Golden Hawks look to build on success after earning consecutive Eastern Conference titles
The Trenton Golden Hawks are no strangers to success. In fact, the club has dominated the OJHL Eastern Conference for almost a decade. Over the last eight seasons, the franchise has reached the league finals four times, capturing one Buckland Cup championship (2016) and back-to-back Dudley Hewitt Cup titles (2016 and 2017).
Now, they are looking to build on that winning tradition as they prepare for another campaign at the Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens.
Last year, under the leadership of general manager and head coach Derek Smith, the Golden Hawks posted a 43-11-1-1 record, with a remarkable plus-155 goal differential. His first season with the franchise culminated in a trip to the Buckland Cup finals, where Trenton narrowly fell to the Collingwood Blues in Game 6.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Golden Hawks remain determined. The team will begin their season at home on Friday, September 6th, against the Cobourg Cougars.
"Last year was very successful. Right from our owner, Sean Hicks, throughout the organization, we did a lot of good things," Smith said. "We found some areas to improve, and that's part of the process. We're really looking forward to this year with the new crop of young players and returning guys. Everybody has the same goal this time of year, to get better every day, and be the last team standing at the end."
Smith highlighted his leadership core as an early-season strength. Veteran centreman David Fournier has been to back-to-back league finals, bring invaluable experience.
"We know what it takes and how much of a grind it is every day to make sure that we're not the ones in that position that we were last year. We're the ones standing with a trophy in the air. It's going to be a long year, and there's a lot of room for growth, but we're very excited about the challenge ahead."
The Golden Hawks are bringing back a number of high-end forwards to bolster their offence. At the same time, Smith is working to strengthen the Hawks' team defence.
"Defence wins championships, but it's hard to win if you don't score goals. We scored a lot of goals last year, and with guys coming back like Cooper Matthews, Corbin Roach and Devin Mauro returning. Thomas Kuipers had a great summer. He looks good so far. Then we got some younger guys coming in who looked great. We want to be a team that's hard to play against. You want to be a physical team, but we want to be a team that scores."
"We have a great group of leaders on the back end that have been here before and played junior hockey. We're also fortunate to realistically have four really good young defencemen with Jacob Xu, Matt Hicks, Ty McCambridge and Candon O'Neill they all have a great future in the game."
In net, the Golden Hawks have high expectations for Brady Spry, who posted a 20-2-0 record with a 2.20 GAA and a .925 save percentage last season. Spry was particularly impressive when called on after starter Ben Bonisteel was sidelined by an injury last January. The opportunity allowed the him to emerge as one of the top goaltenders in the league. Now that Bonisteel has graduated, the crease belongs to Spry.
Smith is very much impressed by his go-to netminder.
"He's a great kid with a great personality. We knew he had the talent. He flew under the radar. There were some good goalies and players in his age group, and he kept working. He has a lot of confidence. He had a great summer, and we saw what he could do in January when Ben went down. He was arguably one of the best goalies in the league and we expect big things from him this year."
As the Golden Hawks prepare for another run at the Buckland Cup, the team's connection to the community remains strong. Owner Sean Hicks' commitment to the development of young players in the Bay of Quinte is evident through the World Elite Hockey Academy, which offers high-level training and education services for young hockey talent in the region.
"This area is unbelievable, to play hockey, not just AAA, but at any age in any division," Smith said. "It's time-consuming and a lot of money, and we're fortunate that Sean wants to give back to the community, and he has the Academy, where there are a lot of really good young players."
"We're going to have three of our players, at least, that will be going full-time to the academy, playing for the Golden Hawks. I know with the players that Jeanna Oke (Director and Head of Academics), Tom Crowhurst (Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Pierre Dagenais (Skill development instructor) are bringing through, there's going to be more every year."
With strong veteran leadership and community support, the Golden Hawks are poised for another successful campaign. Their goal remains the same, to be the last team standing at the end of the year.
Comments