The St. James Canadians were a Canadian junior hockey team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League until 2003, folding officially in 2004. The Canadians played out of the St. James Civic Centre , in Winnipeg , Manitoba . As the Winnipeg Braves , they won the 1959 Memorial Cup as National Junior Hockey champions.
11-607: The Winnipeg Braves were founded in 1956 and affiliated with the Winnipeg Warriors (minor pro) of the Western Hockey League . The Braves played regular season games at Winnipeg's Olympic Rink and won 2 Turnbull Cup Championships as Manitoba Junior Champions (1959 and 1965). The 1958-59, Braves won the Abbott Cup as Western Canadian Junior ‘A’ Champions, and were the last team from Winnipeg to win
22-556: A minor league hockey team that played in the Western Hockey League from 1955 to 1961. Owned by Winnipeg's prominent Perrin family, the Warriors represented the return of professional hockey to Winnipeg after a 27-year absence. In 1955, the Warriors Club was the first tenant in the brand-new Winnipeg Arena . The grand opening of Winnipeg Arena occurred on October 18, 1955, during the Warriors' WHL season opening game against
33-585: The Edinburgh Trophy . After six seasons, due to financial issues relating to their long WHL traveling distances and uncompetitive rents levied by Winnipeg Enterprises, owners of Winnipeg Arena , Warriors owner Jack Perrin asked for a leave of absence from the WHL, which was granted. However, the Warriors never returned to the league. The 1956, Winnipeg Warriors were the President's Trophy (later known as
44-618: The Lester Patrick Cup ) and Edinburgh Trophy champions. The team was also inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in the team category and Jack Perrin was inducted in the Builder category. A number of the Warriors' players were also inducted over the years. Cecil Hoekstra Cecil Thomas Hoekstra (April 2, 1935 – January 14, 2018) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger . He played four games in
55-689: The Memorial Cup as National Champions. Under the leadership of manager Bill Addison and coach Bill Allum , the Braves defeated the Peterborough Petes coached by 25-year-old Scotty Bowman . In the championship series, the Petes won the first game 5-4, and the Braves came back to win four straight games 5-2, 5-2, 5-3 and 6-2. The final game of the series was played in Brandon, Manitoba due to
66-828: The National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1959–60 season . The rest of his career, which lasted from 1955 to 1972, was spent in various minor leagues. In the AHL , Hoekstra was a member of the Rochester Americans . He played in four NHL games for the Montreal Canadiens . After retiring from professional hockey, he became the superintendent of the Cherry Hill Club in Fort Erie, Ontario , and remained with
77-617: The Calgary Stampeders (hockey) club. The ceremonial faceoff, conducted by John Draper Perrin , Sr., President of the Warriors, occurred before a standing room crowd of 9,671 fans, the largest in WHL history. Captained by Fred Shero , the team also included Bill Mosienko , Eric Nesterenko , Danny Summers , Gary Aldcorn , Cecil Hoekstra , Fred Burchell , Bill Burega , Barry Cullen , Mickey Keating , Eddie Mazur and Ed Chadwick . The 1955–56 Warriors, managed by J. D. "Jack" Perrin, Jr. and coached by Alf Pike , went on to win
88-679: The Civic Centre and had a dressing room built on the home side of the rink and occupied that until the St. James Canadians folded and the Canucks, with the blessing of Diane Woods, president of the Canadians, took over the dressing room the Canucks call home today. Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Winnipeg Warriors (minor pro) The Winnipeg Warriors were
99-724: The Shrine Circus appearing at Winnipeg Arena . The team included future NHL'ers Ted Green and Ernie Wakely . Roster: Pat Angers, Don Atamanchuk, Al Baty, Gary Bergman , Ernie Bradawaski, Rene Brunel, Ted Green , Howie Hughes , Allan Ingimundson, Ken King, Ted Knight, Jerry Kruk, Laurie Langrell, Wayne Larkin , Al LeBlanc, Bob Leiter , Doug Monro, Zenon Moroz, Lew Mueller, John Rodger, Paul Sexsmith, John Sutherland, Bob Wales, Wayne Winstone, Ernie Wakely , J. D. (Jack) Perrin Jr. (President), Bill Addison (Manager), Bill Allum (Coach), Jim Drury (Trainer). The Memorial Cup Championship team
110-533: The St. James Canadians. The Canadians won the Turnbull Cup three times (1968, 1996, 1997) throughout their 35 years in the MJHL. They played until the end of the 2002-03 season. The team took a one-year leave of absence from the MJHL in 2003-04 before ceasing operations . The St. James Junior Canucks joined the league in 1978-1979 to help complement the St. James Junior Canadians of the MJHL. The team moved to
121-521: Was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2003, and inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in the team category. Prior to the 1966-67 season, the team moved to St. James and changed its name to the St. James Braves. During the summer of 1967, a community-minded sports group purchased the St. James Braves from Ben Hatskin . The team relocated to the brand new St. James Civic Centre , where they played as
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