SUDBURY, Ont. – The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League is mourning the loss of former coach of the year award recipient Tom McCarthy, who passed away suddenly following complications due to a medical issue.
Back in 2011-12, McCarthy was named the NOJHL’s top coach after guiding the North Bay Trappers to a league-best seven-win improvement from the season previously.
A year later, he led the Trappers to a first-place finish in the NOJHL standings with an impressive 34-7-3-4 mark before going on to see his club win the league championship and a berth in the Dudley-Hewitt Cup.
His efforts in the NOJHL also earned him a selection to serve as head coach of CJHL East at the 2013 Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Prospects Games in Nova Scotia.
A first-round selection on the Minnesota North Stars in the 1979 National Hockey League Entry Draft, McCarthy went on to play 529 NHL games, amassing 437 points with the Minnesota and the Boston Bruins on 190 goals and 247 assists.
While with the North Stars, he earned a spot on the Campbell Conference squad at the 1983 NHL All-Star game, as a left winger, and scored a goal as part of a 9-3 victory for his squad.
The NOJHL offers its deepest condolences to Tom’s family and friends during this difficult time.
Photo: Tina Comeau/The Chronicle-Herald
