A huge honour for the Thunder Bay North Stars in being ranked number two out of 133 teams across Canada for junior hockey, among six different leagues.
However, head coach Rob DeGagne admits having almost 50 wins can mean drawbacks, such as a target on your back.
“It’s a really hard thing to motivate your team, because you seem to win so much, not every night they’re not as motivated as they should be. And everybody else in the league says ‘Oh, the big boys are in town, we want to knock them off'”.
The coach adds there are scouts from different leagues, including the NHL, watching the players.
He’s been the bench boss since 2017, and gives credit to a culture where everyone is comfortable and wants to play.
“We seem to get the most out of the players, we’ve recruited well. Most of the kids are all from Thunder Bay, 23 are from Thunder Bay. In junior hockey that’s very, very uncommon.”
The coach adds the rankings are based on a number of criteria.
“The rankings are based on your winning percentage, goals for and against, penalty kill percentage, power play percentage, and then they put a weighting factor of the league you play in, because they feel some leagues are better or worse than others.”
The coach adds the credit goes to the players who work hard, while he just sends them onto the ice.
