Where Are They Now: Noel Hoefenmayer
In a program like that of the Ottawa 67’s, where the goal is sustained excellence, few players were more emblematic of that organizational consistency than defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer.
The North York, Ontario native was among the members of the Barber Poles who saw their final Ontario Hockey League campaign snatched away by the COVID-19 pandemic, and while it certainly wasn’t the ending he envisioned, Hoefenmayer still found a way to close out his OHL career on a high note. Staying true to his consistent nature, he also managed to find success at the next level, in the following years.
Hoefenmayer was drafted in the second round, 36th overall, by the 67’s in the 2015 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. His impact was immediately felt on the Ottawa blue line, scoring his first OHL goal during his debut, in a season-opening visit to the Peterborough Petes on September 24, 2015. When all was said and done, Hoefenmayer suited up in 45 games during his rookie year, scoring two goals, and three assists for five points, also dressing in all four playoff games.
During his sophomore season, in 2016-17, Hoefenmayer took a noticeable step forward. He was in the lineup for 62 games, including his first career multi-goal effort, scoring two against the Oshawa Generals on February 11, 2017. The 6’1 196lbs defender ended the year with 14 goals, and 26 assists for a total of 40 points, nearly improving tenfold on his rookie production. Despite another first-round loss for the Barber Poles, Hoefenmayer tallied two goals, and five assists for seven points, in six games.
With little surprise, the NHL came calling after Hoefenmayer’s breakout season, as he was drafted in the fourth round, 108th overall, by the Arizona Coyotes.
The 2017-18 campaign saw Hoefenmayer dip slightly in terms of production, but also continue to settle into his role as a top-end OHL defender. In 65 games, he posted seven goals, and 26 assists for 33 points, and again took flight in that year’s playoffs. What would be the final first-round defeat of his OHL career saw Hoefenmayer equal the previous year’s numbers, but in only five games, this time.
As then-head coach Andre Tourigny’s team began to round into form during the 2018-19 season, Hoefenmayer did too, posting what would be the best numbers of his career, until his final season. The veteran dressed in all 68 games for the first, and only time, scoring 16 goals, and 46 assists to end the year with 62 points, at a 0.91 points per game clip. He even produced in all situations, scoring the only shorthanded goal of his time in Ottawa.
In a thrilling 18-game run to the OHL Final, Hoefenmayer cemented himself as a key contributor on a stacked 67’s squad, with eight goals, and 11 assists for 19 points. He also consistently came through when it mattered most, scoring two game-winners.
Though the 2019-20 season was ill-fated, Hoefenmayer put forth something of a swan song, obliterating his previous career-highs, and finishing his OHL career on a high note. Hoefenmayer broke the 20-goal plateau, with 26, along with 56 assists, for a whopping 82 points, in just 58 games. His 1.41 points per game clip, to go with eight game-winning goals, and being a high-impact player in both ends of the ice earned Hoefenmayer the 2020 Max Kaminsky Trophy, as the OHL Defenceman of the Year, becoming the eighth member of the Barber Poles to win the award, and first since Brendan Bell in 2003.
Despite the heartbreaking ending to his time in Ottawa, Hoefenmayer immediately found success at the next level, signing with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies on April 24, 2020. He made his professional debut against the Laval Rocket on March 12, 2021, and scored his first goal in Laval on May 4 of that year. All in all, Hoefenmayer’s rookie year in the AHL saw him record two goals, and four assists for six points, in 18 games. He also saw action with the East Coast Hockey League’s Wichita Thunder, posting two goals, and eight assists for 10 points, in 23 games.
That season’s performance didn’t go unnoticed by his affiliated NHL squad either, as Hoefenmayer earned an invite to the 2021 Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Tournament.
During the 2021-22 campaign, Hoefenmayer has posted three assists in eight games with the Marlies, and through 31 games with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers, he has recorded 11 goals, and 18 assists for 29 points.
Hoefenmayer continues to produce wherever he goes, and few know better than those who watched him in his days with the 67’s that his production will continue throughout the rest of his hockey journey.
