We begin by saying that the 2013 Dudley Hewitt Cup, Central Canada Jr. Hockey Championships will be held at Memorial Gardens in North Bay from April 30 to May 4.
Do we know this for sure given media reports stating that the North Bay Trappers of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League actually don’t have a signed agreement with the City of North Bay to play host to this year’s DHC at Memorial Gardens?
Well, we suspect that the DHC will go on as scheduled at Memorial Gardens in North Bay if only because of a media release just sent out by NOJHL Communications which states:
“It is 110 days away until the start of the 2013 Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Jr. A Championship, which will be hosted by the NOJHL’s Trappers at North Bay’s venerable Memorial Gardens. The five-day event will feature the host Trappers welcoming the respective champions of the NOJHL, Ontario Jr. Hockey League and the Superior International Jr. Hockey League vying for the right to represent the region at the 2013 Royal Bank Cup, May 11-19 in Summerside, P.E.I. Should North Bay go on to capture the NOJHL crown then the league finalist will also be among the four competing teams.”
End of story?
For the sake of the the Trappers, the NOJHL and the City of North Bay, we can only hope so.
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So, will the NOJHL return to Espanola for the 2013-2014 season after an absence of several years?
And if so, will it be as an expansion team or the relocation of the North Bay Trappers to Espanola?
And should Espanola find a junior hockey owner willing to set up shop in the Spanish River town will the Sudbury Nickel Barons waive their territorial rights?
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What’s going on with the Abitibi Eskimos?
The usually-competitive Eskimos are struggling with a record of 11-17-1 and in fifth place in the seven-team NOJHL, just a point ahead of the sixth-place Blind River Beavers.
But are the Eskimos poised to stage one of their patented late-season turnarounds under veteran coach Paul Gagne?
We don’t have the answer to that but we will opine that Gagne is one of the most-effective coaches within the Canadian Jr. Hockey League.
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So, which is the most-underated team in the NOJHL?
Kirkland Lake Gold Miners? Sudbury Nickel Barons? Blind River Beavers?
We say watch out for that sly old wolf who coaches the Nickel Barons, our old friend Dave Clancy.