Greater Sudbury Cubs announce withdrawal from NOJHL

Just hours after league schedule announcement, owner of two-time defending champions says club will explore opportunities in new leagues

Article content Greater Sudbury Cubs owner Mark Burgess sent shockwaves through Northern Ontario junior hockey on Thursday with the announcement his team will not return to the NOJHL to defend its back-to-back championships in 2026-27. Just hours after the NOJHL revealed its full regular-season schedule for the coming season, including the Cubs’ home opener against the Espanola Paper Kings on Sept. 10, Burgess sent an email to league officials and media announcing his company, “601202 Ontario Ltd. and the Sudbury Cubs hockey organization wish to forfeit their franchise in the NOJHL effective immediately.”

“This is a voluntary forfeiture and self-termination of our franchise. We are returning our membership back to the league as of July 16, 2026.” Burgess cited the changing landscape of Junior A 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” as factors making it “untenable to operate in the NOJHL.”

While the Cubs will not play in the NOJHL, Burgess said the team is “actively exploring opportunities in new and exciting leagues, for both men and women, in the junior age bracket, effective as early as the 2026-27 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.” Burgess and his family previously owned the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL before selling that franchise to Dario Zulich in 2016.

Also a former owner of the Sudbury Junior Wolves in the NOJHL, Burgess returned to the league when he purchased the Rayside-Balfour Canadians in 2019. They later relocated to Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury and rebranded as the Cubs. X: @Ben__leeson Bluesky: @benjaminleeson.bsky.social Instagram/Threads: @ben_leeson