Hopefulness for U18 Hounds
Anticipation. Aspiration. Belief. Desire. Faith. Optimism. Promise. They are but a smattering of synonyms that somewhat define and depict the transition of the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League from one regime to another.
The past is in the past. The present is here. The future will be played out. And we can always hope that the fresh, clean start of the present will carry on into the future.
It would be unwise to suggest that the 2023-2024 edition of the Jr. Greyhounds will match the performance of the 2022-2023 team that hummed through the Great North U18HL regular season with a record of 26-2-0 and then won the first four games of the playoff tournament with ease only to lose in stunning fashion to the North Bay U18 Trappers in the championship game.
No less than 10 players from the ’22-23 Jr. Greyhounds are Ontario Hockey League draft picks and as of this writing, nine of them have signed to play elsewhere in ’23-24. A few others from the ’22-23 team who could have played for the ’23-24 team have chosen not to. And of the 2008 birth year players who were eligible to move up and play for the U18 Hounds in ’23-24, three of the better ones have opted to leave Sault Ste. Marie to continue their development.
Thus, with that mass exodus of eligible returnees and incoming skill players committing to play for other teams and programs in ’23-24, the task ahead facing new head coach Sean Gagnon and his U18 Jr. Hounds team is a rather daunting one.
Still, there is a clear sense of sparkle, shine and determination relative to the ’23-24 edition of the Jr. Hounds and what is expected to be a much more balanced and competitive Great North U18HL in the season ahead.
Gagnon, as the head coach with a player background that includes being on a Memorial Cup champion and eventually playing in the National Hockey League, has knowledge and enthusiasm on his side. And his staff that includes fellow former OHL and NHL player Ken Belanger and accomplished, long-time AAA level and junior hockey bench boss Pat Carricato represents a respected threesome that knows the game inside out.
Then there is Gagnon’s decision to think outside the box and add a female coach to the staff in the person of Morgan Tersigni, who is a certified personal trainer and sports nutritionist whose speciality is sports-specific mobility, recovery and strength training.
As for the players who will make up the lines and the pairings and the net minding in ’23-24, they all have a lot to prove in one way, shape or form. A couple are back from the ’22-23 Jr. Greyhounds, three more have returned home after playing in the Great North U18HL for the Sudbury Nickel Capitals last season, a few more are high end 15-year olds and others still are making the jump to the AAA level from the AA ranks as kids who have previously been told that they weren’t good enough to play.
This truly is about a new beginning for Sault Ste. Marie’s entry in the Great North U18HL. This is about choice and opportunity and who knows, perhaps some unexpected success. This is about a break from the most, in more ways than one.
Meantime, following is a current list of players who have commitments to play in the Great North for the U18 Jr. Greyhounds for the ’23-24 season.
GOALIES: A.J. Borrelli and Nick Marson.
SKATERS: Griffen Albert, Coulson Bell, Jacob Briffett, Sammy Caruso, Lucas DiBerardino, Sebastian dos Reis, Nathan Dupuis, Espen Escasa, Kadin Johnston, Cameron Kontulainen, Wyatt Leblanc, Danny Macdonald, Brady Real, Liam Watson and Cole Wreggitt.