By Devan Mighton
When the Nobles skated into the 2015-16 boys’ high school hockey season, little did they know that they were laying the groundwork for one of the most dominant local hockey dynasties in recent memory.
Starting with that season, with coach Dave Bracken at the helm, the Nobles have fired off six consecutive WECSSAA hockey championships and three regional SWOSSAA titles in that time. In fact, the Nobles have been to the finals the past nine seasons, winning seven of them and an additional regional championship.
“In the past 10 years, I don’t think there’s been a high school program in this area with the success that we’ve had,” states Bracken.
In 2017, after taking both the WECSSAA and SWOSSAA titles, the Nobles travelled up to Northwestern Ontario to compete in the OFSAA AA/A boys’ hockey provincial championship in Fort Frances. The Nobles took the gold medal in a come-from-behind 3-2 win against Hamilton’s St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School in a shootout.
“Winning that OFSAA gold medal was probably the pinnacle for us as coaches,” says Bracken. “We’ve always wanted to grab that medal at OFSAA and bring it back to our school, and that year was just a magical run. Nobody thought that team would have won gold at OFSAA, but they really came together.”
The win was the first for a WECSSAA school since Don McDermott’s 2003-04 Essex Red Raiders won their second consecutive provincial title in London.
Past Nobles players have a knack for giving back as alumni. Bracken, who original played for the Nobles from 1992-95 coaches the team with Mike Smith, who played for the inaugural 1989-90 Nobles team, Cody McFarlane, who played from 2013-17, Eric Larue, a former player from 2015-18, and Dave’s father, Ray, who used to coach the team and still helps out.
“Once you’ve played for the team, it’s like you have to come back and watch playoff games, you’re in our charity golf tournament, you’re coaching—it’s an atmosphere that the guys just don’t want to leave, they want to stay around. Even once they’re done, they want to come back,” explains Bracken.
The Nobles also have a trend of featuring players who move on to junior hockey.
“We’ve had so many players come through—it seems like every night, if you were to go watch a Junior C or Junior B game in the area, you can just start naming off guys who have played for us,” says Bracken. “Last year, when the Essex 73’s played the Lakeshore Canadians in the [Stobbs Division Jr. C championship], I think there were 14 of our guys playing in that final. This year, there were 10-12 that were rostered that had come through.”
Two recent alumni who are achieving junior hockey success are Marco Sladoje, whose team just won the Stobbs Division Junior C championship with the Canadiens and are still competing for the Schmalz Cup provincial title, and Trevor Larue, who is a part of the Western Conference Junior B champion Leamington Flyers, who are currently competing for the fabled Sutherland Cup.
“It’s awesome being a part of the Nobles alumni,” states Sladoje, who played from 2017-20. “We have so many talented hockey players and historic teams that have come through here, so having my name being tossed in the mix is an honour. Growing up in Lakeshore, I always heard about the winning history of Belle River, so being able to play and be a contributing factor in some title wins is amazing. My favourite memory as a member of the Nobles was scoring the overtime winner to win the 2020 WECSSAA hockey championship.”
Larue, who was a Nobles teammate of Sladoje, agrees. “Playing for the Nobles is special. There’s only a four-year gap where you have the opportunity to play on the same hockey team as your friends and even your siblings that might not be on the same minor hockey team as you.
“My favourite memory has to be playing in OFSAA twice, once being with my brother. Spending time in the hotels with our teammates definitely made everlasting memories.”
Bracken says that the love for the Nobles boys’ hockey program is infectious. He is also amazed and proud of how alumni have a knack for joining the leadership core of their future junior teams.
“The guys just really love coming to the rink,” explains Bracken. “They buy-in and they put any team success above any individual success. When the team wins, the whole team feels like they won. Whatever roles the guys are put in, they value the team’s success a lot more.”
He says that part of the team’s bond comes from overnight trips to see NHL games and their annual trip to hockey tournaments in places like Lake Placid, NY. “We’re able to offer these overnight trips and the boys just love them,” says Bracken. “It seems like they really gel and we feel like the season starts to take off after that tournament—when we go away with the team—having some team dinners together and those cell phones go away and the boys are talking to each other—it’s a really good vibe.”
Also, the community-building that the team does through their Christmas charity game, in front of friends and family, where they raise warm clothing for the community, is inspirational as well.
Fellow coach Mike Smith, who played for the Nobles inaugural team during the 1989-90 season, and for the next two years, started coaching with General Amherst in 1998 before rejoining the Nobles in 2005.
“Nobles hockey has a long-standing tradition of excellence,” states Smith. “We want our players to have a positive experience, maximizing their individual talents for team success. It’s been a blast to have been a part of so many great teams over the years.”
Unfortunately, both years that Belle River District High School were set to host the OFSAA hockey championship, 2021 and 2022, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were really excited to host the top high school teams in all of Ontario at the ATC,” states Bracken. “We recently put in a bid in order to host in 2026 and we are really hoping that it goes through.
“We are pretty confident that we’ve got a strong case to host and knowing that our Gr. 9’s and the new Gr. 8’s coming in are going to be our 11’s and 12’s that year and that is something to look forward to. We are pretty excited with the thought of hosting the All-Ontarios and showcasing the school, the team, and the program.”
In the end, it’s all about growth and the love of the game.
“There’s just been so many championships—tournament championships, WECSSAA titles—year after year,” states Bracken. “From a coaching standpoint, just watching these kids grow and love coming to the rink, and love coming back, for us, that’s the biggest sign of success, more than the championships.”
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