The North Bay U18 AAA Trappers team finished on top of the Great North U18 league winning the title back in March of 2023.
However, as with minor hockey teams, there is a big change over to the squad that finished second in the regular season standings and upset the favourite Soo U18 Greyhounds 8-5 in the championship game in Sault Ste. Marie to cap off the Great North U18 Tournament of Champions.
Doug Sanders stepped down as head coach and has been replaced by longtime Trappers coach Guy Blanchard who had coached the North Bay U15 AA Trappers last season. He is joined behind the bench by former NHLer Vitali Yachmenev and another longtime Trappers coach in Justin Huycke.
Another big change comes with the U16 AAA and U18 AAA teams combining forces in 2023-24. So North Bay will only have one team in the Great North U18 league for the first time since the mid 2010's.
"Unfortunately, this is the only way we could get it done," admitted Blanchard.
"We did not have the crew to have a U16 team and I don't think we would have had a crew for a U18 team if we did not combine them."
With many of the top 17-year-old Trappers graduating to junior hockey, only twin towers Heath and Grayson Bradley return from that championship squad.
Meantime, another handful of North Bay AAA players opted to head west to play for the Sudbury U18 AAA Wolves this fall which impacted the recruiting process for Blanchard this summer.
"I think the talent group of our U16s is going to attract some people to our games and at the same time, these are good players they just need a little bit of grooming time to play at that level and within a couple of months they will get adapted to the speed, quickness and physicality of the U18s and I think this group will be fine," said Blanchard.
"We will be competitive in the pack with what we have. Right now they are hard-working kids, they are learning the game a little bit so there is a lot of information that is given to them, and as long as they have the work ethic they will grab it."
Blanchard's goal is to finish in the top four and compete in the tournament of champions which will be hosted in Sudbury this spring.
"We have two good goaltenders, we have some young D's," he said.
"We are hoping to beef up our lineup with a few players before the deadline so we will keep those cards open in case they appear and then we will go from there.
"We are looking to have a good year and get these players ready for the next level and that is what our program is about, it is to get the players prepared if they are interested in playing juniors - whether that is major junior, junior A, junior B anywhere else. I coach for that reason."
Blanchard is also confident he could have a handful of players drafted in the U18 and U16 OHL draft's in the spring of 2024 led by 2008 birth year players Cam Lockhart, Ben Brunton and Carson Ruddy. Hudson Prisco-Duquette is a 2007 forward who was on the radar of some OHL GMs in 2023, and with a big season he could be selected in the U18 draft.
"There are certainly some good talented kids that could certainly make some noise but it will really be up to them," said Blanchard, who saw five of his U16 AAA Trappers selected when he coached that team in 2021-22.
"They will be put in situations where they will have to perform at an intense level and it is up to them to step up and be that guy that can make that jump."
The U18 Trappers have played only two pre-season contests earning a split in the home and home pre-season contests against the North Central U18 AAA Predators.
The Trappers start the season on the road when they travel to New Liskeard on Saturday to take on the Cubs.
