All posts by Randy Russon
Mackenzie Ableson signs up
Soo Major Midget Thunderbirds of the Great North Midget Hockey League have added yet another player to their growing roster, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Enrolled at Sault College
It reads as a display of commitment and depth. With a 26 player roster that includes 14 forwards, eight defensemen and four goalies, the Sault College Cougars are poised for their first full season as members of the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference. …[read more]
Soo major midget add-ons
Two more players have been added to the roster of the Soo Major Midget Thunderbirds of the Great North Midget Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Okay start in Great North
Take into account that they still have room on the roster for three more players and it was a decent start to the 2018-2019 regular season for the Soo Major Midget Thunderbirds. …[read more]
Early shines in the NOJHL
A pair of 16-year old draft picks from the 2018 Ontario Hockey League priority selections process are off to good starts as Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League rookies. …[read more]
Hamilton hires Pat Jarrett
Reigning Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs have rounded out their coaching staff for the 2018-2019 season with the hiring of Sault Ste. Marie native Patrick Jarrett, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Soo major midgets win one
A pair of empty net goals iced a Great North Midget Hockey League season-opening victory for the Soo Major Midget Thunderbirds over the Timmins Majors. …[read more]
Great North season begins
A pair of doubleheaders tops the slate of activity as the 2018-2019 Great North Midget Hockey League season gets going this weekend. …[read more]
Soo major midgets add two
Soo Major Midget Thunderbirds of the Great North Midget Hockey League have added two players to their roster, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
NOJHL watchtower views
A writer’s selection of storyline material as it relates to the tidy, well-maintained, Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
OHL watchtower views
A writer’s selection of storyline material ahead of the approaching 2018-2019 Ontario Hockey League regular season. …[read more]
Soo major midgets so far
Mike Creedon, who is the general manager of the Soo Major Midget Thunderbirds, has confirmed the commitment of two goalies, four defensemen and nine forwards to Hockey News North ahead of the 2018-2019 Great North Midget Hockey League season. …[read more]
Majors open at the Soo
September is here and so is the official start to hockey season. And as they are slated to begin the 2018-2019 Great North Midget Hockey League campaign at Sault Ste. Marie, the Timmins Majors used a Labour Day weekend tournament for a tuneup. …[read more]
Wins for Flint, Saginaw
Interstate 75 rivals Flint Firebirds and Saginaw Spirit both posted victories on Friday as the Ontario Hockey League exhibition season got underway. …[read more]
Good news from SMHA
After some rather anxious moments, the Sault Major Hockey Association will indeed operate AAA teams at the major midget, minor midget, major bantam and minor bantam levels for the 2018-2019 season, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
King of the Bulldogs
Hulking defenseman D.J. King has signed on with the reigning Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs. …[read more]
Smith is for the Birds
High scoring forward Nick Smith is returning to the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League for the 2018-2019 season, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Birds add big defender
Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have stayed local to sign 2001 birth year defenceman Jonathan Mackin, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Me, a Maple Leafs fan?
I doubt that my two favourite National Hockey League teams, the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens, will be Stanley Cup contenders come the 2018-2019 season. Ergo, it might be time to hop on the Toronto Maple Leafs bandwagon. …[read more]
Working out in Flint
Training camps are underway throughout the Ontario Hockey League preparatory to the 2018-2019 season. For example, the Flint Firebirds are hard at work with a goal of returning to the Western Conference playoffs after missing out in 2017-2018. Below are a few photos from the Flint training camp. …[read more]
MM Wolves win three
Sudbury Minor Midget Wolves of the Great North Midget Hockey League returned from a season-opening tournament in Markham by winning three of four games. …[read more]
Snapshots and snippets
Twelve teams and two divisions define the makeup of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. First pucks will soon drop on the 2018-2019 NOJHL regular season and with that noted, here are a few snapshots and snippets to peruse, by division and by team, in alphabetical order. …[read more]
Young pups of the Soo
Call it a rebuild. Call it a youth movement. Whatever the words or phrase may be, the 2018-2019 version of the Soo Greyhounds will be decidedly different from the 2017-2018 edition. …[read more]
Saginaw shows strength
The fact that the Saginaw Spirit has opted to allow three veteran skaters the opportunity to seek Ontario Hockey League employment elsewhere reads as a sign of strength for the looming Western Conference contenders. …[read more]
Package on the Express
A pair of veteran players have boarded the Espanola Express just ahead of the 2018-2019 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season. …[read more]
Love those Lumberjacks
Hearst Lumberjacks are building on to their fan platform as they prepare for their second season as members of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Mauro opts for Blind River
Midget-aged forward Justin Mauro of Sault Ste. Marie has signed with the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed. …[read more]
Hockey talk and patio bars
Even when it isn’t hockey season, it is. If you play hockey, are a hockey parent, a hockey coach, or if you write about hockey, it becomes a year-round focus, if not a fascination. …[read more]
Changes in Rayside Balfour
There are new personnel in place at the helm of the Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. …[read more]
Saginaw goes Wilde
Call it a walk on the Wilde side. Two years after choosing Bode Wilde in the second round of the 2016 Ontario Hockey League draft, the Saginaw Spirit has signed the 2000 birth-year defenseman. …[read more]
Major news from Timmins
Four more for the core. Timmins Majors of the Great North Midget Hockey League have signed three forwards and a defenseman from their weekend training camp. …[read more]
Express via Brockville
Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has inked 1999 birth year forward Zack Matyasik from the Brockville Tikis of the Central Canada Tier 2 Hockey League. …[read more]
Soo team gets into Yoga
Soo Minor Midget Thunderbirds of the Great North Midget Hockey League have incorporated the physical, mental discipline of Yoga into their training regime. …[read more]
The legend of Mav
He can be called an Ontario Hockey League legend and few — if any — would dispute that notion. He can also be termed gruff but pleasant, ornery but kind, a beer-drinking guy who coached and managed against the best of them. …[read more]
Oulahen, Findlay, Rutledge
Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League have finalized their coaching staff ahead of the 2018-2019 season, general manager Barclay Branch has confirmed. …[read more]
This Bud’s for Sudbury
A vacant coaching position has drawn former Ontario Hockey League bench boss Bud Stefanski out of retirement. Stefanski, who originally hails from the northeastern Ontario mining town of Timmins, has joined the Sudbury Wolves as an assistant on the staff of head coach Cory Stillman. …[read more]
Good for David Matsos
He is known as a good guy in the inner and outer circles of the Ontario Hockey League. And the recent hiring of David Matsos as head coach is seen as a good move by the reigning OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs. …[read more]
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]