It’s been quite the year in local sports.
There have been plenty of key stories involving both athletes and other key figures over the past 12 months.
Here are five of the big stories from the local sports scene in 2017.
Just win baby
That’s seemingly been the motto of the Soo Greyhounds this winter as the team set a new franchise record, reeling off 20 wins in a row heading into the Christmas break to become one of just four teams in OHL history to put together a winning streak of 20 games or more.
Steelers take a year off
Due to low player numbers, the Sault Steelers were forced to take a year off from action in the Northern Football Conference in the spring.
In August, the team announced plans to recruit and be back in action for the 2018 NFC season. The team has continued the process and will be at the NFC’s annual general meeting in late-January. With 24 players signed, the team hopes to add to the list and have roughly 35 players signed by the AGM.
New head bird
The Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League changed hands in March.
Local businessman Darren Smyl took over ownership of the club, previously run by The Tech. The team began the 2017-18 season with a new logo, new team colours and John Parco was named head coach of the club.
Changes at Laird Raceway
It’s been nearly a year since Jordan Sims took over Laird Raceway and the plan was in place to turn the race facility into a new dirt track for stock car racing locally.
A former driver at the facility, Sims stepped in as part of the management team at the track in January with the race season expected to begin in June.
After issues arose in the early spring, Sims stepped away, handing full control of the track back to Donnie Varcoe. The track remained closed through the summer.
Going pro
A pair of locals were selected in May’s annual Canadian Football League draft.
Jordan Hoover was selected by the Edmonton Eskimos while Alex Morrison was picked by the Montreal Alouettes.
Hoover saw action in 18 games with Edmonton while Morrison, selected from the University of British Columbia, would eventually return to college for his final year of eligibility.