OHL’S top defenceman set to take next steps
James Boyd didn’t have to pick up the phone but figured he made a blockbuster trade before the 2019-20 hockey season got underway.
That’s how the Ottawa 67’s general manager described getting defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer back for an overage year after the North York native and the Arizona Coyotes didn’t come to terms last spring, two years after Arizona chose him in the fourth round of the 2017 National Hockey League draft.
“He was not coming back to see what would happen, he was coming back to earn himself a professional contract,” Boyd said. “His attitude was phenomenal. He didn’t feel sorry for himself, he knew exactly what he needed to do and he refocused.
“The handshakes were had at the end of last season and we didn’t expect him to come back, so it was a major advantage for us.”
Indeed, Hoefenmayer earned the pro contract he sought, signing a two-year American Hockey League contract with the Toronto Marlies in April after dominating the OHL.
The 21-year-old won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the league’s most outstanding defenceman, an honour that makes him a finalist for the Canadian Hockey League defenceman of the year, an award that is scheduled to be announced on June 9.
Hoefenmayer had 82 points (26 goals and 56 assists) and was plus-52 in 58 games for the 67’s before play was paused in March and the remainder of the season eventually cancelled because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The contract that followed with the Marlies gives Hoefenmayer a foot in the door with an organization that has been part of his life since he was a kid. From his dad Rupert’s Leafs season tickets in the front row of the upper bowl at Scotiabank Arena, facing the team benches, Hoefenmayer would sit during games and soak in all he could about the Leafs; in his bedroom at home, there remains a Lanny Mcdonald-autographed cutout of the NHL Hall of Famer’s bushy moustache, with Mcdonald’s words: “To Noel, Dream Big Dreams.”
“That has been my motto for as long as I can remember,” Hoefenmayer said of the memento, which was secured by his mom Deborah. “I have always stuck to that and it’s something great to have in the back of my mind.”
Hoefenmayer’s rise to becoming the top defenceman in the OHL last season came by way of diligence and determination.
After his minor midget season with the Don Mills Flyers in 2014-15 (where one of his teammates was Jason Robertson, the older brother of Leafs prospect Nick Robertson), Hoefenmayer found his footing in the OHL as an offensive contributor before developing into an effective player anywhere on the ice.
“A big part of my game I needed to improve my defensive zone play,” Hoefenmayer said. “I improved a lot of my reads in the defensive zone, being able to play two-onones better, having better positioning in the zone to be able to cut plays and turn our defence into offence.”
Said Boyd: “His ability to read the rush and break up plays, he really worked at that. He is finishing his junior career as a well-rounded two-way defender, which is a credit to the work he has put in. Some guys really take the next step in those last couple of years (of junior) and he has been one of those guys.”
Is there anyone in the NHL that Hoefenmayer tries to emulate?
“I wouldn’t say there is someone I model my game after, but someone I really enjoy watching is John Carlson (of the Washington Capitals),” Hoefenmayer said. “He has great offensive skill and is really great at running power plays and he’s just a solid defenceman. I like his offensive side and how he moves the puck.”
Hoefenmayer has put in time to become a better skater, and he knows that one of the advantages of signing with the Marlies will be the opportunity to work with skating coach Barb Underhill as well as the club’s development staff.
“I know they have a great program and they have worked with a lot of guys and changed their games and made them NHL ready,” Hoefenmayer said. “Being able to put on the Marlies jersey is a true honour for me.”
No one can predict, in the age of the coronavirus, when that might happen.
“The contract is a step in the right direction, but I know there is a lot of work that has to be done to get there,” Hoefenmayer said. “It’s bigger than hockey right now, what the whole world is going through, but it’s huge for me to stay positive. I’m working on my mind as well as my training so I’m as ready as I can be when the game does return.”
Boyd has little doubt that the Marlies, and the organization as a whole, have a good prospect in Hoefenmayer.