At the rate they’re going, the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the Central Canada Hockey League could feature a North Bay Trappers jersey as an alternate and several of their players would feel right at home.
“I was joking with the kids that we might as well call them the Pembroke Trappers now since we’ve got all four guys,” says General Manager and Team Owner Alex Armstrong.
The newest North Bay native to make the team is Joe Jordan, who will be suiting up alongside former Trappers teammates and Battalion prospects Jack Stockfish and Jesse Kirkby. Both those players were with the Lumber Kings last year.
Jordan came over in a trade with Rockland in mid-November.
“I know Joe was one of the individuals who played with them on the same line since they were four or five years old,” says Armstrong.
“For whatever reason, he slipped through the cracks last year and ended up playing in Rockland. We played against him throughout the year and we really liked him, he's a hard-working kid, he can skate, competes shift in and shift out, he’s got a high hockey IQ, and he put up close to 50 points last year. Which is quite an accomplishment as a 17-year-old in that league so we’re quite happy to get him.”
“He’s going to bring a lot to the table and the two other guys are happy that he’s onboard now. We were sorry we didn’t have him here last year during those times we got to see him play with Rockland. Jack and Jesse and Reece speak really highly of him and his character was never going to be an issue and we really liked the way he played. He’s going to be a really good addition to our hockey club. As an 18-year-old he’s got lots of time to get to school and enjoyed their hockey here at the junior level.”
Also joining the team recently is Reece Proulx, which squares up the quarter of players from the Gateway City.
“Proulx will be getting on the ice and getting into some practice situations and play some games to get ready for Battalion training camp,” says Armstrong.
“He has a chance to make that club and because he played here last year he’s not on a Major Junior card and doesn’t have to clear waivers so that’s the best of both worlds for us. Everyone thought it was a bit off the wall for us to take a chance on a 17-year-old kid that was unproven and the results speak for themselves, the numbers don’t lie.”
Proulx went 26-24-1-0 with a 2.94 Goals Against Average and save percentage of 0.920 in 52 games.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you’re better than the next guy in line then you are going to play,” says Armstrong.
This is the second year the Lumber Kings will be an affiliate team of the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League and Armstrong says they enjoyed the partnership in year one and if it wasn’t due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they would likely have more Battalion players on their roster right now.
“We could have more of their players here, but they have the 2004 rule where a 16-year-old has to live within their region or they need to have their parents move into that region in order to acquire those player rights. If the player was born in 2003, they could come play with us no problem, and you never know how those rules might change down the road,” says Armstrong.
“But they are great in North Bay, Adam Dennis is a really good guy, and he’s done a great job and if he wants to send us a player, well we’ve been down that road before like last year when they had Proulx come to us. I think me and Adam were both on the same page where we allowed the kid to make a decision whether they want to go to school or want to play Major Junior and it doesn’t come back to haunt us down the road.”
As they start to gear up for one of the most unusual seasons of any tier of hockey in Ontario, Armstrong says so far, the team has abided by all the regulations and have come out with strong results.
“We’ve had 12 teams, 12 games, and all the practices we’ve had since August and we’ve had zero cases of COVID-19,” says Armstrong.
“I think that ball is in our court there for the government to say we can move forward and use this as an example of how things are done. We’re keeping lots of documentation on how we go about things and how we’re keeping everyone safe and healthy and allowing us to play hockey. Hopefully, they can use that as a forefront for other groups. The guys have done a good job wearing their masks and they basically go to the rink and then they go back home and are staying safe.”
