The Soo Thunderbirds are a Junior "A"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team from

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in northern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of the St. Mary's River directly across from its "twin city," Sault Ste. Marie, in the state of Michigan. The city's population was 72,051 at the 2021 census, makin ...

, Canada. They are a part of the

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Junior ice hockey league with eleven teams in Northeastern Ontario and Upper Michigan. The league is a constituent member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and is governed by the ...

(NOJHL).

History

Soo Thunderbirds first came into being as a junior hockey program in from 1978 to 1982 through a group started by the late Zoltan Kovacs, Sr. Zoltan, who emigrated to Canada from Hungary in 1956, started the Thunderbirds of the former International Junior B Hockey League to keep more young hockey players at home. Abbie Carricato coached the Thunderbirds during Zoltan's ownership period (1978-1982). The Thunderbirds won three IJHL championships during Zoltan's ownership. The IJHL later folded. The Soo Thunderbirds announced they would become the Soo Jr. Greyhounds for 2002–03 to establish closer relations with the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. This only lasted one season and became the Soo Thunderbirds once again. In 2012, the Thunderbirds won the NOJHL League Championship as well as the coveted

Dudley Hewitt Cup The Dudley-Hewitt Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy awarded to the Central Canadian Junior A champion. The trophy is currently decided by round robin tournament format, at the conclusion of the playoffs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League ...

. They went on to play at the

Royal Bank Cup Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

Humboldt, Saskatchewan Humboldt is a city in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located 113 km east of Saskatoon at the junction of Saskatchewan Highway 5, Highway 5 and Saskatchewan Highway 20, Highway 20. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipali ...

where they lost in the semifinals. The Thunderbirds won NOJHL titles back-to-back in 2014–15 and 2015–16. In 2015, the Thunderbirds would again win the Dudley Hewitt Cup but lose in the finals in 2016. Following the 2015–16 season and Dudley Hewitt Cup campaign, it was announced that owner, Albert Giommi, had sold the organization to a group called The Tech 921 Ltd., led by former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

player and

coach, Denny Lambert. Following the sale, general manager Jamie Henderson and team president Kevin Cain both resigned. Head coach Jordan Smith was later also assigned the general manager position. In 2017, the team was struggling financially and the ownership had not committed playing the 2017–18 season. On March 17, local businessman Darren Smyl took over operations of the Thunderbirds in order to keep the team from leaving. However, general manager and head coach Jordan Smith would move on to become the associate coach of the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

in the

. Smith would be replaced by

John Parco John Parco (born August 25, 1971) is an Italian-Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played most of his professional career with Asiago HC in the Serie A. He is formerly the head coach of the Soo Thunderbirds in the Northern Ontar ...

, a local who played most of his professional career in Europe and had been coaching

SG Cortina Sportivi Ghiaccio Cortina is a professional ice hockey team from Italy. They play their home games at ''Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio'', located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Veneto. They currently play in the Alps Hockey League and formerly the Serie A. ...

in Italy. The Thunderbirds also changed rinks and moved into the John Rhodes Community Centre after playing at the Essar Centre. With the ownership change, the Thunderbirds updated to a new color scheme and logo in blue, orange, and white. In 2021, Smyl sold the team to an ownership composed of former NHL player

Trevor Daley Trevor Daley (born October 9, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, currently serving as a Special Assistant to the President of Hockey Operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He playe ...

, longtime professional player Cole Jarrett, and Lee-Anne Jarrett. Cole took over as head coach of the team and Jamie Henderson was brought back as general manager.

Season-by-season results

Dudley Hewitt Cup

Central Canada Championships
''Winners of the

NOJHL The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Junior ice hockey league with eleven teams in Northeastern Ontario and Upper Michigan. The league is a constituent member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and is governed by the N ...

OJHL The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league dates back to 1954 where i ...

SIJHL The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a Junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontar ...

, and Host''
Round robin play with 2nd vs 3rd in semi-final to advance against 1st in the finals.

Royal Bank Cup / Centennial Cup

CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
'' Dudley Hewitt Champions - Central, Fred Page Champions - Eastern, Western Canada Cup Champions - Western, Western Canada Cup - Runners Up and Host''
Round robin play with top 4 in semi-final and winners to finals. Revised Format 2022
''

Maritime Junior Hockey League The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It consists of six teams from New Brunswick, which make up the EastLink North Division (formerly ...

Quebec Junior Hockey League The Ligue de Hockey Junior du Québec (LHJQ) or Quebec Junior Hockey League (QJHL) is a Hockey Québec Canadian Junior A ice hockey league and is a member of Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The winner of the QJHL playoffs c ...

Central Canada Hockey League The Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL; French: ''Ligue de hockey du Canada centrale'', LHCC) is a Junior A ice hockey league in North America composed of 12 teams – all around the National Capital Region. The CCHL is one of the nine Junior ...

Ontario Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league dates back to 1954 where i ...

Superior International Junior Hockey League The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a Junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontar ...

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. The 2023–24 season began with 16 teams, however 5 ...

, and Host''. The BCHL declared itself an independent league and there is no BC representative.
Round-robin play in two 5-team pools with top three in pool advancing to determine a Champion.

References

External links