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35-959: The Voyageurs entered the Metro Junior B Hockey League in 1974. The Voyageurs filled the Junior "B" void left when the Kingston Frontenacs jumped from the Eastern Junior B Hockey League in 1972 to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League and then the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League in 1973 as the Kingston Canadians . The Voyageurs continued with the league when it became the Metro Junior A Hockey League in 1991 and stuck around until 1995. In 1995,

70-559: A complete locational move in the middle of a season. The next year they became the Richmond Hill Dukes and skipped around the Greater Toronto Area for the better part of the next decade trying to find a home. During the 1988–89 season Kingston's Scott Martin won his second consecutive scoring title and League MVP award. His season totals of 62 goals and 114 points in a mere 42 games came closest to topping

105-751: The Big Six Junior B league in 1950 until 1953, when a new, nine-member OHA Jr.B league was formed. The league officially took on the Metropolitan Toronto junior hockey league name in 1956. For some time, was a part of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Junior A Hockey League . As the name suggests, the league originally consisted of Junior B teams in the Toronto area. However, over time, with

140-640: The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association declared Gretzky and 15-year-old Brian Rorabek ineligible because they had established residency too late. Gretzky sued in the Canadian Courts and lost [1] . Because Gretzky could remain in Toronto to play junior (rather than midget hockey), Gretzky tried out for the Junior B team, and made the team. In 28 games, Gretzky scored 27 goals and 33 assists to win Metro Rookie of

175-666: The Invista Centre . On April 14, 2009, the Voyageurs won their first Buckland Trophy defeating the Oakville Blades in 5 games. On April 25, 2009, the Voyageurs defeated the Fort William North Stars 4–1 to capture the first Dudley Hewitt Cup in team history. By virtue of the win the Voyageurs qualified for the 2009 Royal Bank Cup. They played their first game of the tournament on May 3 against

210-456: The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) as of the 1995–96 season, when it was opposed to a ruling by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association which gave jurisdiction over junior ice hockey in the province to the OHA. The Metro Junior A Hockey League insisted on its own administration and was opposed to paying fees to the OHA. The Metro Junior A Hockey League rejoined the OHA in 1997, then merged into

245-794: The Richmond Hill Rams left. A year later the Markham Waxers also left. To make up for the losses, the Metro league took in new members Belleville Bobcats and the Peterborough Lions from the folded Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League , and expanded with the Oshawa Legionaires , Bramalea Blues , Pickering Panthers , and Wexford Warriors . The Etobicoke Selects , Toronto Red Wings , and Markham Waxers joined in 1973. The Kingston Voyageurs entered

280-730: The Wellington-Waterloo Junior B Hockey League . The Henry Carr Crusaders, a team sponsored by the Toronto highschool, joined the Junior "B" ranks in 1980. They won league titles in 1983, 1984, and 1987. Their best season came in 1983, where they went undefeated during the regular season, won the Metro, and then went on to win the Sutherland Cup as All-Ontario Junior "B" Champions. That team featured future NHLers Bob Essensa , Paul Cavallini and Victor Posa and NHL draft picks Rob Bryden and Allister Brown. In 1991, Henry Carr Highschool dropped its sponsorship of

315-645: The 1971 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP a season before he was officially a rookie (which he won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1972 as Rookie of the Year), he won six Stanley Cups , and is a Hockey Hall of Fameer . In 1972 the Metro B league was reshaped substantially when six members left to join the new Ontario Provincial Junior A league. Metro members Ajax Steelers , Aurora Tigers , Dixie Beehives , Downsview Bees , North York Rangers , and

350-516: The 1980s and 1990s, producing more than 200 future NCAA players. The early years featured Toronto-based teams such as the St.Mike's Buzzers, Dixie Beehives, Toronto Lakeshore Bruins, Toronto Marlies/Weston Dukes, Unionville Jets, Aurora Tigers, Whitby Dunlops, Leaside Rangers, Brampton 7Ups and the Woodbridge Dodgers. For the most part, the teams served as farm teams at the Junior B level for

385-861: The East division of the Ontario Junior Hockey League , a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League . The Cougars won the 2017 Royal Bank Cup national junior A championship. The Cougars spent time in the Eastern Junior "B" league and the Central Junior C Hockey League before jumping to the Central Junior "B" league in 1992. The team graduated to Junior "A" when the league became the OPJHL

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420-614: The Junior A OHA teams. The 1964–65 season starred a 17-year-old Ken Dryden in net for the Etobicoke Indians . With Dryden in net, the Indians won the Metro league title and made it all the way to the Sutherland Cup final where they lost 4-games-to-2 to the Kitchener Greenshirts . Ken Dryden moved on to become one of the most famous NHL goaltenders of all-time. He played in the 1972 Summit Series , won

455-530: The Metro Junior A Hockey League. In the midst of perceived corruption by the league, five teams walked out on the Metro. Four of these teams, the Bramalea Blues , Kingston Voyageurs , Mississauga Chargers , and St. Michael's Buzzers , fled to join the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL). The Richmond Hill Riot folded. The Metro Junior A Hockey League operated independent from

490-560: The OPJHL in 1998. Hockey history was made on February 21, 1997 when Ryan Venturelli of the Muskoka Bears became the first goaltender in hockey history to score two goals (both empty net) in a hockey game against the Durham Huskies . Despite extensive expansion, the league was not able to retain its past glory and was swallowed whole by the OPJHL in 1998. The Metro league folded, with most of its teams being taken in by

525-622: The OPJHL, as well as many of its players. So far the most successful of these teams seem to be the Aurora Tigers , who after winning the OPJHL and Dudley Hewitt Cup in 2004, they took home the Royal Bank Cup 2004 as CJAHL National Champions as well. The league produced numerous stars, both in the NHL and as a feeder for NCAA college hockey, having produced 350 NCAA Division I scholarship athletes from 1980 to 1998. Please note: On

560-668: The Vees finished 2nd in the East Division, 8 points back of the Wellington Dukes and 4th in the NorthEast Conference with a record of 31-19-2-2. Brandon Nadeau, Rob Clerc, Josh Leblanc, Cole Beckstead and Reid Russell all hit the 100 point plateau in their Vees careers. The Vees faced Cobourg Cougars for the 3rd straight season in the opening round of the playoffs, losing in 5 games. In the 2018–19 season,

595-715: The Vees saw their playoff streak of 32 years come to an end with a record of 22-25-2-5 to finish 5th in the East Division. At the end of the season, the Ontario Junior Hockey League board approved the sale of the Voyageurs to the owners of the Ontario Hockey League Barrie Colts , becoming the Collingwood Colts , ending the 43 year tradition of Voyageurs junior hockey in Kingston. MetJHL Years OJHL Years Metro Junior A Hockey League The Metro Junior "A" Hockey League

630-659: The Year honours. The next year the team moved to Richmond Hill and became the Seneca Nationals. Gretzky scored 36 goals and 36 assists in 32 games, and then 40 goals and 35 assists in 23 playoff games to lead his team to a Metro Junior "B" Championship. The team came up short of a Sutherland Cup victory, as the Nationals were stopped dead in the 1977 All-Ontario Semi-final by the Stratford Cullitons of

665-519: The bench. The Vees would finish last in the East Division, despite finishing with the 8th best record in the league but would be swept by the Royal Bank Cup champions Cobourg Cougars , ending the Vees 15-year first-round winning streak and their 10-year conference finals appearance streak. Over the summer of 2017, GM Goulet left the ECHL's Brampton Beast to become the new head coach. Under Goulet,

700-467: The chart, the bolded team is the league champion. (*) denotes that there was no clear winner to the Eastern Division in 1998, but Syracuse did maintain a better record than Oshawa in the 1998 playoffs and is the closest the division has to a playoff champion. Cobourg Cougars The Cobourg Cougars are a junior ice hockey team from Cobourg, Ontario , Canada. They are a part of

735-587: The creation of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League. After the Metro league declared itself to be a Junior A league, the Central Junior B league followed, declaring itself a Junior A league after the 1992–93 season. Through November 19–21, 1993, the new junior A leagues joined with teams from the other Canadian provincial junior A leagues, and formed the Canadian Junior A Hockey League. In 1995, crisis struck

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770-399: The defection of teams to the Junior A league, the Metro league accepted teams from wider regions. The league featured many future NHL stars, including Brad Park ( Toronto Westclairs ), Wayne Gretzky ( Toronto Nationals ), Eric Lindros ( St. Michael's Buzzers ), Dale Hawerchuk ( Oshawa Legionaires ), Ken Dryden ( Etobicoke Indians ), and Curtis Joseph ( King City Dukes ). During

805-460: The early years, the "Junior B" league was essentially the minor league feeder for the "Junior A" Ontario Hockey Association. Almost all of the Metro players eventually moved on to play in the OHA. Following the NCAA's 1980 rule change that deemed any OHL players to be professionals, amateur leagues such as the Junior B leagues grew. The Metro league became a key feeder to college hockey programs during

840-533: The host Victoria Grizzlies . They finished in fourth place in the tournament. In 2011, due to Gregg Rosen being diagnosed with cancer, the team was sold to a group that included Colin Birkas, the head coach of the Greater Kingston Jr. Frontenacs. Evan Robinson was relieved of his head coaching duties and Birkas replaced him. As well, the general manager duties were assumed by Denis Duchesne. During

875-725: The incident. Due to the brawl, the Blues withdrew from the final and became the only team in Ontario Hockey Association history to forfeit the Sutherland Cup . The 1975 season marked the first junior appearance by a 14-year-old "underage" Wayne Gretzky for the Toronto Nationals . In September, Walter Gretzky had Wayne moved to the City of Vaughan to play midget hockey for the Toronto Young Nats instead of playing in his hometown of Brantford, Ontario . In October,

910-827: The league in 1974. In 1974, the Metro Champion Bramalea Blues defeated the Owen Sound Greys 4-games-to-3 to reach the Sutherland Cup All-Ontario Final. Upon reaching the final, the Blues defeated the Hamilton Red Wings of the Niagara & District Junior B Hockey League in Game 1, only to have a brawl involving the teams, officials, and fans breakout to the point that police were called to break up

945-626: The league records set by NHLers Patrick Flatley during the 1980–81 season (137 points for Henry Carr), and Paul Gardner during the 1973–74 season (77 goals and 132 points for St.Mike's). The league was classified by the OHA as a Junior B league, until a falling-out in June 1990, when the Ontario Hockey Federation was formed, comprising the OHA, the Ontario major junior league, three minor hockey groups and women's hockey. The OHA

980-522: The playoffs before being swept themselves by the eventual Buckland Cup and Dudley Hewitt champions Trenton Golden Hawks . In the 2016–17 season, the Vees iced a skilled and younger team than in previous years. Despite a winning record playing in the tough East Division, Taurean White was relieved of his duties after the Christmas break. Mark Major took over the head coach job on an interim basis, with new assistant coaches Patrick Shearer and Rob Ridgley on

1015-428: The summer of 2014, Duchesne was relieved of his duties as general manager and the role was filled on an interim basis by Birkas and Rick Poirier. Poirier retired from the team shortly before Christmas 2014. Toward the end of the 2014–15 season, Birkas was suspended for an infraction during a game against the Wellington Dukes , causing assistants Ben Munroe and Dan Clarke to assume the coaching duties. Birkas' suspension

1050-409: The team jumped to the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League . The Vees were bought in the summer of 2006 by their major sponsor Gregg Rosen from KIMCO Steel Sales Ltd., who promptly spent more money to fix up the teams existing dressing room, build an office above the dressing room for the coaching staff and buy the players new equipment and sticks among other things. The Voyageurs last played out of

1085-731: The team, and as of 2006 were known as the Toronto Thunderbirds . During the 1986–87, a strange occurrence happened with the team that is now known as the Mississauga Chargers . Then known as the King City Dukes and in their third season in King since moving from Weston , the team moved mid-season to North York and renamed itself the North York Civics. The oddity here is that teams rarely do

Kingston Voyageurs - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-466: Was a junior level ice hockey league based out of Southern Ontario . The league originated in 1956 as the Metro Junior "B" Hockey League , which lasted until 1991, when it changed its designation from Junior B to Junior A. It remained a Jr. A league from 1991 until 1998 when it was absorbed by the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League . The teams that formed the Metropolitan league played in

1155-564: Was for the balance of the 2014–15 season, the playoffs, and the entire 2015–16 season. Despite this, the Voyageurs rallied and managed to have a magical 2015 playoff run. This was highlighted by a comeback from being down 0–3 against the Aurora Tigers to win in seven games, as well as taking the defending champion Toronto Lakeshore Patriots to Game 7 in the Buckland Cup finals. Over the Summer of 2015, former assistant coach Peter Goulet

1190-551: Was given jurisdiction over junior hockey below major junior excluding junior A in the north. Junior teams in Toronto were not members of the OHA and therefore not members of the CAHA. As a result, in 1990 the Metro league declared itself to be an independent junior league. A year later, during the summer of 1991, the league declared itself to be a Junior A league, and hired a full-time commissioner, Don Linthwaite. The Metro League's move brought into motion changes that ultimately led to

1225-563: Was hired as the team's general manager, with Goulet leaving the CCHL's Nepean Raiders in the process. Goulet hired his old assistant coach Taurean White to be the head coach, while also bring in former Kingston Frontenac and NHLer Mark Major and ex-Vee Phil Mangan as assistant coaches. Video Coach Fraser MacAlpine was promoted to Assistant GM. The Vees went on to finish 3rd in the OJHL overall standings, sweeping Cobourg Cougars and Markham Royals in

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