Six games in the books with four decided by a single goal – five if you back out a late empty-netter that gave the Timmins Rock a two-goal cushion (4-2) over the Soo Thunderbirds in the late afternoon matchup.

All in all, it was a very good Day 1 for the folks involved with the NOJHL Showcase taking place on October 1st and 2nd at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.

“It’s a really good league,” noted Espanola Paper Kings' owner, president and head coach Jason Rapcewicz. “We have a product up here that a lot of people don’t know about.”

Beyond the general across the board competitiveness of the league comes the more important fact that players who make their way north from various cities and towns in Ontario, across Canada and even extending to all sorts of outposts south of the border do so knowing that the chance to develop their game is simply better in the NOJHL than perhaps a few other regions where the logjam of young prospects can be detrimental to those who are not at the top of that pile.

“It’s a great opportunity for players to come here and get some things that they wouldn’t in other leagues: playing in more situations, opportunities to get a little more ice time and grow as a player,” said Rapcewicz.

“It’s a huge opportunity for younger guys to come up and not have to ride the bench.”

The simple truth is that the smaller hockey markets in northern Ontario have to play to their strengths.

“In some cities down south, they struggle to get ice time,” continued the 47 year-old native of Hamilton who enjoyed a brief stint as a player in England as well as venturing off to Winston-Salem (North Carolina) to cap off his playing days in 2003-2004.

“A lot of communities here in the north embrace their junior teams. The town of Espanola has been great; the staff are fantastic with us. I really have no complaints.”

On the ice, the Paper Kings are still getting their bearings with a team that differs notably from the 2023-2024 edition. Espanola netted no less than six goals in the middle stanza of their encounter with the Elliot Lake Vikings on Tuesday – and needed every single one of them in forging out a 6-5 win, improving to 2-4-1-0.

“My team is definitely making games exciting for the fans that come out,” laughed Rapcewicz.

“We’re super young,” he added. “I think we’re the second youngest team in the league – but we have a lot of speed, a lot of skill. We have guys that work hard and are super interested in getting better.”

Amazingly, the grand total of 11 goals that were potted in the back and forth affair were registered by no less than eleven different players.

The Powassan Voodoos – Blind River Beavers battle that followed suit on ice pad #1 could not have provided for a much more contrasting affair. The Beavers opened the scoring with the only goal of period one courtesy of Noah Szczurek before Powassan rallied with two in the second (Anthony Boyes; Justin Rousseau).

In the end, a solid defensive effort and a 27-save effort by the combined tandem of Miles Gordon and Tyson Wilcox gifted head coach Peter Goulet a 2-1 victory on his birthday as the Voodoos doubled their win total, bumping to 2-4-0-0.

A native of Calgary, captain and veteran defenceman Jackson Smith started his junior career with the Camrose Kodiaks, veered off for a short trek south with the Colorado Grit before being acquired by Powassan last January.

“Peter (Goulet) called and I gave it a chance and haven’t looked back since,” said Smith, who relied on the word of friends through the hockey world to provide a stamp of approval on his move to the NOJHL.

“There were a few guys I know who had played for Pete and the biggest feedback from them was that he was the most honest coach you will ever have,” stressed Smith. “That means a lot. He’s a straight shooter.”

With a few other points of reference on his resume, Smith has no issue pumping the tires of the NOJHL. “It’s a good league,” said the 20 year-old blueliner. “The top teams are always really good teams. Last year, it was us and Sudbury in the final and it was a great final.”

In terms of working on his game, Smith bee-lined to the one aspect he viewed as paramount.

“I think for everyone, it’s speed,” he said. “Everywhere you go, it’s always faster than where you were before. If I can keep building on my speed, I’ll be fine.”

The Greater Sudbury Cubs might not be the dominant force, game in and game out, that they were last year in claiming the league title, but thanks to a 5-4 win over the Hearst Lumberjacks Tuesday night, they are leading the way in the 12-team loop with a record of 6-1-1-1 - though they have played at least two more games than every other team.

Earning player of the game accolades for Sudbury with a goal and an assist versus Hearst, Eidan Macartney sits third in team scoring (11 points in 8 games) after making his way north from his home in Kitchener-Waterloo.

His numbers were much more modest in his draft year with the Kitchener U16 AAA Jr Rangers, leading to a cross-roads of sort for the well-spoken young forward. “After that season, I had considered just stopping playing hockey,” he said. “My heart really wasn’t in it for the last part of that season.”

Thankfully, his love for the game returned that summer and a much better 2022-2023 campaign with the Guelph U18 AAA Jr Gryphons opened the door to a rookie junior year with the Cambridge Redhawks of the GOJHL (16 pts in 42 games), where the Cubs spotted the prospect.

“Thankfully, I didn’t put down the hockey stick,” said Macartney. “I’m happy right now to be where I am.”

And as has been noted already in this story, continued growth is critical to the development of any athlete.

“In my U18 year, I started to focus more offensively,” said Macartney. “I was not very confident in my U16 year. In Guelph, I was really fortunate to have a really good coaching staff and a really good group of guys around me and they kind of let me play freely.”

“Since then, I’ve been building on that. I still think I have more to offer, but I am in a much better place right now.”

For an increasingly growing number of talented teens, that “better place” is turning out to be the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, home to some of the most exciting hockey in our neck of the woods.