Significant expansion a key part of CHL’s 50-year history
By Will MacLaren
It goes without saying that the CHL has come a long way. But that doesn’t just mean the endless development of quality players and people or the memorable moments that have thrilled a hockey loving public over the past 50 years. The CHL has literally come a long way, be it in quantity or location of its member clubs.
In the fall of 1975, the three leagues that made up the major junior landscape in Canada consisted of 34 teams. And the word “Canada” is key here; not a single franchise existed south of the border. For that matter, the furthest east the league reached was Quebec City. Generational teams like the Toronto Marlboros, Oshawa Generals and Regina Pats represented the gold standard. Even the concept of these organization as independent entities rather than NHL-sponsored feeder teams was fairly new; the Universal Draft had only been established in 1969. There’s been a lot of change in each of the three member leagues since then. Most of it has been for the better; all of it for the bigger.
Out west, the WCHL was not yet the WHL back in ’75 but they were about to embark on one of the most consequential moves in junior hockey history. During the 1976 offseason, the Edmonton Oil Kings, long a flagship franchise, packed up and headed across the 49th parallel to Portland, Oregon. The newly named Winterhawks quickly became not just a league staple but the beginning of the CHL’s foray into the US, a trend that continues with great success today. The following season, relocation sent clubs to Billings, Montana and Seattle. This would be followed by waves of expansion. By the turn of the millennium, the ‘Dub’ boasted 18 teams.
Now, with the addition this year of the Penticton Vees, that number has climbed to 23. That includes enough American content to fill its own division and the triumphant return of junior hockey via expansion to NHL cities with the Calgary Hitmen (1995), Vancouver Giants (2001) and, in a fantastic case of history repeating, the Edmonton Oil Kings (2007). The last six Memorial Cup Champions to hail from the WHL represent a franchise that entered the league via expansion since the formation of the CHL.
The OHL represents the oldest of the old guard in Canadian junior hockey. With already eight decades of history to reflect upon by the time the CHL was established, the ‘O’ had just welcomed its twelfth franchise in the fall of 1975. That club, the Windsor Spitfires, now boasts three league titles and a like number of Memorial Cups in its trophy case. In a league that’s seen it all, it should be no surprise that the most shocking rise of an expansion club occurred in the ‘O’, where the Guelph Platers – they of seven wins in their maiden season back in 1982 – would not reach the postseason for the first time until 1986. By the time their run was over that spring, they’d captured both a league and a national title. Today, the franchise resides in Owen Sound as the Attack.
As was the case out west, the OHL grew steadily over the last quarter of the 20th century, reaching 20 teams by the year 2000. That included expansion to the US with the Detroit Jr. Red Wings in 1990 and footholds into markets such as Barrie, Erie, Sarnia and Saginaw, either through expansion or relocation. Still a 20-club circuit, the league has managed successful returns to such locales as St. Catharines and North Bay, has maintained a footprint in the GTA and found a warm welcome both on and off the ice in nearby Brantford. Over the decades, the ‘O’ has never been afraid to roll the dice either in brand new locales or places that they felt deserved a second chance. More often than not, that faith has been rewarded.
More than the other two leagues, the QMJHL grew up alongside the CHL. Home to ten teams in 1975, the league’s growth would be slower than that of its two partners over the next two decades. That all changed in the fall of 1994 with the birth of the Halifax Mooseheads. From that day forward, the fortunes of the ‘Q’ leaned heavily on the Atlantic provinces. Today, six clubs spread throughout Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick represents a third of the now 18-team circuit’s membership and most turn in enviable attendance numbers year in and year out – not to mention championships. Since 2006, the Mooseheads, Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs have claimed seven league titles and three Memorial Cups. This East Coast impact was a key factor in renaming the league the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League in 2023.
Despite that seismic shift, expansion and relocation in the league’s founding province has proved beneficial as well. In three successive years, moves to Rimouski (1995), Rouyn-Noranda (1996) and Quebec City (1997) boosted both the profile and the viability of the QMJHL immensely. There’s also the league’s successful return to Sherbrooke, where the Phoenix carry on a solid junior hockey history in the city. This fall, the league staged another encore, this time in St. John’s where the Newfoundland Regiment have made the CHL a true coast-to-coast establishment once again. For its part, Canada’s youngest province signaled the return of junior hockey to its shore by lining up for tickets for opening weekend on the Rock.
It’s been a long road to get where the CHL is today, one that passes through 61 unique towns and cities. But the decisions of the past have surely paved the way for an even bigger and brighter future.
