What's Junior C like in Ontario?

[sens9241]

I'm in minor midget right now in Ontario playing A level hockey in a pretty large hockey city. I'm looking to play a year of major midget and then play some junior c. I'm not sure what the level is like in junior c and if a top 2 A level or bottom 4 AA major midget defensemen could go play junior C. Thanks for any and all advice.

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[Sidekick]

I'm in minor midget right now in Ontario playing A level hockey in a pretty large hockey city. I'm looking to play a year of major midget and then play some junior c. I'm not sure what the level is like in junior c and if a top 2 A level or bottom 4 AA major midget defensemen could go play junior C. Thanks for any and all advice.

Are you in the HEO area or OHA? If HEO, then "Jr.C" is really comparable to the new CCHL2 loop.

Adding the two leagues together brings the number of teams to approximately 80, so its safe to say there is a range of calibre. I'd say the level that you are playing at would have put you in the safe range back when I played (~10 years ago), and while its been trending upwards that shouldn't discourage you. Whomever updates the Wikipedia pages for the PJHL (the OHA Jr.C loop) and the CCHL2 (the HEO loop) has done a great job keeping up-to-date with current team locations, so it might be worth while to check there and see if you can find a local game to attend.

 

[HockeyVolunteer]

Are you in the HEO area or OHA? If HEO, then "Jr.C" is really comparable to the new CCHL2 loop.

CCHL2 is the old Jr. B isn't it?

I'd still say that if you are a top Midget player, you'd probably have a good shot at Jr. C

Like Sidekick said though, where are you playing out of?

 

[sens9241]

Are you in the HEO area or OHA? If HEO, then "Jr.C" is really comparable to the new CCHL2 loop.

Adding the two leagues together brings the number of teams to approximately 80, so its safe to say there is a range of calibre. I'd say the level that you are playing at would have put you in the safe range back when I played (~10 years ago), and while its been trending upwards that shouldn't discourage you. Whomever updates the Wikipedia pages for the PJHL (the OHA Jr.C loop) and the CCHL2 (the HEO loop) has done a great job keeping up-to-date with current team locations, so it might be worth while to check there and see if you can find a local game to attend.

I've done lots of research and I'm in the OHA area. There's about five teams close to me that I can go watch so thanks for the advice

 

[sens9241]

CCHL2 is the old Jr. B isn't it?

I'd still say that if you are a top Midget player, you'd probably have a good shot at Jr. C

Like Sidekick said though, where are you playing out of?

I'm playing out of Barrie right now so there's quite a few teams around I could go to in the pcjhl or whatever it's called

 

[Sidekick]

CCHL2 is the old Jr. B isn't it?

I'd still say that if you are a top Midget player, you'd probably have a good shot at Jr. C

Like Sidekick said though, where are you playing out of?

Yes, technically it is. However, it has always been comparable to OHA Jr.C. One of them is "mislabelled." In my opinion, its the OHA one that is, but that's the one with more teams, so I'm not sure they'd agree.

Ok, so Barrie. Well, close by Alliston is one of the top 3-5 teams in Jr.C year-in, year-out. They always seem to have a competitive team. This year it looks like Stayner is going to give them a run for their money. Midland, Schomberg, and Orillia all also have teams in that league. To the best of my knowledge I can't think of any "horror stories" of any teams in the GBMO league (re-labelled the CARRUTHERS division this year, as part of the OHA Jr.C amalgamation).
If you wanted to venture a little further from Barrie and see another league just for comparison sake, then Georgina (Sutton/Keswick) has a team in the old Central loop (relabelled as the ORR division), and they haven't had too much on-ice success the past few years. So they could possibly represent a baseline for you.

Again though, I caution, scouting from the stands is only one aspect. Coaches recognize hard work and team-first attitudes.

 

[sens9241]

Yes, technically it is. However, it has always been comparable to OHA Jr.C. One of them is "mislabelled." In my opinion, its the OHA one that is, but that's the one with more teams, so I'm not sure they'd agree.

Ok, so Barrie. Well, close by Alliston is one of the top 3-5 teams in Jr.C year-in, year-out. They always seem to have a competitive team. This year it looks like Stayner is going to give them a run for their money. Midland, Schomberg, and Orillia all also have teams in that league. To the best of my knowledge I can't think of any "horror stories" of any teams in the GBMO league (re-labelled the CARRUTHERS division this year, as part of the OHA Jr.C amalgamation).
If you wanted to venture a little further from Barrie and see another league just for comparison sake, then Georgina (Sutton/Keswick) has a team in the old Central loop (relabelled as the ORR division), and they haven't had too much on-ice success the past few years. So they could possibly represent a baseline for you.

Again though, I caution, scouting from the stands is only one aspect. Coaches recognize hard work and team-first attitudes.

Yea I'm honestly not even looking for necessarily a good team I was just wondering if like me being an A AA level defensemen could play junior C. I don't mind playing for a bad team considering I played for a bottom four team in the GTHL AAA and lost frequently. So I was really just hoping I could play at the junior level

 

[OHLFan90]

Yea I'm honestly not even looking for necessarily a good team I was just wondering if like me being an A AA level defensemen could play junior C. I don't mind playing for a bad team considering I played for a bottom four team in the GTHL AAA and lost frequently. So I was really just hoping I could play at the junior level

Shoot me a message. I can send you some contact info for some teams.Depending on where you want to play.

 

[sens9241]

Shoot me a message. I can send you some contact info for some teams.Depending on where you want to play.

Well I'm in the Barrie area so anything around there would be good but I'm not really looking right now cause I'm only in minor midget but like schomberg Orillia midland stayner and Alliston any of those would be good. Thanks

 

[BeaverSports]

I manage a team in the PJHL, but unless you come east for school, likely not one on your list.

A lot of people underestimate this level of hockey. A lot of good players choose this level because they have balance with work or school or because most of our teams don't have the pay-to-play that has seeped into other loops to the same extent. In the nearly 15 years I've been involved, the skill has improved greatly. A big thing is to not be fooled by the 'C'. We've also sent guys to Jr. A on the road to scholarships. It may make sense to go to C first, play more minutes against good players and bank the money you'd pay elsewhere sitting on the bench.

We've had guys who have come and succeeded from AAA, AA, A right down to DD and we've had high school hockey players too. If you can skate, if you're willing to be physical, if you're a team guy, and most importantly, if you're smart and coachable, someone will give you a good look.

I, too, know some of the guys in your area and across the province if school away is in your plans. Feel free to ask me anything via PM.

 

[sens9241]

I manage a team in the PJHL, but unless you come east for school, likely not one on your list.

A lot of people underestimate this level of hockey. A lot of good players choose this level because they have balance with work or school or because most of our teams don't have the pay-to-play that has seeped into other loops to the same extent. In the nearly 15 years I've been involved, the skill has improved greatly. A big thing is to not be fooled by the 'C'. We've also sent guys to Jr. A on the road to scholarships. It may make sense to go to C first, play more minutes against good players and bank the money you'd pay elsewhere sitting on the bench.

We've had guys who have come and succeeded from AAA, AA, A right down to DD and we've had high school hockey players too. If you can skate, if you're willing to be physical, if you're a team guy, and most importantly, if you're smart and coachable, someone will give you a good look.

I, too, know some of the guys in your area and across the province if school away is in your plans. Feel free to ask me anything via PM.

Alright thank you very much that helps explain it a lot. I'm not looking to billet to a different school, however thank you very much for the advice and everything. I've been working out and practicing as much as I can since tryouts last April with junior c as my goal two seasons from now and you've put it much more in perspective for me so thank you. I'm just going to keep working as hard as I can and hopefully get a tryout or two with some teams after I play a year of major midget. Thank you very much.

 

[ceg195]

A majority of Jr. C teams are based in an 'A' centre or lower and traditionally take players from their hometown. This leaves you a decent opportunity to make a Jr. C team depending on how much you impress in tryouts.

 

[sens9241]

A majority of Jr. C teams are based in an 'A' centre or lower and traditionally take players from their hometown. This leaves you a decent opportunity to make a Jr. C team depending on how much you impress in tryouts.

Alright thank you for the advice.

 

[4thline]

A lot of good responses here

My 2 cents from my time there 5 years back-

OHA junior C is hugely underrated outside of it's area, as with the GOJHL junior B.

The quality is driven by 3(.5) things-

-raw density of hockey players in Ontario- not much to be said

-work/school balance with hockey- one practice a week + games on weekends is pretty hard to beat as a time commitment for players entering post secondary education or the working world. Throwing the fact that pay to play (already mentioned in the thread) hasn't crept in too much yet and that there is plenty of very well run clubs with strong financial backing and desire to win competing for recruitment with sticks/equipment and varying amounts of "gas" money it can be pretty appealing to high quality guys that know that they aren't going to the show but aren't ready to give up competitive hockey

-age. Overage Junior C is 21, all other junior it's 20. So in effect each team gets 4 "double overagers" and unlimited overagers compared to the rest of junior. That extra year of hockey combined with the point above can be awfully tempting and lure a lot of B and tier 2 A guys back for their 20 and 21 year old seasons. And not just depth players, a fair number of point per game plus guys.

Those last two combine to result in a lot of B and tier 2 A quality guys that have given up on the dream but still want to play hockey as long as possible (though with less commitment) playing down a level, driving up the quality of C.


Basic player types-
The Lifer- Local Rep (from E to A) stars, lower end AA and AAA players. C is the end of the line, anywhere for roster filler (like moi) to 5-6 year players that rise through the lineup and become team stars

The Prospect- 16 and 17 year olds that everyone knows will be one and done and up to b or tier 2 A. top players as rookies.

The Fallen- Players coming back from B and tier 2 A, on rarer occasions the O. range anywhere from the depth guy coming back at 18-19 because he lost his spot to someone younger or the mercenary all-star coming back to make some money and prolong their career.

Advice- go to spring rookie camps for the local teams this year, even if you plan to go back for major midget. Have fun with some pretty good hockey and meet other players. Become "known" to the team(s), get on their radar for next season. At worst it's good experience, at best get invited to main camp and go from there

Good luck!

 

[sens9241]

A lot of good responses here

My 2 cents from my time there 5 years back-

OHA junior C is hugely underrated outside of it's area, as with the GOJHL junior B.

The quality is driven by 3(.5) things-

-raw density of hockey players in Ontario- not much to be said

-work/school balance with hockey- one practice a week + games on weekends is pretty hard to beat as a time commitment for players entering post secondary education or the working world. Throwing the fact that pay to play (already mentioned in the thread) hasn't crept in too much yet and that there is plenty of very well run clubs with strong financial backing and desire to win competing for recruitment with sticks/equipment and varying amounts of "gas" money it can be pretty appealing to high quality guys that know that they aren't going to the show but aren't ready to give up competitive hockey

-age. Overage Junior C is 21, all other junior it's 20. So in effect each team gets 4 "double overagers" and unlimited overagers compared to the rest of junior. That extra year of hockey combined with the point above can be awfully tempting and lure a lot of B and tier 2 A guys back for their 20 and 21 year old seasons. And not just depth players, a fair number of point per game plus guys.

Those last two combine to result in a lot of B and tier 2 A quality guys that have given up on the dream but still want to play hockey as long as possible (though with less commitment) playing down a level, driving up the quality of C.


Basic player types-
The Lifer- Local Rep (from E to A) stars, lower end AA and AAA players. C is the end of the line, anywhere for roster filler (like moi) to 5-6 year players that rise through the lineup and become team stars

The Prospect- 16 and 17 year olds that everyone knows will be one and done and up to b or tier 2 A. top players as rookies.

The Fallen- Players coming back from B and tier 2 A, on rarer occasions the O. range anywhere from the depth guy coming back at 18-19 because he lost his spot to someone younger or the mercenary all-star coming back to make some money and prolong their career.

Advice- go to spring rookie camps for the local teams this year, even if you plan to go back for major midget. Have fun with some pretty good hockey and meet other players. Become "known" to the team(s), get on their radar for next season. At worst it's good experience, at best get invited to main camp and go from there

Good luck!

Thanks a lot for the advice it is very helpful. I think you've given me a better understanding of the level and where I need to get to.

 

[JrHockeyPlayer]

Junior C in Ontario is Jr.B hockey. It’s a feeder league for the GOJHL (which is labelled jr.b but it’s for sure a junior A league) and OJHL (junior A). The top 6 teams in each division have about 10/15 guys that could easily play in the GOJHL and do just fine. The league allows 21 year olds so it’s even better because they get drop downs from the GOJHL, OJHL and on rare occasions OHL.

all in all it’s probably the second most underrated league in Ontario besides the GOJHL and is miles ahead of the GMHL “pay to play” league that is operating currently.

the level of play at the Jr.C level has improved drastically over the past 4/5 years.