The Cornwall River Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario , Canada and members of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH). They played their home games at Ed Lumley Arena at the Cornwall Civic Complex . The team was also formerly known as the Windsor Wild of Windsor, Quebec before moving to Cornwall in 2012.
21-481: The team was purchased in 2012 by Bernard Villeneuve and brought to Cornwall to play in the Cornwall Civic Complex. Led by veterans Yves Sarault and Eric Meloche , Cornwall went 20-17-3 in its first LNAH season, finishing third overall in the regular season. The River Kings were captained by Steve Simons and crowd favourites included Francis Lessard and Tyler Howe. In the first round of the playoffs,
42-775: A fan-favourite at the Civic Complex, earning 277 penalty minutes in 38 games with the River Kings. Cornwall would fall to eventual LNAH champion Jonquiere in a tough first round series (4-2). The River Kings dropped a 3-2 decision at the hands of the Marquis on home ice in front of more than 3,000 fans. In spring 2014, the team was sold to Cornwall real estate agent Brock Frost. The team was sold again, pending league approval, to Darren Madden in November 2014. On December 4, 2014, Darren Madden withdrew his application to purchase
63-598: A further two seasons, Sarault was traded at the draft to fellow club the Cornwall River Kings for the 2012–13 season on June 17, 2012. In the off-season Sarault lives in Moncton , New Brunswick and plays occasionally with the Moncton Puck Wackers hockey club in the city's summer men's league, with his son Chris. He joined the staff of Swiss club Lausanne HC as an assistant in 2014 and
84-847: A minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League (FHL) that played in the 2016–17 season and folded during the 2017–18 season. Based in Cornwall, Ontario , the Nationals played their home games at the Ed Lumley Arena . The Nationals were founded in September 2016, when the Cornwall River Kings of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) folded just prior to
105-465: A nine-game stretch before the playoffs. Francois Ouimet and Sy Nutkevitch led the River Kings in scoring with 32 points. Newly acquired forward Keven Veilleux was a force late in the season, scoring 13 points in 12 games. In the playoffs, the River Kings were ousted by the first-place Jonquiere Marquis in four straight games. On August 19, 2016, the River Kings' owners announced that the team would no longer continue operations due to lack of fan support and
126-408: The Ed Lumley Arena . On September 16, the Federal Hockey League (FHL) approved of the addition to the league for the upcoming season. On September 17, Rivette and Gagne presented the first four players ( Lou Dickenson , Jeff Legue , Jason Lepine , and Kris McCarthy) and revealed logo and jerseys. Midway through their first season, team president Rodney Rivette bought out Mitch Gagne's share of
147-790: The Nashville Predators between 1995 and 2001. He is currently serving as an assistant coach of HC Fribourg-Gottéron in the National League (NL). As a youth, Sarault played in the 1985 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield . Sarault was drafted 61st overall by the Canadiens in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft . From July 18, 2008, he played for German team ERC Ingolstadt in DEL after previous spells with EHC Basel , SC Bern , Genève-Servette HC and HC Davos in
168-542: The 2016–17 season. The team was led by general manager Mitch Gagne and team president Rodney Rivette. Prior to creating the Nationals, Rivette led a last-minute fundraising campaign to save the River Kings but did not get enough support in time for the LNAH's deadlines. On September 14, 2016, the city of Cornwall, Ontario , approved a team called the Cornwall Nationals to begin play for the 2016–17 season out of
189-474: The 2020–21 season. Sarault working as a hockey analyst for the National League 's official broadcaster, MySports , before returning to the coaching ranks in accepting the head coaching role with SCL Tigers of the NL on January 16, 2022. His daughter Courtney Sarault is a short track speed skater and has represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics . Cornwall Nationals The Cornwall Nationals were
210-500: The Eperviers, Cornwall took the regular season champions to the limit, eventually falling 4–3. As stability finally arrived at the ownership level, the River Kings could never recover from a poor start and a decimated blueline due to injury. The River Kings finished eighth in the LNAH with an 11-25-4 record. A massive overhaul was done at the trade deadline and Cornwall finished the regular season strong. The River Kings went 7-1-1 in
231-524: The LNAH announced that the fundraising by the River Kings' fans fell short of the necessary requirements and the league decided to play the season with seven teams. The River Kings players would be made available via a dispersal draft on August 31. The team would be quickly replaced by a team in the Federal Hockey League called the Cornwall Nationals in September. The Nationals were created by Rodney Rivette and Mitch Gagne after failing to save
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#1732797663299252-505: The River Kings eliminated St-Georges 3–1. Cornwall was ousted in five games at the hands of Sorel in the LNAH semi-finals. In the summer of 2013, the team was purchased by the David Small led group, just before the team would have folded. The LNAH grew to eight teams in 2013 and the River Kings compiled 16-20-4 record to finish seventh in the regular season. Nicolas Corbeil led Cornwall in goals (25) and points (44). Chris Cloutier became
273-404: The River Kings in goals (21) and points (34). Defenceman Sasha Pokulok , the team's first ever draft pick in 2012, had 27 points in 32 games. Enforcer Curtis Tidball, acquired midway through the season, became popular with local hockey fans, earning 102 penalty minutes in 13 games with Cornwall. The River Kings took on Sorel in the first round of the LNAH playoffs. Despite finishing 37 points behind
294-645: The River Kings. But they will be making a return in the 2023/24 season and they will be affiliated with the Belleville Senators . Yves Sarault Yves Victor Sarault (born December 23, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 106 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens , Calgary Flames , Colorado Avalanche , Ottawa Senators , Atlanta Thrashers and
315-679: The Swiss NLA league from 2002 to 2008. Sarault has also participated for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup . After initially starting the 2009–10 season with lower professional league team Rivière-du-Loup CIMT in the LNAH , Sarault left for Europe on December 16, 2009, signing for the remainder of the season with Vienna Capitals of the Austrian Erste Bank Hockey League. After returning to Rivière-du-Loup for
336-438: The heavy financial burdens of running the team. The owners claimed they had to close their other businesses to keep the team operating during the previous season and they could no longer operate the team. Within 12 hours, the city removed the River Kings logo from centre ice, even while the ownership was working to find last-minute financing. The owners announced on August 23 that they were unable to convince any new investors due to
357-411: The league to keep the team. The LNAH Board of Governors were to meet on August 22 to determine the fate of the team in order to try to keep eight teams for the 2016–17 season, however, the decision was then postponed to August 24. The league then decided to give an August 29 deadline on whether to find a way to compete with eight teams or rearrange the schedules of the remaining seven teams. On August 29,
378-407: The only thing the team could offer would be revenue from ticket sales and advertisement as a sponsor. The team could not offer revenue from beer or concession stands or discounts on ice time. However, on August 23, the final efforts of a group of fans, led by local Rodney Rivette, had claimed to have raised over $ 60,000 in pledged commitments since the announcement about folding in the hopes to convince
399-484: The team and Gagne left his position of general manager on 18 December. On December 21, the Nationals announced that it had secured another local investor, Will Beauvais, to help support the team. Nationals forward, Basem Awwad, also took over general manager duties at that time. On February 28, 2017, captain Joel Trottier took over as head coach. On February 20, 2018, Rivette announced that the team folded during
420-436: The team. On December 9, 2014, the LNAH took control of the team with hopes of finding a suitable owner. On December 10, 2014, Steve Moreau and family, founders of E-Steam Canada, The Hot Sauce Kiosk and VenLyn Group was announced as the new team owner. Cornwall went 11-26-3 in 2014–15, finishing last in the league. Rookie forward Antony Courcelles thrilled fans at the Civic Complex with his speed and accurate shot. Courcelles led
441-497: Was promoted to the head coaching position during the 2017-18 season after the sacking of Dan Ratushny . On February 8, 2018, Sarault was relieved of his duties after five straight losses. On January 22, 2021, Sarault was named head coach of EHC Visp in the Swiss League (SL). He led the team to the playoffs but were swept in the quarterfinals by future SL champion, HC Ajoie . Sarault was not renewed as head coach following
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