EAST DIVISION
1. ABITIBI ESKIMOS. With 15 returnees, the well-coached, veteran-laden Eskimos are our pre-season choice as the no. 1 team in the entire NOJHL. Simply put, Paul Gagne is without peer as a coach and he has a lot to work with this season. Ryan MacDonald and Eric Carrier top the list of returning defencemen and the cast of veteran forwards is led by Felix Boutin, Alex Fiset and Matt St. Jacques. Eddie Davey, formerly of North York of the Ontario Jr. Hockey League, begins the season as the no. 1 goalie.
2. SUDBURY JR. WOLVES. Like Abitibi, the Jr. Wolves have a lot of returning talent, though there’s a question mark in goal as young Nick McMullen aspires to silence the naysayers. Still, Sudbury has a lot of skill and experience going for it as veterans Luc Comtois and Chris Pontes head the blueline brigade and Chris Kangas and Zach McGillis are two offensive game-breakers. Former Ontario Hockey Leaguer Tyler Arps returns to the Jr. Wolves but will be moved to forward from defence.
3. TEMISCAMING ROYALS. With returnee Cedric Boutin and Outlaw League escapees Andre Leclair and Robin Mendelsohn, Temiscaming has the makings of a potent Crown Royal Line. Ryan Henley and Benoit Fiset return to head up the blueline. Jim Murray is an ace goalie who could warrant the attention of the Division 1 U.S. college scouts. Temiscaming has quickly become a solid franchise with good fan support and the Royals could get close to the .500 mark in this, their second NOJHL season.
4. NORTH BAY TRAPPERS. Competition for advertising and spectator dollars from the new Nipissing University team likely means of the end of the free-spending ways of team emperor Guy Blanchard. North Bay has lost a lot from the team that was defeated in last spring’s championship series though Will Laporte returns up front and twin brother Nick Laporte is back on defence. Rookie defenceman Sasha Guimond may be worth the price of admission but this is a new era for NOJHL hockey in North Bay and it may be another year before the fruits of the affiliation with the AAA midget Trappers begin to ripen for the Jr. A Trappers.
WEST DIVISION
1. SOO THUNDERBIRDS. The defending NOJHL champions are better-than-average in goal with returnee Ryan McDonald, who takes over the no. 1 job. Flashy Drew Otto is back on defence as are the fibrous duo of Kevin Smith and Bronson Kovacs and big Gii Kakegabon is over from the crossriver Soo Eagles. There are plenty of high-end forwards with NOJHL experience led by Colin Barnauskas (from Bob Dylan country near one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes) and Jerry Petingalo, not to mention Tyler Evoy and Kurtis Travaglini. The West doesn’t figure to be as strong as the East this season and the Birds should soar to the top.
2. SOO EAGLES. Despite the departure of some top players to the U.S. junior leagues, Eagles general manager Dave Guisbert, director of hockey operations Col. Michael Carr and director of player development Charly Murray all say they like the talent level of the ‘09-10 edition of the Michigan Soo squad more in comparison to the first-year team that placed second in the West a year ago. We’ll have to wait and see but the time-honoured trio of Guisbert, Carr and Murray are definitely worthy of belief. Ryan Axsom returns to lead the defence and high-scoring Ryan McAleese leads the way up front. The Eagles will start the season with three rookie goalies but besides McDonald of the Thunderbirds, this is the year of the new netminder in the West Division.
3. BLIND RIVER BEAVERS. The good news is that the Beavers are fast and skilled. The not-quite-as-good news is that the Beavers are young, very young, with a whopping 18 newcomers in the lineup. The good, fresh talent that coach/general manager Jim Capy has recruited includes 5 rookies from the ‘08-09 Great North Midget Hockey League champion Soo North Stars: goalie Tyler Lucente, defencemen Kelly Barrett, Corey Jackson and Kyle Paat and forward Anthony Butorac. Jackson (Soo Greyhounds) and Paat (Sarnia Sting) are both OHL draft picks. Also new to the Beavers are several Americans including goalie Chandler Long, defenceman Grant Paulson and forward Austin Bailey. (Bailey’s older brother, Shane Bailey, was a front-line forward with the ‘06-07 NOJHL champion Soo Indians.) This edition of the Beavers, to be sure, is going to be fun team to watch and may surprise, especially if veteran forwards Drew MacMillan and David McCaig become impact players.
4. MANITOULIN ISLANDERS. Sources tell me that Islander hockey bosses Reggie Leach and Larry Roy are working on a major deal with Blind River that would give the Islanders some much-needed depth in an attempt to try to end a string of last-place finishes. Of note, big goalie Michael Malmborg, formerly of the Soo Eagles, is on board in Manitoulin.
By: Randy Russon, Osprey Media
Information from: http://www.ospreyblogs.com/wordpress/?p=1498#comments
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