SUDBURY, Ont. – As the 2026 portion of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League regular season gets set to commence Sunday afternoon on two fronts, each of the 11 member clubs will be striving to secure berths in the upcoming postseason, which is slated to begin in mid-March.
Here’s a ‘By the Numbers’ look at the teams, and the players heading to the resumption of play:
1: In terms of total points, the Greater Sudbury Cubs are No. 1 in the NOJHL with 49.
Meanwhile, the Timmins Rock are first in the league in winning percentage at .804.
2: The five-pack of Spencer Horgan (Greater Sudbury Cubs); Marcus Krats (Powassan Voodoos); Matthew Kim (Timmins Rock); Cole Miller (Hearst Lumberjacks) and Fynn Mantari (Kirkland Lake Gold Miners) share the league lead in game-winning goals among defencemen with two each.
Of note, Miller’s two deciding tallies have come on just three markers scored, while Mantari has his pair in four tallies supplied.
3: Hearst’s Chase Thompson is just three games shy of 200 in his NOJHL career. Only 17 players in league history have accomplished this feat.
He’s also presently on a seven-game heater for his club, having amassed 16 points in that span with five goals and 11 assists.
Meanwhile, Nolan Newton of the Greater Sudbury Cubs is three games short of 150.
4: Second-year Greater Sudbury Cubs forward Eidan Macartney tops all skaters in shorthanded goals with four.
5: The trio of Ty McKay (Hearst Lumberjacks); Nolan Newton (Greater Sudbury Cubs) and Cameron Menard (Hearst Lumberjacks) share the league-lead in game-winning goals with five apiece.
6: This is the amount of contests Hearst’s Mathieu Comeau needs to play to move into second-spot all-time in career NOJHL games played.
With 238 appearances under his belt in his time in the league, Comeau is just those six outings shy of surpassing the 243 match-ups that Chris Pontes skated in with both the North Bay Skyhawks and the Sudbury Jr. Wolves from 2004 through 2010.
The NOJHL record holder in games played is Matt Neault, who appeared 268 times with the Rayside-Balfour Canadians.
7: Micah Seery of the Soo Eagles wears jersey No. 7.
He presently paces all NOJHL rookie defencemen in offensive production, having registered 25 points from the back end in his first 33 contests.
8: Timmins’ Thomas Beard has etched his name on the game sheet in each of his past eight games, scoring twice and helped set-up seven others along the way.
9: Greater Sudbury’s Nolan Newton is just nine goals away from 100 in his time in the NOJHL.
He currently sits second in the league in goals-scored this season with 25.
10: With 10 shorthanded tallies apiece to date, the Soo Thunderbirds and Espanola Paper Kings share the NOJHL lead in man-down markers, so far this season.
11: Sporting the No. 11 jersey on the ice, Alex Povorozniouk has been over a point-per-game performer to date with the Soo Eagles.
On the season, ‘Povo’ has 23 in his first 22 outings on the campaign. He’s also collected 84 points in his first 64 NOJHL contests, having banged in 29 goals while assisting on 55 more.
12: With a dozen wins on home ice, Greater Sudbury leads the league in that department, having gone 12-3-0-1 overall to date at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
13: Veteran NOJHL defenceman Spencer Horgan needs just 13 more points to reach the 200-mark in his career.
Horgan, who leads all league blueliners in scoring this season with 31 points, has scored 61 times and assisted on 126 others in his time in the league.
14: Entering the resumption of play in 2026, Frédéric Cousineau of the Timmins Rock leads all NOJHL goaltenders in victories with 14.
Cousineau has won each of his past 11 appearances between the pipes for the Rock and leads all league netminders in save percentage at .930.
15: Donning the No. 15 jersey for hometown Soo Thunderbirds, Gavin Killoran has been more than solid so far in his rookie NOJHL season.
The 17-year-old Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., product currently sits fourth in league scoring among rookies with 24 points in 31 games, including having notched 11 goals.
16: This marks the number of consecutive victories the Timmins Rock have racked up entering their road meeting with the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners Sunday afternoon.
They have also defeated the Gold Miners in 54 straight games heading into the matinee tomorrow at Joe Mavrinac Community Complex
17: Entering the New Year, the Lumberjacks’ Mathieu Comeau is riding a 17-game point streak, having collected 39 points in that span on 13 tallies and 26 helpers.
18: Sitting 18 points away from 150 in his time in the NOJHL, James Legler has been a model of consistency with the Soo Thunderbirds.
He has been a point-per-game producer for the T-Birds at 132, in as many outings, on 33 goals and 99 assists.
19: Through 19 games with the Greater Sudbury Cubs, Mason Walker has scored 19 times and chipped in on 18 more.
Walker has only been held pointless twice and has produced 11 multi-point performances while notching four game-winning markers.
20: Topping the Iroquois Falls Storm in scoring heading into the New Year is third year forward Lucas Willoughby.
He has collected 20 points through his first 19 games on five goals and 15 assists. Nine of his points have come on the power play.
Willoughby is also one of two players to score on a penalty shot this season, which was an overtime winner against Kirkland Lake back on October 7 at the NOJHL Showcase in Sudbury.
21: Defenceman Braeden Begley of the Powassan Voodoos leads all NOJHL rookies in assists with 21.
He also sits seconds in rookie points among defencemen at 24.
22: As part of the Timmins Rock’s 22 wins so far this season, 16 of them have been in a row.
They have also only lost twice in regulation to a NOJHL team since early October.
23: With 23 points to date, Jonah Gareau leads the French River Rapids in scoring on seven goals and 16 assists.
His numbers put him in a tie for seventh overall in NOJHL rookie scoring.
24: Kirkland Lake Gold Miners rookie Vaive Hickey leads all first-year skaters on the squad in offensive numbers with 24, including eight goals.
That ties him for fourth among all league rookies in scoring.
25: With 25 tallies to date, Greater Sudbury’s Nolan Newton sits second in the league in goals scored.
26: The next assist for Lucas Caulfield of the Soo Eagles will be his 26th of the season.
He’s currently tied for eighth in the league in helpers.
27: Wearing No. 27 with the Espanola Paper Kings, Owen Smith leads the NOJHL in rookie scoring with 33 points, through his first 26 games.
Smith is also tops in goals by first-year skaters, as well as in game-winners, with 14 and four respectively.
28: Camden Cowan, who wears No. 28 with the Blind River Beavers, leads his club in scoring with 23 points in his first 28 games.
Cowan has already established personal single-season highs in both goals and points with 11 and 23 in that order. Five of his markers have come on the man advantage, which also leads Blind River.
29: Entering game action Sunday, Timmins’ Kaeden McArthur sits 29 points short of 200 in his career.
The veteran member of the Rock, who was the NOJHL’s RBC Forward of the Month for December, has amassed 171 points in his time in the league with 77 goals and 94 assists in 146 appearances.
30: Cameron Menard, now of the Hearst Lumberjacks, tops all NOJHL skaters in goals with 30.
Those all came as a member of the Espanola Paper Kings. Menard will look to notch his first marker with Hearst when they host Iroquois Falls on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Claude Larose Recreation Centre.
31: Through their first 31 games on the campaign, the Soo Thunderbirds pace the NOJHL in penalty kill proficiency at 84.5%.
The T-Birds have allowed a league-low 17 goals-against while shorthanded to date.
Meanwhile, No. 31 with the French River Rapids, Keiran Caughran, leads all NOJHL netminders in saves made with 793.
32: Through his first 32 NOJHL contests, Espanola centre Joseph Coates has yet to incur a penalty.
The well-disciplined Paper Kings forward also leads his team in scoring with 47 points, which also puts him in sixth spot in the entire league.
33: Among those with 33 points on the campaign, Aidan Atkinson of the Soo Thunderbirds has done it in 31 outings.
He has also registered 10 multi-point efforts, with the T-Birds going 9-1 in those contests.
34: Of the 34 goals Daks Klinkhammer has scored for the Greater Sudbury Cubs through his time in the NOJHL, his team has gone 9-0-0-0 in the past nine games in which he has tallied at least once.
Since last season, the Cubs also boast a record of 16-4-0-0 when he has found the back of the net.
35: To date 35 active players on NOJHL rosters have scored 10, or more, goals so far this season.
Of those skaters, eight of them are rookies, led by Espanola’s Owen Smith with 14.
The others are Logan Stawizynski (Eagles) 13; Benjamin Coupal (Voodoos) 13; Michael Morascyzk (Rapids) 13; Gavin Killoran (Thunderbirds) 11; Theo Bourdon-Lemoyne (Lumberjacks) 10; Pavel Barclay (Voodoos) 10 and Adam Pszeniczny (Thunderbirds) 10.
36: Since last season, 36 players have registered five, or higher, point totals in a single game.
Among the current active players, Chase Thompson has the highest one-game total, when he racked up seven in a win against Kirkland Lake back on October 12.
37: With 37 points to his credit, Ryan Saginaw of the Powassan Voodoos is tied for 10th in NOJHL scoring.
He has notched 18 goals and dished out 19 assists to each set personal single-season bests in each category.
38: A veteran of 174 NOJHL contests, Lucas Lowe of the Timmins Rock has averaged 38 points a season so far in his career, with another 20-plus contests the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign to boot his overall total of 152.
39: While wearing No. 39 in his time with the Espanola Paper Kings, netminder Jack Helkie joins his new team, the Hearst Lumberjacks, leading all NOJHL goalkeepers in shutouts with three.
40: 2026 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Onaping Falls Huskies fourth and final NOJHL championship title.
After finishing first in the overall standings back in 1985-86, the Huskies went on to defeat Elliot Lake in semifinal action before roaring back to win the final three games in the final to knock off the Sudbury Cubs in a series that went the distance.
41: Ty McKay of the Hearst Lumberjacks has collected 41 points so far this season to sit 10th in NOJHL scoring.
He shares third spot in the league in tallies with 22, having already set personal single-season highs in goals, assists and points.
42: Since March of 2023, there have been 42 penalty shots taken in NOJHL regular season play.
Of those attempts, 12 players converted on their opportunities and scored, while 30 skaters were denied on their attempts.
43: There have been 43 rookies who have collected 10-plus points so far this season.
The Soo Thunderbirds have the most rookies in this group with eight, while the French River Rapids and Kirkland Lake Gold Miners have the six each.
44: Kyle Navarro of the Greater Sudbury Cubs is the lone active player in the NOJHL to wear No. 44.
The defenceman is closing in personal single-season highs in goals, assists and points.
45: Getting plenty of pucks to the target, Greater Sudbury currently leads the league in average shots on goal per-game at 45.3.
46: With 46 power play goals scored so far this season, the Cubs lead the league in that department.
47: Defenceman Spencer Horgan of the Greater Sudbury Cubs is presently averaging 47 points-per-season as part of his stellar NOJHL career.
He currently leads all league D-men in scoring with 31 points in his first 26 games.
48: This marks the number of the NOJHL record for most wins in a single season, established by the Soo Thunderbirds set during the 2013-14 season.
The Thunderbirds racked those victories en route to 48-5-1-2 overall record.
However, the Soo would go on to fall in six games in the NOJHL championship series against the second-place Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.
49: Having made 49 appearances overall in his NOJHL career, Greater Sudbury Cubs netminder Matthew Vahramian sports a 20-4-1-0 record in his time with the Cubs.
This includes a 7-0-0-1 mark in his past eight starts with a 1.74 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in that span.
50: Over the past 10 seasons there have been only been four players who have scored 50, or more, goals in a single campaign.
This includes Owen King, who notched 50 in 2024-25 while with the Blind River Beavers.
The others are Brady Harroun (Timmins Rock) who had 50 in 2022-23; Logan Fredericks (Kirkland Lake Gold Miners) as he tallied 51 times in 2015-16, as did Hunter Atchison (Cochrane Crunch), who notched 50 markers that same year.
