Garden River to North Bay


By
September 29, 2021
Landon Jones

Local lad Landon Jones has landed in North Bay and made the lineup of the under 16 Trappers of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League.

Hailing from Garden River First Nation just outside Sault Ste. Marie, Jones, who is a speedy forward with a 2006 birth date, earned a spot on the U16 Trappers that are coached by the legendary Guy Blanchard.

“He is a hard worker who came in and made our team,” Blanchard told Hockey News North with regards to the 5-foot-6, 155 pound Jones. “He has a lot to learn, not having played AAA in the Sault before. But Landon is a coach-able kid who listens and who wants to learn. He definitely has the skill and the determination to play.”

As for the 62-year old Blanchard, he is regarded by many as the best youth development coach in all of northern Ontario. A no nonsense individual and a student of the game who has changed with the times, Blanchard has coached in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sudbury Wolves and the erstwhile North Bay Centennials. He also operated multiple championship teams in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League with the old North Bay Skyhawks.

Now coaching the under 16 Trappers as part of the eight-member Great North, Blanchard and his young charges will compete against the likes of North Bay’s under 18 team as well as the Soo Jr. Greyhounds, Timmins Majors, Kapuskasing Flyers, New Liskeard Cubs and two teams from Sudbury.

See below for the full roster of the under 16 Trappers.


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