In the spring of 2024, the Greater Sudbury Cubs followed up a regular season campaign that saw the team finish second only to the Blind River Beavers with a record of 43-12-0-1, winning 12 of 16 post-season games to secure the NOJHL crown and make their first trip to the Centennial Cup in nearly two decades.
One year later, the Cubs were not only on top of the standings when the regular season concluded, but would go on to suffer only three losses in making a return visit to nationals, defending their NOJHL title in the process.
And while the Countryside Sports Complex crew recently ensured that they will enter the playoffs as the #1 seed, the likelihood of emerging from all three rounds of spring play (QF / SF / final) with only a singular setback per round on their resume might be too much to ask of a squad that is likely to be without their leading scorer for the entirety of the pathway leading to an NOJHL banner.
A leg injury suffered by Nolan Newton changes the complexion of things just a little, as one might envision when one removes a total of 248 career NOJHL points from any roster in Northern Ontario.
That said, with the likes of Mason Walker (88 pts), Owen King (74 pts – 44 goals), all-time highest scoring defenceman Spencer Horgan (72 pts) and Daks Klinkhammer (65 pts – 101 games of OHL experience) still on hand, the remaining Cubs can still put the puck in the net with the best of them.
And that’s before we factor in Briir Long (2.4 points per game – but just 10 GPs), Grant Booth (5 pts in 7 games with the Cubs – but 70 pts in 92 games with Espanola) and Noah Aboflan (33 games and eight points with the London Knights – but has not played yet in Sudbury), all of whom are likely to contribute to some extend or another between now and the end of April.
With all of this firepower at his disposal, it’s small wonder that offensive production is the least of the concerns of head coach Darryl Moxam. “You’ve got to be looking to better yourself every single day as a group, whether it’s the staff or the players, and for us, defense has been a big focus recently,” he said.
“We haven’t liked at all, the past two weeks, our neutral zone play. I thought it was phenomenal tonight (last Thursday vs Soo Eagles), in terms of our forwards closing and angling and putting more pressure on pucks.”
“It makes coming out from our own blueline a lot easier for our defenseman.”
Establishing himself as one of the most respected voices in the room in his two years with the Cubs, Daks Klinkhammer recorded 29 points in the 30 regular season games upon being added to the Cubs' roster in November of 2024 - but then added 24 points in just 15 post-season games as the style of play switched to favour those who can withstand the physical grind - and who excel in their own end of play.
"From last year to this year, our "D" zone and systems are better are just more consistent," said Klinkhammer, a native of Ajax but with family ties to the Sudbury region. "We have focused on this for the entire season."
Canadian hockey fans are well aware: playoff hockey is different hockey – and the Cubs first round matchup with the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners looks even more different than usual.
With a pair of Canadian Curling Championships set to occupy the Gerry McCrory Countryside Arena through until early April, the Cubs and Miners will play the Sudbury home encounters at the T.M. Davies Community Centre in Walden.
“There are 100% going to be adjustments made,” said Moxam. “We talked about it with the guys for about a month now. You look down deep in the O Zone and there are things that we can run at Countryside here that will not be available there. We’re aware of it and we’ve worked on it.”
“But there’s no bad shots in that rink,” Moxam added. “It’s such a small ice surface. We’ve got to have a shoot first mentality. Sometimes in our rink, we’re not always that way.”
Still, the Cubs can point to lopsided wins by scores of 9-3, 7-1 and 10-2 as proof that regardless of the ice surface in play, talent alone should allow Sudbury to prevail in round one, likely in just four games - assessment that Klinkhammer could certainly endorse.
"I think we definitely have a different dynamic with this team, but it's still the same mentality," he said. "We still have the tools to have a long playoff run. It's just a matter of applying ourselves."
For their part, the Gold Miners will undoubtedly draw on a 3-2 overtime loss in Sudbury as validation that they can compete with the two-time defending champs.
When all is said and done, most pundits would agree that round one should easily go the way of the Cubs – but come round two and hopefully round three, things get really interesting really quick.
And if you are a fun of intense playoff hockey, these encounters are well worth taking in.
The Cubs began their 2026 post-season journey Thursday night in Lively, with game two set for Friday night at 7:00 p.m., at the same venue.
