Cubs to the Birds nest
Sudbury Cubs have confirmed that they have dealt championship goalie Noah Metivier to his hometown Soo Thunderbirds in a cash exchange.
Interestingly, the 20-year old Metivier has spent the past two seasons with the Cubs after initially beginning his Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey league career with the Thunderbirds. He backstopped the Cubs to the 2024 NOJHL championship after also doing so for the Thunderbirds in 2022.
Metivier had indicated to Sudbury management that he would like to return home to Sault Ste. Marie for his final season of junior hockey and Cubs’ general manager Dave Clancy said the reigning NOJHL champs were more than happy to accommodate the wishes of the veteran goalie.
“Noah served the Sudbury Cubs very well over the past two seasons by providing us with outstanding goaltending and leading us to our organizational goal of winning a league championship,” said Clancy. “Noah also served as an excellent leader for our younger players and always found time to give back to our community as well. When Noah recently informed us that he would love to play in front of his family and friends for his final season of junior hockey, our organization did not hesitate to honour his request.”
Metivier put together an exceptional season for the Cubs over the course of the 2023-2024 NOJHL season. He had a regular season record 24-9-1 with a 2.95 goals against average, .912 save percentage and two shutouts. Metivier followed those numbers up with a playoff record of 11-4 to go with a 1.89 goals against average, .932 save percentage and three shutouts.
To be sure, the Cubs were dealing from strength in shipping Metivier to the Thunderbirds. Sudbury can return 20-year old Noah Beaulne and 18-year old Matthew Vahramian to its net for the 2024-2025 NOJHL season.
Beaulne teamed well with Metivier over the past two seasons with an overall record of 37-6-2.