Beavers stay in the area
June 1 signals the official start to the 2023-2024 season in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. As of today, teams can make trades and sign players as the league opens for business ahead of the ’23-24 campaign. Blind River Beavers are one team that has made commitments to players for the coming season.
And among the new players to Blind River are three area products who the Beavers have committed to for the ’23-24 season. They are forwards Jacob Beemer, Piper Post and Brendan Cooke.
Beemer, who is a local Blind River product, skated for the Great North Under 18 Hockey League champion North Bay Trappers in 2022-2023. Beemer, who has a 2005 birth date, netted eight goals, 13 assists, 21 points in 32 games for North Bay in ’22-23, regular season and playoffs included.
Lesser known is Post, who hails from Bruce Mines. Post, who has a 2006 birth date, played in the unsanctioned Greater Metro Hockey League last season. Before that, he played in the Great North U18 HL for the Soo Jr. Greyhounds.
Then there is Brendan Cooke, a 2007 birth year stalwart who is from Thessalon, which is located between Bruce Mines and Blind River along Highway 17. Regular season and playoffs included for the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North U18 HL in ’22-23, Cooke connected for 28 goals, 24 assists, 52 points in 33 games. He was subsequently picked by the Flint Firebirds in the eighth round of this year’s Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft.