THUNDER BAY – When a hockey team decides to set up shop in a Northern Ontario community, the first question asked is how will it find enough good players to hit the ice and be competitive.
The Sioux Lookout Bombers had an ace up their sleeve.
The expansion Bombers hired Carson Johnstone to coach the team, his hockey pedigree including playing time in Europe and a father, Chris, who spent parts of four seasons as coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara Falls Thunder.
The younger Johnstone was running a hockey school in southern Ontario and was convinced by a buddy to apply for the Bombers opening, a few years after taking a stab at the expansion Kam River Fighting Walleye post.
Well respected in the Niagara area, it’s not surprising the first-year team’s roster is dotted with players from Thorold, St. Catharines and Fort Erie.
“Since I got hired, it’s been mainly trying to draw the right guys up here. Good people first, good hockey players second. Obviously you want to have a good hockey team, but we’re trying to recruit guys who are going to buy in,” said Johnstone, whose team split its first six games in the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
“When you build that culture, it’s easier to bring guys in that are good people. So if you build on that, better guys are better listeners and I find you get more out of them that way.”
One of the players who followed Johnstone north is Bombers captain Lucas Trimarchi, a soon-to-be 20-year-old who spent last season with the Toronto Patriots of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Trimarchi said he played summer hockey for Johnstone and the choice was easy.
“He’s just been a really good guy who knows a lot about hockey, and I thought he was going to give me a lot of opportunity to play here, so that’s why I decided to come,” Trimarchi said.
Having familiar faces around has helped the Bombers cause, on and off the ice.
“It’s just been good, knowing a couple of guys coming up here and settling in well,” said Trimarchi, tied for the team lead with six points in six appearances.
Timing helped too.
Defenceman Tyler Decoff was looking for a place to play and has been a perfect fit on the blueline, putting up five points in six games.
“Some of our other 20-year-olds, we did a lot of hard work. We did a lot of hard work, calling people we know, just like any team does, trying to build a squad. For me, I think it helped I knew those guys for a couple of years. I trained them and they trust me,” Johnstone said.
So far, the on-ice product has been better than expected, Johnstone said.
“We’ve been competitive, in every game and had some success. It’s a decent start and we just hope to build on that and continue to bring in good guys in our community … We want to do it right. We want to have a junior hockey team in Sioux Lookout to stay, not in here for a few years and then out of here because of this and that,” Johnstone said.
“We want to make sure that we’re here and building the right things the right way so it can continue to be a good junior hockey league over time.”
Sioux Lookout, a town of roughly 5,200, has embraced the team in its early stages. The team has averaged 457 fans a night over four games. The community previously had an SIJHL team from 2008 to 2012, but it folded three games into its fourth season.
The response this time around has been unbelievable, Johnstone said.
“The community support has been absolutely crazy and it’s part of what helped us recruit up here. I was like, ‘Listen, I know we’re going to have a full barn, boys. I know we’re going to have tons of community support and sponsorships,” he said. “It’s allowed us to keep the price down for these players. The rest of Ontario the price is outrageous for hockey.”
The Bombers host Fort Frances on Friday afternoon.
