Ontario Hockey League

Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 OHL season
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1980
CEO	David Branch[1]
No. of teams	20
Countries	Canada (17 teams) USA (3 teams)
Most recent champion(s)	Peterborough Petes (10)
Most titles	Oshawa Generals (13)
TV partner(s)	Sportsnet, Sportsnet One, YourTV, Rogers TV, TV Rogers
Official website	ontariohockeyleague.com

OHL All-Star Game opening face off at Belleville's Yardmen Arena on February 1, 2006

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; French: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–20. There are currently 20 teams in the OHL: seventeen in Ontario, two in Michigan, and one in Pennsylvania.

The league was founded in 1980 when its predecessor, the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, formally split away from the Ontario Hockey Association, joining the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League and its direct affiliation with Hockey Canada. The OHL traces its history of Junior A hockey back to 1933 with the partition of Junior A and B. In 1970, the OHA Junior A League was one of five Junior A leagues operating in Ontario. The OHA was promoted to Tier I Junior A for the 1970–71 season and took up the name Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. Since 1980 the league has grown rapidly into a high-profile marketable product, with many games broadcast on television and radio.

History

Leagues for ice hockey in Ontario were first organized in 1890 by the newly created Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). In 1892 the OHA recognized junior hockey - referring to skill rather than age. In 1896 the OHA moved to the modern age-limited junior hockey concept, distinct from senior and intermediate divisions. Since then the evolution to the Ontario Hockey League has developed through four distinct eras of junior-aged non-professional hockey in Ontario. In 1933, the junior division was divided into two levels, Junior A and Junior B. In 1970 the Junior A level was divided into two levels, Tier I (or Major Junior A) and Tier II (or Minor Junior A). In 1974 the Tier I/Major Junior A group separated from the OHA and became the independent Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL). In 1980, the OMJHL became the Ontario Hockey League.

The OHL split from the OHA in July 1982.^[2] The OHA and OHL disagreed on financial terms of affiliation, then the OHL decided to handle its own administration.^[2][3] The OHA and the OHL later reached an interim affiliation agreement, which allowed the OHL to compete at the Memorial Cup.^[4]

In March 2005, the league announced the launch of OHL Live Stream, resulting in OHL games being broadcast live on a pay-per-view (PPV) broadband basis.^[5]

Member teams

Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference Division Team City Arena East Brantford Bulldogs Brantford, Ontario Brantford Civic Centre Kingston Frontenacs Kingston, Ontario Leon's Centre Oshawa Generals Oshawa, Ontario Tribute Communities Centre Ottawa 67's Ottawa, Ontario TD Place Arena Peterborough Petes Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough Memorial Centre Central Barrie Colts Barrie, Ontario Sadlon Arena Mississauga Steelheads Mississauga, Ontario Paramount Fine Foods Centre Niagara IceDogs St. Catharines, Ontario Meridian Centre North Bay Battalion North Bay, Ontario North Bay Memorial Gardens Sudbury Wolves Greater Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury Community Arena Western Conference Division Team City Arena Midwest Erie Otters Erie, Pennsylvania Erie Insurance Arena Guelph Storm Guelph, Ontario Sleeman Centre Kitchener Rangers Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex London Knights London, Ontario Budweiser Gardens Owen Sound Attack Owen Sound, Ontario Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre West Flint Firebirds Flint, Michigan Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center Saginaw Spirit Saginaw, Michigan Dow Event Center Sarnia Sting Sarnia, Ontario Progressive Auto Sales Arena Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario GFL Memorial Gardens Windsor Spitfires Windsor, Ontario WFCU Centre

Brantford Kingston Oshawa Ottawa Peterborough Barrie Mississauga Niagara North Bay Sudbury Erie Guelph Kitchener London Owen Sound Flint Saginaw Sarnia Sault Ste. Marie Windsor West Division Midwest Division Central Division East Division

Timeline of franchises (since 1980)

Note: The 12 original OHL franchises were all previously members of the OMJHL. Some other franchises played in different junior leagues prior to joining the OHL.

Former member Current member

Schedule

The 20 OHL clubs play a 68-game unbalanced schedule, which starts in the third full week of September, running until the third week of March. Ninety percent (90%) of OHL games are scheduled between Thursday and Sunday to minimize the number of school days missed for its players.

Approximately 20% of players on active rosters in the National Hockey League (NHL) have come from the OHL, and about 54% of NHL players are alumni of the Canadian Hockey League.

Memorial Cup champions

The Memorial Cup has been captured 17 times by OHL/OHA teams since the tournament went to a three-league format in 1972:

The Cup was also won 16 times by OHA teams in the period between 1945 and 1971:

Priority selection

The OHL's predecessor, the OHA, had a midget and juvenile draft dating back to the 50s, until voted out in 1962. In 1966 it was resumed, though not publicized. Starting in the 1970s the draft went through several changes. Originally the draft was for 17-year-old midgets not already associated with teams through their sponsored youth programs. In 1971 the league first allowed "underage" midgets to be picked in the first three rounds. In 1972 disagreements about the Toronto team's rights to its "Marlie" players (and Greg Neeld) and claims to American player Mark Howe led to a revised system. In 1973 each team was permitted to protect eight midget area players (Toronto was allowed to protect 10 players from its midget sponsored teams). In 1975 the league phased out the area protections, and the 1976 OHA midget draft was the first in which all midget players were eligible. In 1999 the league changed the draft to a bantam age (15 and 16 year old). It is a selection of players who are residents of the province of Ontario, the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York, and other designated U.S. states east of the Mississippi River plus Missouri.

Prior to 2001, the OHL held the Priority Selection in a public forum, such as an arena. Drafts were attended by many players and family members. In 2001, the OHL decided to hold the "draft" via the internet, greatly reducing the costs the league and its member teams incurred in hosting a public draft. This move reduced the stress and pressure that prospective players faced with a large crowd present.

The Jack Ferguson Award is presented annually to the first overall selection. The award was named in honour of long time OHL scout and former Director of Central Scouting Jack Ferguson.

Trophies and awards

List of trophies and awards in the Ontario Hockey League.^[7]

See also

• List of OHL seasons
• List of OHA Junior A standings

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ontario Hockey League.

• Official website
• Canadian Hockey League Official website
• Internet Hockey Database archive of standings and statistics