To say Jeran Knorr’s adjustment to the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League is going well would be an understatement.
The 18-year-old from Kelowna was named the NOJHL Rookie of the Month for October after posting eight goals and nine assists in eleven October games for the Cochrane Crunch.
After playing for the Kelowna Chiefs last season, Knorr made the move to Cochrane, a town of 5,000 people in Northern Ontario, to play junior ‘A’ hockey.
“It’s a lot different than living in Kelowna,” Knorr explained of adjusting to small town life. “It’s a lot smaller, but it’s a really nice town and it’s a lot of fun. I like it, it’s a good place to be.”
Knorr didn’t experience any major shocks during or after his relocation to Ontario, and he believes his on-ice success helped make it easier.
Through 23 games so far, he has helped lead the Crunch to an 18-3-1 record while collecting 16 goals and 21 assists, which is good for sixth in the NOJHL in goals and tied for sixth in points.
Knorr credits much of his success to his linemates, Hunter Atchison and Seamus Maguire. Atchison and Maguire are leading the NOJHL in points, and the chemistry between the three forwards is one of the reasons Knorr believes they have done as well as they have.
He noted he is also thankful for receiving the opportunity to play in a top-six role, which he doesn’t plan to relinquish.
“I’ll just keep playing my game, do what I know to do, contribute to the team and win a championship,” Knorr said.
The end goal for the Crunch this year is to win the RBC Cup, the penultimate accomplishment for teams from the NOJHL and nine other junior hockey leagues across Canada.
With the strong start Knorr and the rest of the Crunch have experienced, he believes they have a chance at meeting that goal.
“I feel we do, we’ve got a pretty strong team,” he described. “We’ve been pretty hot lately, playing lots of games and playing really well.”
While there’s still well over half of the season remaining before even reaching the playoffs, there is no doubt that so far Knorr’s move to Ontario has gone exceedingly well.
