Brett is officially one heck of a guy

Soo Thunderbirds forward Brett Jeffries is the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s nominee for the Canadian Junior Hockey League player of the year award.

Jeffries, who was named the NOJHL’s Best Defensive Forward for the second consecutive year, had 11 goals and 31 assists in 50 games before adding four goals and nine points in nine playoff games as the Thunderbirds won the NOJHL title.

“As a three-year player in the league Brett Jeffries has come to epitomize the commitment and dedication that so many of our players and member clubs display on a daily basis,” NOJHL Commissioner Robert Mazzuca said in a prepared statement.

“A true leader on and off the ice, Brett has played an instrumental role in the success the Thunderbirds have achieved, not only within the NOJHL, but across the entire 131-team CJHL,” added Mazzuca.

On Monday, Thunderbirds defenceman Brandon Grandinetti was named the NOJHL’s scholastic player of the year.

Grandinetti is the NOJHL’s nominee for the Hockey Canada/CJHL scholastic player of the year award and gets a $1,000 scholarship to help defer costs of his post-secondary education.

Grandinetti is a second-year biology student at Algoma University.