biggby Coffee, Compuware, Fox Motors, HoneyBaked, Little Caesars, Oakland Jr. Grizzlies and Victory Honda.
The venerable Bruno Bragagnolo, who is the longtime president and general manager of the NOJHL Eagles, will also supervise the operations of the U18 Indians as their GM. The U18 Indians will serve as the affiliate team for the NOJHL Eagles. The Indians will continue to play at Big Bear Arena and the Eagles will remain at the iconic Pullar Stadium in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
“This will provide more opportunity for players to move up from the U18 level to junior hockey,” Bragagnolo relayed to Hockey News North.
Bragagnolo also confirmed to Hockey News North that former Ontario Hockey League and National Hockey League player Ken Belanger will be the Indians head coach. Bragagnolo knows Belanger well from when the latter was an assistant coach with the NOJHL Eagles a few years ago. Belanger also coached the Indians under previous operators.
“Ken is a really good coach who relates well to his players,” Bragagnolo relayed to Hockey News North. “He is a student of the game and knows how to utilize talent and to develop players properly.”
A Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native, the now 52 year old Belanger accomplished a lot during his playing career as an overachieving left winger.
As a hard-toiling forward at the under 18 level with the erstwhile Soo Legion major midgets, Belanger went on to play three years in the OHL as a third and fourth line player with the Ottawa 67’s and Guelph Storm, never scoring more than 16 goals in a season. But he made his 6-foot-4, 220 pound presence known as a fearsome fighter who protected his teammates and backed away from absolutely no one.
Belanger’s rugged ways, along with resolve, determination and an ability to contribute at the highest of levels of the game led to the soft-spoken kid from Sault Ste. Marie’s west end playing in no less than 260 NHL games. He netted 12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points and racked up 711 minutes in penalties in those 260 NHL games while toughing it out for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings — and playing for celebrated coaches such as Pat Burns, Rick Bowness, Mike Milbury, Mike Keenan and Andy Murray along the way.
At any rate, with the operations of the NOJHL Eagles and the U18 Indians now under the same supervision, the alliance figures to be a big boost for younger player development.
