THUNDER BAY – The Superior International Junior Hockey League season may just have come to an end, but for Rob DeGagne and the Thunder Bay North Stars, the work has just begun.
DeGagne, who recently agreed to a new three-year contract to coach the junior A team, and his staff were busy earlier this week putting a mix of prospects and veterans to the test at Fort William First Nation Arena.
The team hosted a two-day elite, invite-only tryout camp, an attempt to mine the local hockey landscape for players who fit the North Stars mold.
DeGagne said the camp, which also included veterans like Matthew Halushak and former North Star Nikolas Campbell, was a chance for the coaching staff to evaluate players who might be interested in joining the fold and helping the team improve on its fourth-place finish in 2021-22.
“We’ve got our eyes on a few,” DeGagne said, noting there were several Thunder Bay Kings prospects who took up the offer to take part in the camp.
“Obviously they’re not all going to sign with us. Some will sign, some won’t sign. Some will go somewhere else, some will go to the (Kam River Fighting) Walleye. That’s what this is all about. We had a really good turnout and we’re happy with our turnout.”
It was a chance for a group of 17- and 18-year-olds to showcase their talent, though DeGagne said he had a mostly young team last season and a lot of players are slated to return in 2022-23, so their aren’t a lot of spots to fill.
But DeGagne said he’ll never say no to top-notch talent.
“We’re looking for that bottom end, a little bit. I mean, we’re always looking for a top-six guy, but we’re probably not going to get it out of here, right away,” he said. “Maybe a year or two from now when they get a little older they might.
“We’re looking for guys who will fit in, can skate, can move, maybe some size. We’re probably all looking for the same kind of hockey player. Sometimes they don’t exist, you know.”
Given the level of competition in the SIJHL, led last season by Kam River, Red Lake, who represented the league at the Centennial Cup after winning the Bill Salonen Cup, and Dryden, DeGagne said he knows the Stars have to improve to return to championship form.
“We need to fill our third and fourth lines up and you know what, you can get some surprises. I’m pleasantly surprised with a few guys. So we’ll see how that turns out, if we can get some of them. If we can’t, we’ll move on.”
The Stars have announced at least three signings this offseason. Flin Flon, Man.’s Magnus Pearson, a 6-foot-1 forward who scored nine goals in nine games for the OCN Storm was among the first to agree to terms. Forward Bradley Moore, who had 25 points, including 19 goals for the Timmins Major U18 squad will also join the team, as will forward Easton Glousher, a graduate of the Thunder Bay Kings who had five goals and 23 points in 36 games.
