The Soo U15 AAA Greyhounds took part in the 2025 Toronto Marlboros Holiday Classic Tournament, hosted by the Toronto Marlboros, joining twenty elite U15 AAA hockey programs from across Ontario, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, and Massachusetts. The annual showcase brought together top-tier competition during the holiday season, providing a strong measuring stick for teams from multiple high-performance regions.
The Greyhounds opened tournament play on December 27 with a 4–1 victory over the Buffalo Jr. Sabres at noon, setting a positive tone for the event. Later that day, the Soo faced the Whitby Wildcats in a highly competitive afternoon matchup, earning another 4–1 win in the 4:45 p.m. contest.
On December 28, the Greyhounds were challenged by the Ottawa Jr 67’s, falling 3–1 in a tightly contested game that featured strong defensive play at both ends. The Soo closed out tournament action on December 29 with a hard-fought 4–3 win over the Windsor Jr Spitfires in the morning finale.
The Greyhounds’ performance at the 2025 Toronto Marlboros Holiday Classic highlighted the group’s resilience, depth, and ability to compete against some of the top U15 AAA programs in North America. The experience gained at the prestigious tournament will serve as valuable preparation as the team continues through the remainder of the season.
Assistant coach Adrian O’Dell told Saultsports that “I thought we played well overall we played hard and competed just a couple bad bounces . We head to the sliver sticks in a couple of weekends which will be a really strong tournament so we will keep building for that.”
The Soo U15 AAA Greyhounds will return to action in the new year as they open their 2026 schedule in Port Huron, Michigan, competing alongside 23 elite U15 AAA programs from California, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Michigan, and Ontario. The Greyhounds will begin the showcase against Detroit Belle Tire on January 9 at 5:00 p.m., followed by an 11:30 a.m. matchup earlier that same day. The Soo will then face the LA Jr. Kings in an evening contest with an 8:30 p.m. puck drop. Round-robin play concludes on January 10, when the Greyhounds take on Detroit Honeybaked in an 11:30 a.m. start, closing out a high-level weekend of international competition.
