ON TO THE OHL FROM THE NOJHL
August 21st, 2008Jordan Carroll is admittedly a tad nervous.
The 17-year old left winger has already been signed by the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds. But the soft-spoken youngster from Sudbury still wants to make an impression when main camp opens next week in the Soo.
“I’m taking nothing for granted,” said Carroll, a seventh-round pick of the Soo at the ‘07 OHL Draft, who was signed this past spring after an exceptional rookie camp.
“Being drafted by the Greyhounds was the first step. Signing was another step. Now I’ve got to prove myself as an OHL player.”
Carroll developed nicely in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League during the ‘07-08 season. As a 16-year old with the North Bay Skyhawks, he scored 14 goals and showed himself to be a good two-way player.
“I learned a lot from (coaches) Darren Turcotte and Ian Swalucynski and (general manager) Guy Blanchard runs a great program in North Bay,” noted Carroll.
“The NOJHL was great for my development,” he added. “It’s a tough league with a lot of good coaches.”
Greyhound general manager Dave Torrie while high on Carroll, is also a fan of the NOJHL.
“It’s a real good league,” Torrie said of the NOJHL. “We’ve had many players develop in the NOJHL over the years.”
Besides Carroll, three other current members of the Greyhounds played in the NOJHL as 16-year olds — overage centre Matt Caria, 19-year old defenceman Michael Quesnele and 18-year old blueliner Dylan King are all former Soo Thunderbirds.
ICE CHIPS
Three members of the ‘06-07 NOJHL champion Soo Indians have been recruited to play for the St. Scholastica Saints of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association this season: goalie Brennan Poderzay, right winger Sam Yearsley and defenceman Austin Brown. St. Scholastica is located in Duluth, Minnesota…Soo Thunderbirds have traded 19-year old forward Adam Pyymaki to Fort Erie of the Golden Horseshoe Jr. B Hockey League in a cash exchange…The Thunderbirds have added Sean Gagnon and Kyle Jones as assistant coaches. The 35-year old Gagnon played in the OHL with Sudbury, Ottawa and the Soo and in the National Hockey League with Ottawa. Gagnon also played in the NOJHL. The 24-year old Jones was a standout defenceman with the Thunderbirds for four years before going to Wisconsin’s Marian College for three years on a hockey/golf scholarship…Blind River Beavers will hit the road for three exhibition games with the Abitibi Eeskimos this weekend with contests slated for Cochrane, Timmins and Iroquois Falls. Visit eskis.com for ticket information…Both new teams, the Temiscaming Royals and Soo Eagles, will hold their main training camps starting this weekend.
by Randy Russon, Osprey Media






