The Sudbury Cubs have announced their intention to leave the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. In a letter to the league’s management, owners Mark and Connor Burgess write “2601201 Ontario Ltd. and the Sudbury Cubs Hockey organization wish to forfeit their franchise in the NOJHL effective immediately. This is a voluntary and self-termination of our franchise.” The Burgess family announcement appears to have taken the NOJHL by surprise, it comes just hours after the league had announced the schedule for the upcoming season with the Cubs on it. In a conversation with CTV News, Mark Burgess says there was nothing personal, it was time to move on and that they were handing the membership back over to the league as of today. He cited several reasons in the letter. “The changing landscape of Junior Tier 2 hockey, including the unfettered movement of players, open recruitment from other leagues, exodus of players to southern leagues for more exposure and the dwindling number of players in the game due to the high cost of participation has made it untenable to operate in the NOJHL,” Burgess wrote. It’s unclear on what this will mean for Sudbury’s involvement in the NOJHL and whether someone else will decide to pick up the mantle. CTV News has reached out to the league for additional comment but has not yet received a response. Meantime in his letter, Burgess says the Cubs organization is actively looking at exploring opportunities in new and exciting leagues, for both men and women, in the junior bracket and as early as the 2026-2027 season. “We have been involved in local hockey for 45 years and we will continue to direct our resources to minor hockey and support local programs to help offset the high cost of playing, developing and training for hockey,” the letter continued. The Sudbury Cubs are coming off a three-season stretch competing at the Centennial Cup and winning the NOJHL championship. CTV News is following this developing story, check back to CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca for updates.
