T-Birds looking to ’25-26
They were the only lower seed team to move on from the first round of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoffs. But the no. 6 seed Soo Thunderbirds were no match for the powerhouse Sudbury Cubs in the second round of the NOJHL playoffs.
The Thunderbirds won Games 6 and 7 of the first round of the playoffs over the no. 3 seed Blind River Beavers after being down three games to two and facing elimination. The series comeback for the Thunderbirds culminated with a road win at Blind River in the seventh and deciding game.
As thrilling as it was for the Thunderbirds to edge Blind River in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, the momentum came to a halt in round two against the top seed team from Sudbury.
The Cubs began the best of seven semi final on their home ice in Sudbury with 7-4 and 4-2 wins over the Thunderbirds before heading to Sault Ste. Marie and completing the series sweep with 6-3 and 5-0 verdicts. In all, the Cubs out scored the Thunderbirds by a resounding 22-9 margin as Sudbury extended its record through two rounds of the playoffs to a perfect 8-0, having also swept the Iroquois Falls Storm in four straight in the opening round.
As for the Thunderbirds looking ahead to next season, there are decisions to be made in the front office as to future direction. Cole Jarrett, who is involved in the ownership of the team, stepped down as head coach midway through the ’24-25 season to concentrate on the business side of the operation. Jarrett handed off the head coach duties to general manager Jamie Henderson, who was also the assistant coach before being elevated.
From a pure local and northern Ontario standpoint, the Thunderbirds can return a solid, above average group of players for the ’25-26 season that includes but is not limited to the likes defensemen Gage Evans and Carter Carriere and forwards Callum McAuley, Aiden Atkinson, Jacob Smith, Harley Wardell, Deven Jones-McDonald and James Elliott.
Notably, Elliott, who has a 2008 birth date, has a good shot at making the Soo Greyhounds for next season. The Greyhounds took promising prospect Elliott in the seventh round of the 2024 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft. The hard working lad had 14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points in 47 regular season games before tallying three times and adding four assists for seven points in 10 playoff outings.
All in all, the on ice product for the Thunderbirds over the course of the ’24-25 campaign served the 25 year old franchise seemingly well. The T-Birds posted a regular season record of 26-23-3 before winning four of 11 playoff games, including the 4-3 series victory over Blind River.