By Sam Laskaris /
ONTARIO JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
Junior hockey has a new look in Ontario. That’s because the Ontario Hockey Association allowed those that competed in the Ontario Junior Hockey League last season to decide which of two circuits they prefer to join.
Fifteen clubs opted to be part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. The OJAHL will consist of the Aurora Tigers, Bramalea Blues, Brampton Capitals, Buffalo Jr. Sabres, Collingwood Blues, Couchiching Terriers, Georgetown Raiders, Huntsville-Muskoka Otters, Kingston Voyageurs, Milton Icehawks, Mississauga Chargers, Oakville Blades, Trenton Golden Hawks, Vaughan Vipers and Villanova Knights.
OJAHL commissioner Marty Savoy believes it’s pretty much business as usual for the league entrants.
“We still fall under the OHA,” he said. “They’re still our governing body. And we’re playing under Hockey Canada guidelines.”
All OJAHL squads play a 56-game regular season schedule. The top eight finishers will then advance to the playoffs.
There’s also a 21-team Central Canadian Hockey League. Savoy doesn’t like the suggestion the OJAHL is being called the older league as the CCHL, which prides itself on the development of players, features fewer 19- and 20-year-olds and mandatory play rules for its 16-year-olds.
“We think it’s a personal decision,” Savoy said. “If teams think they can win with three 20-year-olds in their lineup, that’s fine. We’re saying you can have up to nine 20-year-olds.”?
CENTRAL JUNIOR A HOCKEY LEAGUE
Make it an even dozen.
With the addition of the Carleton Place Canadians, the CJHL will be a more balanced circuit, with a total of 12 teams operating this season.
With the Canadians coming on board, however, there’s been a major reshuffling of the league’s two divisions, with five other entrants making a switch.
The Canadians are in the league’s Robinson Division, joining the Brockville Braves, Cornwall Colts, Hawkesbury Hawks, Kemptville 73’s and Smith Falls Bears.
The league’s Yzerman Division also features six entrants.
Though the Canadians are new to the CJHL, they are not a new organization. In fact, Junior hockey has been around the eastern Ontario town since the late ‘60s.
The Carleton Place Kings started off as a Junior C outfit in 1969. Two years later, they made the move to the Junior B ranks. And that’s where they were up until this off-season, competing in the Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League.
The organization switched its name to Canadians when it was accepted into the CJHL.
Carleton Place’s home opener, which will include a tailgate party, is listed as Sept. 19 versus Smiths Falls. But the Canadians will play two other games at home before that – Sept. 11 against Nepean and Sept. 13 against Ottawa, in the league’s opening showcase weekend.
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Though it remains to be seen just how successful they will be during the regular season and playoffs, the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds once again guaranteed to be playing well after spring begins.
That’s because the T-Birds, the defending NOJHL champions, will be playing host to the 2010 Dudley Hewitt Cup. And as the hosts of one of the qualifying tournaments for the national RBC Cup championships, the T-Birds have an automatic berth in the event.
The Soo franchise also competed at the ‘09 Dudley Hewitt Cup. But they didn’t advance to the nationals as that event was won by the Kingston Voyageurs.
Besides hoping home ice advantage will give them the edge required to win the Dudley Hewitt Cup, members of the Thunderbirds will also no doubt also be eager to defend their NOJHL crown.
The Soo side posted an impressive 35-14-1 regular season record last season, good for top spot in the league’s four-team Western Division.
As for this season, the T-Birds kick off their regular season campaign on Sept. 12 with a road game against the Temiscaming Royals. The Soo squad also has another road match the following night against the North Bay Skyhawks
The T-Birds will then prepare for their home opener against the Michigan-based Soo Eagles.
SUPERIOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
It wasn’t that long ago that the Schreiber Diesels and their fans were feeling rather upbeat.
In fact, it was just this past April that the Diesels played host to and fared rather well in the Dudley Hewitt Cup, a qualifying tournament for the national RBC Cup championship. But the Schreiber organization, which saw its 2008/09 campaign come to an end when it was defeated by another SIJHL rival, the Fort William North Stars, in its Dudley Hewitt Cup semi-final, will not be icing a squad this season.
Citing financial difficulties, the Diesels have taken a leave of absence from the league. Besides playing host to the Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Schreiber club did have its share of successes this past season, posting a respectable 26-21-0-3 mark.
The Diesels were knocked out of the SIJHL playoffs in the semi-finals. But they still played some more hockey afterwards as they were the pre-determined hosts of the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
Schreiber is not the only club from last year’s six-team league that will not return. The Thunder Bay Bearcats are no longer around.
But now there will be five squads as the Thunder Bay Wolverines, formerly a Junior B club, have joined the SIJHL. |