All posts by Randy Russon
Villalta has the numbers
There are sidebars to the rebuild project that the Soo Greyhounds are undertaking after a bid to win the Ontario Hockey League championship came up short this past spring. …[read more]
Hamilton adds draft picks
Reigning Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs have acquired three future draft picks in a trade with the Guelph Storm. …[read more]
CCHL Nepean to OHL Flint
Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League have gone to the Nepean Raiders of the Central Canada Hockey League to hire a new associate coach. …[read more]
Summer signings in Hearst
Determined to improve on his team’s first season in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hearst Lumberjacks coach-general manager Marc Lafleur has spent the summer signing high-end players new and old ahead of the 2018-2019 campaign. …[read more]
Great North to Espanola
The new-look Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has signed two players from the Great North Midget Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Guelph coach is a Wiseman
Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League has added to its staff with the hiring of Chad Wiseman as assistant coach. …[read more]
RBC at major junior camps
No less than 13 players from the Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will be headed to main camps of teams in the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Express via Quebec
Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has confirmed the signing of Quebec-born, 2000 birth-year defenceman Malcom Gamelin. …[read more]
Matsos is the man
Reigning Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs have promoted from within to replace graduated head coach John Gruden, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Timmins to Timmins
Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has signed 2000 birth-year forward Cameron Chisholm. A local product, Chisholm tallied 13 goals, 16 assists, 29 points in 41 games for the Timmins Majors of the Great North Midget Hockey League in 2017-2018, regular season and playoffs included. …[read more]
Good deal for Flint
Apropos a position of consequence in hockey, it starts between the pipes. And where the stakes are high and there is parity within the two conferences, quality goalies are coveted in the 20-team Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Team NOHA taps Brick
Thessalon native Kyle Brick has been named head coach of the Team NOHA minor midgets for the 2018-2019 hockey season. …[read more]
Net gain for the Wolves
Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League have signed world-class, Finnish-born goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. …[read more]
Flint nets big fella Vella
Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League have bolstered their net balance with the addition of 1998 birth year goalie Emanuel Vella from the Mississauga Steelheads, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
OHL perusal, prognosis
August has just arrived. Ergo, it might be referred to, in these dog days of summer, as pre-pre season in the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Express via Toronto
Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has signed 6-foot-4, 210-pound forward Adam Morgan, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Saginaw holds Wilde card
Towering defenseman Bode Wilde has — through various media outlets — declared his intention to play in the Ontario Hockey League come the 2018-2019 season. But as of this date, Wilde has yet to sign with the OHL team that drafted him in 2016. …[read more]
Soo Eagles move ’em up
Defenseman Thomas Dyball will be joining former Soo Eagles teammate Jake Palmerio with the Concordia University Falcons, which is a Division 3, National Collegiate Athletic Association program. …[read more]
Crunch has 6 spots open
As the reigning champions of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, there are expectations for the Cochrane Crunch to have another banner season in 2018-2019. …[read more]
Setting up in Saginaw
It is being seen as a matter of when, not if. And it should happen within the next season or so. That is, there is a strong hockey Spirit that is set to rise. …[read more]
Houndtown transformation
The slate in the coaches office has been wiped clean. As the Soo Greyhounds prep for the 2018-2019 season following a 2017-2018 campaign that did not result in expected victory, there are new coaches at the helm. …[read more]
Big winger to Sault College
Sault College Cougars of the American Collegiate Hockey Association have added yet another player with junior experience. …[read more]
Sault College via NOJHL
Beware the Sault College Cougars. To be sure, manager of hockey operations Mark Hebert is building a prowling program at Sault College that is featuring a growing number of players with high-level junior experience. …[read more]
Back in the Irish net
Detroit Fighting Irish of the U.S. Premier Hockey League has solidified one of its goaltender spots ahead of the 2018-2019 season. …[read more]
Porco a top prospect add
Sault Ste. Marie product Nick Porco has a shot at playing for Canada’s under-18 summer hockey team. The 2001 birth-year left winger is fresh from his rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League as a first-round draft pick of the Saginaw Spirit. …[read more]
Kowalsky to New Jersey
Rick Kowalsky’s 12-year apprenticeship as a minor pro head coach has finally resulted in a promotion to the National Hockey League. …[read more]
Hamilton coach search
For the second time in three summers, Hamilton Bulldogs president and general manager Steve Staios is conducting a search for a new head coach for the Ontario Hockey League team. …[read more]
Soo minor midgets so far
Head coach Jamie Henderson has confirmed 18 of the 19 players for the 2018-2019 edition of the Soo Minor Thunderbirds of the Great North Midget Hockey League. …[read more]
Wolves promote Moxam
Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League have elevated Darryl Moxam from part time assistant coach to full time associate coach. …[read more]
RBC has a new associate
Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have named a new associate coach with ties to the Sudbury area. …[read more]
Get well, Dan Vasquez
He is well known for his relentless promotion as an activist for youth and junior hockey in the Downriver area of Detroit and within the inner city itself. …[read more]
Gruden to NY Islanders
John Gruden is moving on — and up — after his Ontario Hockey League championship season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Signed up over in Flint
Another building block is in place. Flint Firebirds have a commitment from their third round pick at the 2018 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. …[read more]
Kapuskasing via Timmins
Kobe Barrette is changing Great North Midget Hockey League teams. The 2002 birth year forward has opted to join the Kapuskasing Flyers from the Timmins Majors. …[read more]
Thrower to Sault College
Yet another high-end player with considerable experience at the junior level has signed on to play with the Sault College Cougars of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]
Memorial Cup reunion
Members of the 1993 Memorial Cup champion Soo Greyhounds are holding a 25th anniversary reunion weekend beginning on Friday of this week. …[read more]
OHL goalie market
A veteran goalie or two could be on the move ahead of, or just into, the 2018-2019 Ontario Hockey League season. …[read more]
Jordan Smith to Hounds
Sault Ste. Marie native Jordan Smith is moving on from the Sudbury Wolves after one season as associate coach for a job with the Soo Greyhounds, Hockey News North has learned. …[read more]
Give Dean a chance
John who? That is a question more than one fan and advertiser was asking after the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League hired 37-year old John Dean as their new head coach. …[read more]
Espanola raids Rayside
Espanola Express has ruffled the rivalry with the Rayside Balfour Canadians by raiding its Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League neighbours of an associate coach, assistant coach, equipment manager and trainer. …[read more]
Rayside to Cochrane
Cochrane Crunch has acquired 1999 birth year forward Baldino Aiello from the Rayside Balfour Canadians in a cash exchange, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
New settlers hit the Rapids
The off-season recruitment of youthful players to French River continues for the Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Greyhounds new coach is …
Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League have settled on a new bench boss, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Cusp of the rising Spirit
The Spirit is set to rise in the Great Lakes Bay Region, specifically the mid Michigan, Ontario Hockey League town of Saginaw. …[read more]
Nick Porco has the Spirit
He is a polite, respectful, mature young man who just turned 17 years old in March of this year. And while Sault Ste. Marie is home, he is eagerly anticipating a return to Saginaw for his second season in the Ontario Hockey League. …[read more]
Signed up in Timmins
Timmins Majors of the Great North Midget Hockey League have signed 12 players ahead of their August 17-19 training camp preparatory to the 2018-2019 season. …[read more]
Miller hits the jackpot
Sault Ste. Marie native Colin Miller has signed a four-year, $15.5 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. …[read more]
Khull boys to Sault College
Forwards Max Khull and Steven Khull are both moving on from the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to the Sault College Cougars of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. …[read more]