Leading the way in EL
Elliot Lake Red Wings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have established a leadership group of six players.
Forward Kaden Laverdiere has been named Elliot Lake’s team captain while fellow forwards Alex Antoine, Brodie Kearns and Josh Tomasi, defenseman Ethan Mercer and goalie Cameron Smith will wear alternate captain tags.
Laverdiere, who has a 2003 birth date, began the 2021-2022 season with Blind River and had two assists in 11 games for the Beavers before being traded to Elliot Lake. Laverdiere then lit it up for the Red Wings with 13 goals, seven assists, 20 points in 32 games.
In its debut season as members of the NOJHL in ’21-22, Elliot Lake finished in fifth place in the West Division before losing to Blind River two games to one in the preliminary round of the playoffs.
With 15 returning players from the ’21-22 season, including the aforementioned Laverdiere, Kearns, Antoine, Tomasi, Mercer and Smith, Elliot Lake could conceivably contend for first place in the West Division in 2022-2023 with a team well assembled by general manager Mark Savery.