As the Ontario Hockey League Sudbury Wolves made good use of their affiliation with the Sudbury Northern Jr. Wolves of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League last season, the Soo Greyhounds could develop as many as four of their ‘06 draft picks within the NOJHL this coming season.
OHL draft picks who saw time with the NOJHL Northern Jr. Wolves in ‘05-06 included defenceman Stephen Miller and forwards Brenden Biedermann, Jordan Cheechoo, Dan Frawley and Gerome Giudice as well as goalie Jesse Pischlar.
Since then, the Soo Thunderbirds have committed to a pair of Greyhound draft picks from ‘06 in third-rounder Brett Perlini and fifth-rounder Dylan King.
As 1990 birthdates, neither Perlini, who is a forward, or King, who is a defenceman, are expected to be ready to be play in the OHL this season. And the Thunderbirds — who like any other Jr. A team, can dress only two 1990s as per Hockey Canada rules — have already committed spots to Perlini and King.
Two other Greyhound picks from the ‘06 OHL Draft could also wind up in the NOJHL. Defenceman Jacob Chiblow has already skated with Blind River at a mini camp, though the former Soo North Star midget did not sign with the Beavers.
Chiblow is also being pursued by the Soo Indians to the extent that coach/general manager Jim Capy is prepared to make an immediate commitment to the youngster.
And goalie Jeff Larson, the Greyhounds’ 10th-round pick out of St. Louis, could also end up with the Indians, according to both Capy and Hounds’ general manager Dave Torrie.
Other OHL draft picks have previously chosen the NOJHL as a place to continue their junior hockey careers with the hopes of moving up a ladder somewhere including Adam Combs and Matt Brunet with the Abitibi Eskimos and Frank Desbiens of the North Bay Skyhawks. Combs and Desbiens are fibrous forwards while Brunet is one of the NOJHL’s top scorers.
Ken Peroff, who developed in North Bay last season as Bramptom property, is expected to be a part of the OHL Battalion defence corps in the fall. And pro-style centre Anthony Perdicaro, who played with Northern Michigan in ‘05-06, has signed with the OHL Greyhounds.
GAME OF THE WEEK
An NOJHL game of the week that I am proposing be carried live on SportsJuice.com will be discussed at the league’s next board of governors meeting, Abitibi Eskimos’ president Scott Marshall tells me.
– RANDY RUSSON/Osprey Media
People should remember that Jacob Chiblow was born in 1990 and as a 16 year old kid should not be expected to be an impact player. He must be brought along slowly and allowed to develop.
Glad to see that all is official with the Soo Indians. They should immediately be declared as favourites to win the championship this season largely because of the number of quality returning players and because of coach Jim Capy. Jimmy may have what is called an abrasive personality but he is proven winner!
Moonfleet is correct about returning players to the Soo Indians as there is no question that Director of Hockey Ops Charly Murray left quite a bit of talent from the former Black Bears outfit. Capy has a head start with with so much returning talent and you can bet that Randy will be sure to report about this as he gives credit where credit is due. You can say what you want about Randy\’s arrogant personality but Randy does a great job of covering the teams in our league EQUALLY and the NOJHL has a great friend in Randy!
The British are coming! The British are coming!
That’s pretty cool that our humble little league may have a shot, albeit distant, at providing a hockey home for such an enthusiastic young Brit. Why are Euros allowed in major junior but not junior A anyway?
Redneck
That rule is what allows other leagues like the Metro take flight.
when my bro was in Quinte they a Russian that went on to play with Rimouski, didn’t go anywhere after that, but alas was a good player and was sent there by Rimouski to develop for a year in north america , before being on the Q squad
The outlaw leagues and their outlaw rules can attract some pretty good players
British goalie eager for Eskimos’ camp; Hockey Canada grants 15-day tryout.
Local Sports – Friday, August 04, 2006 @ 10:00
The Abitibi Eskimos will have British flavour on the ice for the start of the team’s tryout camps this Tuesday.
Among the players vying to make the Northern Junior ‘A’ Hockey League club that will host the Dudley Hewitt Cup this spring is 18-year-old Nick Rowe, a goalie from the United Kingdom who says he is on a quest to make a name for himself across the big pond.
Born in Newcastle and growing up in the northeastern town of Cramlington (near the border with Scotland), Rowe will be bringing several years of experience of semi-pro British hockey with him when he straps on the pads for the first tryout at the McIntyre Arena.
He discovered the Eskimos via the Internet and added the team to his extensive list of tryout applications.
“I decided to come to Canada because a good friend of mine, who is from Manitoba and has played pro in both North America and the U.K., has repeatedly informed me that playing junior in Canada will give me a chance to play pro in North America and even possibly give me a college opportunity,” Rowe told The Daily Press via e-mail.
“Which, for either to happen, would be absolutely awesome.”
Going from soccer-savvy England to hockey-crazed Canada will be welcome change for Rowe.
“I want to see a new part of the world and win a championship – a goal I’ve not yet achieved. But at the end of the day, Canada is the home of hockey, so what better a place to play?”
Rowe’s enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed by Eskimos’ president Scott Marshall.
“Of course I’m a nice, polite Canadian and we were one of the few teams to reply to him,” said Marshall. “It has just had a life of its own since then.”
Getting the teen to Canada has proven to be a difficult task since Hockey Canada’s guidelines prohibit junior ‘A’ hockey teams for having non-North American players (major junior hockey can have two “imports”).
But Rowe’s refusal to take no for an answer and his persistent writing to Hockey Canada finally paid off as he has been granted a 15-day tryout period with the Eskimos.
“I didn’t expect they would (approve),” said Marshall. “Hockey Canada has granted him a tryout, but even if he makes the team, it doesn’t guarantee they will allow him to stay.
“But this kid is pretty determined,” he added. “I think they would have a hard time saying no to him staying. He’s just gung-ho.”
Rowe, who arrives Sunday, began playing hockey at the age of seven as a forward, then took to the crease at age nine and quickly moved up the ranks, often playing with under-14 and U-16 teams by the time he was 11 years old and was even a backup at the U-19 level.
At the age of 14, he broke a Whitley Bay club record as the youngest-ever goaltender to ice for the club’s then semi-pro affiliate Warriors playing in the English National League (ENL).
At 15 years old, Rowe visited Winnipeg, where he attended Steve Briere’s goalie school to learn the North American game and returned with the knowledge for further semi-pro/elite league hockey games with the Newcastle Vipers and Nottingham Lions of the ENL.
“I’ve been lucky enough to get some good experience from an unusually early age, compared to a lot of British kids,” wrote Rowe. Despite coming off an injury that kept him sidelined for much of last season, Rowe is confident he can give the Eskimos their best shot at winning not only the Dudley Hewitt, but the Royal Bank Cup national junior ‘A’ title.
“My goals in life have always been the same – to work hard, be successful in whatever I do and to be happy,” Rowe wrote.
“Of course I dream of making the NHL, but that isn’t likely to happen, standing at 175 centimetres but I’d be more than happy to have a standout season and win something with the Eskimos and take it from there. Anything short of a championship with the Eskimos would be a disappointment in my books.”
Brad – Why do you have to repeat the story that was on this blog a week ago. Not much happening in your neck of the woods I guess.
Thanks motley. I can understand the argument on both sides, whether to let Euros play or not. I just think there should be consistency at all levels of junior. I do remember hearing something about the CHL changing their rules regarding Euros though. Maybe RR could clarify exactly what the rules now dictate?
It would also be nice (when quoting stories/articles etc) to provide a source/link to the original story………
Hey Redneck
Do you really think many of the teams in our Junior A loop or any other for that matter can compete with the Major Junior groups and have money to spend on Euros. I hardly think unless the player comes over on his own and isn’t looking for anything special that any of our teams could afford it. Euros have played in the league before but have mainly paid their own way other than room and board.
The major concerns for the current teams is to maintain the players they have and keep them from going South or to the Outlaw league. I haven’t seen many familiar names in the GMHL rosters yet.
statsmandave: I posted the article in here for two reasons.
A) In case people never saw it in the daily press posts.
B) Yes theres no much happening on my end of things.
http://www.timminspress.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentID=142013&catname=Local+Sports
statesmandave:
You make good points re: Euros and minor vs. major Jr. A. It’s interesting that the defection is not strong to the GMHL. I would guess that the rules regarding Euros does not apply in the GMHL as the WHC in Shelburne typically has quite a few Euros and this gives the folks at the WHC a good bargaining chip to recruit players to their program. Does that sound far fetched?
Personally, I think it’s great to see someone outside North America wanting to come and play in the NOJHL. I hope Hockey Canada lets the goalie stay, and that he is good enough to stay for the Eskimo’s.
Just posted here on Ospreyblogs.com:
“ABITIBI BOSS FIRES SHOTS AT NEW LEAGUE”
I never said Junior A teams should have Euros, statsmandave, nor did I suggest they are competing with Major Junior teams for their services. I was merely looking for clarification on the rule, and still am. It just seems odd to me that there are two sets of rules out there.