Hill of a player in Blind River
He is in his third full season in Blind River. He recently appeared in his 100th regular season game with the Beavers en route to becoming an impact player in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. Hailing from Appleton, Wisconsin, he is 2006 birth year forward Ryder Hill.
…[read more]Here ‘n there in the NOJHL
Five of the 11 teams in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are in clear-cut contention for top spot a month into the ’26-27 regular season. As for the rest of the pack, there is somewhat of a log jam.
…[read more]Sapay soars as NOJHL rookie
With a 2010 birth date, Felix Sapay is one of the youngest players in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. A 12th round pick by the Niagara IceDogs from the Under 16 AAA Sudbury Jr. Wolves of the Great North Hockey League at the 2026 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, Sapay is averaging just over a point per game as an NOJHL rookie forward with the Soo Thunderbirds.
…[read more]Some early NOJHL story lines
Seven of the 11 teams in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are at or above the .500 mark through the opening few weeks of the ’26-27 regular season. Meanwhile, for the first time since September of 2023, the Elliot Lake Vikings played a game at their newly repaired and refurbished home arena.
…[read more]Evan Katic is a pure Rock star
He has grown four inches in the span of a couple of years. And as homegrown product Evan Katic of the Timmins Rock now stands tall at 6 feet, two inches, his game has also grown.
…[read more]Voodoos add to the front office
Marc Gagnon, who has spent the past several seasons as general manager of the Espanola Paper Kings, is staying in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in a newly created role with the Powassan Voodoos.
…[read more]Beavers and T-Birds both 2-0
Blind River Beavers and Soo Thunderbirds took different paths to winning both of their games on opening weekend of the ’26-27 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season.
…[read more]New NOJHL season underway
A pair of Friday night games were on the slate as first pucks fell on the ’26-27 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League regular season.
…[read more]Sault goalie to French River
Gavin Zuccato has signed with the French River Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League ahead of the looming ’26-27 regular season. The 2009 birth year goalie hails from Sault Ste. Marie.
…[read more]OHL draft picks in Espanola
North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League is again counting on the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to develop young prospects. Two of North Bay’s 2010 birth year picks from the 2026 OHL priority selections draft — defensemen Tayden Smith and forward Carter Trudell — have signed with Espanola for the ’26-27 NOJHL season.
…[read more]Twin Soo link to Soo Eagles
Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have two players from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and two more from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario signed for the ’26-27 season.
…[read more]Beavers from the area ponds
Battle-tested head coach and general manager Kyle Brick is bent on four returning forwards from the Sault Ste. Marie area to have a big impact on his small market Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League come the ’26-27 season.
…[read more]Paper Kings from the region
Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have a repute for staying true to players from the northeast region of the province. And signed by the Paper Kings ahead of the looming ’26-27 regular season are eight skaters from northeastern Ontario.
…[read more]Paper Kings off to OHL camps
Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will be well represented at several upcoming Ontario Hockey League training camps.
…[read more]Paper Kings via Jr. Spitfires
Ontario Hockey League draft pick Carter Trudell is moving up from the Windsor Jr. Spitfires of the Under 16 level Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario to the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League for the ’26-27 season.
…[read more]Alek Duguay to EL Vikings
He is a journeyman forward who is poised to suit up for his fourth team in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League come the looming ’26-27 regular season.
…[read more]Local lads in Soo Eagles net
Soo Eagles are staying in their own neck of the woods when it comes to two of the three goalies who will tend twine for the Michigan-based Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League team come the looming ’26-27 season.
…[read more]NOJHL can celebrate its own
It has been an off season like no other for the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League relative to alumni being hired to coach in the National Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Ontario University Athletics.
…[read more]Niagara University via Powassan
Graduated goalie Derrick Champagne is moving on from the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Jr.Hockey League to the Niagara University Purple Eagles of American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1 ranks.
…[read more]EL Vikings ink Sudbury lad
Elliot Lake Vikings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have confirmed the signing of Sudbury product Landen Lake-Rego ahead of the looming ’26-27 season.
…[read more]OHL team hires ex NOJHL goalie
Jake Paterson, who backstopped the Soo Eagles to the 2011 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League championship as a 16-year old rookie goalie, has turned to coaching.
…[read more]Up North comes up first
The second week of September is on the slate for the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to set the stage for the ’26-27 regular season schedule. The NOJHL is again poised to function as an 11-team league with the return of the Elliot Lake Lake Vikings and the surprise exit of the three-time reigning champion Sudbury Cubs.
…[read more]Three goalies in Eagles net
Soo Eagles are set in net ahead of the looming ’26-27 Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season. President and general manager Bruno Bragagnolo has confirmed to Hockey News North that the Eagles have three goalies signed, including a pair of local area lads.
…[read more]Soo Eagles sign local goalie
Goalie Daryn Szabo is staying home in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to play junior hockey. A 5 foot 10, 170 pound puck stopper with a 2009 birth date, Szabo has signed with the Michigan-based Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League ahead of the ’26-27 season.
…[read more]NOJHL also advances coaches
It has a sustained track record of developing draft picks for the Ontario Hockey League as well as moving players to college and university programs throughout Canada and into the United States. And in the span of mere weeks during this off season, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has seen three members of its head coach fraternity move up to higher levels of the game.
…[read more]Brandon Perry to Queen’s U
Homegrown head coach Brandon Perry is leaving the Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League to coach in his adopted home town of Kingston. The 37 year old Perry has been named as the new bench boss of the Queen University Golden Gaels.
…[read more]Paper Kings net a goalie
Espanola Paper Kings have completed a trade with their nearby rival Blind River Beavers for an established Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League goalie.
…[read more]French River signs young star
Given his hockey resume, Dacey Dupuis had no shortage of suitors looking to sign him ahead of the looming ’26-27 season. And it is the French River Rapids of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League who the electrifying 2010 birth year forward chose to sign with.
…[read more]NOJHL “will move forward”
It is now a certainty that big market Sudbury will not have a presence in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League for the ’26-27 season. The recent announcement by owners Mark Burgess and son Connor Burgess that the three time reigning champion Cubs have voluntarily turned their franchise over to the NOJHL sent shockwaves throughout the junior hockey world. Having said that, the departure of Sudbury still leaves the NOJHL with 11 teams and as commissioner Rob Mazzuca relayed to Hockey News North, “we will move forward.”
…[read more]NOJHL re: Sudbury Cubs
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League has released the following statement relative to the recent decision by the Sudbury Cubs to depart the NOJHL as per their own media release.
…[read more]Sudbury Cubs leaving NOJHL
EDITOR’S NOTE: The owners of the reigning Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League champion Sudbury Cubs have sent out the following press release to media outlets, including Hockey News North.
…[read more]New coach in Powassan
Tyler Pracek is off to his third head coach gig in as many seasons in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. The 33 year old Pracek has been hired as the new bench boss of the Powassan Voodoos after previous stints with both the Iroquois Falls Storm and Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.
…[read more]Jordan Smith to the NHL
Sault Ste. Marie native Jordan Smith is headed to the Show. The 40 year old Smith has been hired as an assistant coach by the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League.
…[read more]Peter Goulet to the OHL
A lengthy apprenticeship spanning a few decades has finally resulted in an Ontario Hockey League assistant coach position for the highly regarded Peter Goulet. Most recently with the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League as a two time coach of the year, the 56-year old Goulet will join the OHL staff of new Brantford Bulldogs head coach Michael Babcock.
…[read more]The rise of Kenny Belanger
He has gone from a player who as a youngster was unceremoniously cut from a AAA program in his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. to become a productive performer at the junior A and Ontario university levels.
…[read more]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.
…[read more]Upstate NY via Espanola
Graduated Espanola Paper Kings forward Jason Galante has committed to attend Morrisville State University ahead of the ’26-27 season. Located in upstate New York, Morrisville is a Division 3 National Collegiate Athletic Association school.
…[read more]NOJHL grads off to school
Teams in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have long been suppliers of players to the Division 3 level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. And some of the more recent NCAA commitments ahead of the ’26-27 season are as follows.
…[read more]NB goalie to Powassan
Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have stayed in their own back yard to sign 2008 birth year goalie Carson Ruddy from the reigning Great North Under 18 Hockey League champion North Bay Trappers.
…[read more]Bertrand is back up North
Greater Sudbury product Anthony Bertrand is returning to the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League from the Central Canada Hockey League.
…[read more]Southwind in Elliot Lake
Elliot Lake Vikings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have signed local product Gerald Southwind ahead of the ’26-27 season.
…[read more]Espanola to Cleveland, Ohio
Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have confirmed the commitment of forward Callum Millar to Hiram College of Cleveland effective the ’26-27 season. Hiram is a Division 3, National Collegiate Athletic Association school.
…[read more]BR goalie off to D3 school
Graduated Blind River Beavers goalie Justin Sullivan has committed to Southern New Hampshire University for the ’26-27 season. SNHU is a Division 3, National Collegiate Athletic Association school.
…[read more]School is in for Soo Eagles
Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are without peer when it comes to advancing players to the American college ranks. Indeed, in the 16 years that the venerable Bruno Bragagnolo has led the program as president, general manager and in various coaching roles, the Eagles have sent in the neighbourhood of 150 players to college hockey programs.
…[read more]Mazzuca in positions of power
The boss is still the boss. Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League commissioner Rob Mazzuca will continue to have considerable say and authority as the chair of the board for the Canadian Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Thrills of an NOJHL season
Sudbury Cubs are the champions of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League for the third successive season by virtue of an unbeaten playoff run that produced a perfect 12-0 record. And it isn’t just Sudbury that accounted for some splendid story lines from the ’25-26 NOJHL season.
…[read more]Sudbury up 3-0 on Timmins
A shorthanded goal by Kaedyn Long and the shutout net minding of Iain Wintle helped to spark the visiting Sudbury Cubs to a 3-0 win over the Timmins Rock in Game 3 of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League championship series before more than 1,200 fans at venerable McIntyre Arena.
…[read more]Cubs up two on the Rock
It was yet another big crowd in the range of 1,000 fans at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex on Friday night. And the Sudbury Cubs skated to a second straight win over the visiting Timmins Rock to take a 2-0 lead in the best of seven Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League championship series.
…[read more]Sudbury rattles the Rock
Close to 1,000 fans were on hand at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex on Thursday to watch Sudbury’s best junior hockey team continue what has been a perfect playoff run to date.
…[read more]