Major news from Timmins
Timmins Majors of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League have signed six holdover players from the 2022-2023 season ahead of their August 18-20 main tryout camp.
They are goalie Alex Hall, defensemen Cole Ellis and Zach Secord (pictured above) and forwards Teegan Bertrand, Travis Poan and Colt Lane. Hall, Secord, Bertrand and Poan are all local Timmins products while Ellis and Lane both hail from Chapleau.
Hall had a 3.03 goals against average in 811 minutes of regular season play in ’22-23 and then had a shutout in his only playoff start. He was also selected to play for Team NOHA at the OHL Cup. Plum defender Ellis had six goals, eight assists, 14 points in 28 regular season games and added a goal in three playoff outings. Secord had three goals, nine assists, 12 points in 28 regular season matches from his blue line post. Up front, Poan potted six goals, eight assists, 14 points in 28 regular season outings. Lane clicked for two goals, one assist, three points in 28 regular season contests. And Bertrand managed one goal, two assists, three points in 27 regular season games.
Hall, Ellis and Bertrand all have 2007 birth dates while Secord, Poan and Lane were all born in 2006. Notably, Ellis was taken by the Kingston Frontenacs in the 15th round of the 2023 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.
Meanwhile, Hockey News North has confirmed that 58-year old Steve Polyblank — one of the true good guys in the game — will return for his second season as head coach of the Majors in 2023-2024 after piloting Timmins to a fourth place finish in the eight team Great North in ’22-23 with a record of 12-14-2. Polyblank spent several prior years at the helm of the New Liskeard Cubs and the erstwhile Kirkland Lake Legion 87s of the Great North. Back on the bench as well as an assistant to Polyblank will be 22-year old Austin Holmes, a former Majors forward who went on to play in both the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League and the Central Canada Hockey League. And general manager Ron Holmes is once again on board as the driving force of the Majors program.
Prior to the Majors aforementioned August 18-20 main tryout camp, they will hold a development skate from August 15-17. For registration information, interested players can call Majors general manager Ron Holmes at 705-365-7371.
Of further note, the Majors have put in a bid to play host to the Central Ontario Regional Playoff Tournament, which is slated for the spring of 2024.