Rattlers Jr 'A' Hockey Club

Being a Rattler not only means you are a full-time hockey player, but a well rounded person as well. The team goes through a rigorous training regiment of on-ice and off-ice training 5 days per week. Video analysis, systems, personal skill development and career management all make up a large part of the program.

If you are a player who is looking for a program where you can develop your skills to the maximum and get showcased to the NCAA, Major Junior and Pro levels, then the Rattlers program is where you need to be.

Our History

The Rattlers Junior program has been running out the World Hockey Centre since 2001. The team was a part of the Ontario Provincial Junior 'A' league as the Thornhill Rattlers during the 2001-2002 season and as the Thornhill Islanders during the 2002-2003 season. In those two years, the team had many success stories, seeing players move up to the NCAA level as well as Major Junior. Mike McIntosh (Amherst College), Will Bruce (Williams College), Nate Miller (Hamilton College), John Duco (Oswego, Buffalo State), Mike Duco (Kitchener, OHL), Billy Siekris (Oshwa, OHL), Justin Allen (Oshwa, OHL), John Gleason (Brockport SUNY), Keith Fink (Nichols College), Josh Jacobs (Newmann College), Simon Gellinas (Miliwakee) and Joe Dovalina (Milwakee) are just some of the players who moved up to the next level.

From 2003 to 2006 the Rattlers existed as an independent College Touring Team. Many skilled players made it through the program during those years. The team made a commitment to promoting and showcasing players to the NCAA level. This College Touring program established many strong connections with NCAA teams. The Rattlers traveled to the U.S. to compete against schools like Elmira College, Hamilton College, Middleburry College, Morrisville College, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Plattsburgh, Utica College, St. Olaf's College, Lake Forest College, Northland College, Finlandia University, Lawrence University and Monroe College with visits to Harvard, Cornell and Colgate along the way.

The team saw Jan Velich, Stifan Schon, Matt Blake and Chris Asplund move up to Elmira College. Kiril Tulupov was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 3rd round of the 2006 NHL Draft and then moved up to the QMJHL in Chiquintimi. Stefan Carnegie and C.J. Schneider moved up to Morrisville College and Patrick Block moved up the the NLB Swiss Pro.

In the fall of 2006 the Rattlers joined the Greater Metro Junior 'A' League. The team continued its dedication to player development and promotion. In addition to all the league games, the team still travels to the U.S. to compete in exhibition games against NCAA teams further developing the player promotion program.

The Rattlers Jr. 'A' hockey club captured the GMHL league championships in both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Karl Linden, Sebastian Gulder and Will Scott went to Elmira College, Jiri Zeman went to Northland College, Demitry Sentson went to Marian College, Matt Justice went to Lake Forest College, Nemanya Jankovic went to Findlandia University, Sochiro Omi went to Utica College, Dave Malicek went to Basil (NLB Swiss Pro) and Victor Brottman went to Vasby (Sweden 3rd Pro).