NOJHL Anticipation

This years Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League season is less than twenty-three days away now, and is suiting up to be a historical one. With the most teams in league history, the rapid growth of fans and league interest, and much-anticipated heated rivalries, this wait will feel way longer than just twenty-three days. Over the offseason, the NOJHL went through many major changes.

The two biggest alterations the league saw over the offseason were relocations of two teams. The Elliot Lake Bobcats and the North Bay Trappers were both relocated due to financial issues. The Bobcats landed in Cochrane, roughly 100km north of Timmins, to become the Cochrane Crunch. The Trappers relocated only 60km east of North Bay, staying close to home and settling in Mattawa. The Trappers are now known as the Mattawa Jr. A Blackhawks.

The NOJHL had more major news to come, granting two expansion teams into the league. The first being the now Powassan Voodoos. Powassan is located just 30km south of North Bay, and 75km from Mattawa. The Voodoos looks to promise a great rivalry with Jr. A Blackhawks as they have their first meeting on September 15th in Powassan. The other expansion granted was to Elliot Lake. After recently losing the Bobcats this summer, the NOJHL expansion was granted and the Elliot Lake Wildcats were established as a new franchise in the league. Although all Bobcat records, players, and history are still with Cochrane, the Wildcats get a chance to start fresh. Although the Crunch and Wildcats are over seven hours and 550km apart on the map, they will bring a grudge match to the ice.

With the relocations and expansions this summer the NOJHL now has nine teams, the most teams the league has ever had. With more teams in the league it brings a new level of competiveness for the top spots on top of the league, and the Copeland Cup-McNamara Trophy. In addition to competing for regular season points and standings, the team’s management will also now have the extra challenge of signing players with more teams now on the market and looking to build their roster.

Other minor news this offseason comes from the player’s side of the NOJHL. Former Blind River Beaver, 1992 born Brett Findlay signed a one-year contract with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. If Findlay were to make it one step further and crack the NHL roster he would only be the eighth NOJHL player to do so, joining familiar names such as Todd Bertuzzi, Steve Sullivan, and Alex Auld. Findlay will be the first Blind River Beaver to ever play AHL hockey.

Findlay wasn’t the only NOJHL player to move forward with their career this summer, as 30 players moved on to other showcases and leagues. NOJHL commissioner Robert Mazzuca says, “Those 30 players who were promoted and/or committed to higher levels of competition, it came at a time when the league had eight teams. They'll have nine teams in the 2014-15 season.” With that being said and with a new league high-nine teams now in the league, scouting on the NOJHL and fan interest are on the rise. The NOJHL buzz granted the league to host the 2016 Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Central Canadian Junior A Championship that determines the central seed in the National Junior A Championship, the Royal Bank Cup.

What do all these transitions and updates mean for the league? Success, and more coming that could see the sixth ranked junior league in Canada rise to the top five in the near future. As the season approaches, everything starts to change. Rosters get fiddled with, players get juggled around, the writers get nosey, and the fans get anxious. With only twenty-three more days to wait, the season is just around the corner.