It sure is a wonderful feeling when you get a message from a former player touting the accomplishments of another former player's boy. Last week I received a tip from a former player of mine (who lives down south) asking if I knew about the achievements of a different former player's son. The two players were not teammates and were Majors in different years.
But as an alumni and Timmins native, they were proud of another alumni's son's feats. That is first class in my books. It's heartwarming to see how many people want to see local athletes' successes shared. It is not the first time I have received such a tip and in order for me to try and keep readers up to date I depend on a lot of those tips.
On the subject of tips, we received a ton of responses to the damaged Father Les statue. Some of the responses came from as far away as Toronto and western Canada. We are trying to follow up with the tips and responses on repairs or possible other options as quickly as we can. If we have not got a hold of you yet (people offering help) we will be in touch soon. Thanks to all who reached out and hopefully we have good news very soon.
SEE: Father Les statue broken, group looking to repair valued piece
Well team NOHA had an excellent showing at this year's OHL Cup in Toronto. The 20-team event is held annually for draft-eligible players from the U.S. and Ontario.
Team NOHA is comprised of players from the Great North U18 teams and U16 teams.
Three members of the Timmins Majors — Cole Ellis, Ian Lachance and Alex Hall — were vital members of the squad. From talking to a few in-the-know people, all three had outstanding tournaments.
Team NOHA just missed out on grabbing a playoff spot going 2-2. The club had wins against Don Mills Flyers (5-3) and Mississauga Rebels (2-1). They had a nail-biting overtime loss to Waterloo Wolves (3-2) and a regulation loss to Peterborough (4-1)
The games were played at the Scotia Pond with the final played at the iconic Mattamy Athletic Center at Maple Leaf Gardens. In the final, the Toronto Junior Canadiens defeated Vaughn 3-0.
Some recent results from the NOHA Tournament of Champions included a silver for the Timmins Northstars U13 AA , a silver for the Porcupine Jr. Gold Kings U11 C club and gold for the U18 A Gold Kings.
The Gold Kings are hosting the OHF provincial A U18 championships April 21-23, while Timmins will be hosting the U15 AA OHF provincials the same weekend.
Local hockey fans can expect top-notch play at these OHF finals and I encourage you to get out and support the teams. Check the local associations websites for complete schedules and tournament information.
Late in March, the NOHA board of directors released the results of their freedom of movement survey.
More than 1,800 families responded, with 74.6 per cent being in support of it.
Nineteen per cent were opposed while six per cent were unsure.
Timmins, at 91 per cent, and Porcupine with 93.8 per cent are displaying some of the strongest responses to the survey.
The NOHA is the only partner in the OHF to not have freedom of movement in house league/recreational hockey. The NOHA board has listed its position (support) for freedom of movement and its rationale for such is listed on its website. It is a position myself and many others applaud.
The freedom of movement discussion will continue at the NOHA annual meeting to be held in Timmins May 6. I'll let you know if it appears on the agenda for a vote or any other option once I receive some more information.
Timmins Native Kevin Walker and his Red Lake Miners lost 4-1 to Thunder Bay in recent playoff action in the SIJHL. Walker did an admirable job with a young team in his first year as head coach/GM of the Miners.
Former Major/Golden Bear/Iowa State and pro player, Glenn Detulleo will enter his final playoff schedule next week. After 11 years leading the Huntsville Havoc of the SPHL as their coach, Glenn will transition to the front office when the team's playoffs are done. Glenn started his career as a player with the Havoc in 2010 before moving into the coach role.
As a former captain of one of our Majors teams, Glenn had always displayed a sound knowledge of the game and seemed destined to become a fine coach when his playing days were done. And now with a successful coaching career under his belt, I know he will make another smooth transition to the front office.
Glenn and I have spoken a few times lately and you can look forward to a full interview with him in the near future. Your fans here at home hope you and the Havoc have one more championship banner to put up this year.
This Thursday and Friday at the Mac, the Rock host the Voodoos for the East final and another step closer to an NOJHL championship. The well-balanced Timmins squad is looking to parlay a superb regular season into a berth in the final and more. And as usual, a raucous, jam-packed arena will be looking to help power the Rock to success. The old joint should be just a rockin'.
Local product Evan Boucher and his Halifax Mooseheads teammates head to Sydney to take on Cape Breton for games three and four of their first-round QMJHL series. The Moose are up 2-0 thanks in large part to Boucher's game-winning goal in OT in game two. The Mooseheads were down 3-0 in that game, before scoring three unanswered goals to set the stage for Boucher's heroics.
RELATED: Timmins-born player making an impact in the QMJHL
If you're getting ready for your Stanley Cup hockey pool and have to pick the champion, consider this: ‘tending and the backend are crucial to playoff success. Unless you're the Oilers, but even their backend is vastly improved since the trade deadline.
Look no further than last year's champs for further proof. For a real eye opener, recall the 2019 Blues. With solid goaltending play from Binnington and an absolute stud laden defence core led by Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, Colton Parayko and Vince Dunn, to name a few, the Blues backend carried them to a Cup win. Yes O' Reilly was sensational up front, but without that solid backend core they probably don't succeed. Don't forget Bouwmeester and Pietrangelo were not too long coming off a World Cup of Hockey Championship. And then you look at Tampa's Cup years. Strong tending and D.
Of course a strong forward core is needed as well, but the key is from behind the blueline. Just sayin'.
A few weeks ago I talked about Canada's role as a rapidly developing basketball nation. Further evidence of that appeared last week when Toronto native Zach Edey was awarded the 2023 Naismith College player of the year award. The ultimate individual award in NCAA basketball comes on the heels of Edey winning the AP player of the year and the Big Ten player of the year as well. The Purdue player certainly has a bright future in front of him.
Time to get the flags waving as our women begin defending their world hockey title.
I hope you all have a happy and blessed Easter.
Later skater.
