NL natives named to Team Canada’s U17 squad, and a former Growler emerges as one of NHL’s top goal-scorers
If you happened to hear a massive roar emanating from Paradise late Wednesday night, there’s no reason for concern.
Subscribe now to access this story and more:
Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.
What you heard was a collective cry of jubilation as another Newfoundlander broke through with a milestone moment in the NHL.
boys are BUZZIN🐝 pic.twitter.com/BWUOH79OV1
On Oct. 15 in St. Louis, Missouri, Paradise native Ryan Greene became just the 25th Newfoundland-born NHLer in history to score a goal in the top hockey league in the world, pouncing on a rebound in the slot and beating goaltender Joel Hofer to help lift his Chicago Blackhawks to an 8-3 victory over the Blues.
RYAN GREENE FIRST NHL GOOOOOOOAL pic.twitter.com/RU1VmqiPC2
Greene made his NHL debut last season, appearing in two games with the Blackhawks following a successful final season in the NCAA as the captain of Boston University, during which he posted 13 goals and 25 assists in 40 games.
let’s hear it for Ryan Greene👏 pic.twitter.com/HKEgXWdq4p
While he was unable to record a point in his first stint with the Blackhawks, it took the 21-year-old just five games in his first full season as a pro to score his first big-league goal, with 2023 first overall draft pick Connor Bedard recording an assist on the play.
Greene, who wears number 20 for the Blackhawks, is now just 236 goals away from matching Michael Ryder for the most career NHL goals ever scored by a Newfoundlander.
A couple of local lads have been rewarded for their strong early play with the Newfoundland Regiment.
Rookies Ben Veitch of St. John’s and Quinn Norman of Conception Bay South have been selected to represent Canada at the upcoming 2025 U17 World Challenge, taking place in Truro, NS, from Nov. 2-8.
Both Veitch and Norman attended Hockey Canada’s U17 selection camp in Oakville in late July and impressed Hockey Canada brass enough to earn a spot on one of two Team Canada rosters that will be facing the best young players from the top hockey nations in the world, including Finland, Czechia, Sweden and the United States.
Both Veitch and Norman will join Team Canada’s Red squad.
Ready to rep the red 🍁
The Newfoundland Regiment are pleased to share local talents Ben Veitch and Quinn Norman have been named to Team Canada Red for the U17 World Challenge taking place next month in Truro, NS!
Unite. Inspire. Defend. pic.twitter.com/OV9BcBAjCz
Back at U17 development camp in July, Veitch emerged as one of Team Canada’s most intriguing offensive threats and recorded two goals and two assists in three intersquad games against the best young players in Canada. Through the first 10 games of his QMJHL career, the 16-year-old rookie — whose birthday was last week — has recorded one goal and one assist.
The smooth-skating Norman was equally impressive at U17 development camp, recording a goal and an assist in three games on the blue line. He’s still searching for his first QMJHL point.
It’s been a topsy-turvy start for the Newfoundland Regiment to kick off their inaugural campaign in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
The Regiment started their year with an eight-game homestand and got off on the right foot with a pair of victories over the defending champion Moncton Wildcats, but would drop their next two contests to the Charlottetown Islanders to fall back to .500 on the season.
Back-to-back wins over Baie Comeau had the Regiment temporarily back on track before the powerhouse Blainville-Boisbriand Armada burst the Regiment’s bubble and handed Newfoundland back-to-back losses by a combined score of 15-6, leaving the Regiment with a 4-4-0-0 record heading into their first-ever road trip.
The road trip didn’t start quite as the club had planned.
In Charlottetown, Islanders goaltender and Conception Bay South native Donald Hickey made 34 saves to record his first shutout of the season as the Islanders handed the Regiment their first-ever blanking by a score of 3-0.
In their second and most recent road contest, Czech forward Marek Danicek recorded a four-point night, including the first hat trick in team history, to help the Regiment overcome a three-goal deficit to defeat the Islanders 6-5 in overtime.
The Regiment has two games remaining on their road trip and will be taking on the Halifax Mooseheads for the first time ever on Friday and Saturday.
The club will then return home for a six-game homestand where they will welcome the Saint John Sea Dogs, Shawinigan Cataractes and Cape Breton Eagles all for the first time.
While the province’s former ECHL club, the Newfoundland Growlers, may be long gone, one of the club’s former players has emerged as one of the top goal-scoring threats of this young NHL season.
Justin Brazeau, who was a fan favourite during the 57 games he played for the Growlers in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season, has scored the second-most goals in the NHL this season with four in just four games played, and is just one goal back of the league lead held by Ottawa’s Shane Pinto and Vegas’ Pavel Dorofeyev.
BRAZ! 🚨
The Penguins strike first to take the 1-0 lead just 1:03 into play. pic.twitter.com/vVOK89zX5F
Brazeau’s four goals place him in a tie for third place in the NHL’s goal-scoring race alongside superstars Nathan Mackinnon, Kirill Kaprisov and Jack Eichel.
Now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brazeau has been spending his time on the team’s second line alongside future hall-of-famer Evgeni Malkin.
Justin Brazeau appreciated that gesture from Evgeni Malkin 💛
“That was awesome. It’s already in the nursery.”
More on the new dad’s strong start to the season: https://t.co/IlMZq0c45v https://t.co/fTdYMAf6qq
In his time with the Growlers, the six-foot-six Brazeau was named to the ECHL’s All-Rookie Team.
He is one of three former Growlers to appear in NHL action thus far this season, joining Toronto’s Bobby McMann and San Jose’s Timothy Liljegren.
When cruising with older loved ones, seasoned pros say these tactics are key to your enjoyment at sea
Take advantage of these Amazon Canada deals before they’re gone
Plus, I connected with Ooni’s founder to discuss the brand’s newest pizza oven
A former bank, school and bullfighting ring have been transformed into memorable places to stay
From fitness-geared earbuds to a chic apres-workout topper
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4
© 2025 PNI Atlantic News, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.
This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.