Junior Affiliation

Trappers forward Marc Senecal was one player who could have been playing with the Skyhawks this season if there was an affiliation agreement between the Skyhawks and the North Bay Trappers. Photo by Chris Dawson.

Tavis Holden has made an impression in the few playoff games he’s has played for the Skyhawks, registering a goal and three assists in eight playoff games this season.

Holden, a 12th round draft pick of the Oshawa Generals last spring was scooped up by the Skyhawks as an affiliated player early in the season.

The New Liskeard Cubs forward registered 62 points in 32 games in the Great North Midget League this season. Skyhawks G.M. Guy Blanchard didn’t waste any time in calling him up after the Cubs season came to an end.

“It’s a benefit for him, it’s a benefit for us and it’s a benefit for the Oshawa Generals I think it’s a win, win, win for everyone and we are happy to have him on board with us,” said Blanchard who affiliated with a pair of players from the Temiskaming Shores Midget AAA team.

The OHL team that drafted him thinks it’s tremendous for Holden’s development to join a Junior “A” team late in the season and should help him when he goes to the Generals training camp this summer.

“When he gets a chance to come to the Skyhawks like he has for the past few weeks it’s great for him because he understand that league is a lot faster than what he’s used to and it’s crucial and for any kid that I think can get an opportunity to do that,” said Oshawa Generals G.M. Brad Selwood who was in North Bay last week to watch the Central Region Midget AAA tournament.

Like many OHL general managers and coaches, Selwood has watched his own players benefit from that extra experience.

John Tavares, who was drafted first overall in the OHL draft by the Generals last spring (a year early under exceptional player status) took the same route to prepare himself for his first season in the Ontario Hockey League; one in which he scored 45 goals and 77 points in his rookie season in the “O”.

“I’ve got a lot more experience, you know, playing 20 games in tier II, so I’ve been able to handle the physicality, the mental part of the game and I think that’s really pushed me through to be an OHLer is that I’ve played with kids older than me my whole life,” Tavares told RinkratTV in an interview last fall.

Enter the North Bay Trappers, who are one of Ontario’s only midget AAA teams that don’t believe in affiliating with junior hockey teams.

Skyhawks G.M. Guy Blanchard says he would prefer to affiliate with the team in his hometown instead of getting affiliate players from elsewhere.

“It’s unfortunate that there’s a young Senecal kid that can come up and do the same as Tavis Holden does right here on your back door, there’s the Carnevale kid, there’s the Willard kid, the Radigan kid can come play for us there’s a lot of players that are certainly capable of coming in and helping our hockey team and helping them and it gives them a chance to stay focused and get in a game situation also we’ve always opened the door to have them practice with us anytime,” Blanchard said.

“We are here to help develop hockey players and that’s the bottom line and when you think of it there’s only one team in Ontario that doesn’t affiliate with a higher category team and it’s unfortunate that it’s the North Bay Trappers, so hopefully we can change things here again they’ll have a new coach next year in John Couch that really looks at developing hockey players and that’s what it is it’s really what’s best for the kids and we are hoping that we can get things open the door is always open on our side and it’s never been closed and hopefully someday the doors will open on their side.”

But the Trappers don’t appear to be very keen on the affiliation idea. It’s well known in the North Bay hockey world that there’s a clear rift (the size of the San Andreas Fault) between the two hockey organizations.

Blanchard says he’s willing to work it out.

Keenan does not.

“Well I’m not going to get into that because it’s a long story and I don’t want to get into it and there’s a background that’s no one’s business,” Keenan said in Barry Bonds-like fashion when asked why his club won’t affiliate with junior hockey teams like the Skyhawks during last weeks AAA tourney.

But when talking to a number of hockey coaches and general managers from other parts of the province about the affiliation problem in North Bay, all of them said the same thing; that player development should be the priority over any personality conflicts that exist between any hockey organizations.