They the North of the OHL
These Troops are young and — for example — contain a defenseman and a forward who were teammates with the North Bay Minor Trappers of the Great North Midget Hockey League not that long ago. And for the time being, nine rookies, including a pair of goalies from the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, are part of the 24-player roster of the North Bay Battalion as the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season gets underway.
…[read more]Big Ben on the mend
Prize goalie Ben Gaudreau, who the Sarnia Sting took in the first round of the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft from the North Bay Trappers of the Great North Midget Hockey League, continues to recover from an off-season injury.
…[read more]Hounds: Who will step up?
Soo Greyhounds, after a 2-1 exhibition record, will open the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League regular season on Friday against the Flint Firebirds with a fresh and clean slate. However, there are a few question marks.
…[read more]Storm swaps 40-goal scorer
Overage forward Liam Hawell has been acquired by the Kitchener Rangers from the Guelph Storm in an impact Ontario Hockey League trade.
…[read more]Sarnia Sting and $5 beers
Cheers, we say! Sarnia Sting is offering a big discount on beer prices for 15 of the Ontario Hockey League team’s home games.
…[read more]How we see the OHL West
First pucks will drop to the ice as the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League regular season gets underway in less than a week.
…[read more]Flint adds to net depth
Free-agent goalie Peyton Grainer has committed to the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League. The Metro Detroit product, who has a 2002 birth date, opted to choose a player agreement and education package with the OHL Firebirds over National Collegiate Athletic Association options.
…[read more]Hounds open with Flint, NB
A whopping 58 points separated the lowly Flint Firebirds from the Soo Greyhounds in the final regular season standings from the 2018-2019 Ontario Hockey League campaign.
…[read more]Giroux commits to Flint
Pint-sized pivot Zacharie Giroux has signed with the Flint Firebirds and will split time this season between the Ontario Hockey League team and the Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Blaine Smith joins Rayside
One of the more honest, easy-to-deal-with individuals to ever be a part of the Ontario Hockey League has joined the Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Wandering the OHL West
Team by team, alphabetically, in the five member West Division of the Ontario Hockey League with training camps underway:
…[read more]Net gain for Flint Firebirds
Flint Firebirds have acquired a winning goalie via trade with the reigning Ontario Hockey League champion Guelph Storm.
…[read more]Sarnia Sting fills a Voit
American-born forward Ty Voit has chosen the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League.
…[read more]Hounds ironing out wrinkles
EDITOR’S NOTE — This column marks the debut of Ernest Skinner Jr. as a writer for Hockey News North. Skinner, who previously wrote for Sault Online, will focus on the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League for Hockey News North.
…[read more]Staios sideshow in Hamilton
It is a curious sideshow that pertains to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League and a pair of recent, eye-opening moves made by their president and general manager.
…[read more]Hounds head equipment man
Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League have opted to stay within house in hiring a new head equipment manager.
…[read more]Making a right turn in Flint
Saginaw Spirit and Soo Greyhounds may want to check their rear-view mirrors as the Flint Firebirds approach the fast lane of the West Division ahead of the upcoming Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Flint adds to bench staff
Mark Ridout is making a return to the Ontario Hockey League, this time as an assistant coach with the Flint Firebirds.
…[read more]Sting gets Bitten in trade
Seeking to keep pace in what again looms as an ultra-competitive Western Conference, the Sarnia Sting has added a seasoned center ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League campaign.
…[read more]Optics of the OHL West
There is anticipation ahead of a new season. There is expectation, both realistic and unreasonable. And in what can be a high-anxiety, high-stakes, Ontario Hockey League, there is always optimism to fall back on.
…[read more]Prelude to an OHL season
It is considered to be the top junior hockey league in North America and it never really rests, what with new player signings, development camps, summer trades and coach-management changes.
…[read more]Flint adds fuel to I-75 rivalry
It was a one-sided season series between the Saginaw Spirit and the Flint Firebirds over the course of the 2018-2019 Ontario Hockey League campaign. But the rivalry between the mid Michigan counterparts figures to intensify come the 2019-2020 OHL season.
…[read more]New associate coach in Flint
Ryan Kuwabara is taking his Ontario Hockey League coaching talents from the Saginaw Spirit to the nearby, arch-rival, Flint Firebirds.
…[read more]New NHL role for Hartsburg
Good guy Craig Hartsburg is taking on an expanded, specialized role with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League. The former standout defenseman and successful coach with the Ontario Hockey League Soo Greyhounds will do some amateur scouting for Columbus and assist in the development of top Blue Jacket defense prospects.
…[read more]Spitfires have a new pilot
Franchise icon Billy Bowler is taking over from three-time Memorial Cup champion Warren Rychel as general manager of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]Let’s not forget Zeppa
As the Soo Greyhounds seek to fill the roster spot of 1999 birth-year goalie Matthew Villalta — he is expected to turn pro within the National Hockey League farm system of the Los Angeles Kings — there are a number of newcomers in the mix ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Score one for the Sting
Swedish defenseman Eric Hjorth — a fourth-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2019 National Hockey League draft — has signed with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]Bobby Jones gets NHL job
Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League have rounded out their coaching staff with the hiring of Bobby Jones as an assistant, Hockey News North has learned.
…[read more]Between the pipes
It is the most-scrutinized position in hockey. And if that isn’t enough, the goalie position is the toughest to project as far as overall ability and future development goes.
…[read more]OHL coaches corner
One vacant coaching position in the Ontario Hockey League has been filled and other plum jobs remain open as summer turns to July.
…[read more]A future Star
Joe McDonnell is of the notion that Nick Porco will play for the Dallas Stars at some point in the future. McDonnell, who is the director of amateur scouting for the Stars, zeroed in on Porco to make the Sault Ste. Marie product the only forward that Dallas selected at the recent National Hockey League draft.
…[read more]Rangers net goalie vet
Kitchener Rangers have gone out and acquired a veteran goalie — and National Hockey League draft pick — ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Spirit, Steelheads swap
Frequent trade partners Saginaw Spirit and Mississauga Steelheads have completed another Ontario Hockey League transaction, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Two takeaways from Flint
Among the signs that the Flint Firebirds are an up-and-coming team in the Ontario Hockey League is that two of its players were selected at the recent National Hockey League draft.
…[read more]Stars align for Nick Porco
As the fourth round of Saturday’s National Hockey League draft ended and the fifth round was about to begin, Nick Porco said he started to get restless and pace the floor of his family’s Sault Ste. Marie home.
…[read more]Porco an NHL draft pick
Sault Ste. Marie product Nick Porco has become a National Hockey League draft pick. Porco, who has played the past two seasons with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League, was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round, 142nd overall, of today’s NHL draft.
…[read more]Committed to the Sting
Sarnia Sting now has signed commitments from its top three picks at the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
…[read more]More fuel for the Firebirds
Another day, another commitment. Flint Firebirds have signed another top prospect ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]Top pick signs up in Flint
Brennan Othmann and the Flint Firebirds have made it official. Othmann, a supreme left winger who was the second overall pick at the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft, has signed up to play in Flint.
…[read more]Zeppa signs with Chatham
Local product Noah Zeppa has a Plan B in place if he doesn’t crack the roster of the Soo Greyhounds for the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season. The 2002 birth-year goalie has signed with the Chatham Maroons of the Greater Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.
…[read more]Matier in a good place
To be sure, it would have been nice for the family if the Soo Greyhounds had used the 18th pick of the first round of the 2019 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft to take homegrown defenseman Jack Matier.
…[read more]Flint, Leamington to affiliate
A team that is seen as being on the rise in the Ontario Hockey League has formed an affiliation with a reputable member of the Greater Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
…[read more]Hounds add overage goalie
Looking to replace the graduated Matthew Villalta with a veteran goalie, Soo Greyhounds have obtained overage puck-stopper Christian Propp from the North Bay Battalion.
…[read more]Porco poised to be an NHL pick
He is seen as being somewhat of a wild card ahead of the upcoming National Hockey League draft. Depending on who one talks to, Saginaw Spirit winger Nick Porco could be drafted anywhere between rounds three and five of the June 21-22 NHL process.
…[read more]Old Centennial back in the O
Lee Jinman, who scored 134 points during his rookie season with the erstwhile North Bay Centennials, is back in the Ontario Hockey League.
…[read more]Takeaways from an OHL season
The book has closed on the 2018-2019 Ontario Hockey League season. But ahead of the 2019-2020 campaign, there will be summer stories relative to player signings and trades and activity within the coaching ranks. Before that, however, we glance at six takeaways from the 2018-2019 term.
Read moreCHL’s best rookie is a Wolf
Standout Sudbury Wolves skater Quinton Byfield has followed up on being named Ontario Hockey League rookie of the year by being voted as the best freshman in the entire Canadian Hockey League.
…[read more]Wins but no championships
Somewhere at some point, the Soo Greyhounds must have offended the hockey gods. The Greyhounds have had seven straight winning seasons — averaging 45 victories a year during that span — but do not have a single Ontario Hockey League championship to show for it.
…[read more]New coaches in like Flint?
Flint Firebirds could be closing in on the hiring of their new associate coach and assistant coach ahead of the 2019-2020 Ontario Hockey League season.
…[read more]