Sports Briefs: Joe Thornton statue unveiled, Knights rookie camp, CBL All-star vote

(L to R) A Joe Thornton Statue has been installed in the St. Thomas arena (Brent Lale/CTV News London), the London Knights hold training camp, scoping out prospective players (Brent Lale/CTV News London), the London Majors play an away game against the Chatham Barnstormers (Source: Canadian Baseball League)

The community centre in St. Thomas bears the name of local hockey legend Joe Thornton, and now there is a statue inside the main doors to welcome people to the facility.

The statue – made by St. Thomas artist Al Jewell- was unveiled in a private ceremony Tuesday. Thornton was in attendance with family and friends to see the work. Jewell started working on pieces of the sheet-metal sculpture 16 years ago when the new arena opened, and those pieces sat in his shop until last September. He had the skates and pants finished, but more work had to be done.

When Thornton got the call to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the City of St. Thomas asked Jewell to finish what he started.

“I got really occupied and couldn’t finish it so it sat here for a quite a few years,” said Jewell.

“The city approached me and said ‘we want you to finish that and we’re willing to pay you to do it. I started last September and worked on it feverishly for four months”.

Jewell – who owns a sign business – used a lot of different materials.

“The beard alone is 035 Mig (welding) Wire from your regular hobbyist welder,” said Jewell.

“It’s just cut up into little pieces and welded together and all placed with needle-nose pliers into place. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it”.

He is thrilled with the finished product and is glad that Thornton gave his approval.

“He’s such a great guy,” said Jewell.

“He’s a very warm, inviting person and he greets everybody with a smile. His family are great people, and I thought, you know what? He deserves this. This is something that I did. I didn’t really cut any corners and I did this because of him”.

He envisions families and kids surrounding the work and taking photos every time they enter the arena.

“You’ll have people from all over the world eventually will see this”.

Knights host rookies at development camp

The London Knights welcomed their most recent OHL draft picks, players from the 2025 Priority Selection and free agents to their annual development camp this week.

The action started on Friday with arrivals and introductions and that was followed by two games Saturday and another Sunday at Western Fair Sports Centre.

Ryan Beaulieu- London’s first-round pick in this year’s draft- was impressed with the “fast pace” and “welcoming atmosphere”.

“I played U16 and obviously this is a bit faster, so I just need to make sure I keep up and make that jump to the main camp,” said Beaulieu.

“All the guys are a really good players and I just gotta keep up, play my game and make plays”.

He describes his game as a “two-way defenceman who can move pucks up and jump in the rush”.

Also on the ice was second-round pick Ryker Kesler. The power forward is the son of former NHL player Ryan Kesler.

“It’s very exciting and there is a lot of high talent out here and it’s very fast paced,” said Kesler.

“They (Knights management) want to see me hard working play my power forward game and just laying the body”.He described being drafted by London as “surreal” and is looking forward to trying to make the team at the main camp in September.

London Majors want your vote

The London Majors sit just a half-game out of top spot in the Canadian Baseball League after a disappointing loss in Chatham Tuesday.

Auston Gurney hit a Grand Slam in the bottom the 10th inning to give the Barnstormers the 9-5 win and drop London out of a tie for top spot at 13-5.

With the All-Star game approaching the club is asking for your vote to send some players to the mid-season classic.

Fans can vote for their favorite players here. Voting takes place until Monday June 29, 2026. London has a pair of home games this weekend with Toronto at Labatt Park Friday and Hamilton in the city Sunday.