OHL: Fears about head injuries led former CFLer to steer son into hockey
Serron Noel doesn’t know much about his father’s football career. In fact, his dad steered him away from the gridiron at a young age.
Noel, a six-foot-five, 203-pound forward with the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals, looks more like a young wide receiver than a highly regarded prospect for the upcoming NHL draft.
He comes by his physique through his father Dean, who spent parts of five seasons in the CFL with Ottawa and Hamilton. But the 48-year-old Dean, who said he had two documented concussions during his career, didn’t want his son to put himself at risk by following in his footsteps.
“I was a soccer guy when I was younger,” Serron said. “(Dean) didn’t really want me to play (football) because it’s a tough sport and it’s hard on the body.”
“Football is a tough game, but so is hockey,” added Dean. “You don’t want to see your kids hurt, you do your best to protect them as much as you can. “It kind of evolved into hockey.” Dean said he doesn’t feel any regular side effects from the brain trauma he suffered. Now working with youth at an Ottawa-area hospital, he hopes he’s free of post-concussion issues such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“With all the research and what the information is, hopefully I’m one of the guys that is maybe lucky enough to not have that extended damage,” he said. “I’m sure there might be some (post concussion effects), but I’d have to go to a doctor and get it all (looked at).”
Dean moved from the Caribbean to Ottawa with his family at the age of four and initially began playing minor hockey. He turned to football after kids in the neighbourhood introduced him to the game.
Following a college career at Delaware State, he garnered interest from NFL clubs, but a hamstring injury while at school derailed his chances.
Serron’s combination of size and ability with the puck have him ranked in the second round, but with his play continually improving, the 17-year-old could push into the first round by the time names are called in Dallas.
The Ottawa native has seven goals and four assists in his first nine games with the Generals this season after registering just 21 points in 63 games last season.
“For a power forward I think he has really good vision and puck distribution skills,” said Ben Gallant, a scout with ISS Hockey. “He’s a little bit more refined than he used to be, but he’s still pretty raw. He’s a kind of like (Ryan) Getzlaf, can skate, bang-andcrash style player.”