Nate Krawchuk is ready to put on the Sudbury Wolves sweater and experience major junior hockey once again.
“It was a big transition going from under-18 to junior,” said the Thunder Bay goaltender. “The shots are way harder; guys are bigger and faster. And for me, one of the big differences was moving away from home. [I asked myself] how do I settle in with someone I meeting for the very first time, and [live] with them for the next seven months?”
Krawchuk was the third overall pick by the Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League’s Priority Selection in 2022, and was offered a contract to play in the OHL last summer.
Krawchuk posted a 13-7-1 record with the Wolves in 2022-2023 to go along with a 3.21 goals against average and .891 save percentage.
He was listed as an affiliate player with the Kam River Fighting Walleye of the Superior International Junior Hockey League during the 2021-2022 campaign.
His original goal was to pursue his hockey career in southern Ontario, and always had playing in the SIJHL as a back-up in case he couldn’t make that plan work or didn’t make the Wolves roster.
Krawchuk was in the Kings organization from 2019 to 2022, getting into a pair of Junior A games with the under-16 team as part of the SIJHL guest season of 2020-2021.
“I was always with the same group of guys, so it was always nice,” Krawchuk reflected on his time in the Kings system. “The travel was surprisingly fun, even though we were sitting in the airport for a couple of hours here and there. The coaches that I had were always great, and it was always really well run.”
Krawchuk is one of just a handful of Thunder Bay products currently listed on an OHL roster, joining fellow netminder Carter George of the Owen Sound Attack.
There have been a number of athletes from the Lakehead that have been drafted to OHL clubs. In 2023, goaltender Chase Furlong was picked in the fifth round by the Erie Otters, while the SIJHL’s Rookie of the Year Max Leduc was an 11th-round selection of the London Knights.
Krawchuk feels pride representing Thunder Bay in the OHL.
“It's a reminder that I am where I am for a reason, and it's not just by chance that I'm there. Whenever I'm down, [I question] why am I here? What do they see in me? And then I realize that not many people get this opportunity.”
The Wolves open the Ontario Hockey League regular season at home against the Brantford Bulldogs on Friday, September 29th.
RECENT OHL PICKS FROM THUNDER BAY
2022
3rd Round - Goaltender Carter George (Owen Sound Attack)
5th Round - Defenceman Nicholas Holomego (Erie Otters)
2021
11th Round - Forward Owen Voortman (London Knights)
12th Round - Forward Luca Riccardi (Sudbury Wolves)
15th Round - Goaltender Kolton Bourret (North Bay Battalion)
15th Round - Forward EJ Paddington (Soo Greyhounds)
2019
1st Round - Forward Nicholas DeGrazia (Sudbury Wolves)
8th Round - Defenceman Alex Pineau (Sudbury Wolves)
8th Round - Forward Alex Atwill (London Knights)
