NOJHL's Rayside-Balfour Canadians gearing up for next season

The 2015-2016 Rayside-Balfour Canadians are beginning to take form. Earlier this month, the local NOJHL (Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League) team announced the signing of seven players, a group that included four returning skaters and three newcomers to the team.

Sophomore blueliners Ryan Mooney and Brett Whitehead will rejoin the veteran presence that is Kyle Fransen, with Lively native Danny Lepage also back for a second year.

Rookies to the team will include forward Eric Paquette, who actually suited up for 14 games last year as a late-season call-up from the Nickel Capital Wolves, Nickel City defenseman Logan Lefebvre and sniper Cayse Ton.

A New Liskeard native with a 1999 birthdate, Ton was drafted in the 11th round of the 2015 OHL Entry Draft by the Owen Sound Attack after amassing 63 points and 33 goals as a member of the New Liskeard Cubs of the Great North Midget League (GNML) last year.

"I was surprised about Owen Sound, because I had never heard once from them," suggested Ton. "I didn't even know where Owen Sound was."

Currently listed at 5-9, Ton is most well-known for his scoring ability, a good part of the reason that he was selected as the NOHA Minor Midget Player of the Year.

"At the beginning of the year, I told my dad I wanted to get 60 points," said Ton. "I finished with 63, I was very happy about that. I didn't expect to get some of the awards that I received."

In Whitehead and Mooney, the Canadians have a pair of smooth-skating D-men who should take the next step forward in their development this year. "I started off a little slow last year," noted Whitehead.

"It was a little bit of a roller coaster. I would have high points and low points. Overall, I would call it a pretty good first year, but I obviously expect a lot more in my second year," he continued.

"I would like to pick up my offense. We had a lot of offensive defensemen already, so it was tough to get the opportunities. I spent more time on the "PK" than on the power play. I hope to prove to the coaches that I can be put in both situations."

"I want to be as solid as I can defensively, while also contributing offensively." After spending two winters with the Hoosac Owls, a prep school team located in Hoosick (New York), 19-year-old forward Danny Lepage was anxious to re-establish himself within the Sudbury junior hockey marketplace.

"I came into the season just wanting to prove myself," he said, racking up 14 goals and 23 points in 37 games with the Sudbury Nickel Barons last year. "I wasn't home for the past two years, so I was happy to come home."

"I had my growth spurt, and felt that I was ready to show people the hockey player that I had become. I'm not the most skilled player, but I try and make up for it with hard work," Lepage stated.

"I like going in the corners, going in front of the net. I'm not much of a dangler, but I like battling, working hard." Though the Barons graduated an impressive class of 20-year-olds, including August Jarecki, Jacob Bonin, Jimmy Roy and Christopher Rossi, the returning crew certainly offers a foundation on which to build.

"I thought the guys like me, Ryan (Mooney), Brett (Whitehead) all had good seasons as rookies," said Lepage. "But I don't want to ride on that. We have to go all out and push it to another level."

Official tryouts for the Rayside-Balfour Canadians will open on Aug. 20 at the Cambrian Arena, with twelve teams set to open the 2015-2016 NOJHL schedule.

In other league news, it was announced on Monday that commissioner Robert Mazzuca has stepped down to pursue other interests.

While few would argue that Mazzuca is nothing if not strong-willed, the fact is that the former Sudbury Wolves' captain has overseen a period of time where the league has proven to be trend-setters in certain areas (concussion testing, lengthening suspensions, etc.), and leaves the group with more teams that it has ever seen in the 50+ history of the northern junior loop.

As well, local product Cody Gratton, easily the NOJHL's most explosive offensive force in 2014-2015 (52 goals in 44 games with the Cochrane Crunch) has committed to the Nipissing Lakers of the OUA.