SUDBURY, Ont. – A pair of Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League alumni have earned themselves a spot on the final National Hockey League draft list released Tuesday by NHL Central Scouting.
Former Soo Thunderbirds forward Boris Katchouk, who currently skates for the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL was ranked 25th among North American skaters while ex North Bay Trappers goaltender Evan Cormier was tabbed 11th among netminders.
In 29 games with the Thunderbirds in 2015-16 he amassed 45 points on 18 goals and 25 assists.
Katchouk also went on to add 15 points in the club’s playoff run to the NOJHL title.
He also had six points, including three tallies, in helping Sault Ste. Marie capture the Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canada Jr. A championship and also picked up two assists for the T-Birds at the RBC Cup.
Katchouk was previously named the NOJHL’s Gongshow Gear player of the month last February.
As for Cormier, the 18-year-old netminder from Bowmanville, Ont., spent the 2013-14 campaign manning the nets for the then North Bay Trappers where he was the youngest player in the NOJHL.
Facing more shots than any goaltender in the league at 1,310, Cormier finished fifth in save percentage at .910.
He played the second most minutes of any stopper in the NOJHL at just over 1,915 and represented the league at both the Summer Select Showcase and the Central Canada Cup Challenge.
For his on-ice efforts Cormier was named a second team NOJHL all-star in goal.
He is presently a member of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, which features former French River Rapids bench boss Moe Mantha serving as their current head coach.
The 2016 NHL Draft goes June 24-25 in Buffalo, N.Y.
