OHL follower since 1972
I was still in school when the Soo Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves departed the Northern Ontario Hockey Association to join the Ontario Hockey Association — now known as the Ontario Hockey League — back in 1972.
…[read more]North country Knights
Soo Greyhounds, Sudbury Wolves and North Bay Battalion are the northern teams of the Ontario Hockey League. But not to be outdone by geography, the powerhouse London Knights of southwestern Ontario have four skaters from northeastern Ontario in their system.
…[read more]Knights of the north
Ontario Hockey League powerhouse London Knights have gone to the often-overlooked Great North Midget Hockey League two years in a row now to take a player within the first five rounds of the annual priority selections draft.
…[read more]Steal of the Knights
Some projected him as a late third round pick. Others had him rated as an early fourth round selection who would not be available come the fifth round.
…[read more]OHL American draft?
Given the fact that 74 Americans were among the 300 players who were taken at the 2020 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, an altering of the process might be something to consider.
…[read more]OHL draft rehash
D-day is done for another year. With the 2020 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft in the books, Hockey News North rehashes six picks who we deem notable.
…[read more]Jake Kovacs drafted
Bypassed at the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, the second time up proved to be a bonus for 2003 birth year forward Jake Kovacs.
…[read more]Devin Mauro drafted
Center Devin Mauro of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Midget Hockey League has become an Ontario Hockey League draft pick.
…[read more]What a Knight for Chitaroni
Mason Chitaroni said he was hoping the London Knights would draft him. And the Soo Jr. Greyhounds defenseman got his wish at today’s Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
…[read more]Mason Chitaroni drafted
A good day has turned into a good Knight. Slick defenseman Mason Chitaroni of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Midget Hockey League has become an Ontario Hockey League draft pick.
…[read more]Connor Toms drafted
Standout defenseman Connor Toms of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Midget Hockey League has become an Ontario Hockey League draft pick.
…[read more]Hounds pick slick pivot
Holding the fourth overall pick at today’s Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, the Soo Greyhounds made centre Bryce McConnell-Barker their first-round choice.
…[read more]Brkin workin’ for pro career
Simply put, Bailey Brkin has more than proven himself as a major junior goalie with winning numbers over two full seasons. In fact, he has done so in both the Western Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]OHL draft and Jr. Hounds
Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Midget Hockey League have no less than eight players with 2004 birth dates who are eligible for the upcoming 2020 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
…[read more]Oulahen to lead the Troops
North Bay Battalion has taken the interim tag off of Ryan Oulahen and given him a three-year contract to be the official head coach of the Ontario Hockey League team.
…[read more]OHL playoffs still possible
To the surprise of virtually no one, Ontario Hockey League commissioner David Branch has announced the conclusion of the 2019-2020 regular season — though leaving the door open for the possibility of the playoffs.
…[read more]OHL season “on pause”
Hockey News North has received the following media release from the Canadian Hockey League relative to the Coronavirus.
…[read more]T.J. Aceti goalie award
Six years after his sudden passing at age 31, Sault Ste. Marie native T.J. Aceti is being honoured and recognized by the Sault Major Hockey Association with an award that will bear his name.
…[read more]Flint extends GM, coach
The dandy duo of general manager Barclay Branch and head coach Eric Wellwood has received contract extensions from the Flint Firebirds through the 2021-2022 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]A ‘what if’ season for Hounds
What if the Soo Greyhounds were in the Eastern Conference instead of the Western Conference? What if Greyhounds coach John Dean hadn’t messed with goal-tending that was already in good hands?
…[read more]Baber has steadfast Spirit
He is a valuable depth player, a third or fourth center on a high-octane Saginaw Spirit squad that is in a furious chase for first place in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]What is with John Dean?
Soo Greyhounds could quite possibly miss the Ontario Hockey League playoffs this season for the first time since the 2011-2012 campaign. And if that happens, a good chunk of the blame should fall on second-year head coach John Dean.
…[read more]Kevin Hodson reflects
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League have applied to play host to the 2021 Memorial Cup tournament. With that in mind, Hockey News North contributor Ernest Skinner Jr. talked to Kevin Hodson, who as an overage goalie, backstopped the Greyhounds to the 1993 Memorial Cup championship.
…[read more]Flint Firebirds are on fire
Winners of a franchise-record 13 straight games, the Flint Firebirds have caught up to arch-rival Saginaw Spirit in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]Star goalie in the making
The best young goalie in the Ontario Hockey League was born in 2003 and is a product of the Great North Midget Hockey League and the Northern Ontario Hockey Association.
…[read more]Hounds, Malik lose again
Soo Greyhounds remained outside the Ontario Hockey League playoff picture tonight with a 5-1 loss to the visiting Guelph Storm. The defeat was the third straight for the Greyhounds, all with rookie goalie Nick Malik in the net.
…[read more]Hounds goalie controversy
Soo Greyhounds are now on the outside looking in at a playoff spot in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. Instead of leaving well enough alone, the Greyhounds have started rookie goalie Nick Malik ahead of proven overage Bailey Brkin in seven of nine games since the Czech Republic import landed in Sault Ste. Marie during the second week of January.
…[read more]A hint of Flint in torrid race
There is no clear-cut jewel among the multiple contenders in the wild Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. Cases can be made in favour of the Kitchener Rangers, London Knights, Saginaw Spirit and Windsor Spitfires. And in the middle of the pack are the Flint Firebirds.
…[read more]Locken did the blockin’
A recent excursion to London allowed me the opportunity to meet up with my old friend Mark Locken, who was a standout Ontario Hockey League goalie from 1975 to 1978. Locken won a Memorial Cup as a rookie with the Hamilton Fincups before playing for the Soo Greyhounds and the Niagara Falls Flyers in the OHL.
…[read more]Greyhound goalie numbers
Since arriving in town about a week ago, import goalie Nick Malik has a received a virtual hero’s welcome from a faction of the local media. And that’s okay. But the numbers show that, over the course of this season, Soo Greyhounds have a much better winning percentage when overager Bailey Brkin is the goalie of record.
…[read more]OHL trade recap
More than a dozen deals — several of an impact nature — were made over a frantic span of a few recent days as the annual Ontario Hockey League trade deadline came and went.
…[read more]Hounds add, subtract
Here they go. Soo Greyhounds have set their roster for the stretch section of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Spirit rising to the top?
Of the many contending teams in the Ontario Hockey League’s powerful Western Conference, the Saginaw Spirit just may have become the favourite.
…[read more]Daylon Groulx to Ottawa
The first-place team in the Ontario Hockey League has added to its skill, spunk and seasoning. In what sets up as a shrewd, calculated move, the Ottawa 67’s have obtained 2000 birth-year forward Daylon Groulx from the Owen Sound Attack.
…[read more]Akil Thomas traded
The trade winds continue to blow through the Ontario Hockey League ahead of the fast-approaching deadline. In one of several moves made today, the Niagara IceDogs dealt Team Canada forward Akil Thomas to the Peterborough Petes.
…[read more]Here come the OHL trades
As the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline approaches — Thursday for overage (1999 birth year) players and Friday for all others — the deals are happening in a fast and furious manner.
…[read more]Western Conference dog fight
In what is an embarrassingly unbalanced Ontario Hockey League — the Western Conference is supremely superior to the Eastern Conference — Soo Greyhounds are above the .500 level.
…[read more]Home for the Hounds
Soo Greyhounds will ring in the New Year with five straight games on home ice. The Greyhounds, who are 8-2-0 in their last 10 outings, ended the 2019 portion of the Ontario Hockey League schedule with a road setback in Saginaw.
…[read more]Taylor saves the Hounds
It was an improbable win for the Soo Greyhounds. Down 3-0 to the visiting Sudbury Wolves in the first period of Saturday’s Ontario Hockey League match, the Greyhounds rode the relief goal-tending of forgotten backup Ethan Taylor to a 4-3 triumph.
…[read more]Hounds, Wolves do battle
Soo Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves will both be looking to show their teeth when Ontario Hockey League play resumes tonight following the Christmas holiday hiatus.
…[read more]Giroux and Giroux
They were both taken in the third round of the Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft from the Sudbury Minor Wolves of the Great North Midget Hockey League, one in 2016, the other in 2019. They are brothers — 19-year old Damien Giroux of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit and 16-year old Zacharie Giroux of the Flint Firebirds of the OHL and the Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]The Brkin Wall
He has been piling up the wins and accumulating nicknames since joining the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League via Western Hockey League waivers.
…[read more]Back from the abyss
Yes, the Soo Greyhounds have managed to claw their way back into an Ontario Hockey League, Western Conference playoff spot with a dramatic, and almost miraculous come-from-behind victory on Friday over the Kitchener Rangers.
…[read more]Puck stopper to pharmacist
I have been asked many times to write some articles on former Soo Greyhounds who have entertained the local Ontario Hockey League fan base over the years.
…[read more]New goalie in North Bay
Cameron Lamour is getting another shot at playing in the Ontario Hockey League. The 19-year old goalie, who had been tending twine in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League for the Rayside Balfour Canadians, has had his OHL rights transferred to the North Bay Battalion from the Sarnia Sting.
…[read more]Croatian sensation
The puck continues to stop with Bailey Brkin. Making his 13th straight start tonight, the overage goalie made 35 saves as the Soo Greyhounds won their fifth game in a row.
…[read more]Big changes for Battalion
The last place team in the Ontario Hockey League is undergoing change as veteran coach-general manager Stan Butler has been reassigned by the North Bay Battalion.
…[read more]Hounds plow the road
The hungry Hounds are sniffing the .500 mark. Soo Greyhounds finished a three-game Ontario Hockey League road run today with a 6-3 romp over the Mississauga Steelheads.
…[read more]Of Burnett, Hunter & Nolan
Hockey certainly has undergone considerable change over the years, particularly in recent times. And that especially applies to coaches.
…[read more]