Riding the sled of a first winter in Cochrane from which the Crunch posted a 29-21-2 regular-season record and made it all the way to the playoff finals against the eventual-champion Soo Thunderbirds, coach-general manager Ryan Leonard has confirmed several player commitments for the 2015-2016 campaign.
According to Leonard, eight returnees and two affiliates have committed to the Crunch for the 2015-2016, Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League season.
They are 1995 birth-year goalie Brett Young, 1995 birth-year defencemen Alex Dajia and Joe Mavrin, 1997 birth-year defenceman Connor Lovie, 1995 birth-year forwards Dustin Cordeiro, Ryan Fletcher and Ian Skinner and homegrown, 1997 birth-year forward Joe Biers.
The affiliate players who are projected to join the Crunch for the ’15-16 season are 1997 birth-year forward Tyler Minoletti and 1997 birth-year defenceman Kyle Sanford, both from the Kapuskasing Flyers of the Great North Midget Hockey League.
Cochrane finished third in the nine-team NOJHL in attendance in 2014-2015 with a per-game average of 466.
The NOJHL is poised to become a 12-team league in 2015-2016.
PHOTO: Goalie Brett Young (29) has committed to return to the Cochrane Crunch in 2015-2016, according to coach-general manager Ryan Leonard.
