A pair of Royals a Skyhawk heading to World Jr. A Camp

Royals forward Stephan Gunner (far left) scores a goal against the Soo Thunderbirds last fall. The Royals power forward will be trying to show his scoring touch at the World Jr. 'A' Evaluation Camp in mid August. Photo by Chris Dawson.

For the first time the NOJHL will be sending an All-Star team as part of the evaluation process for Team Canada East team that will play in the World Jr. ‘A’ Hockey Challenge this fall.

The league is taking part in a mini tournament/evaluation camp in Renfrew, Ontario on August 15th.

The Royals will be sending two of their top prospects in the form of defenceman Rylan Henley and forward Stephan Gunner. The pair will be part of an NOJHL All-Star team that will take part in the Mini tournament which includes games against All-Star teams from the Quebec Junior AAA league and the CJHL.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Rylan and Stephan,” said head coach and general manager Steve McCharles about the pair that also played in a College Prospects tournament in Toronto last May.

“The more exposure we give to our kids the better it is for our team and our league.”

Last year Gunner finished second in team scoring with 15 goals and 22 assist totaling 37 points in 49 games, while Henley finished fourth in team scoring with 5 goals and a team high 29 assists for 34 points in 48 games.

Skyhawks send Sasha

The Skyhawks will be sending recently signed defenceman Sasha Guimond to represent the North Bay club. Skyhawks president Guy Blanchard has high expectations for the 6’4”, 180 pound defenceman from Ville-Marie, Quebec.

Guimond, a graduate of the Rouyn-Noranda Midget AA Citadelles program, was a standout at the Skyhawks spring camp in North Bay back in April.

“This is an opportunity for a young player to represent our league and represent the Skyhawks,” said Blanchard.

“We really feel Guimond is going to be a top player in our league.”

Blanchard was hoping Skyhawks newcomer Jonathan Aubertin would be included on the All-Star roster but he says the NOJHL All-Star selection committee would only allow him to have one player from outside the league the year before to participate. Aubertin was a standout with the Hearst Elans Midget AA team where he won the Abitibi-Temiscamingue Midget 'AA' scoring title last season.

Northern Exposure

The Selection camp will include three exhibition games and two in which the NOJHL All-Stars will participate in on August 15th.

NOJHL League Commissioner Hector Seguin expects the camp to be attended by NCAA scouts as well as a handful of NHL scouts.

“We have to get involved and that’s how we promote our league,” said Seguin noting that the NOJHL has never been involved in the selection for the World Jr. ‘A’ Challenge which takes place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island this November.

Seguin adds the league is also looking into an East-West prospects game to take place early in the new year.