NOHL Showcase Faces Off this Weekend in Sudbury!

And so, the 2025-2026 Northern Ontario Hockey League (NOHL) season begins.

The 2025-2026 season will get off to a fast start this weekend in Sudbury, as the Sudbury Wolves will be hosting the first NOHL Showcase weekend, which will now include 4 teams from Thunder Bay at the ages of U12 to U15 age categories.

This new initiative between the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) and the Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) will see AAA teams from Thunder Bay travel to Sudbury, Sault Ste Marie and North Bay this year to partake in the inaugural Showcase weekends. This is a significant step forward to continue to help the development of AAA hockey players in the NOHA and HNO. This new initiative between the NOHA and HNO will see teams play at least 9 more league games throughout the year to complement the games that the NOHA teams will also play against teams from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) West Conference.

The NOHA has made significant strides to adjust the landscape of AAA hockey in Northern Ontario by creating a new structure that meets the demands of competitive hockey families in the north. The inclusion of U12 to U15 AAA team in the OMHA West was a first step to improving the programming offered in the north.

“The NOHA continues to work with other Associations and Federations across the province to improve the offering to try our best to have players understand that there is no need to travel outside of the NOHA to play hockey during their minor hockey years," says Mark Lockhart, President of the North Bay and District Trappers Hockey Association.

“This year all our U12 to U15 teams will play their twelve (12) to (18) regular season games, their nine (9) games against teams in the OMHA West division, their league playoffs, three (3) Showcase weekends in northern Ontario that include Thunder Bay teams as well as their 4 travel tournaments across Ontario and beyond while still living at home.”

The schedule for this weekend’s games can be found on the NOHL website at www.nohlaaa.com

As posted on www.baytoday.ca.