All posts by Randy Russon
Net gain for Flint Firebirds
Flint Firebirds have acquired a winning goalie via trade with the reigning Ontario Hockey League champion Guelph Storm.
…[read more]Sarnia Sting fills a Voit
American-born forward Ty Voit has chosen the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League.
…[read more]Soo boys in EL, Espanola
Four skaters who played major midget hockey for teams in Sault Ste. Marie in 2018-2019 have landed spots down the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League highway between Elliot Lake and Espanola.
Read moreSoo Indians sign 18 players
Soo Indians have committed to and received commitments from 18 players ahead of the 2019-2020 Michigan Amateur Hockey Association season. The Indians will be coached by Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario resident Patrick Carricato, who is making a return to the bench of the major midget team after three years away from the game.
…[read more]NOJHL at the Gardens
GFL Memorial Gardens will be the site of a Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League exhibition game this Saturday afternoon.
…[read more]NOJHL story lines loom
The first pucks of the regular season are set to hit the ice as the 2019-2020 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League campaign soon becomes official.
…[read more]Staios sideshow in Hamilton
It is a curious sideshow that pertains to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League and a pair of recent, eye-opening moves made by their president and general manager.
…[read more]Pride of the Timmins Majors
Homegrown head coach Brandon Perry has made no secret of the fires of passion that burn within him relevant to the Timmins Majors of the Great North Midget Hockey League.
…[read more]NOJHL season forecast ahead
Exhibition games are already being played in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League as the start of the 2019-2020 regular season looms.
…[read more]Seeing the Soo area scene
It has been a sunny and warm summer up here in the Sault Ste. Marie area. And as summer heads towards autumn and the annual change in seasons, games of hockey will soon be played.
…[read more]Hounds head equipment man
Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League have opted to stay within house in hiring a new head equipment manager.
…[read more]Making a right turn in Flint
Saginaw Spirit and Soo Greyhounds may want to check their rear-view mirrors as the Flint Firebirds approach the fast lane of the West Division ahead of the upcoming Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Flint adds to bench staff
Mark Ridout is making a return to the Ontario Hockey League, this time as an assistant coach with the Flint Firebirds.
…[read more]Sting gets Bitten in trade
Seeking to keep pace in what again looms as an ultra-competitive Western Conference, the Sarnia Sting has added a seasoned center ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League campaign.
…[read more]Soo Eagles sign Soo boy
Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have a commitment from a Sault Ste. Marie product ahead of the 2019-2020 season.
…[read more]Soo midgets name captain
Soo Jr. Greyhounds head coach Jamie Henderson has confirmed his team captain ahead of the 2019-2020 Great North Midget Hockey League season.
…[read more]Optics of the OHL West
There is anticipation ahead of a new season. There is expectation, both realistic and unreasonable. And in what can be a high-anxiety, high-stakes, Ontario Hockey League, there is always optimism to fall back on.
…[read more]New Rayside hockey boss
Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have officially confirmed the reputable Jeff Forsyth as their new general manager.
…[read more]Powassan to Blind River
St. Joseph Island product David Campbell has had his Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League rights traded from the Powassan Voodoos to the Blind River Beavers.
…[read more]Rayside a haven for locals
New owner Mark Burgess and incoming general manager Jeff Forsyth have made it a priority to enlist as many Greater Sudbury area products as possible as the roster is assembled for the Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Signings, sightings of Eagles
Soo Eagles general manager Bruno Bragagnolo came away with practical estimations from the weekend camp of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team.
…[read more]Prelude to an OHL season
It is considered to be the top junior hockey league in North America and it never really rests, what with new player signings, development camps, summer trades and coach-management changes.
…[read more]OWHA likes four Sault girls
Representing northern Ontario, four players from Sault Ste. Marie recently took part in an Ontario Women’s Hockey Association identification camp.
…[read more]Promotion for Mike Dawson
Yet another Sault Ste. Marie product has secured a prominent position within the National Hockey League. Mike Dawson has been elevated to head of North American scouting for the Carolina Hurricanes.
…[read more]Flint adds fuel to I-75 rivalry
It was a one-sided season series between the Saginaw Spirit and the Flint Firebirds over the course of the 2018-2019 Ontario Hockey League campaign. But the rivalry between the mid Michigan counterparts figures to intensify come the 2019-2020 OHL season.
…[read more]New associate coach in Flint
Ryan Kuwabara is taking his Ontario Hockey League coaching talents from the Saginaw Spirit to the nearby, arch-rival, Flint Firebirds.
…[read more]Bradford to Sault College
High-scoring defenseman Mitchell Devins-Cann is moving on from the Bradford Bulls of the Greater Metro Jr. Hockey League to the Sault College Cougars of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Iroquois Falls seeks support
The group that is determined to try to bring junior hockey back to Iroquois Falls says it has identified a “strong prospect” that has interest in the said matter.
…[read more]New NHL role for Hartsburg
Good guy Craig Hartsburg is taking on an expanded, specialized role with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. The former standout defenseman and successful coach with the Ontario Hockey League Soo Greyhounds will do some amateur scouting for Columbus and assist in the development of top Blue Jacket defense prospects.
…[read more]Spitfires have a new pilot
Franchise icon Billy Bowler is taking over from three-time Memorial Cup champion Warren Rychel as general manager of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]Great North midget revamp
Major, massive, progressive changes are coming to the Great North Midget Hockey League effective the 2019-2020 season.
…[read more]Showcasing the NOJHL
A pair of showcase events are an attraction of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular-season schedule for the 2019-2020 campaign.
…[read more]Let’s not forget Zeppa
As the Soo Greyhounds seek to fill the roster spot of 1999 birth-year goalie Matthew Villalta — he is expected to turn pro within the National Hockey League farm system of the Los Angeles Kings — there are a number of newcomers in the mix ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Score one for the Sting
Swedish defenseman Eric Hjorth — a fourth-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2019 National Hockey League draft — has signed with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]Bobby Jones gets NHL job
Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League have rounded out their coaching staff with the hiring of Bobby Jones as an assistant, Hockey News North has learned.
…[read more]Between the pipes
It is the most-scrutinized position in hockey. And if that isn’t enough, the goalie position is the toughest to project as far as overall ability and future development goes.
…[read more]OHL coaches corner
One vacant coaching position in the Ontario Hockey League has been filled and other plum jobs remain open as summer turns to July.
…[read more]A future Star
Joe McDonnell is of the notion that Nick Porco will play for the Dallas Stars at some point in the future. McDonnell, who is the director of amateur scouting for the Stars, zeroed in on Porco to make the Sault Ste. Marie product the only forward that Dallas selected at the recent National Hockey League draft.
…[read more]Rangers net goalie vet
Kitchener Rangers have gone out and acquired a veteran goalie — and National Hockey League draft pick — ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Spirit, Steelheads swap
Frequent trade partners Saginaw Spirit and Mississauga Steelheads have completed another Ontario Hockey League transaction, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Two takeaways from Flint
Among the signs that the Flint Firebirds are an up-and-coming team in the Ontario Hockey League is that two of its players were selected at the recent National Hockey League draft.
…[read more]Stars align for Nick Porco
As the fourth round of Saturday’s National Hockey League draft ended and the fifth round was about to begin, Nick Porco said he started to get restless and pace the floor of his family’s Sault Ste. Marie home.
…[read more]Porco an NHL draft pick
Sault Ste. Marie product Nick Porco has become a National Hockey League draft pick. Porco, who has played the past two seasons with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League, was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round, 142nd overall, of today’s NHL draft.
…[read more]Committed to the Sting
Sarnia Sting now has signed commitments from its top three picks at the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
…[read more]More fuel for the Firebirds
Another day, another commitment. Flint Firebirds have signed another top prospect ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Top pick signs up in Flint
Brennan Othmann and the Flint Firebirds have made it official. Othmann, a supreme left winger who was the second overall pick at the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, has signed up to play in Flint.
…[read more]Zeppa signs with Chatham
Local product Noah Zeppa has a Plan B in place if he doesn’t crack the roster of the Soo Greyhounds for the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season. The 2002 birth-year goalie has signed with the Chatham Maroons of the Greater Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Matier in a good place
To be sure, it would have been nice for the family if the Soo Greyhounds had used the 18th pick of the first round of the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft to take homegrown defenseman Jack Matier.
…[read more]