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33-653: Peca began his junior career with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) after they selected him in the first round of the 1990 player draft . He was traded to the Ottawa 67's where he blossomed into one of the league's top offensive players. He was drafted in the second round, 40th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft . He made his NHL debut with

66-535: A free agent to a one-year, $ 2.5 million contract for the 2006–07 season , making Tucker and Peca teammates. During a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on December 22, 2006, Peca collided with Chicago defenceman Jim Vandermeer with 5:17 left in the first period. Vandermeer was assessed a minor penalty and a game misconduct for the hit. Peca sustained a fractured tibia at the base of his right knee and suffered significant ligament damage, and missed

99-578: A central part of Sudbury's history for decades, and the team is among the most iconic junior hockey franchises in all of North America. Sudbury has had a hockey team known as the Wolves or Cub Wolves nearly every year since around WWI. This team name was informally adopted around 1920 as the "Wolves of the North," likely a reference to the "voracity and tenacity that typified the play of these men from Sudbury." The Sudbury Cub Wolves junior team began play in

132-567: A contract the entire season. Peca was later traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt , where he led the Islanders to their first playoff berth in seven years. Peca was hip-checked by Toronto Maple Leafs ' Darcy Tucker during the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs in game five of the first round. The check blew out Peca's MCL and ACL on his left knee, ending his season and delaying his entry into

165-555: Is Toronto , Ontario, but he moved to Ottawa to attend Canterbury High School . Peca and his wife, Kristin Herzog, now live in Getzville, New York , with their two children. Note: While Peca was injured during (part of) the 1997–98 season, Donald Audette served as captain. Additionally, Peca sat out the 2000–01 NHL season , in a contract dispute (later asking for a trade). The Sabres captaincy remained vacant, until after Peca

198-785: The 2002–03 season . No penalty was assessed, but the NHL made clipping illegal as a result of the incident. Peca was acquired by the Edmonton Oilers in a trade with the Islanders in exchange for Mike York . He was part of the Cinderella Edmonton Oiler team that made a run to the Stanley Cup Finals . Peca had six goals and five assists in the 2006 playoffs . On July 18, 2006, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they had signed Peca as

231-418: The 2022-23 season , including a fiftieth anniversary jersey, as well as a limited edition Shoresy Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs themed jersey. The Sudbury Wolves play their home games at the downtown Sudbury Community Arena , which was constructed in 1951. The City of Greater Sudbury and the Wolves have upgraded the facility over the years, but since the mid-2010s there have been intensified debates about

264-765: The Buffalo Jr. Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), where he coached through the 2013–14 season. After the 2012–13 season, he was named OJHL Coach of the Year. In his two years coaching, he had 66 wins in 108 regular season games. Michael Peca served as head coach of the Bantam Major Jr. Sabres in addition to his duties as general manager and director of hockey operations for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres. On February 10, 2021, Peca

297-598: The Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL) from 1959 until the league folded in 1963. Players such as Don Cherry , Dave Keon , and Gerry Cheevers suited up for the club during its brief existence. A junior version of the Wolves emerged in the early 1960s as a member of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association , winning the league championship in 1969 and 1971. The OHL - then known as

330-605: The Niagara Falls Flyers and relocated the team to Sudbury. The current franchise has never won the Memorial Cup, nor has it captured the J. Ross Robertson Cup . Despite this lack of championships, the team has been one of the top development franchises in major junior over its history, with over 120 players drafted in to the National Hockey League (NHL) since 1973. The Wolves have been

363-672: The 1920s as a member of the Nickel Belt Hockey League. Under the management of Max Silverman , and coached by Sam Rothschild , the Cub Wolves won the Memorial Cup in 1932 with a roster that featured future NHL players such as Hector "Toe" Blake , Nakina Smith , and Adélard Lafrance . In 1935, the Cub Wolves lost in the Memorial Cup finals to the Winnipeg Monarchs. A senior team competing under

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396-536: The Buffalo Sabres to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999 . His nickname was "Captain Crunch" because of his penchant for delivering bone-crushing open ice hits. During the 1997–98 season Peca was suspended three games by the NHL for an illegal hit on Vancouver Canucks defenseman Mattias Öhlund on March 26, 1998. For the 2000–01 season , Peca and the Buffalo Sabres could not agree on a contract. Peca went without

429-589: The Canucks in the 1993–94 season , playing four games before cracking the lineup as a regular in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season . He was then traded to the Buffalo Sabres during the 1995 NHL Entry Draft as part of a package that sent Alexander Mogilny from Buffalo to Vancouver. Peca twice won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for being the best defensive forward, in 1996–97 and 2001–02 . He captained

462-514: The OHL, sold the team to Sudbury businessman Dario Zulich. Since Zulich's takeover, the team has been moving in a positive direction, drafting players such as Quinton Byfield and Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen , and winning a regular season division title in 2019-20 . The current Sudbury Wolves have never won the OHL championship , and have never participated in the Memorial Cup tournament. The team currently holds

495-862: The Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League - arrived in Sudbury in 1972 when local businessman Bud Burke, who was a shareholder in the NOJHL Wolves, purchased the Niagara Falls Flyers from Leighton "Hap" Emms and moved the team to Northern Ontario . In 1975-76 , the Wolves, coached by Jerry Toppazzini , who won the Matt Leyden Trophy that season, won Hamilton Spectator Trophy for having

528-425: The Wolves on local Sudbury radio. The Wolves were the worst performing team in the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in the 1980s, making the playoffs only once and not winning a single postseason game in the process. The club did manage to develop some notable players in this era, such as Pat Verbeek and Jeff Brown . A turning point in franchise history came in 1986 when local businessman Ken Burgess purchased

561-724: The banner of the Sudbury Wolves, again coached by Silverman, have twice been chosen to be Canada's representatives at the Ice Hockey World Championships , winning the title for Canada in 1938 and the silver medal in 1949. An iteration of the Wolves competed as the Eastern Canada entry at the 1954 Allan Cup senior national championship, falling to the Penticton Vees from Western Canada . A professional Sudbury Wolves team competed in

594-515: The best regular season record in the league with a roster of future NHL players such as Randy Carlyle , Ron Duguay , Rod Schutt , and Mike Foligno . Sudbury advanced to the 1975-76 OHL finals, but lost to the Hamilton Fincups in five games. In 1979, Burke sold the team to a large ownership group headed by future Hockey Canada board of directors chair Joe Drago. From 1973 to 1979, a young Joe Bowen began his broadcasting career covering

627-654: The building of a new arena. Every time the Wolves score a goal, a taxidermic wolf rolls out on a pulley system from the rafters of the Sudbury Arena in the direction of the opposing team's bench. This tradition began in the 1950s when The Sudbury Star donated a stuffed wolf to the local Wolves team as a token of appreciation. In the 2009-10 hockey season, Wolves games were broadcast on CJTK-FM in Sudbury. As of 2018, Wolves games are broadcast on CKLU-FM . 1994 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1994 Ice Hockey World Junior Championship ( 1994 WJC )

660-503: The current franchise's inception, but overall has remained relatively unchanged and today is one of the most recognizable logos in the CHL. There have been various alterations and versions of the team's primary jersey design over the years, as well as the introduction of third alternate jerseys, such as black and grey ones that were introduced in the mid-1990s and again in the early-2010s. The team unveiled several special edition jerseys during

693-410: The mid-1910s. In 1988–89, Ken Burgess - who famously asked "Who ever heard of a green wolf?" - changed the team's colours to blue, white and grey, which happened to be the corporate colours of the business that bore his name. These have been the Wolves' colours ever since, though the team has occasionally donned throwback green jerseys. The iconic blood-toothed, wily wolf-head logo has subtly evolved since

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726-780: The mid-2000s, the Wolves experienced mixed success. The club lost in Game 7 of the 1994-95 OHL semi-finals to the Detroit Junior Red Wings . A string of disappointing seasons came to an end in 2006–07 - the Wolves' 35th anniversary - when the team advanced to the OHL Finals, but ultimately lost to the Plymouth Whalers in six games. Coached by Mike Foligno , the Wolves roster that season featured several future NHL players, namely Marc Staal , Nick Foligno , Adam McQuaid , and Akim Aliu . From 2007 to 2016,

759-529: The preliminary round carried forward and counted in the final round. [REDACTED]   Latvia and [REDACTED]   Slovakia won the right to participate in Pool C. Eight teams were divided into two round robin groups, with placement games to follow (1st played 1st, etc.). The tournament took place from December 30 to January 3, in Odense and Esbjerg , Denmark . [REDACTED]   Slovakia

792-685: The remainder of the 2006–07 season . On August 21, 2007, Peca signed a one-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets . On October 11, 2008, he received an indefinite suspension (later reduced to a five-game suspension) after grabbing referee Greg Kimmerly 's arm in Columbus' first game of the 2008–09 season . On January 19, 2010, through the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), Peca announced his retirement from professional hockey. Peca

825-471: The struggling club and initiated a major organizational turnaround. Sam McMaster was hired as general manager in 1988, and under his direction the team experienced renewed success, winning its first playoff series since 1979-80 when they defeated the Oshawa Generals in the first round of 1991-92 OHL playoffs. McMaster was named OHL Executive of the Year in 1989–90 . From the early 1990s to

858-609: The team generally struggled, including posting the worst season in franchise history in 2014-2015 . In August 2012, the Wolves were sent to represent Canada at the 2012 Junior Club World Cup . Sudbury defeated the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League in the championship finals by a score of 2-0. In 2016, the Burgess family, at the time the longest-serving ownership group in

891-679: The third-longest Memorial Cup championship drought in the CHL, and the longest in the OHL. The team has twice lost in the OHL finals, once in 1976 and again in 2007, winning the 1976 Leyden Trophy and the 2007 Bobby Orr Trophy in the process. The Wolves have twice won the Emms Trophy as the regular season Central Division champions, first in 2000-01 and then in 2019-20. J. Ross Robertson Cup Bobby Orr Trophy NOJHA McNamara Trophy NOJHA Regular Season Champions Hamilton Spectator Trophy Leyden Trophy Emms Trophy Junior Club World Cup Jerry Toppazzini

924-580: Was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as the league's coach of the year in 1976, leading his team to a first-place finish in the regular season. List of Sudbury Wolves coaches with multiple years in parentheses. The Sudbury Wolves have retired six players' numbers, and have had over 120 players drafted to the NHL. Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss From 1972 to 1988, the Sudbury Wolves' colours were green, white and gold. The tradition of Sudbury teams wearing green jerseys dates back to

957-523: Was first selected to represent Canada at the 1994 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships , capturing the gold medal. He captained the senior Canadian team at the 2001 World Championships in Germany before he was selected as a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian ice hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City . Beginning in the 2012–13 season, Peca was named head coach of

990-622: Was hired by the Washington Capitals to be a player development coach working with the "taxi squad" players for the 2020–21 season. In 2021, he was hired by the Buffalo Sabres as an assistant coach with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans . Peca was announced as an assistant coach with the Rangers on June 20, 2023, joining under new head coach Peter Laviolette . Michael Peca's hometown

1023-615: Was relegated to Pool B for 1995 . Eight teams contested the second tier this year in Bucharest , Romania from December 27 to January 5. It was played in a simple round robin format, each team playing seven games. [REDACTED]   Ukraine was promoted to Pool A and [REDACTED]   Romania was relegated to Pool C for 1995 . A Qualification tournament was played in Nitra and Nové Zámky , Slovakia , from November 1 to 7. Games between teams that had played each other in

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1056-557: Was the 18th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held in Ostrava and Frýdek-Místek , Czech Republic . Canada won the gold medal for the second consecutive year, and its seventh overall, while Sweden won silver, and Russia the bronze. The 1994 tournament was a round-robin format, with the top three teams winning gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. Switzerland

1089-524: Was traded. Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Sudbury , Ontario , Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game known as the "Wolves" (or "Cub Wolves") nearly every year since around the time of World War I . The current junior franchise came into existence in 1972 when local businessman Mervin "Bud" Burke purchased

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