With three teams ranked in the top twenty, the Sudbury "AAA" hockey system has seldom seen such competitiveness, provincially-speaking - certainly not for the better part of the past two decades or more.
A recent 6-2-2 run by the Sudbury U12 AAA Wolves has vaulted the first year crew at this level directly into the company of both the U14 AAA Wolves (#3) and the U15 AAA Wolves (#20).
While a 2-1-1 performance at the recent Oakville Winter Classic wasn't quite enough to earn the team a spot in the semi-finals, the fact remains that their only loss (3-2 to the Mississauga Rebels) was sustained at the hands of the eventual gold medal winning squad.
Fair to say that a scoreless draw with the Toronto Red Wings (#9) followed by victories over both the Peterborough Petes (11-1) and the Barrie Colts (#23 - 3-0) has the kids building confidence as they prepare for a glut of games opposite the Soo Jr Greyhounds (#11).
"Everybody is rolling, everybody is playing to the capabilities that I think we thought these kids had," suggested head coach Blake Didone. "The three and a half month mark, around Christmas - it's that time of year where you measure where you are at."
"We're playing what I think is our best hockey of the season, with everybody contributing in many different ways."
Surrendering just four goals against in four games will allow pretty much any hockey lineup to stick around in pretty much every game, clearly a source of pride for the youngsters and the staff.
"That's not just great goaltending; that's a commitment to playing good defensive hockey," stressed Didone.
In early December, the U12 AAA Wolves squeezed wins over both the North York Rangers (4-1) and Don Mills Flyers (3-2) between defeats against both the Toronto Red Wings (3-1) and the host Vaughan Kings (7-3), beaten in the semi-final (4-1) rematch by that same team that would walk away with the championship banner in their own backyard.
"There have been a lot of things to work on this year," noted Didone, already with a clear idea of where he would like to see his efforst focused on the weeks and months ahead.
"At the AAA level, we're seeing a lot of teams that already have an established neutral zone forecheck (and transition), which is kind of our next progression," he said. "The game happens so quickly at this level and you have to change your focus from playing well on the defensive side of the puck to moving with speed up the ice on offense."
"That's a big focus."
Blessed now with a healthy roster from top to bottom, Didone hopes to capitalize on the development of the depth as the length of the season kicks in.
"If you can have the advantage in the third of having all three lines going and not playing the same kids all the time, it can help," he stated. "The whole lineup needs to be able to do that and I think we're getting there."
The 2024-2025 U12 AAA Wolves are: Ben Sabourin, Jase Halas, Maddox Mathews, Tate Cunningham, Trent Morris, Kole Ogletree, Kaesen Adair, Ally Hebert, Nate Didone, Karson Ferguson, Jarrett Marshall, Reed Robichaud, Coltan Walker, Easton Bradley, Jack Stone, Carter Kuczma and Jaxon Rocca.
Joining Blake Didone on the staff are assistant coaches Andrew Tessier, Mike Mascioli and Ben Robicahud, trainer Brendan Adair and team manager Tracy Caridade.
Still in Oakville, the Sudbury U14 AAA Wolves advanced to the championship final, settling for silver following a 4-3 loss to the Oakville Rangers. That would be their only loss after knocking off, in succession, the Upper Canada Cyclones (2-1), Team Illinois (6-1), Windsor Jr Spitfires (3-1) and the York Simcoe Express (2-1) in the semi-final encounter.
