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The Fort Erie Junior B Hockey Club was
formed in 1957 and has been part of the Ontario Hockey
Association since its' birth.
The Meteors have gone through many changes over the
years from being red and white to the present day
colours of black, orange and white but one thing has
remained constant is the commitment to developing
players for the next level of competition.
The organization is run by a group of dedicated
volunteers who have been with the team for several
years. The main person in the chain of command is
Director of Hockey Operations Tony Passero who has been
with the team for close to 30 years as a player, coach
and general manager. It has been his commitment and
guidance that has led to nearly 100 players being placed
in the OHL or University ranks.
The Head Coach of the Meteors is Wayne Groulx. Wayne
played professional hockey in the Quebec Nordique
organization with Fredericton and appeared in a number
of games with the big club. He also played in Finland
and Austria.
This came after a fine junior career in the OHL with the
Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds. He finished his junior
hockey career as the All-time Leading Scorer in the OHL,
a mark he held before another Meteor, Stan Drulia broke
the mark. Wayne brings a wealth of experience to the
team where he is Co-Coach.
Backing this ice level staff is a Board of Directors,
who also have one priority in keeping the team
competitive and at the same time producing players who
are capable of progressing their careers.
The NHL has seen its' share of Meteors including Tom
Reid, Lynn Zimmerman, Mike Lalor, Randy Burridge plus
the fore mentioned Stan Drulia. Combine this with Minor
League players Jarrod Skalde, Don Margettie, Mike Tobin,
Kevin McKinnon, Matt Desroisers along with several
others, you can see the fine tradition the club has
built.
Recently, the upward movement continued with James Kalec
going the college route, and Kyle Jukosky and Ryan
Ramage being drafted by the OHL. These young men join
Ryan Berard, Derek Lyons, Tim Songin, Jayson Barnhardt
and Justin Corio who have gone to the OHL or to
University.
The club also has another player waiting to go to an
NCAA school in star forward Ryan Bellows who at the age
of 16 captured four Golden Horseshoe Awards. Ryan came
to the Meteors after two teams did not want to give him
a chance to showcase his talents. He parlayed his
ability into a superstar season and now has a choice to
make to further his career as well as his education.
The Meteors take great pride in the above
accomplishments and have in place educational assistance
programs. The club is commited to education and
developing solid citizens. If you are interested in
making the commitment to become the best player that you
can be, as well as join the Meteor tradition please
contact Tony Passero. |
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