NOJHL to NCAA path
Three more players from teams in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have commitments to play at the Division 3, National Collegiate Athletic Association level effective the ’25-26 season.
From the Blind River Beavers, team captain Wyatt Gibson is off to New England College while Clark Furman, an assistant captain on the squad, will be heading to SUNYAC Morrisville.
Gibson, who has a 2004 birth date, finished second in scoring for Blind River in ’24-25 with 37 points in 49 contests, including a career high 17 goals.
Over two full seasons with the Beavers, Gibson skated in 104 games and tallied 24 goals while assisting 43 others for 67 points.
“Over his time here Wyatt worked hard to become a 200 foot player and was a great captain for us,” relayed Blind River head coach and general manager Kyle Brick in reference to Gibson. “His commitment, both on ice and off, makes him a very valuable piece to any puzzle. His contributions to our program have proven invaluable.”
Gibson is looking forward to furthering his education and playing collegiate hockey.
“New England College is an excellent school with a great history and it is the perfect fit for me,” said Gibson.
Furman, meanwhile, proved to be a solid two way contributor to the Blind River program.
The 2005 birth year performer saw action in 76 NOJHL games in his two years with the Beavers.
During that time he scored 21 times and assisted on 17 others for 38 career points.
On Furman, Brick stated: “We hate to lose Clark, as he has one more year of junior hockey eligibility, but to his credit, he has worked extremely hard for this opportunity. Clark’s game improved every day after stepping foot in Blind River and he is ready to compete at the next level.”
Discussing his commitment, Furman offered: “The SUNYAC is one of the best conferences in NCAA Division III hockey and I can’t wait to get started.”
Meanwhile, the Espanola Paper Kings have confirmed that defenceman Aidan Rufa has committed to attend the University of Southern Hampshire where he will attend school in the fall and play for the school’s NCAA Division 3 program.
Hailing from Massena, N.Y., the 2004 birth year defender appeared in 67 career NOJHL contests with the Paper Kings.
Rufa bettered his goal and point totals in each of his two seasons in the league while notching a total of nine goals, 29 assists, and 38 points overall.
Rufa’s tallies in the ’24-25 campaign led all Espanola blue liners as did his six markers on the power play, along with his two game winning goals.
“Aidan has worked very hard during his time in Espanola,” stated Paper Kings general manager Marc Gagnon. “He’s earned this opportunity to further his education and play NCAA D3 hockey.”
For his part, Rufa added: “I am thankful for my time in the NOJHL and very excited for this next chapter in attending the University of Southern New Hampshire.”
Rufa becomes the second NOJHL defenceman to commit to USNH in recent days, joining Soo Eagles defenseman Gabriel Fisher, who will also head to the Manchester, N.H.-based school.