This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Oshawa Generals" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Oshawa Generals
City	Oshawa,Ontario
League	Ontario Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	East
Founded	1937–38
Home arena	Tribute Communities Centre
Colours	Red, blue and white
General manager	Roger Hunt
Head coach	Mario Pouliot
Affiliates	Haliburton County Huskies Port Perry Lumberjacks
Website	www.oshawagenerals.com
Championships
Playoff championships	OHL Champions 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1966, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1997, 2015 Memorial Cups 1939, 1940, 1944, 1990, 2015
Current uniform

TheOshawa Generals are ajunior ice hockey team in theOntario Hockey League. They are based inOshawa,Ontario, Canada. The team is named forGeneral Motors, an earlysponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. In November 2016, the General Motors Centre changed its name to Tribute Communities Centre. Its 184 graduates to theNational Hockey League are second in the OHL.^{[needs update]} The Generals have won theMemorial Cup five times (1939,1940,1944,1990,2015), as well as a record 13 Ontario Hockey League championships, theJ. Ross Robertson Cup (1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1966, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1997, 2015)

The Generals have two distinct eras in their history. The original Generals operated from 1937 to 1953. The team went on a hiatus from 1953 to 1962 due to a fire at theHambly Arena. The team was resurrected in 1962. Famous alumni of the Generals includeHockey Hall of FamersBobby Orr,Ted Lindsay,Alex Delvecchio,Dave Andreychuk, andEric Lindros.

Prior to 1908, Oshawa belonged to the Midland Hockey League. It competed against other teams fromWhitby,Bowmanville,Port Hope andCobourg. The first Oshawa team in theOntario Hockey Association junior division began play in the 1908–1909 season, known as theOshawa Shamrocks. Ed Bradley, a prominent local businessman was responsible for organizing the team and bringing junior hockey to Oshawa and was the team's manager for the next 13 seasons.^{[citation needed]}

Success came early to the team reaching the semifinals in 1909. In the 1920s, the team enjoyed many successful years, battling againstOrillia andOwen Sound. In June 1928, Bradley's Arena burnt to the ground. The team relocated to Whitby until the newOshawa Arena was built for 1930.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1930s, the team became known as the Oshawa Majors. The Majors won the OHA title in 1935 versus theKitchener Greenshirts, and played the Northern Ontario championSudbury Cub Wolves. In a protest by Kitchener, the title was taken away from Oshawa while games were already underway with Sudbury.^{[citation needed]}

In 1936, different sources name the team as the Majors, the Red Devils, and theJunior G-Men. This team coached by Bill Hancock and managed byMatt Leyden played the season againstSt. Michael's College,University of Toronto,Toronto Young Rangers,Toronto Marlboros,Toronto Native Sons and theToronto Lions.^{[citation needed]}

In 1937, the Oshawa Generals were created and named after the sponsor,General Motors of Canada. The Generals put together an unequalled feat of seven consecutiveOHA Championships, and winning threeMemorial Cups in the same span.^{[citation needed]}

The Generals grew a reputation for treating its players well and signed many young men who would go on toNational Hockey League fame. Players were admitted free to theatres, dancing, wrestling, roller skating and other attractions at the arena. Sponsors gave full scholarships to school and weekly stipends. Through the whole dynasty, the team was managed byMatt Leyden, and its secretary was Neil Hezzlewood. Both men would be inducted in the Oshawa SportsHall of fame.^{[citation needed]}

From 1937 to 1944, Oshawa Generals graduated 20 players to become NHL alumni, and another player inDavid Bauer, who would be inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in the Builder's Category. NHL alumni from 1937 to 1944 include;Frank Bennett,Harvey Bennett,Les Colvin,Jim Conacher,Floyd Curry,Buck Davies,Bob Dawes,Jim Drummond,Frank Eddolls,Bill Ezinicki,Armand (Bep) Guidolin,Nick Knott,Ted Lindsay,Jud McAtee,Norm McAtee,Gus Mortson,Chuck Scherza,Ken Smith,Billy "The Kid" Taylor andWally Wilson.^{[citation needed]}

On September 14, 1953Hambly's Arena burned down. The city lost their arena, and their OHA team.^[1] Donations poured in from many fellow OHA teams and local businessmen. Equipment and other items were disbursed to all the players attending the training camp to cover individual losses. The Generals, homeless so close to the start of the new season, were disbanded.^{[citation needed]}

Salvaged from the disbanded team, General Manager Wren Blair made a Senior B team known as the Oshawa Truckmen, who played in Bowmanville for the 1953–1954 season. The year after, this team became theWhitby Dunlops. The Dunlops wereAllan Cup Champions in 1957 & 1959, and World Champions in 1958.^{[citation needed]}

In 1960, Wren Blair began negotiations withBoston Bruins presidentWeston Adams to begin building the new Oshawa Generals. The agreement was made contingent on a new arena being built in Oshawa. TheOshawa Civic Auditorium would open in 1964.^{[citation needed]}

In the meantime, the Oshawa Generals were reactivated for the 1962–1963 as a team playing in theMetro Junior A League. For this year, the team played its home games atMaple Leaf Gardens. Fundraising for a new arena was well under way at the same time.^{[citation needed]}

The Generals wore red, white and blue jerseys until the 1965–66 season when they adopted the black, gold and white of their parent team, the Boston Bruins.^{[citation needed]}

In 1963 the Metro Junior A league was disbanded, and Oshawa was readmitted in the OHA. Since theToronto Marlboros used Maple Leaf Gardens as a home rink, the Generals team played out of nearbyBowmanville for one full season, and part of another.^{[citation needed]}

The greatest player ever to wear an Oshawa Generals uniform,Bobby Orr, became a legend in the NHL and to be inducted in theHockey Hall of Fame.^{[citation needed]}

Orr was discovered by Wren Blair as a 14-year-old while playing a game inGananoque, Ontario. He was quickly signed to a contract and invited to training camp for the 1962–63 season. He would commute three hours from Parry Sound for all weekend games he played with the Generals that year. Even so, he was selected to the Metro Junior A League's second all-star team.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1963–64 season (his first full season in Junior A hockey), Bobby Orr scored 29 goals to break the record for most goals by a defenceman, previously held byJacques Laperriere. Orr was also selected as a first team all-stardefenceman.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1964–65 season, the Generals moved into their new home at theOshawa Civic Auditorium. Orr broke his own record, scoring 34 goals that season.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1965–66 season, Oshawa returned to theMemorial Cup after a 22-year absence. The Generals were coached that year by alumnusArmand "Bep" Guidolin, who played for Oshawa in the 1942 Memorial Cup, and subsequently made theBoston Bruins of theNational Hockey League (NHL) as a 16-year-old. Team captain Bobby Orr scored 38 goals during the season.^{[citation needed]}

The Generals defeated their bitter rivals, theSt. Catharines Black Hawks, in the quarter-finals before eliminating theMontreal Junior Canadiens in the semi-finals, and winning theJ. Ross Robertson Cup over theKitchener Rangers.^{[citation needed]}

The Generals then outscored the Northern Ontario Junior A champion North Bay Trappers by a combined score of 43–9 to win the series in four games, and then defeated Shawinigan Bruins in three games to be the Eastern Canadian representative for the Memorial Cup.^{[citation needed]}

In the Memorial Cup series, Orr played injured through most games, but the team lost to theEdmonton Oil Kings in six games.^{[citation needed]}

After the season ended, many players graduated from the team and moved on: Orr went to the Bruins, Blair became general manager of the NHL'sMinnesota North Stars and head coach Guidolin returned to coaching in Thorold.^{[citation needed]}

After many dismal seasons through the late 1960s and 1970s, the Generals began to rebuild for a run at the Memorial Cup. In 1979, the Generals hired Head Coach Paul Theriault, who would lead the team to nine consecutive winning seasons, including two Memorial Cup appearances.^{[citation needed]}

In 1983, the Generals returned to the Memorial Cup after a 17-year absence, defeating theSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for their ninth J. Ross Robertson Cup. The Memorial Cup that year was played inPortland,Oregon. The Generals lost in the finals to the host team, thePortland Winter Hawks, by a score of 8–3. That year's team captain, defencemanJoe Cirella, went on to play 16 years in the NHL.^{[citation needed]}

During an early season practice, Bruce Melanson left the ice feeling very weak. Within a few minutes he collapsed, succumbing to a congenital heart disorder known asWolff–Parkinson–White syndrome. He was 18 years old at the time. The Generals wore black arm bands for the remainder of the season in memoriam of their teammate they nicknamed "Moose." In his honour, his number 9 was never worn by another member of the Generals and was later retired in 2006 for the late Red Tilson. A memorial scholarship was also set up at his former high school inNew Brunswick. The Generals now hand out an award to the most scholarly student, named the Bruce Melanson Scholactic Player of the Year Award. Melanson's hard-hitting and aggressive style led him to be selected byNew York Islanders in the second round, 41st overall, in the1984 NHL Entry Draft.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1986–87 season the Generals set a team record with 101 points for the season. The Generals played on home ice in the Memorial Cup, as the host city and as the OHL champions.^{[citation needed]}

In 1987, the OHL organized a "super series" for the right to host the Memorial Cup tournament between theLeyden Division-winning Generals and theEmms Division-winningNorth Bay Centennials. The super series was played before the OHL playoffs commenced, and Oshawa defeated North Bay four games to three for the right to host the Memorial Cup. Coincidentally, Oshawa also won the OHL championship series defeating North Bay four games to three. Since Oshawa won both the super series and the OHL championship, only three teams participated in the Memorial Cup. Oshawa reached the finals against theMedicine Hat Tigers, but lost 6–2 in the championship game.^{[citation needed]}

Eric Lindros was drafted by theSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, but refused to play for them, forcing the Greyhounds to trade him. After arriving in Oshawa, Lindros turned out to be the player the Generals needed to reach the Memorial Cup, in addition to the existing core of players captained byIain Fraser.^{[citation needed]}

After playing for the Canadian National Team, Lindros started his rookie year with the Generals in 1989–90. Lindros would go on to score 17 goals and 19 assists in only 25 games. The same year in the playoffs, he scored 18 goals and 18 assists in only 17 games.^{[citation needed]}

Copps Coliseum hosted the1990 Memorial Cup. The Generals played against theKamloops Blazers,Laval Titan and the OHL runners-up, theKitchener Rangers. The championship game on May 13, 1990, attracted 17,383 spectators who eventually witnessed the Generals defeat the Rangers 4–3 in doubleovertime on a goal scored by Bill Armstrong. This was the fourth Memorial Cup in Generals history.^{[citation needed]}

In the subsequent off-season, Lindros was chosen first overall at the1991 NHL Entry Draft by theQuebec Nordiques. Entering the1990–91 season, the Generals were expected to repeat as OHL champions. In 57 regular season games, Lindros again led the team in points after scoring 71 goals and 78 assists. The Generals, however, lost the OHL final that year to Lindros' draft team, the Sault Ste. Marie.^{[citation needed]}

The Generals set the benchmark for other OHL teams by winning their 12th J. Ross Robertson Cup in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

The Generals upset the first placeOttawa 67's in the OHL final, 4–2. The sixth game ended just eight seconds into the first overtime on a goal fromMarc Savard.^{[citation needed]}

The Generals then participated in the1997 Memorial Cup inHull, Quebec, in which they finished third in the round robin and lost in the semifinal to theLethbridge Hurricanes in overtime.^[2]

Future NHL players from Oshawa's 1997 roster includedMarc Savard,John Tripp, Ian MacNeil,Kevin Colley,Dan Hinote,Jeff Ware,Bryan Allen,Jeff MacMillan andTyrone Garner.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, John Davies purchased the team from John Humphreys. This marked the beginning of a new era for the team, as the Humphreys family had owned the team since its resurrection in 1962.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the Generals drafted 14-year-oldJohn Tavares first overall in the OHL Priority Selection; he was previously granted Exceptional Player Status by the OHL, which allowing him to be drafted one year earlier than the norm. Following his selection, the Generals worked to build another championship team centered around Tavares. Other building blocks added to the team includedMichael Del Zotto, Dale Mitchell,Cal Clutterbuck,Brett MacLean (then one of the youngest players in the OHL), goaltender Anthony Peters and eventuallyCalvin de Haan.^{[citation needed]}

The new ownership also brought to an end the Generals era playing in the Civic Auditorium. Led byOshawa Mayor John Gray,^[3] the Generals were able to call a new arena in downtown Oshawa their home. The team moved into theGeneral Motors Centre on November 1, 2006, and played the inaugural game on November 3 against theOwen Sound Attack.^{[citation needed]}

After topping scoring boards and points lists with the Generals for three and a half seasons, John Tavares and Michael Del Zotto were traded to theLondon Knights on January 8, 2009, and a new crop of young talent was brought onto the Generals team.Christian Thomas,Scott Valentine and Michael Zador, along with several draft picks, were part of the Tavares deal. Other additions includedTony DeHart andLucas Lessio, a result of one of London's draft picks that was traded to Oshawa.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2008, the Generals' executive team announced a change of ownership structure, with Rocco Tullio ofWindsor, Ontario, agreeing to terms and conditions with John Davies to acquire his remaining shares of the Generals. In January 2010, Tullio welcomed two new partners as owners – former NHL star andStanley Cup championAdam Graves and former championship OHL coach and managerPeter DeBoer.^[4]

For the first time since 1997, the Oshawa Generals made it back to theMemorial Cup in 2015. In the 2014–15 season, the Generals won their 13thJ. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating theErie Otters.^[5] At the2015 Memorial Cup, they won all three of their round robin games and clinched a spot in the tournament final. They defeated theKelowna Rockets in the final afterAnthony Cirelli scored the game-winning goal in overtime.^[6]

The Generals have won 13J. Ross Robertson Cup championships, the most in OHL history. Oshawa also has won fiveMemorial Cup championships.^[7]

J. Ross Robertson Cup
Ontario Hockey League Championship

George Richardson Memorial Trophy
Eastern Canadian Championship

Memorial Cup
Canadian Hockey League Championship

The Generals have had several head coaches who have also coached at the NHL level as head and/or assistant coaches includingCharlie Conacher,Armand "Bep" Guidolin,Paul Theriault,Bill LaForge,Bill Stewart,George Burnett,Brad Selwood,Randy Ladouceur andD. J. Smith.

Coaches of the year;

Matt Leyden Trophy winners.

• 1971–72Gus Bodnar
• 1977–78Bill White
• 1986–87Paul Theriault
• 2013–14D. J. Smith
• 2023–24Derek Laxdal

The Oshawa Generals have graduated 184 young men onto the NHL, third behind theToronto Marlboros and thePeterborough Petes for most graduated future NHLers from the OHL. Five Generals have gone on to become honoured in theHockey Hall of Fame.

The Oshawa Generals retired number nine in honour of Red Tilson at a pregameRemembrance Day ceremony on November 12, 2006.^[16] Tilson was the league's leading scorer during the 1942–43 who died during combat inWorld War II. TheRed Tilson Trophy for the OHL's most outstanding player is named in his honour.Eric Lindros' number 88 was retired on March 6, 2008.^[17]Bobby Orr's number 2 was officially retired on November 27, 2008, after having been out of circulation since Orr moved on to the NHL in 1966.^[18]John Tavares' number 91 was retired on September 28, 2014.^[19] Number 27 was retired on October 2, 2016, in honour of Marc Savard.

• # 2Bobby Orr (1963–1966)
• # 9Red Tilson (1941–1943)
• # 9Dave Andreychuk (1980–1983)
• # 22Tony Tanti (1980-1983)
• # 27Marc Savard (1993-1997)
• # 88Eric Lindros (1989–1992)
• # 91John Tavares (2005–2009)

Honoured numbersBruce Melanson was last player to wear number nine. It was taken out of circulation after his death, then later retired for both Red Tilson and Dave Andreychuk.

• # 9 Bruce Melanson (1983–1985) – died during season.

List of Oshawa Generals alumni to play in the National Hockey League.^[20]

The Oshawa Generals have won three Hamilton Spectator trophies for finishing first overall in the OHL regular season standings, and five Leyden trophies for finishing first overall in the eastern division OHL regular season standings. The Oshawa Generals have won 13 J. Ross Robertson Cups as the OHL/OHA playoff champions, and won five Memorial Cups as the CHL/CAHA champions.

The current version of the Oshawa Generals uniforms has been in use since the1989–90 season. The team has announced an updated logo to coincide with moving into a new arena. The new logo cresting will be triple layered as opposed to the single layer. Players' names and numbers with have double cresting.

The Oshawa Generals have also issued two throwback style jerseys in the recent past. During alumni week for the2001–02 season, the Generals wore a jersey based on the 'Bruins" style worn in the 1965–66 season, when Bobby Orr skated for the club. For two seasons from2004–05 to2005–06 the Generals "red" jersey was replaced by a jersey based on the style worn during the 1939, 1940 and 1944 Memorial Cup winning seasons, featuring the square "GM" logo.^[21]

The Generals unveiled a new mascot during a pregame ceremony on November 16, 2007, who would be named "Deke" in a naming contest in Oshawa.^[22] The previous mascot, "General Shooter," had been retired at the end of the 2006–07 season.

The Oshawa Generals have the dubious distinction of having their home arena destroyed by fire not once, but twice in the franchise history. In June 1928 the Bradley Arena was destroyed by fire. Then 25 years later, the Hambly Arena was also destroyed by fire.

From 1928 to 1930, the team played out of nearby Whitby until the Hambly Arena was constructed. When the Hambly Arena burned down in 1953, the Oshawa Generals were disbanded. When the team was resurrected in 1962, they played both atMaple Leaf Gardens and also in the Bowmanville Community Arena (now demolished) for two seasons until moving until the Civic Auditorium.

Before Oshawa joined the OHA in 1908, it was part of the Midland Hockey League. Its games were played out of the Oshawa Curling Club located by the Oshawa Creek in the vicinity of present-day Valleyview Gardens, Kinsmen Stadium and Children's Arena. Since the curling club controlled its use and thus when games could or could not be played, a new location was sought.

A new outdoor rink was built four blocks away, where the present day Oshawa Armouries stand at the corner of Simcoe St. and Richmond St. This would be the team's home until 1908.

The Bradley Arena, nicknamed "The Big Rink," opened up in 1908 on Duke St. in downtown Oshawa. Its namesake was Ed Bradley, a prominent local businessman who was responsible for organizing the team and bringing Junior Hockey to Oshawa.

The arena was packed to the rafters many nights when Oshawa played there for the 1920s League championships versus Orillia andOwen Sound. In June 1928, the predominantly wooden structure succumbed to an overnight fire.

The Oshawa Arena (later known as theHambly Arena) opened in 1930 and was built in large part to the contributions ofColonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin. It was the first brick facade and steel support structure for hockey in Oshawa. Shortly after training camp in 1953, the arena would suffer the same demise as its predecessor and burned to the ground on September 15.

TheOshawa Civic Auditorium opened in 1964, built on fundraising by citizens of Oshawa. The first scheduled OHA game was December 15, 1964 vs. the St. Catharines Black Hawks.^[23] The Generals prevailed by a score of 6 to 4 in front of 4,109 fans attending the game.

In 1987 the Civic Auditorium played host to the Memorial Cup. The Generals contested for the cup against the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Longueuil Chévaliers.

The last championship the Generals won was played at the Civic in May 1997. The Generals upset the 1st place Ottawa 67's in the OHL final, 4 games to 2. The sixth game ended 8 seconds into the first overtime on a goal fromMarc Savard.

The Generals played the first five home games of the 2006–07 season in the Civic Auditorium before moving into their new arena. The final game played was October 29, 2006, against theKingston Frontenacs, the Generals won 8–6.

On March 10, 2005, Oshawa City Council approved what was then known as the "Downtown Sports & Entertainment Facility Project" after many years of waiting for a new arena. Groundbreaking for the new facility at the corner of Athol and Mary Streets in downtown Oshawa took place on June 22, 2005. The building is operated byGlobal Spectrum Facility Management.^{[citation needed]}

On October 5, 2006, the Oshawa Generals announced anaming rights deal which will see the arena named theGeneral Motors Centre.^[24] The inaugural game was played November 3, 2006, against theOwen Sound Attack.^{[citation needed]}

On May 15, 2015, the Generals won their 13thJ. Ross Robertson Cup at the General Motors Centre, defeating theErie Otters 4–1.^[5]

On November 1, 2016, the General Motors Centre was renamed to the Tribute Communities Centre.^[25]

• List of ice hockey teams in Ontario

• Babe Brown, Bobby Attersley, and Bill Kurelo (1978).A History of the Oshawa Generals, Volume One. Chimo Publishing; Toronto, ON, Canada.
• Babe Brown, and Bill Kurelo (1993).A History of the Oshawa Generals, Volume Two. General Printers; Oshawa, ON, Canada.
• Richard M. Lapp and Alex Macaulay (1997)The Memorial Cup: Canada's National Junior Hockey Championship. Harbour Publishing; Madeira Park, BC, Canada.

• Official website

• Oshawa Generals
• 1937 establishments in Ontario
• General Motors Canada
• Ice hockey clubs established in 1937
• Ice hockey teams in Ontario
• Ontario Hockey League teams
• Sports in Oshawa

• CS1 maint: archived copy as title
• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from January 2020
• All articles needing additional references
• Wikipedia articles in need of updating from April 2018
• All Wikipedia articles in need of updating
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020
• Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019