Great North scouring, scouting

By Randy Russon
November 29, 2016
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As they take a break from Great North Midget Hockey League play until December 16, just two points stand between the Soo Greyhounds and North Bay Trappers atop the standings of the seven-team loop.

And while the Soo leads North Bay by two points, the Trappers have three games in hand on the Greyhounds.

To date, the Greyhounds have 37 points from a record of 17-3-3. The Trappers have a record of 17-2-1, good for 35 points.

A weekend to mark on the “must-see” calendar for followers of the GNMHL is December 16-17-18 when the Greyhounds will play host to the Trappers in three games slated for John Rhodes Community Centre in the Soo.

Statistically, the Greyhounds feature four of the top five scorers in the GNMHL.

Lucas Theriault, a 2016 Ontario Hockey League draft pick of the Niagara Ice Dogs, tops the Great North scoring chart with 19 goals, 32 assists, 51 points.

Three other Soo forwards rank third, fourth and fifth in league scoring — Noah Boman has 21 goals, 19 assists, 40 points followed by Caleb Wood at 21-18-39 and Camaryn Baber at 21-15-36.

In the goaltending department, Drew Joyal of North Bay has the best goals against average with a 1.11 mark.

SCOUTING

OHL and American college scouts — not to mention Jr. A hockey recruiters — might want to check out what should be a hotly-contested, high-stakes, three-game set between the Greyhounds and Trappers in the Soo on December 16-17-18.

In particular, a number of prime 2001 birth-year players dot the lineups of both teams, especially North Bay.

Of note, the aforementioned Baber of the Soo is considered a top prospect for the 2017 OHL draft.

North Bay, meanwhile, has several players who figure to garner attention at the 2017 OHL draft including goalie Joel Rainville, defenseman Payton Vescio and forwards Cole Craft and Ryan Mills.

Both Baber and Vescio have high-performance, OHL bloodlines.

Baber is the son of former Soo Greyhounds, 1993 Memorial Cup champion right winger Brad Baber.

Vescio is the son of Kevin Vescio, who patrolled the blueline for the erstwhile North Bay Centennials from 1982 to 1986 while learning the game from legendary coach Bert Templeton.