OHL Alumni Central
Find Out Where Your Favourite OHL Grads Are Playing
-
Aug 22
This week’s edition of SSSFS is dedicated to shameless self-promotion. I’m going to link you up with some of the hockey related articles I have at online zines. They’re not all based on the Ontario Hockey League but they are about hockey. Some may even be interesting!
1976-77 Montreal Canadiens: The Best NHL Team Of All-Time?
In 1976-77, the Montreal Canadiens made NHL history. Many team records that were set that year still stand today. Team records that still stand include most points (132), most wins (60), most goals for (387) and fewest losses (8). The record for fewest losses still stands today as an NHL record and must be considered unbreakable with the addition of overtime and shootouts which have eliminated ties.Every sports fan knows which teams have dominated league championships through history. The Yankees in baseball. The Steelers in football. The Celtics and Lakers in basketball. The Canadiens in hockey. But, does anyone know which teams are the greatest losers? Does anyone know which teams have been the bridesmaids in their respective league championships the most often? Does anyone really care? Well, if you do care read on. After all, this is the kind of useless trivia that can start a conversation at boring get-togethers.The Spengler Cup Invitational Hockey Tournament In Davos, Switzerland
The Spengler Cup is an invitational ice hockey tournament that is held in Davos, Switzerland each year between Christmas and New Year’s. The trophy donated by Doctor Carl Spengler of Davos was awarded for the first time in 1923. That year it was awarded to Oxford University, a team that had Lester B. Pearson on the roster. Pearson would later become Prime Minister of Canada.When it comes to producing professional grade hockey goaltenders, often it is Quebec’s QMJHL that is the world leader. The Ontario Hockey League does still produce some top notch goalies, though. Many OHL netminders move on to the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Four of these OHL grads have made a mark for themselves in the ECHL record books.The world of hockey has always been represented greatly by graduates of the Ontario Hockey League. The East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) is no exception to this. There are currently ten OHL alumni holding or sharing scoring records in the ECHL.It the modern age of the NHL with 30 teams competing for 16 playoff spots, it is inconceivable that a team could win the Stanley Cup with a losing record during the regular season. In the modern era, teams with a better than .500 record often do not even make the playoffs.As with any collectible of value, eventually fakes will begin to circulate. The most valuable hockey card today is an O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card. It is valued at up to $1500 in mint condition. The highest price it has ever fetched to date is $80,000. Of course, there are many fakes out there.It is often argued who the best National Hockey League teams of all-time are. It is hard to compare the 1930 Boston Bruins with the 1977 Montreal Canadiens when the rules, conditions, equipment, training and number of teams change at a constant pace.As with most sports leagues, the OHL (OHA Major Junior A) has had many franchise changes in its history. The league is fairly stable now with 20 teams that are in no real threat of shutting down or moving.Since 1968-69, the London Knights have provided the hockey world with some of the best junior hockey and junior hockey players. Known for the NHL stars they’ve produced like Darryl Sittler, Dennis Maruk, Craig Simpson, Jason Allison, Dino Ciccarelli, Brendan Shanahan and more recently Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Steve Mason and Patrick Kane. The Knights are also known for the tough guys they’ve produced over the years.Adult pickup hockey, or shinny, is still growing exponentially in Canada. Once a sport that was played as a youth and hardly ever played after the age of 19, now is so popular with adults that some arenas in major cities have been built specifically for adult hockey. In saying that, there are a lot of adults that are picking up the game for the first time in their 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond. Like any sport, many non-participants have been long time fans of the game and have watched their favourite pro team on the television for years. -
Aug 15
We’ve got five more sites for you to check out is this week’s edition of SSSFS. We’re staying close to home for the most part with three of the five sites evolving around Ontario Hockey League teams. The other two are just cool for any hockey fan.
Ottawa 67s Fan Blog – Brought to you by Valerie, Sid and Statsguy, this is a fan’s perspective on the 67′s. Blog is regularly updated with info on the team and its players, past, present and future.
Third String Goalie-The Hockey Jersey Of The Day Blog – Pretty unique blog about, you guessed it, hockey jerseys. One of the latest posts features Eric Lindros and many of the jerseys he wore throughout his career. It also features one that Eric didn’t wear, the 88 on the back of a Quebec Nordiques jersey…
Spitfires Nation – All things Windsor Spitfires by Chris Lucas. Great news, updates and features about the two-time reigning Robertson Cup and Memorial Cup champions.
Michigan Junior Hockey – Great blog on junior hockey in Michigan by Tom Balog and Matt Mackinder. The Plymouth Whalers and Saginaw Spirit are covered as well as eleven other teams over five different junior hockey leagues.
Roaming The Rinks – Andy Ritter has a passion for hockey and its barns. Having visited 65 arenas throughout North America, that would make this guy somewhat of an expert. Great site with pics, info and very informative blog.
-
Aug 8
Five more great sites this week on SSSFS. After our journey to Great Britain last week, we’re back to North American hockey this week.
Cap Geek – Everything to do with the post 2004-05 strike business aspects of the NHL. This site is has it all when it comes to news, speculation, stats, etc. involving the NHL’s salary cap.
Hockey Buzz – Great NHL news site brought to you by a committee of bloggers.
The Junior Report – Blog by Scott Rosts and Stephen Leithwood, journalists who cover the Niagara IceDogs. The site is full of info on the whole junior hockey world and a great read by a couple of Ontario Hockey League nuts that have been covering the league for a long time.
Puck Prospectus – News blog mostly evolving around the NHL. Great source.
Japer’s Rink – It seems the Washington Capitals are one of the most blogged teams in the NHL. Japer’s Rink is one of the better, if not best.
Past editions of SSSFS:
-
Aug 1
In this week’s installment of SSSFS, we’re going to focus solely on what I believe is one of the major emerging markets for professional hockey. All the Don Cherry lovers out there who long for the good old days when fighting and toughness were a part of the game might want to take a look at the Elite Ice Hockey League in Great Britain. Excitement is already mounting for a game in October when a couple of OHL Alumni, Sean McMorrow of the Dundee Stars and Alex Penner of the Nottingham Panthers, will surely drop the gloves when the ice is likely still quite fresh.
British Ice Hockey – This is a site covering not just the EIHL but all of pro and semi-pro hockey in Great Britain, including the national team. This is a great source for news and stats.
Ice Fans – British Ice Hockey News And Views – A blog on the Elite Ice Hockey League (and the rest of the Great Britain hockey scene as well) run by a fan of the Manchester Phoenix. And yes, you readers from North America, the ‘ice’ in ice hockey is a necessity because hockey outside of our confines is played on a grass field with a goofy looking stick!
Blaze and Borsch – A Brit’s Ramblings About All Things Hockey – This is a personal blog by a British hockey fan who covers all things in the European world of hockey. Updates are somewhat infrequent but very detailed.
F Block Blog – This is a blog dedicated to the Hull Stingrays of the Elite Ice Hockey League. If anyone in the know can tell us what the significance of the ‘F Block’ is, let us know! This blog is just proof of the commitment of hockey fans in Great Britain to their teams even in the off season. This blog is updated as often as any Toronto Maple Leafs rag but with much less criticism and negativity!
Five Minute Major – The sub title says it all: “Unofficial, uncensored, uneducated Manchester Phoenix blog”. Manchester is currently in the English Premier League (EPL), which is a second tier to the EIHL. This is a great, entertaining read. You WILL laugh your ass off and learn it a bit about the EPL!
Check out the previous editions of SSSFS at OHL Alumni Central:
-
Jul 25
Welcome to our latest installment of SSSFS, featuring five more great sites for wide world of hockey.
Word On A Wing (Memoirs From Motown) – A great site for in-depth stats and news about the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. In fact, they claim to have unique statistical analysis you simply won’t find anywhere else.
Broad Street Hockey (For Philadelphia Flyers Fans) – A very in-depth and interactive site about the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. This site is part of the SB Nation network.
The Ryan Coke Experience – This is the personal blog of Tom Collins, a Newfie born on St. Patrick’s day that doesn’t drink yet has the fortune of being named after an alcoholic drink. Follow me so far? According to his bio, he was once asked if he would consider changing his name to Ryan Coke (as in Rye and Coke) and it sort of stuck. Anyhow, the blog is not 100% hockey but there some’s great commentary and opinion that is heavily weighed in the Montreal/Ottawa direction.
The Power Play Post Show – If you’re a fan of the American Hockey League and you haven’t heard of this site, you’ve been missing out. The PPPS is ‘the only internet-based AHL talk show’ and is hosted by Bob Howard and Jason Wilcox. The show is a weekly and the site has a full archive in several audio formats. Featured guests each week are the who’s who of the AHL world.
Eishockey Blog – To broaden your view of the wide world of hockey, eventually you have to leave the comfort zone of the English language. Eishockey Blog is a German language blog based out of Basel, Switzerland. Cut and paste the articles into Google Translate for a fairly decent translation or just take a serious shot at reading it. You’ll find that with your obvious knowledge of hockey and the English language, German isn’t all that hard to decipher.
Check out the previous editions of SSSFS:
Sponsors
