Prime prospect Chitaroni
He has moved up from the Soo Jr. Greyhounds of the Great North Under 18 Hockey League to the Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. And he is doing so as a coveted prospect of the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.
To be sure, Hudson Chitaroni, a 5-foot-10, 170 pound forward with a 2007 birth date and a fast motor, has made the adjustment to the NOJHL from the Great North in rapid fashion. Through his first seven NOJHL regular season games in a Cubs uniform, Chitaroni has lit it up to the tune of eight goals, four assists, 12 points.
For starters, Cubs general manager and associate coach Dave Clancy has a rave review on Chitaroni.
“First off, let me say that we are very excited to have Hudson playing with the Cubs this season. Hudson is a player who has a high hockey IQ and he will be an important contributor to our hockey team,” Clancy relayed to Hockey News North.
Despite his young age, Chitaroni has blended well with the older player group on the Cubs, Clancy noted.
“Hudson has fit in well both on and off the ice with the group of older and younger talent that we have on our team and I believe that he has a bright future ahead of him,” noted Clancy, who himself is a former OHL scout of many years. “From our ownership group of Mark Burgess and Blaine Smith right down to our coaching staff we believe in giving players from northern Ontario a good opportunity to succeed and reach their dreams of playing either for a championship or moving on to a higher level. And as a (third round OHL draft pick) Hudson will be a fun player to watch in the NOJHL this season.”
Chitaroni was the first of 11 players from the Great North U18 HL to be picked at the 2023 OHL priority selections draft. He was taken by the Wolves in the third round after leading the Soo Jr. Greyhounds in scoring and finishing second in the Great North points parade in 2022-2023.
Chitaroni has hockey bloodlines of the deep and elite sort.
His father, Terry Chitaroni, played four OHL seasons with the Wolves from 1988 to 1992 as a hard nosed forward who scored 97 goals and racked up 567 minutes in penalties while eventually becoming team captain. The elder Chitaroni was taken by Sudbury in the second round of the 1988 OHL draft from the New Liskeard Cubs of the Great North.
As for the younger Chitaroni, he led the first place Jr. Greyhounds with 48 points, including 22 goals, in 28 league games in ’22-23. The smart, skilled, speedy Chitaroni then further lit it up with six goals, eight assists, 14 points in five playoff games for the Jr. Greyhounds, who lost to the North Bay U18 Trappers in the Great North championship game.
Meanwhile, Rob Papineau, the veteran general manager of the OHL Wolves, spent a good deal of the ’22-23 season watching Chitaroni dominate the Great North as the top skater on the U18 Jr. Greyhounds.
“Hudson was a player that we really focused on last season,” Papineau told Hockey News North. “He has a great hockey IQ and a very high compete level.”
And there is even more to like about Chitaroni, said the Wolves GM.
“Hudson’s ability to both create plays and his ability to score made him a player that we felt would be a great Sudbury Wolf. He has a great work ethic and very high commitment to being a pro,” summed up Papineau.