World class Rock star
Star forward Brant Romaniuk of the Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League says the relationship that he has with his head coach Brandon Perry is “truly special.” The homegrown, 2007 birth year forward relayed that message to Hockey News North after being picked to the Canada East squad that will compete at next month’s World Junior A Challenge.
…[read more]The 500 club of Espanola
It is the epitome of dedication, commitment and hometown loyalty. In quiet and unassuming fashion, young Austin LeClair has hit the 500 game mark as the long time equipment manager for the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Fab five of the NOJHL
It doesn’t get much closer than this. A mere four points are all that separate the top five teams within the well balanced Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Beavers deal for two skaters
Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have added a defenseman and a forward via the cash transaction route, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Frantic race for first place
How tight are the standings in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League? Well, the fifth place Timmins Rock actually has the second best winning percentage among the 11 teams of the NOJHL. Huh?
…[read more]Soo Eagles seeing the way
They started the season winless in their first nine games and in last place among the 11 teams of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League with a record of 0-8-1. Slowly but surely however the Soo Eagles have taken flight and now have a record of 8-13-1 — and are in possession of one of the eight playoff positions heading into a pair of road games this weekend.
…[read more]Rapcewicz rolls in Espanola
It could be argued, with considerable conviction, that there might not be junior hockey in the small town of Espanola these days without the presence and persistence of long-time resident Jason Rapcewicz.
…[read more]Six teams over .500 mark
There is relative balance within the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League as six of the 11 teams are above the .500 level with the ’25-26 regular season schedule nudging towards November.
…[read more]Pair of Paper King transactions
As homegrown forward Lucas Dubois will look for a reset in the Provincial Jr. C Hockey League the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have added forward Luc Warner from the Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Paper Kings between the pipes
Long-time Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League goalie coach Bill Vanderleest is quite taken by the current net duo of the Espanola Paper Kings. A Sault Ste. Marie resident who commutes to and from Espanola to work with the Paper Kings goalie tandem of Logan Vale and Jack Helkie, Vanderleest is of the notion that he has two of the best in the NOJHL in Vale and Helkie.
…[read more]NOJHL lads from up north
Teams from the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are free to recruit players from across Canada and into the United States. Still, more than 70 players from the northeastern region of Ontario are on current rosters of teams in the NOJHL.
…[read more]Mid October in the NOJHL
Let us go here and there and just about everywhere a month into the ’25-26 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season.
…[read more]NOJHL Showcase Roundup
Two days of the annual Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League showcase event featured all 11 NOJHL teams plus St. Andrew’s College of Aurora as a guest entry. All teams played two games in Sudbury in front of not only fans and supporters but a host of scouts and recruiters from various levels of the game, including the National Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League, not to mention Canadian and American schools.
…[read more]Thunderbirds and Beavers
It is a classic Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League rivalry that dates back to the year 2000. And there never seems to be any lack of a story line when it comes to the big market Soo Thunderbirds and their much smaller market rival Blind River Beavers.
…[read more]Eagles … Rapids … Losier
Upcoming in the days ahead is the annual Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League showcase event in Sudbury. All 11 NOJHL teams will play two games apiece and be joined by St. Andrew’s College of Aurora as a guest entry. Meanwhile, the NOJHL is more than three weeks into the ’25-26 regular season.
…[read more]Early season story lines
We are about a month or so into the ’25-26 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season. Championships are not won during the fall months but stakes can be put in position and the anxiety button to qualify for one of the eight playoff spots in the 11 member NOJHL can begin to pulsate, if only slightly.
…[read more]Good coaches of the NOJHL
What defines a good junior hockey coach? There are numerous factors, such as time tested experience, success, development of players, and integrity. To be sure, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has its share of head coaches who click off all of the above attributes.
…[read more]Opening acts in the NOJHL
Espanola Paper Kings — with a pair of improbable blowout victories — are among the early season story lines in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]NOJHL champs begin with win
Sudbury Cubs started their Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League title defense with a firm 4-0 white wash of the Timmins Rock in the ’25-26 regular season opener.
…[read more]Ready, set, go in the N.O.
Several story lines to retain for reference as the ’25-26 regular season in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League moves forward:
…[read more]Solid as a Rock in Timmins
Timmins Rock is an annual contender for championship status in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. The NOJHL attendance leaders on a yearly basis, head coach Brandon Perry and the Rock are coming off a fourth-place finish in ’24-25 with 69 points from a record 33-16-3.
…[read more]Paper Kings eyeing playoffs
After narrowly missing the playoffs by a mere two points in ’24-25, the Espanola Paper Kings will be out to make a return to the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League post season in ’25-26.
…[read more]Brick on the Beaver pond
Since taking over as the head coach in Blind River back in 2016, Kyle Brick has built the Beavers into a first rate outfit that is a perennial contender in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]French River looking to rise
French River Rapids will be aiming to move up in the standings among the 11 teams of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in ’25-26 following a 10th place finish in ’24-25. The youthful Rapids posted a record of 16-33-3 in ’24-25 and lost their final 10 games of the season to miss out on the eighth and final playoff spot.
…[read more]NOJHL showcase schedule
The Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has confirmed the dates and times for its annual Showcase event, which this year is slated for October 7-8 at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury.
…[read more]Soo boys land in Blind River
It will be quite the Sault Ste. Marie presence in Blind River when first pucks drop on the ’25-26 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season next week.
…[read more]On to a few good rivalries
The restless hands of time are ticking towards the start of the ’25-26 hockey season. And while little can be done about certain self absorbed, self serving minor hockey coaches and managers who treat the game as though it is a special sanctuary for them, their kids, their friends and their kids — at the expense of others — here’s to a good season ahead for all of the good folks of the game.
…[read more]Huckson heading to Flint
Free agent defenseman Colton Huckson — who has a late December, 2008 birth date — is slated to attend the upcoming Ontario Hockey League training camp of the Flint Firebirds. Mike Oliverio, who is the head scout for the OHL Firebirds, confirmed to Hockey News North that Huckson, who is a Sault Ste. Marie product, has been invited to Flint for next week’s camp.
…[read more]Soo Eagles sign Soo boys
A foursome of skaters from the Ontario side of the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie have signed with the Michigan Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]High regard for the NOJHL
One of my most liked amateur hockey leagues begins a fresh season of play in a month. With 11 teams — the Elliot Lake Vikings remain on leave of absence due to the continued closure of its city owned home arena — the sometimes hidden gem that is the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League features strong leadership and mostly good ownership.
…[read more]NOJHL Cubs sign OHL pick
He is smart and skilled with blazing speed and plum potential. And Ty Dubreuil will be one of the youngest players in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League come the looming ’25-26 season. Dubreuil, who was a 14th round pick by the Windsor Spitfires at the 2025 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, has signed with the reigning NOJHL champion Sudbury Cubs, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Ready to roll in Espanola
The Paper Kings are primed to play. A full selection of returning players and incoming new recruits are part of the roster formation for Espanola with the ’25-26 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season slated to start on September 11.
…[read more]Leaving Soo for Blind River
Camden Cowan has become the latest high end hockey player from Sault Ste. Marie to pack his equipment and head 90 miles east along Highway 17 to Blind River ahead of the ’25-26 season.
…[read more]Top scorer back in Espanola
Productive forward Cameron Menard is returning to the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League via the Niagara Falls Canucks of the Greater Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Paper Kings ink OHL pick
Owen Smith will continue his hockey development by staying up north. A 2009 birth year forward who was taken in the 11th round of the 2025 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft by the North Bay Battalion, Smith has signed with the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League ahead of the ’25-26 season.
…[read more]Playing for the Paper Kings
A good selection of returning players and incoming new recruits are part of the roster formation for the Espanola Paper Kings with the ’25-26 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season slated to start on September 11.
…[read more]Blind River signs Soo crew
A trio of graduates from the AAA Soo Jr. Greyhounds program have signed with the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League ahead of the ’25-26 season, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Clean sweep for Soo Eagles
All six graduated 2004 birth year players from the Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League now have college commitments to schools in either of the American Collegiate Hockey Association or National Collegiate Athletic Association effective the ’25-26 season.
…[read more]U of Guelph via NOJHL Cubs
From junior hockey to the Canadian university ranks. Reigning, two time Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League champion Sudbury Cubs have confirmed that graduated defenceman Michael MacLean has committed to attend the University of Guelph — and play for the Gryphons — effective the upcoming ’25-26 term.
…[read more]Soo Eagles main tryout camp
Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are holding an early August main camp. The Eagles will pick their team for the ’25-26 season from the camp. See below for details.
…[read more]’25-26 NOJHL season looms
First puck will drop in about two months. The Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has officially confirmed its format ahead of the looming ’25-26 season.
…[read more]Jordan Smith is a winner
Just win, baby. A proven victor as a head coach in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Jordan Smith is continuing his winning ways behind the bench with his latest triumph coming as an assistant coach with the Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.
…[read more]Guthrie back in Espanola
Bracebridge product Graydon Guthrie has opted to finish his junior hockey career with the Espanola Paper Kings, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]T-Birds sign local goalie
Cam Boville is poised to spend the ’25-26 hockey season at home in Sault Ste. Marie. The journeyman goalie has signed with the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Old and new in Espanola
A foursome of northern lads are among the five holdovers who have thus far signed up to play for the small market Espanola Paper Kings ahead of the ’25-26 season. And there are also newcomers who have committed to the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League program in Espanola.
…[read more]New to Powassan Voodoos
Here’s to the north. Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have stayed close to home in adding a pair of forwards while also making a trek down Highway 17 to Sault Ste. Marie via Blind River to sign a skilled offensive defender.
…[read more]EPK retains depth forward
Forward Cain Savage is slated to return to the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League come the ’25-26 season.
…[read more]Paper Kings get new d-man
He is well traveled but still young with a 2007 birth date. Defenseman Nolan Garrard has signed with the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Temple has a hockey Pool
Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has confirmed that graduated defenceman Elijah Pool has committed to Pennsylvania-based Temple University of the Division 1, American Collegiate Hockey Association ahead of the ’25-26 season.
…[read more]