In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became theOntario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate independently of the OHA. Finally in 1980, the OMJHL became theOntario Hockey League.
Hockey started as a challenge series in the winter of 1889 when a team fromOttawa challenged teams fromLindsay andToronto. A year later the Ontario Hockey Association was formed on November 27, 1890 in Toronto at theQueen's Hotel.
The first junior teams started play in 1892, without enforced age limits; the first champions Kingston Limestones over Galt.[1] In 1896, the OHA re-organized into three divisions, senior, intermediate and junior. Junior hockey now became age-limited to players 20 years of age or younger by January 1 of the season being played. Out of its modest beginnings at the turn of the century, junior hockey quickly grew into an organized and entertaining brand of hockey. The end ofWorld War I marked the beginning of theMemorial Cup, the symbol of junior hockey supremacy inCanada. Teams from all across theprovince participated in provincial playoffs in the hope of winning theGeorge Richardson Memorial Trophy and representing Eastern Canada in the Memorial Cup finals. As each year passed, the number of communities participating in junior hockey grew and the calibre of play increased.
For the 1933–34 season, junior hockey was split into 'A' and 'B' divisions. Two new championship trophies were created at the same time. The 'A' level teams competing for theJ. Ross Robertson Cup as OHA champions and the Memorial Cup as national champions. The 'B' level teams competed for theSutherland Cup, which is still Ontario's Junior B championship trophy.
The 1930s gave birth to noted teams such as theOshawa Generals,St. Michael's Majors and theToronto Marlboros. Other notable teams of that era were theToronto Young Rangers,Toronto Native Sons, and theStratford Midgets.
The 1940s welcomed new communities to the limelight such as theBarrie Flyers,Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters,Stratford Kroehlers and theSt. Catharines Teepees. The first version of theWindsor Spitfires also appeared in the 1940s only to fade away in the early 1950s.
The OHA awarded its first individual player trophies in 1945. TheRed Tilson Trophy was awarded to the player voted "Most Outstanding" in the league. TheEddie Powers Memorial Trophy was awarded to the league's top scorer.
The 1950s saw other cities join in. TheKitchener Greenshirts entered the league only to move on to become thePeterborough Petes. Hamilton also joined as theTiger Cubs (later theRed Wings). The 1950s also saw inter-league play withQuebec-based teams.
Stafford Smythe, owner of theToronto Maple Leafs, started theMetro Junior A League in an attempt to rival the OHA. TheToronto Marlboros, who were owned by the Leafs, were withdrawn from the OHA and placed in a league with promoted Junior B teams including theWhitby Mohawks, theBrampton 7 Ups, and theUnionville Seaforths. The other member of the league was the formerSt. Michael's Majors franchise, who would be later transferred toNeil McNeil High School inScarborough,Ontario.Father David Bauer, the legendary coach and St. Michael's teacher, had decided to withdraw the private school from participation following their Memorial Cup win in 1961.
In response, the OHA managed to convinceSam Pollock'sMontreal Junior Canadiens to join. The league that year consisted of theGuelph Royals, Hamilton Red Wings,St. Catharines Black Hawks,Peterborough T.P.T., Montreal Junior Canadiens and theNiagara Falls Flyers.
The rival league was a failure on and off the ice, and it effectively became a second division. Although it was independent from the OHA, the champions of the OHA and the Metro Junior A would play each other in the playoffs each year on the road to the Memorial Cup.
For its second season, the Metro League underwent sweeping changes, with the Whitby Mohawks renamed theWhitby Dunlops, the Unionville Seaforths becomingToronto Knob Hill Farms, and the Majors became theToronto Neil McNeil Maroons. The new sixth team in the league would be the rebornOshawa Generals.
However, after two seasons of the Metro Junior A League, it failed, and a new unified Junior A league emerged. Unfortunately, this meant the end of Neil McNeil, Brampton, Knob Hill and Unionville. The Marlboros and the reborn Oshawa Generals re-joined the OHA in 1964. The Guelph Royals also became theKitchener Rangers.
The firstNHL Amateur Draft was held in 1963 for any junior player who was not already sponsored by an NHL team. When the NHL expanded in 1969, the rules of the draft were changed to allow any amateur player under the age of 20 to be chosen. The OHA ceased being a direct farm system and began to compete with other junior leagues to graduate players.Réjean Houle became the first OHA player to be drafted first overall in 1969 by theMontreal Canadiens. The Canadiens took advantage of a grandfather clause that gave them first right tofrancophone players. In 1970 that clause was revoked, andGilbert Perreault was drafted first overall by theBuffalo Sabres. Both Réjean Houle and Gilbert Perreault played in the OHA with theMontreal Junior Canadiens.
In 1965 the London Nationals (laterKnights) were added to the OHA as the last NHL-sponsored team. By 1967, direct NHL sponsorship of teams and individual players had ended. Prior to this time, all of theOriginal Six NHL teams had involvement in OHA teams:
| NHL team | OHA Farm Team |
|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | Barrie Flyers (1945–1960) Niagara Falls Flyers (1960–1967) Oshawa Generals (1962–67) |
| Chicago Black Hawks | Galt Black Hawks (1949–1955) St. Catharines Black Hawks (1962–1967) |
| Detroit Red Wings | Galt Red Wings (1944–47) Oshawa Generals (1950–1953) Hamilton Red Wings (1960–1967) |
| New York Rangers | Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (1947–1960) Guelph Royals (1960–1963) Kitchener Rangers (1963–1967) |
| Montreal Canadiens | Peterborough Petes (1956–1967) Montreal Junior Canadiens (1961–1967) |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto Marlboros (1927–1967) Toronto St. Michael's Majors (19??-1961) London Nationals (1965–1967) |
In 1967 theOttawa 67's were added to the league, named after Canada'scentennialanniversary. The OHA existed with ten teams until 1972, upon the creation of a new level of junior hockey, and the folding of theNorthern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The competitiveness between the Ontario Hockey Association and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League had grown since 1969 when the QMJHL was born. It was further escalated by the incidents of the 1971Richardson Cup, and the lawsuit over theMontreal Junior Canadiens.
The Eastern Canadian championship of 1971 was a controversial series, and would be the last time teams played for the Richardson Cup. It would be replaced the following season in 1972, with theMemorial Cup tournament, as part of reshaping junior hockey. The 1971 series featured future NHL starsGuy Lafleur andMarcel Dionne, but never lived up to the potential on ice brilliance that could have been. Disputes off the ice and erupting violence abrupted the series before it was finished.
TheSt. Catharines Black Hawks andQuebec Remparts series was intense on many levels. Besides the strong rivalry betweenAnglophone andFrancophone hockey teams, there was personal rift between Marcel Dionne and the Remparts coach Maurice Filion over Dionne playing in the OHA, which was seen as a higher-calibre level of competition. This rivalry was further fueled by the desire of Francophone nationalists to have a Canadian champion from a Quebec team in a Quebec-based league.
The Remparts won the first game 4–2 played in St. Catharines and televised by closed circuit to over 8,000 spectators in Quebec arenas. Despite the win, Filion complained about the OHA referee's bias against his players, calling it anti-Francophone. The Black Hawks won game two by a score of 8–3, to tie the series at 1 game each.
Game three was played in theColisée de Québec to an overflow crowd, seeing the Remparts win 3–1. There were a total of 102 penalty minutes called, 77 of those were against the Black Hawks. Brian MacKenize of St. Catharines would be suspended for one game after confronting a linesman. After this game, the OHA lodged a complaint to the CAHA about QMHL appointed referees.
The next game of the series was uglier than the last game. Another overflow crowd saw the Remparts win game 4 by a score of 6–1. As the game wore on, more and more fights broke out on the ice, involving players leaving the penalty box to join the fray. The St. Catharines players were escorted off the ice by police amidst the hurling of debris from Quebec fans. After the game an angry mob surrounded the St. Catharines team bus on its way to the motel, and was given a police escort to safety. The mob circled the motel until the early hours of the morning.
After disputes between the teams and leagues, game five was played on neutral ice atMaple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, which the Black Hawks won 6–3 to narrow the series 3 games to 2 for Quebec. That was the last game played.
The parents of the St. Catharines players refused to send their children back to Quebec City for fear of the violence that occurred after game four. The Remparts refused to play anywhere else but their home rink, including any neutral ice in the province of Quebec. The problem was further confounded with threats surfacing from theFLQ (Front de libération du Québec) against St. Catharines players.
CAHA president Dawson declared the series to be over when no further compromise could be reached, and he had received official notice from St. Catharines that the team would not return to the Colisée. As a result, the Remparts went on to compete for theMemorial Cup by default, which they won, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings.
The QMJHL threatened a lawsuit against the OHA to force the Junior Canadiens to return to the Quebec-based league, from which it departed in 1961 in favour of competing in the higher calibre OHA. The QMJHL not only wanted a team in the province's biggest city, but also felt the Junior Canadiens had violated the territorial right of the QMJHL. Ironically, the QMJHL had previously granted franchise rights to theCornwall Royals of theCentral Junior A Hockey League in 1969, when the OHA had denied the Royals bid.
To solve the problem, the OHA granted the Junior Canadiens franchise a "one-year suspension" of operations, while team ownership transferred the team and players into the QMJHL, renaming themselves theMontreal Bleu Blanc Rouge in the process.
The OHA then "re-established" the suspended franchise after a one-year hiatus, under new ownership and with new players, calling the team the Kingston Canadians. The new Kingston team was essentially an expansion franchise, that had only common name to share with the departed team, but has some claim to the legacy of the Junior Canadiens.
For the 1970–71 season, Junior A hockey split again into Tier I and Tier II. The only Tier I league in the province became known as the OHA Major Jr. A. Its winner represented Ontario in a round-robin Memorial Cup with a team from theWestern Hockey League and another team from theQuebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Tier II teams would compete for the newly createdManitoba Centennial Trophy.
Communities such asSudbury (transfer from Niagara Falls) andSault Ste. Marie that had been part of theNorthern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) prior to the Tier I/Tier II split, joined the Major Jr. A ranks in 1972 to rejoin the Memorial Cup hunt. The 1970s also saw the Montreal Junior Canadiens moving back into the QJHL's successor, theQuebec Major Junior Hockey League. TheKingston Canadians joined the OHL in their place as the Junior Canadiens' successors, albeit with different ownership and players. The league also witnessed the rebirth of theWindsor Spitfires during this time period.
In 1974, the "Major Jr. A" (Tier I) division of the OHA became theOntario Major Junior Hockey League and began to operate independently of the OHA. The new league opened up administration offices and appointed its own commissioner.
The OMJHL instituted many rules changes to distinguish itself from Tier II (Minor Jr. A), including allowing one overage player on the roster. The Central Scouting Bureau was started in 1975 to provide teams with more information about players available in the upcoming draft. The same year the league divided into a two division format. Then in 1977, the OMHJL held its first All-Star game inSudbury,Ontario.
In 1980, the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League sought to gain further independence and more control over its financial policies and gate receipts. The OMJHL separated itself from theOntario Hockey Association, becoming theOntario Hockey League.
An agreement was struck between the two sides where the OHL would pay the OHA $30,000 annually in affiliation fees and the right to compete for the Memorial Cup, and the OHL teams would have complete control over finances and ticket sales. The OHA would continue to operate hockey from Junior A Tier II, and below.David Branch became Commissioner of the OHL at this time, a position he held until 2024. Since 1980, the league has grown rapidly into a high-profile marketable product, with many games broadcast on television and radio.
In the 1980s, the league added theGuelph Platers andBelleville Bulls, and welcomed theCornwall Royals from the QMJHL.North Bay took in the second version of theNiagara Falls Flyers. The former Fincups franchise was recycled through Brantford as theBrantford Alexanders and back toHamilton, and by the end of the decade it was inNiagara Falls. The end of the decade saw the end of another storied team, theToronto Marlboros, as they relocated to become theHamilton Dukes. It also saw the end of the Kingston Canadians name as they were renamed theRaiders, and renamed again to theFrontenacs the following year. During the 1980s, the OHL experimented withCooperalls as standardized league equipment, but reverted to hockey shorts.
The OHL split from the OHA in July 1982.[2] The OHA and OHL disagreed on financial terms of affiliation, then the OHL decided to handle its own administration.[2][3] The OHA and the OHL later reached an interim affiliation agreement, which allowed the OHL to compete at theMemorial Cup.[4]
The 1990s saw the league expand into the USA. The first franchise the expansionDetroit Compuware Ambassadors (later theDetroit Junior Red Wings,Detroit Whalers andPlymouth Whalers) and the secondly theErie Otters, who relocated from Niagara Falls. The Otters could trace their heritage back to the Hamilton Tiger Cubs of 1953.Newmarket also briefly had the Royals before moving on to become theSarnia Sting. The Dukes became theGuelph Storm; filling the void left when the Platers relocated toOwen Sound.Barrie rejoined the league in 1995 with the Colts and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors also rejoined the league in 1997 after a 34-year absence. The league continued to expand with two new teams in 1998; Don Cherry'sMississauga IceDogs and theBrampton Battalion. In 2000 The Owen Sound Platers were renamed to theAttack after being bought by local interests. In 2002, the Centennials moved to Saginaw, Michigan to become theSaginaw Spirit.
There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; 17 are based in Ontario, 2 teams from Michigan and 1 team from Pennsylvania.
Ontario[edit]
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Quebec[edit]
Michigan[edit]
Pennsylvania[edit]
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OMJHL and OHL Commissioners (years in office)[5]
The Ontario Hockey League All-Star Game was first played in 1977 in Sudbury with Emms Division vs the Leyden Division. The game's winner was awarded the OHL Chrysler Cup. This format continued through 1985.
The OHL / QMJHL All-Star Challenge Series was held from 1986 to 1991. The game's winner was awarded the Chrysler Challenge Cup. Chrysler Canada was the corporate sponsor from 1977 to 1991.
TheCanadian Hockey League created the CHL All-Star Challenge in 1992. For four seasons from 1992 to 1995, it incorporated theWestern Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and theQuebec Major Junior Hockey League into one showcase event. The host league in this case would challenge a combined team from the other two leagues. In 1996 this was replaced with theCHL Top Prospects Game. There was no OHL All-Star game held in 1996.
The OHL All-Star Game was revived in 1997. It was played for 4 consecutive seasons until 2000. Officially it was called theOHL All-Star Classic. The games during this period had different corporate sponsors.
In 2001, the three CHL leagues would play a round-robin style All-Star game named the CHL All-Star Series, the winning league being awarded the Hershey Cup. Each league made two Conference All-Star teams. One would play at home versus a Conference All-Star team from another league, and the other conference would visit another league's team. This format was played for the 2001, 2002 & 2003 seasons.
The event was rebranded as the OHL All-Star Classic from the 2003–04 season onward. The game was previously sponsored byDirect Energy, the most recent corporate sponsor isBell Canada. The 2007 All Star game was played inSaginaw, Michigan,United States, the first time the game has been hosted outside of Canada.
The OHL discontinued the All-star game as of the 2010–11 season.[6]
| No All-Star Game held in 1996.
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