Sitting 1-2 in provincial rankings (My Hockey Rankings), the accolades for the Soo U11 AA Jr Greyhounds and the Copper Cliff U11 AA Reds have been plentiful this year, with the latter claiming an International Silver Stick title back in January.

But when the dust settled on the U11 AA Tournament of Champions in Timmins on Sunday, it was the Sudbury U11 "AA" Wolves who were clutching the banner proudly – this despite posting a 1-3 record in round robin play that included losses to both Sault Ste Marie (5-0) and Copper Cliff (5-2).

“The irony is that we were about a goal shy of being eliminated and then we go on what you might call a “Cinderella” run on Sunday,” noted Sudbury head coach Elliot Richardson. “But the way our kids were defending and grinding, you could just kind of feel it.”

It wasn’t as though the Wolves were blowing anyone out of the water.

The underdogs got up 3-1 on goals from Greyson Reipas, Clayton Robins and Hudson Reipas and held on for a 3-2 win over the Hounds in the semis and stormed out to a 4-1 lead over Copper Cliff (Sonny Larochelle-2; Elliot Burton; Madden Albert) and eventually edged the Reds 4-3 in the gold medal affair.

“Regardless of how our season series shaped up with those two teams, regardless of how our round robin shaped up, we were constantly getting better all season,” noted Richardson, who pointed to a late-season victory over Copper Cliff as being key to his team’s self belief.

"The kids knew what to do on the ice."

That - and key goals at the beginning of a pair of crucial periods ultimately set the tone, "putting them in their heels, right away", as Richardson stressed.

The balance of the 2025-2026 roster of the Sudbury U11 "AA" Wolves is, as follows: Elijah Burns, Easton Desjardins, Evan Gilchrist, Kaden Luttrell, Benoit Poulin, Félix Marier, Félix Seguin, Thomas Sirman, Grayson Vaillancourt, Spencer Walker and Nolan Webster.

The team staff features Elliot Richardson, assistant coaches Ben Desjardins, Jérémie Albert and Shawn Sirman and team manager Jennifer Burns.

The upcoming weekend sees both the U13 "AA" TOC (Coniston / Carmichael) and the U16 "AA" TOC (McLelland - Copper Cliff) taking place locally, with one more weekend remaining prior to the start of OHF (Ontario Hockey Federation) or All-Ontario "AAA" Championships.