The outgoing President of the Lakehead Junior Hockey League is thinking ahead to his final year at the helm.

Josh Gribben discussed the Alumni Game, which was put together in December, and whether it would be a replacement of an All-Star Game or Showcase Event.

“Ideally, our plan is to have a showcase event at the beginning of the year, closer to the end of the month of September,” Gribben said. “Having it early in the season would allow us to potentially run another alumni event in December. We never want to rule out an all-star event because it's nice to recognize some of the players that are truly shown throughout the year. That will be a topic that will come up in future meetings.”

Gribben noted a perfect final year for him would be to run all three events.

Central Canada Cup

In terms of special events, Gribben added that there have been talks for the Lakehead Junior Hockey League to once again host the Central Canada Cup.

“Being able to showcase the talent at the Junior B level throughout the country that we're going to compete against, and to show that we can compete at that level is super important to show how skilled and how talented our teams are,” noted Gribben.

“To be able to compete against other groups in larger leagues with higher operating budgets, it's a real positive on our groups. Yes, we are certainly interested in hosting it over the next year or two, but ultimately that process will kind of play itself out over the next three to six months.”

The Current River Storm have represented the league the last two seasons at the Central Canada Cup in Flin Flon, Manitoba and St. Paul, Alberta. Making the trek out to the tournament is a challenge because the event is an unsanctioned tournament, which means it’s not under the Hockey Canada umbrella. The financial obligations to get to the event is on the team.

“The league is certainly not naive to the costs associated with travel, especially when you're going out of province,” Gribben mentioned. “Pat McDonald did a wonderful job this year for our league in helping to fundraise. And some of that money that was raised was able to go towards helping a team go out there and minimize some of the costs that were put onto the players or the organization.”

The LJHL last hosted the event in 2023 at the Thunder Bay Tournament Centre.

New Direction of Nipigon Junior Hockey Club

Gribben is confident in the new group that will lead the Nipigon Junior Hockey Club.

“I've had a couple opportunities now to talk with (General Manager) Carl Lombardo and (Head Coach) Cory Auger and one thing I see with this group is that they’re eager. They're eager to do things in the right way, and they have the right intentions in mind. I believe those intentions are those that are in the best interest of the young men that are going to do it,” said Gribben.

“There's going to be a learning curve, there always is. I hope that they continue with that level of excitement to be involved, ask questions, and know that I and the other executives are there to support them and make that transition as easy as possible for them.

Cory becomes the fourth bench boss in five seasons for the franchise, following in the footsteps of Carter Hargreaves, John Coppock and Malcolm Sutherland.

Nipigon won just two games in the regular season in 2024/2025 and did not compete in the Joe Ward Memorial Trophy Playoffs. The franchise finished fourth in 2022/2023 with nine wins in the regular season.

Nipigon is an original franchise since the league began play in 1993.