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Hockey careers not quite capped due to COVID

'I would’ve loved to have finished it out'

It was not the way it was supposed to end for the overage players. They were supposed to play in game 68. Get that final shift on the ice in front of the home crowd. Win or lose, they were supposed to get a standing ovation once the final horn sounds and take one more lap around the rink with their fellow graduating teammates as they celebrate their time spent in the Ontario Hockey League.

But in these unusual circumstances, the players born in 1999 won’t get that moment. Instead, they were told to go home and wait for further instruction as the Major Junior season got put on hold, and eventually cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was not ideal,” says Nick Grima, the 21-year old Toronto native who finished his five-year OHL career with the North Bay Battalion.

“I would’ve loved to have finished it out. I had a lot of fun over the last five years and especially in North Bay as we started to make a run for the playoffs.”

Not everyone’s path in the OHL is the same. Some use it as a direct route to the professional ranks. Others are good enough to stick around and play until they exceed their age eligibility. For the latter, knowing it's your final time around the horn, the goal really is a deep and successful playoff run. But for Grima, this would be the only time in his career that he played for a team that didn’t see any post-season action.

“All four years I was on teams that made the playoffs and it would’ve been nice to make it with such a young group and get them that playoff experience, but it is what it is and you just have to roll with it,” says Grima.

Speaking of personal accolades, another player who was on the cusp of rewriting the record books was North Bay native Brady Lyle. When the season came to an end, Lyle was already the franchise leader in goals scored by a defenceman in Owen Sound. He amassed 42 in an Attack uniform, surpassing the 41 Bobby Sanguinetti had in his time in Owen Sound. Meanwhile, his 22 goals on the year tied Sanguinetti and Scott Walker for the most in a single season by a defenceman, and with six games remaining its likely Lyle would’ve stood atop that list.

“It was really tough, especially knowing that it's your last year, and you’re getting excited for playoffs,” says Lyle.

The Attack was in seventh place in the Western Conference when the season was halted and Lyle says, “We were gearing up for, maybe not a long playoff run but definitely a chance to show how much effort I can put into it and as a competitor it would’ve meant a lot to me to be able to finish out the season and put a wrap on my OHL career.”

“It ended a little bit different then I wanted it to.”

And with the Attack on one end of the playoff pool, a team that was inching towards a division title was the Sudbury Wolves and they certainly had a long playoff run in their sights. They made a move to acquire hometown player Brad Chenier from the North Bay Battalion at the trade deadline, in the hopes the overage captain of the Troops could bring his leadership and expertise to a team that needed some reinforcements.

“I think the last stretch of games we had, we really started to come together,” says Chenier.  “Everyone was buying in and accepting their roles. The guys were very welcoming when I got there. They made me feel at home, even though I was at home. I really believe we had a shot to be a dangerous team in the playoffs.”

But those playoffs are something that we will never get to see transpire and for fans of the Sudbury franchise, it's an extra dagger in the heart as they were fielding a competitive club that clearly had big expectations.

Chenier says, “Obviously it was pretty upsetting the way the season ended. I don’t think anyone could have predicted this outcome. It wasn’t the way I wanted to go out but I’m still really fortunate and honoured to have suited up for two amazing organizations. I’m thankful for all the friendships I’ve made along the way and the way the Ontario Hockey League has moulded me into the person I am today.”

And that’s what each of these players has to focus on going forward.

For Chenier, he becomes the first-year player again at the next stage of amateur hockey in the country by joining the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

“I’m very excited to get started,” he says. “The coaches and teammates have been very approachable and welcoming. I think the program is perfect for myself, and I’m excited to help grow the program.”

Grima finds himself in a similar situation as he will head to the University of Toronto to take kinesiology. If, and when, the hockey season starts for the OUA, Grima will be a rookie wearing the Varsity Blues sweater, a sharp change from the role he played over the last six months in the OHL in which he was a mentor to a very young North Bay squad.  

“I think that just comes from the environments I’ve been in,” he says about that leadership role.

“I was just trying to make them feel as welcome and at home in North Bay as they felt in minor hockey. They are all great kids; they are very skilled, and they are playing at that level for a reason. It was just a matter of keeping them in it mentally when things would go wrong because they really had a lot of skill and I think over the course of the season they started to realize it,” he says.

“I think in the next couple of years they are going to start gelling and having the success that they deserve.”

Lyle has done enough in his OHL career to have a chance at turning pro. He signed a two-year American Hockey League contract with the Providence Bruins. He says, “Once the season was officially cancelled and I knew I wasn’t going to be going back or have any other chance to show what I can do, I started to look into what I can do next year.”

“Whether that was school or something else, ultimately the goal is to keep playing hockey professionally and, things just kind of came together and I ended up signing that deal with Providence. I couldn’t be more excited; it will be a really great opportunity and with the way everything went down at the end it's something I’m grateful for and something I won’t take for granted.”

However, to not get that final skate in while wearing a home uniform will always be something these players will, unfortunately, have to leave on the table.

“I know its something that I definitely would have really enjoyed. Especially this year, I felt I really had a bond with the fans,” says Lyle.

“I felt that they really had my back and they wanted the team and specifically me to have some success and it would’ve felt good too, not to just say goodbye but also know that it was my last game.”

Grima says, “I’ve been through that for four years now seeing those OA’s (over agers) that pass through and they know it's their final game and the OA night is always something special. I think the teams I’ve been apart of have always been pretty close and that kind of thing always hit home and it was something I was looking forward to sharing with my family, and my teammates.”

“But I still got my nice painting,” he adds referring to what has become a tradition for local artist Jack Lockhart as he gifts each overage player with a painting of them in Battalion green.

It was one of the things that both fans and players had to accept with this pandemic, that the 2019-2020 season was not going to be finished and the overage players would have to live with the fact that they had played their final Ontario Hockey League game. But despite the abruptness with which it occurred it is the memories those players have given us through their lengthy tenures that will be remembered for years to come.  


Matt Sookram

About the Author: Matt Sookram

Matthew Sookram is a Canadore College graduate. He has lived and worked in North Bay since 2009 covering different beats; everything from City Council to North Bay Battalion.
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