Playing 60 regular season games is no small feat for any junior hockey player.
Thunder Bay’s Josh Lehto reached the personal milestone on Tuesday night in a 7-3 win for his Virden Oil Capitals over the Neepawa Titans in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL).
The Oil Capitals are looking to make the next step in 2023-2024 after falling in the league’s Turnbull Cup Final to the Steinbach Pistons in five games.
“We [were a] couple of games short of winning the winning the championship, and [that’s something that] we [haven’t forgotten about],” Lehto explained. “[The end of the season] gets brought up quite a bit. It's something we owe to ourselves. We owe the guys last year [to finish the job this year] but we try to not think about it too much.”
Lehto began his Junior ‘A’ career with the eventual Centennial Cup hosts Portage Terriers and only played one regular season game before finding himself with the Oil Capitals.
When discussing signing in Manitoba, Lehto was recruited after a strong performance in the 2022 Telus Cup West Regionals, which were held in Virden.
“I ended up signing with [the] Portage Terriers, and then from there I guess [Head Coach and General Manager Tyson Ramsey] saw me [play] and [eventually] traded for me [after my one game with the Terriers],” he noted. “It’s been amazing [playing in Virden]. The way the organization is run is second to none; I love the team, the coaches and the community.”
Lehto made his MJHL debut on September 18, 2022 against the Selkirk Steelers at Stride Place in Portage, and collected his first career goal in the second period of a 4-3 overtime victory in the home opener.
The now nineteen-year-old is more confident as he plays his second last season of junior hockey, adding “[There are] a lot more expectations coming into [this season for myself and the team]. I've done it before, I know what to expect, and I know the work I have to put in this year to help my team win a championship.”
Prior to going to Manitoba, Lehto did have experience in Junior ‘A’ hockey during the 2020-2021 Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) Guest Season. He picked up three goals in four games with the Thunder Bay Kings Under-18 AAA club.
“The [Kings program] is run so well,” Lehto said. “I loved every moment of it. Every year the team was ready to work and we ended up [in] my last season [playing] in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). We ended up losing in the playoffs, but playing for that organization is something you should not take for granted. It was an amazing experience.”
Lehto made his way through the Kings program from 2018 until 2022.
When asked if any SIJHL team inquired about his services, Lehto mentioned “I did get offered [a chance] to play [with the Kam River Fighting Walleye] one weekend [but] it just didn't work out because [my Kings team] had a tour that weekend, so I couldn't do that. It was definitely an option for me [to sign close to home], but ultimately, I wanted to leave town and experience something new, try something different.”
The Oil Capitals kick off the October portion of their schedule on Tuesday the 3rd on the road against the Dauphin Kings.
