Temiscaming Royals officially join NOJHL

Royals head coach and G.M. Steve McCharles (middle) addresses the media during the Royals first press conference as members of the 8-team NOJHL. Photo by Chris Dawson.

Temiscaming Royals held a press conference today at The Centre in Temiscaming, Quebec to announce that they are officially in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

This is exciting news as the North Bay Skyhawks now have a Highway 63 rival only 45 minutes down the road.

Steve McCharles, the Royals General Manager and coach is pumped about the new rivalry which will begin on September 7th as the two teams open the season against each other at Memorial Gardens.

"Yeah, I look forward to it, I think anybody that is going to be a part of the league, especially of these two clubs, are looking forward to it. Guy and I have been colleagues and we've known each other for a long time and I think both of us are really looking forward to it."

The Royals decided to leave the Greater Metro Junior Hockey League after a second place finish last season.

McCharles suggested it was a necessary move for his club to leave the non-sanctioned league that stopped a handful of his players from moving on to Major Junior Hockey last season.

Hockey Canada has put restrictions on players who opt to join the non-sanctioned league. Any players who dressed for one game in the GMHL could not play in a Hockey Canada program for the rest of that season.

"My players made it quite clear towards the end of last season and after the season that there was very little interest in them coming back if we stayed in the independent league."

The team also made some staffing announcements, expanding the scouting staff including Director of Scouting Aaron Northrup, Northern Ontario scout Stacy Jackson (North Bay native & former AHL, OHL linesman), and Baytoday’s own Chris Dawson, as Director of Player Development.

The club also has solidified other scouts in the Ottawa and Metro Toronto area as well as working on a scouting network in the United States, Quebec and Alberta.

Now that the Royals are a part of hockey Canada, this opens more doors for McCharles' players and one day soon hopes to see a Royals player drafted directly from Temiscaming into the NHL.

"We absolutely have a sincere interest in moving our players forward beyond this. It's almost like a swinging door, where they come in and hopefully they go out. By promoting our players, and seeing them get opportunities in the future, it makes the recruiting process a lot easier for us."

The Royals expect close to a dozen returning players from last year and they feel they can more than compete in the NOJHL.

North Bay Hockey fans will be able to enjoy 10 games between the Skyhawks and Royal’s next season.