The 2022–23 NOJHL season was the 45th season of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL).
The franchise formerly known as the Espanola Express was rebranded as the Espanola Paper Kings.
The Powassan Voodoos named Peter Goulet as its new head coach following the resignation of Marc Lafleur.
Regular season
The regular season ran from 8 September to 19 March with teams playing a 58-game schedule. The Timmins Rock finished the regular season in first place overall, while the Greater Sudbury Cubs finished first in the West division. The top four teams from each division advanced to the post-season.
|+ style="background:#CDCCCB; border-top:#182E57 5px solid; border-bottom:#182E57 5px solid"| ! style=width:15em | Team ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Games Played">GP</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Wins">W</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Losses">L</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Overtime Wins">OTW</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Overtime Losses">OTL</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Goals For">GF</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Goals Against">GA</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Points">Pts</abbr title> |- align=right | align=left|Timmins Rock || 58 || 45 || 8 || 3 || 2 || 273 || 111 || 95 |- align=right | align=left|Hearst Lumberjacks || 58 || 43 || 13 || 2 || 0 || 277 || 155 || 88 |- align=right | align=left|Powassan Voodoos || 58 || 37 || 20 || 1 || 0 || 225 || 171 || 75 |- align=right | align=left|French River Rapids || 58 || 9 || 46 || 2 || 1 || 145 || 304 || 21 |- align=right | align=left|Kirkland Lake Gold Miners || 57 || 7 || 48 || 1 || 1 || 104 || 295 || 16 |- align=right | align=left|Cochrane Crunch || 58 || 7 || 49 || 1 || 1 || 99 || 327 || 16
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|+ style="background:#CDCCCB; border-top:#182E57 5px solid; border-bottom:#182E57 5px solid"| ! style=width:15em | Team ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Games Played">GP</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Wins">W</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Losses">L</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Overtime Wins">OTW</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Overtime Losses">OTL</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Goals For">GF</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Goals Against">GA</abbr title> ! style=width:2.2em | <abbr title="Points">Pts</abbr title> |- align=right | align=left|Greater Sudbury Cubs || 58 || 46 || 10 || 2 || 0 || 248 || 138 || 94 |-align=right | align=left|Blind River Beavers || 58 || 42 || 11 || 3 || 2 || 244 || 125 || 89 |-align=right | align=left|Soo Thunderbirds || 57 || 36 || 15 || 3 || 3 || 229 || 161 || 78 |-align=right | align=left|Espanola Paper Kings || 58 || 29 || 24 || 2 || 3 || 223 || 218 || 63 |-align=right | align=left|Soo Eagles || 58 || 26 || 27 || 4 || 1 || 206 || 212 || 57 |-align=right | align=left|Elliot Lake Red Wings || 58 || 20 || 35 || 1 || 2 || 174 || 230 || 43
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Post-season
The top four teams from each division at the end of the regular season advanced to the playoffs. In the final round, the Timmins Rock defeated the defending championship Soo Thunderbirds in six games to win the league championship Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy and advanced to the national championship in Portage la Prairie.
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National championship
The national championship tournament took place at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba from 11–21 May 2023. The tournament included the championship teams from each of the 9 leagues that collectively make up the Canadian Junior Hockey League and the hosting Portage Terriers. The Portage Terriers and the City of Portage la Prairie had been selected to host the 2020 Centennial Cup tournament, which was cancelled due to public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team had previously hosted, and won, the 2015 Royal Bank Cup, as the tournament was then known. Multiple corporate sponsors, including the title sponsor, Tim Hortons, withdrew their support for the tournament in response to the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal.
The Soo Thunderbirds were eliminated from competition in the preliminary round. The Brooks Bandits of the AJHL ultimately won the championship after defeating the Battlefords North Stars in the final.
Individual awards
Most valuable player of the regular season Nicolas Pigeon, Timmins Rock Best defenceman Alex Little, Powassan Voodoos Rookie of the year Kyloe Ellis, Greater Sudbury Cubs Most improved player Caleb Minns, Blind River Beavers Top defensive forward Dharan Cap, Soo Thunderbirds Best goals-against-average for a goaltender Jacob Brown, Timmins Rock Team goaltending award Patrick Boivin & Jacob Brown, Timmins Rock League scoring champion Nicolas Pigeon, Timmins Rock Most gentlemanly player Mathieu Comeau, Hearst Lumberjacks Best overall team player Lucas Signoretti, Espanola Paper Kings Coach of the year Peter Goulet, Powassan Voodoos Executive of the year Ted Gooch, Timmins Rock
References
Sources