The NOJHL’s Soo Thunderbirds General Manager Kevin Cain has never been one to hold a player back, or force a player to sacrifice his personal education desires in order to keep them on the roster.
In a trade that saw the T-birds move All Star goaltender Joel Horodziejczyk to the CCHL’s Pembroke Lumber Kings, Cain was looking to accommodate the All Star netminder while making other positions deeper as they head into this season.
That deal sent goaltender Joel Horodziejczyk to Lumber Kings, and saw forwards Jake Staples and Ryan Erickson coming back to the T-Birds.
Learning that Erickson had in fact followed through on enrolling at McMaster University for the fall semester, Cain did what any smart general manager would do. Move the player rather than see the player not bring any value back, and still allow the player to continue playing in a high quality program.
In return for Erickson, the T-Birds receive cash considerations.
The net result is that Joel Horodziejczyk is playing on a good team, Jake Staples comes to the T-Birds, and the T-Birds have additional monies to use toward developing another player, while Ryan Erickson is able to begin his education while playing on another quality team.
Everyone wins in this situation, showing that the NOJHL continues to put players first.
