Story courtesy Kortney Kenney/Frontline
While the Stanley Cup was awarded 2,690 km away from North Bay at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, the Cup featured some NOJHL flavour.
That’s because the third goalie for the Florida Panthers is none other than Evan Cormier, who plied his trade in the NOJHL with the North Bay Jr. Trappers as a 16-year-old.
“It’s still a long process, a long journey that’s going on,” Cormier said to NHL.com. “Yeah, it’s pretty surreal being here, being around the best of the best every day. I’ve been learning a lot and it’s been a great experience.”
Cormier starred for the NOJHL’s North Bay Trappers, then an affiliate of the North Bay Battalion for the 2013-14 season. That team’s director of hockey operations, Chris Dawson, had some praise for his former number one goalie.
“It’s amazing to have had the opportunity to see Evan grow, watch him get drafted into the NHL and then see him battle through all the challenges of minor pro hockey to hoist the Stanley Cup.
“He was always a hard-working, driven goaltender, and I know many of us with the Junior Trappers squad that year are very proud of him.”
The Cup champ Cormier was originally drafted by the Battalion in 2013, and then proceeded to spend the next season as the youngest player in the NOJHL. He faced more shots than any goaltender in the league at 1,310 and played the second-most number of minutes of any goaltender at just over 1,915. Cormier finished fifth in save percentage at .910 and represented the league at both the Summer Select Showcase and Central Canada Cup Challenge.
“That year was a big part of my development,” he reflected.
“It was one of the best years of junior hockey I had, and it helped get me where I am today,” he said about his NOJHL experience
During that season, the NOJHL second team all-star got a feel as a third goalie with the Battalion, backing up Jake Smith and Brendan O’Neill on the Troops’ run to the 2014 OHL finals, foreshadowing his current situation, just with a better outcome.
The next season Cormier was the backup to Smith, but was shipped to the Saginaw Spirit in January 2015 for Nick Moutrey, starting off a bit of a journeyman career for the goaltender.
Cormier was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Since turning pro and even spending part of the 2018-19 season in USports at the University of Guelph, he’s now suited up for 12 professional teams in eight years.
“It’s been difficult kind of bouncing around. I’ve just been soaking it in and learning and trying to get better,” Cormier mentioned to NHL.com. “I think my game’s been growing every year.”
But after getting the chance to hoist Lord Stanley, Cormier took to social media to show his gratitude.
“To everyone, it’s been a while since I have written a big post, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for the love and support these last few days. Winning the Stanley Cup has been a lifelong dream of mine, and it would not have been possible without all of you, from family, friends, coaches and most importantly, God. The role I played on the team was small, but I couldn’t be more grateful and blessed to be a part of that experience. So sorry I haven’t answered anyone back it’s been a crazy few days.”
While Cormier hasn’t yet played an NHL game, the netminder will always be a Stanley Cup champion, and you can’t take that away from him.
