2015–16 NOJHL season explained

2015–16 NOJHL season
Color:	007AC2
Color Text:	FFFFFF
League:	Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League
Sport:	Hockey
Duration:	September 11, 2015 – March 12, 2016
Finals Champ:	Soo Thunderbirds
No Of Teams:	12
Seasonslistnames:	NOJHL
Prevseason Year:	2014–15
Nextseason Year:	2016–17

The 2015–16 NOJHL season is the 38th season of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL).

In March 2016, the top teams of each division play for the Copeland-McNamara Trophy, the NOJHL championship. The winner of the Copeland-McNamara Trophy will compete in the Central Canadian Junior "A" championship, the Dudley Hewitt Cup. The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners will automatically compete in the Dudley Hewitt Cup as they are the host team for 2016. If successful against the winners of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and Superior International Junior Hockey League, the Cup champion would then move on to play in the Canadian Junior Hockey League championship, the 2016 Royal Bank Cup.

Changes

• Abitibi Eskimos relocate to Timmins, Ontario and become the Timmins Rock.
• Mattawa Blackhawks relocate to Iroquois Falls, Ontario and become Iroquois Falls Eskis.
• Sudbury Nickel Barons relocate to Rayside-Balfour, Ontario and become Rayside-Balfour Canadians.
• French River Rapids of Noelville, Ontario are granted expansion.
• Espanola Express of Espanola, Ontario are granted expansion.
• Soo Eagles rejoin league from North American Hockey League.

Standings

Final standings as of March 12, 2016.^[1]

East Division
	54	40	10	2	2	84	298	169
	54	40	10	3	1	84	278	137
	54	39	12	2	1	81	247	135
	54	29	24	0	1	59	257	219
	54	15	39	0	0	30	163	310
	54	2	49	2	1	7	124	347
West Division
	54	47	6	1	0	95	245	93
	54	35	12	5	2	77	232	142
	54	28	25	1	0	57	229	208
	54	22	30	0	2	46	182	197
	54	12	39	3	0	27	132	243
	54	10	40	4	0	24	139	326

x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched league title

2016 Copeland-McNamara Trophy Playoffs

Playoff results are listed on the official league website.^[2]

2016 Dudley Hewitt Cup Championship

Hosted by the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

Awards

• Top Defenceman (NOJHL Award) - Kyle Fransen, Rayside-Balfour Canadians^[3]
• Most Improved (Gilles Laperriere Trophy) - Nathan Hebert, Soo Thunderbirds^[3]
• Top Defensive Forward (Mitch Tetreault Memorial Trophy) - Brett Jeffries, Soo Thunderbirds^[3]
• Team Goaltending (NOJHL Award) - Soo Thunderbirds
• Top GAA (Wayne Chase Memorial Award) - Brendon Gordon, Soo Thunderbirds^[3]
• Top Scorer (Jimmy Conners Memorial Trophy) - Brayden Stortz, Kirkland Lake Gold Miners^[3]
• Most Valuable Player (Carlo Catterello Trophy) - Hunter Atchison, Cochrane Crunch^[3]
• Top Rookie (John Grignon Trophy) - Bradley Chenier, Rayside-Balfour Canadians^[3]
• Most Gentlemanly Player (Onaping Falls Huskies Trophy) - Brennan Kelly, French River Rapids^[3]
• Top Team Player (NOJHL Trophy) - Hunter Atchison, Cochrane Crunch^[3]
• Scholastic Award (NOJHL Trophy) - Brandon Grandinetti, Soo Thunderbirds^[4]
• CJHL Scholastic Nominee Award - Brandon Grandinetti, Soo Thunderbirds
• Playoff's Most Valuable Player (NOJHL Trophy) - Michael Caruso, Soo Thunderbirds
• Coach of the Year (Mirl "Red" McCarthy Memorial Award) - Ryan Leonard, Cochrane Crunch^[3]
• Top Executive (Joe Drago Trophy) - Jim Bruce, Powassen Voodoos^[3]

See also

• 2016 Royal Bank Cup
• Dudley Hewitt Cup
• List of NOJHL seasons
• Ontario Junior Hockey League
• Superior International Junior Hockey League
• Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League
• 2015 in ice hockey
• 2016 in ice hockey

External links

• Official website of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League
• Official website of the Canadian Junior Hockey League

Notes and References

1. Web site: Standings.
2. Web site: Playoffs.
3. Web site: NOJHL Announces 2015-16 Season Award Winners; 1st & 2nd All-Star Teams . The Junior Hockey News . 11 March 2016.
4. Web site: Thunderbirds' Grandinetti named NOJHL – RBC scholastic player of the year . Junior Hockey News . 26 April 2016.