FORT FRANCES—Emo: Home of Luke Judson.
The sign leading into the village on Highway 11/71 west of Fort Frances doesn’t read like that now, but if Luke Judson continues on the path he’s on, it may soon say just that.

Judson spent the last couple of weeks taking in all the Memorial Cup had to offer as a spare for the OHL’s Belleville Bulls, and certainly enjoyed practising and preparing alongside teammates and Canadian junior standouts Shawn Matthias and P.K. Subban.
“Guys like that can teach you a lot,” the 17-year-old said in a telephone interview after a team practice the day before his Bulls were trounced 9-0 in the semi-finals by the host Kitchener Rangers.
“They’ve been in the league for a while and they know what kinds of things will help you develop and improve,” he noted.
Judson spent most of the winter with the Thunder Bay Bearcats in the Superior International Junior Hockey League, registering 18 goals and 20 assists in just 37 regular-season games in his first year in the league.
“I learned to play with the bigger, stronger guys at the start of the year and it was an adjustment,” admitted Judson. “But I think you learn how to compete with them in the corners and once you start winning some battles, it just gets easier as the year goes on.”
Judson followed up his strong regular-season effort by scoring four goals (two of which were game-winners) and assisting on two others in eight playoff games with the Bearcats while racking up 34 minutes in penalties.
Judson prides himself on being a physical presence, so penalties inevitably are part of his game.
“I try to get in the corners and muck it out, and just get to the net hard and get some crash-and-bang goals,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m maybe not the prettiest hockey player, but I try to get the job done any way I can.”
Judson has had a hockey season similar to what a Stanley Cup finalist would endure going late into May—and is looking forward to recharging the batteries a bit once he gets home to Emo.
“It’s been a long year, and I think I’ll maybe take a couple weeks’ break and then just get right back to work [training],” he noted.
“I need to finish my school out in Fort Frances, which will be the third school I’ve been in this semester with Thunder Bay and Belleville so it’s tough, but every player has to deal with it.”
Judson also had a cup of coffee with the Bulls during the OHL’s regular season, netting four points in the 10 games he appeared in.
“It’s a whole different level of hockey to adapt to but I think, for the most part, I showed that I can compete in this league and hopefully they realize that for next year,” he remarked.
It would appear as though Judson is being considered for a roster spot for next season, especially considering the Bulls kept him around to soak up some much-needed experience during their Memorial Cup run.
“I’m hoping to [make it],” said Judson. “It all depends on if I work hard throughout the summer and keep in good shape and come to [training] camp ready to make an impact.
“Always something to build on and improve on, and I’m just going to try to continue to get better for next year,” he added. “That’s my goal.”
Judson plans to spend June and July in the Emo area working on his conditioning in the gym, then expects to go to Thunder Bay in August to train with Jeff and Gary Ricciardi, as well as get some ice time in preparation for the season.
“He [Jeff] was great for me last summer,” noted Judson. “He played pro in Chicago’s farm system and in Europe, and he knows all the ins and outs.”
The Ricciardi’s Core Hockey Camp is highly-respected, with NHL pros like the Staals, Patrick Sharp, Taylor Pyatt, and Alex Auld using it in previous years to prepare for the rigours of a pro hockey season.
Rest assured, Judson will be in good hands as he prepares to take the next step.
And if all goes well, maybe that sign leading into Emo will be due for an addition sooner rather than later.
(Fort Frances Times)

Emo native Luke Judson is heading to the Ontario Hockey League.
Judson, a fifth-round pick (99th overall) by the Belleville Bulls, will get his first taste of Major Junior hockey this week when he faces the Kingston Frontenacs there Friday night.

The 16-year-old forward said he’s excited to head south, but in terms of goals has “nothing too specific.”
“Just to show I can fit in and that I can compete with the rest of the kids there. . . .” Judson remarked.
“It’s obviously a tough league, so I’m hoping to fit in as well as I can, and stay down there as long as I can,” he added.
Judson, who has five goals and three assists in six games with the Thunder Bay Bearcats of the SIJHL this season, found out about his call-up shortly before a trip back to the district to face the Fort Frances Jr. Sabres over the holiday weekend.
Head coach/general manager George Burnett said the move came after the Bulls (4-1) lost six players to long-term injuries.
Burnett said the decision to pick up Judson came after following his progress with the Bearcats after he had impressed during training camps over the summer.
“He had a good camp with us, and we were impressed by him as a young man and as an athlete, as well as his interest to improve and develop,” Burnett said.
Judson will participate in two practices with the Bulls before facing the Frontenacs on Friday, hosting the Peterborough Petes on Saturday evening, and then heading to face the Brampton Battalion on Sunday afternoon.
The three-consecutive games won’t be easy, Judson admitted, but said he’s more concerned with the level of play he’ll face.
“It’s going to be tough to get used to the lifestyle, I guess,” he shrugged. “It’ll be a little bit different, but that’s true of anyone coming into that league.”
Nothing’s been decided beyond the weekend, and the decision may hinge on Judson’s age, Burnett said.
OHL teams only are allowed two players born in 1991 taken after the second round to take up full roster spots (other players of the same age may play up to 10 games with the club or come up shortly before the playoffs).
Those rules—and Judson’s need for development—were the main factors in sending him back to Thunder Bay in the first place, Burnett said.
“We expected to be calling sooner than later,” he noted. “We expected he would be a full member of our club by next September, or sooner.”
Without a timeline, Judson’s focusing on the three games ahead. “They haven’t really told me the length I’ll be there, so I just gotta prove my worth and hope for the best,” he reasoned.
“If not, I can head back to the Bearcats and develop with them.”
Judson said he’s more than happy to spend the weekend getting to better know his Bulls’ teammates, soak in the big OHL crowds, and “play against some of the best young players in the world.”
“There’s a lot to look forward to,” he enthused.

Two Fort Frances teens were selected in the Ontario Hockey League draft earlier this month.
Luke Judson was taken in the fifth round by Belleville while Pat Bobczynski went in the 14th round by Guelph.

Between draft day (May 5) and now having to work to be their best for team camps (not to mention spending this past weekend in Thunder Bay trying out at a preliminary Ontario under-17 camp), the experience has been a blur.
“It’s kinda taken its toll,” Bobczynski admitted, thinking back to the day of the draft, when he got up at 8 a.m. but wasn’t drafted until late afternoon.
“It was a long day [but] it was pretty exciting,” he noted. “I watched two of my other friends go, and I didn’t get drafted until the 14th round and there’s only 15 rounds.”
“I was starting to get a little worried there, and I had to go to work in half-an-hour, too,” he added. “It was a great relief.”
While Judson went much earlier (99th overall in the fifth round), his father, Morris, recalled a similar day.
“That was probably one of the hardest things in hockey to watch Luke go through,” he remarked. “We had my wife’s parents and my parents and some friends over, and we had some computers set up, and we were all just watching the computers, watching the names pop up.
“We’d been told that he might have went earlier than that, just from different teams that had talked to him,” Morris Judson added.
“Luke, I think, was expecting to go a little sooner than that, but as it turned out, we were happy that he went.”
Bobczynski’s father, Howard, is proud his son was drafted, but looked at it as just the first step.
“It’s going to be a long process for him, whether he’ll actually go play there this year . . . it’s not very often that first-year draft picks actually go and play for the team,” he noted.
“It’s still a long road ahead, and we’ll see what happens.”
Shane Bliss, who coaches Bobczynski with the Muskies and also knows Judson, agreed there’s still a lot to be done.
“Not very often will the kid make the major junior team at [age] 15, 16. There’s very few exceptions,” he said. “They’ve got probably two years of work ahead of them realistically before they’re ready to make that.”
Bliss said other than focusing on their skills and athleticism, one of the things OHL clubs look for is the right attitude—and that would have factored in the cases of both young wingers.
“You can see these kids are good kids, too, and that’s one of the reasons they’ve been drafted,” he noted.
Morris Judson said that was very much his experience. He recalled a recent phone call with Belleville Bulls’ coach George Burnett.
“He just phoned and ran over what would be happening . . . they seem more concerned about the kids being away from home, being 16 years old.
“I think they have a lot of trouble with being lonely and depression.”
The senior Judson said he had spoken to a number of coaches other than Burnett before the draft.
“A few managers didn’t want to talk to Luke, they just wanted to talk to me,” he remarked.
Those who did speak to his son often would ask situational questions of character, like how he would react in the face of a possible trade.
The difference between where the two went in the draft may be indicative of the scrutiny placed on each.
Judson was contacted by nine teams—almost half of the 20-team league—while Bobczynski’s draft at 271st overall was a little more under the radar.
“The whole process was kinda funny for him,” Howard Bobczynski said. “He never got spoken to by any teams directly through the year and neither did we.”
In fact, Guelph drafted the 15-year-old on the basis of one game he played at a tournament that a Storm scout attended, according to head coach Dave Barr.
“We took a bit of a chance on a player we’ve only seen play one time and hopefully it’ll become fruitful for everybody,” Barr said.