billsportsmaps.com

May 17, 2017

2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

Filed under: Canada,Hockey — admin @ 7:39 pm

By Bill Turianski on 17 May 2017; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-2017 CHL Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
-CHL official site, chl.ca.

Windsor, Ontario will host the 2017 Memorial Cup…
The 2017 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,450-capacity WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires the host-team. Windsor is just across the border from Detroit, Michigan {see illustration below}. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 28th, 2017. Here is a preview, from the Hockey Writers.com,
2017 Memorial Cup Teams Preview (by David Jewell on Wednesday May 17 2017 at thehockeywriters.com).

    the 4 teams that have qualified for the 2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament…
    Windsor Spitfires (host team) , Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)…

Host team: Windsor Spitfires…
Windsor Spitfires, host of 2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament…
windsor-spitfires_2017-memorial-cup_wfcu-centre_r_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Windsor Spitfires logos/info via sportslogos.net/Windsor_Spitfires.
Windsor home jersey, illustration from sportslogos.net/Windsor_Spitfires. Night-time shot of downtown Windsor with Detroit skyline in background, photo by Owen Wolter at flickr.com via windsorite.ca. View of Windsor skyline, photo by Tim Fraser/Windsor Star via windsorstar.com. Exterior-shot of WFCU Centre, photo from citywindsor.ca. Interior-shot of WFCU Centre [ca. 2009], photo by Kevin Jordan at ohlarenaguide.com/spitfires.
Players…Jeremy Bracco, photo by Tim Jarrold at inplaymagazine.com/windsor-spitfires-vs-saginaw-spirit-february-23 [2017]. Mikhail Sergachev, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Michael DiPietro, photo by Jason Kryk/Windsor Star at windsorstar.com/hockey.

Erie Otters (OHL champions in 2017).
From The Hockey Writers.com, Celebrating the Erie Otters’ OHL Championship (by Mark Scheg on May 13 2017, at thehockeywriters.com).
erie-otters_2017-ohl-champions__2017-memorial-cup_i_.gif
Otters’ jersey illustration, from sportslogos.net/Erie_Otters. Erie (aerial shot), unattributed at pinterest.com. Erie Insurance Arena, photo from goerie.com jpg. Game-action photo, by MountaindewPSU at aviewfrommyseat.com/Erie+Insurance+Arena/section-119/row-E/seat-2.
Players: Dylan Strome-3AZ, photo by Terry Wilson/OHL via sportsnet.ca. Alex DeBrincat-39Chi, photo by Keith Dotson/OHL at ontariohockeyleague.com jpg. Taylor Raddysh-58Tam, photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images North America via zimbio.com. Anthony Cirelli-72TB, photo by Claus Anderson at gettyimages.com. Darren Raddysh-un, photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images via ohlwriters.me jpg. Warren Foegele, photo by Dave Mead Photography via ontariohockeyleague.com. On-ice post-game celebration, photo by Dan Hickling/OHL Images via ohlwriters.me. Anthony Cirelli holds Robertson Trophy aloft, photo by Greg Wohlford/ETN at goerie.com/sports/champions-otters-win-ohl-title-on-cirellis-ot-goal. Erie players celebratory pose, photo by Dan Hickling/OHL Images via chl.ca/erie-otters-are-2017-ohl-champions jpg.




Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL champions in 2017).
From CHL.ca, Saint John Sea Dogs are 2017 QMJHL Champions (chl.ca on May 11 2017).
saint-john-seadogs_2017-memorial-cup_n_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Sea Dogs jersey, photo from saintjohnseadogs.com/adult-replica-jersey-blue; illustration from sportslogos.net/Saint_John_Sea_Dogs. Saint John near arena, photo by Jaroslaw Binczarowski File:Stjohnpanoramo.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Harbour Station, photo by Andrew Touchakis Photography from facebook.com/Harbour-Station. Saint John skyline at twilight, photo by DDD DDD~commonswiki at File:Saint_John,_NB,_skyline_at_dusk5.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org).
Players: Mathieu Joseph, photo from sjseadogs.com. Matthew Highmore, photo by François Laplante/FreestylePhoto/Getty Images North America via zimbio.com.
Thomas Chabot , photo unattributed at stationnation.blogspot.com. Callum Booth, photo from twitter.com/SJSeaDogs. Team photo after title-win, photo by Vincent Ethier/LHJMQ Média at theqmjhl.ca/sea-dogs-crowned-presidents-cup-champs-again.

Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL champions in 2017).
From the Seattle Times, Seattle Thunderbirds beat Regina in OT to take WHL title (seattletimes.com/sports on May 14 2017).
seattle-thunderbirds_showare-center_2017-whl-champions__2017-memorial-cup_m_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Thunderbirds’ jersey illustration, from sportslogos.net/Seattle_Thunderbirds.
Aerial shot of Kent, WA with Mt. Rainier in background, photo from City of Kent, Washington at Linkedin.com. ShoWare Center, two exterior-shots, photos by Lara Swimmer at djc.com.
Players: Keegan Kolesar, photo by Doug Westcott via eliteprospects.com. Mathew Barzal, photo unattributed at alchetron.com/Mathew-Barzal. Ethan Bear, photo from seattlethunderbirds.com/ethan-bear-named-chl-player-of-the-week.Carl Stankowski, photo from seattlethunderbirds.com. Alexander True scoring winner in OT, photo by Keith Hershmiller at kentreporter.com/thunderbirds-rally-capture-first-whl-crown-with-dramatic-ot-win-at-regina. On-ice celebration, photo by Troy Fleece/Regina Leader-Post via seattletimes.com/sports/seattle-thunderbirds-beat-regina-in-ot-to-take-whl-title.

___
Thanks to the contributors at the following limks…
- Western Hockey League;
-Ontario Hockey League;
-Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
-Canadian metro-areas.
-USA metro-areas (en.wikipedia.org).
-Thanks to The Hockey Writers.com site, now on my blogroll, at thehockeywriters.com.
-Thanks to the fine site known as Elite Prospects.com (Hockey Prospects), for player info…eliteprospects.com.

May 21, 2016

Ligue de Hockey Junior Majeur du Québec (LHJMQ) [English: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)]: location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, QMJHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 2 QMJHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (the Quebec Remparts & the Halifax Mooseheads), and the 2 QMJHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies & the Val-d’Or Foreurs).

Filed under: Canada,Canada>QMJHL,Hockey — admin @ 8:20 pm

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

quebec-major-junior-hockey-league_map_2016_w-2015-16-attendances_arena-capacities_percent-caps_chl-qmjhl-titles_post_e_.gif
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)]: location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, QMJHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed




By Bill Turianski on 21 May 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Teams, etc… Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site… theqmjhl.ca.
-Site officiel (en Français)…lhjmq.qc.ca.
-2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament… 2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).

-My 2012 map-&-post on major junior hockey in Canada (CHL) from Nov.2012…Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities….

The QMJHL, one of 3 major junior hockey leagues in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL)…
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues, along with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL). Since 1971-72, the 3 leagues have sent their league-champion to compete for the Memorial Cup title. Since 1975-76, the 3 leagues together comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The 3 CHL leagues are for players aged 16 to 20 – there are no restrictions for the amount of USA-born players on each team; however, non-Canadian-&-American players (ie, European and Russian players) are restricted to 2 per team roster. The 3 leagues of the CHL are quite a big deal, because approximately 54% of all NHL players, currently, were drafted from either the OHL, the WHL, or the QMJHL. {Citation: see 2nd paragraph, here [Ontario Hockey League page at en.wikipedia.org].}

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. (Note: see 4 paragraphs below for more info about the Memorial Cup.)

On the map page…
The map page shows the locations (and the logos) of the 18 QMJHL teams -12 of which are in the Canadian province of Quebec, 3 of which are in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 2 of which are in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and one of which is in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The locations of all the NHL teams from the Eastern Canada/upper-north-east-USA region are also shown on the map.

The map…
The map itself is a section of a blank map of Canada, which I found at Wikipedia Commons (and which was not available 7-and-a-half years ago, when I made my first map of the QMJHL). I cropped and enlarged that blank map, then I drew in the St. Lawrence River’s river banks in the area between Kingston, ON and Quebec City, QC – because the original map did not show that. I also added the Ottawa River, which makes up a large part of the boundary between the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Then I added one more detail – bridges – and shown on the map is the 12.9 km/8 mile-long bridge which connects mainland Canada (in New Brunswick) to the province of Prince Edward Island (the Confederation Bridge). I also included the two eastern-most bridges which span the St. Lawrence River and connect southern Quebec to the rest of Quebec, at Quebec City: the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre Laporte Bridge. (East of Quebec City, the river widens considerably and no bridge is feasible for the rest of the length of the St. Lawrence River, as the river makes its way north-east to the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf Of St. Lawrence.)

On the right-hand-side of the map page is a chart for the QMJHL which shows 7 things…
1). 2015-16 average attendances of the 22 QMJHL teams, ranked {source: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com)}.
2). Home arena seated capacity of the 18 QMJHL teams.
3). Percent-capacity for each team in 2015-16 [Percent Capacity equals Average Attendance divided by Arena-seated-capacity] (ie, how well the team fills its arena).
4). Metropolitan-area population of each team’s home-city (or home-town). {Source: List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada [2011 census figures] (en.wikipedia.org).}
5). Season the QMJHL team began play in its present-day location.
6). QMJHL titles (and the year of last title/ since 1966-67).
7). CHL/Memorial Cup titles (and the year of last title/ since 1971-72)/ see notes below.

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May/ see next paragraph.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 29th, 2016.

List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

QMJHL teams that have won Memorial Cup titles (1969-2015)
1971: Quebec Remparts (I) (Quebec City, QC QMJHL charter franchise (I) (1969-70 to 1984-85)// defunct).
1972: Cornwall Royals (Cornwall, ON QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to 1991-92)/in 1992 transferred over to the OHL & moved to Newmarket, ON (1992-94)/in 1994 moved to Sarnia, ON/present-day Sarnia Sting).
1980: Cornwall Royals (see above).
1981: Cornwall Royals (see above).
1996: Granby Predateurs (Granby, QC QMJHL expansion franchise (1981-82 to 1996-97)/in 1997 moved to Cape Breton, NS/present-day Cape Breton Screaming Eagles).
1997: Hull Olympiques (Hull, QC QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to present)/present-day Gatineau Olympiques).
2000: Rimouski Oceanique (Sherbrooke, QC QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to 1981-82)/in 1982 moved to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC (1982-95)/in 1995 moved to Rimouski, QC/present-day Rimouski Oceanique).
2006: Quebec Remparts (II) (Beauport [Greater Quebec City], QC QMJHL expansion franchise (1990-91 to 1996-97)/ moved ~5 km west & became 2nd Quebec City, QC QMJHL franchise (1997-98 to present)/present-day Quebec Remparts (II) ).
2011: Saint John Sea Dogs (Saint John, NB QMJHL expansion franchise (2005-06 to present).
2012: Shawingan Cataractes (Shawingan, QC QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to present).
2013: Halifax Mooseheads (Halifax, NS QMJHL expansion franchise (1994-95 to present).

    Illustrations for the 2 QMJHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Quebec Remparts & Halifax Mooseheads),
    and the 2 QMJHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figure in 2015-16 (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies & Val-d’Or Foreurs)

Quebec Remparts: Best attendance in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 13,835 per game..
quebec-remparts_centre-videotron_f_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Quebec Remparts. View of Qubec City in winter from the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River, photo by Bernard Gagnon at File:Quebec City 01.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Cobbled street in Old Quebec with Funiculare in background, photo by Miranda at spendyourdays.com/europe-in-quebec-city-canada. Xmas in Old Quebec, photo unattributed at thispeacefulhome.com via pinterest. Aerial view of Centre Videotron, photo by Ville de Quebec at lecentrevideotron.ca. Rooftop-view of Centre Videotron, photo by Daniel Mallard/Agencie QMI via fr.canoe.ca/. The queue for the sold-out opening night at Centre Videotron [Aug. 31 2015], photo by Daniel Mallard/Agencie QMI via journaldequebec.com/premiere-grande-soiree-de-visites-du-centre-videotron. Shot of interior of Centre Videotron [preseason game, Montreal vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 28 2015], photo by Dario Ayala/Montreal Gazette at montrealgazette.com/sports. Shot from the upper-stands at a game-night at Videotron Centre [photo from Sept. 2015], photo unattributed at blogs.theprovince.com/2015/09/28/the-morning-skate. Photo from a 2012 Bring back the Nordiques rally in Quebec City, photo unattributed at sb7.sportsblog.com/posts/1148850/which_nhl_teams_should_relocate__part_1.
Quebec Nordiques fans keeping the flame alive, photo from nordiquebec.blogspot.com. Photo of Nordiques fans with Sakic and Stasny jerseys, in line at opening night at Centre Videotron, photo by Pierre Boissinot via torontosun.com/[sports].

Halifax Mooseheads: 2nd-best attendance in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 6,893 per game…
halifax-mooseheads_scotiabank-centre_2013-chl-memorial-cup-champions_b_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Halifax Mooseheads. Aerial view of Halifax, photo unattributed at thefabweb.com. Exterior view of Scotiabank Centre, photo by Andy Ritter at roamingtherinks.com. Halifax Mooseheads: the 2013 QMJHL champions (and the 2013 CHL/Memorial Cup champions), photo by /status/333025704633565184″>twitter.com/TheDrake1001 [tweet/photo from Scotiabank Centre on May 10 2013]. 2013 Mooseheads squad with banners and trophies on Banner Night in Halifax, photo by Ted Pritchard/ [Halifax] Chronicle Herald at thechronicleherald.ca/mooseheads/wildcats-top-moose-spoil-banner-night.

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies:
Best at filling their arena in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 100.5 percent-capacity.
And: the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are the 2016 President’s Cup winners (their first QMJHL title)…

rouyn-noranda-huskies_arena-iamgold_2016-qmjhl-champions_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies jersey, illustration by sportslogos.net/Rouyn-Noranda. Aerial shot of Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Point du Jour Avaiation, here via gigi461.canalblog.com. Shot of Northern Lights above Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Charles Schiele Photography at coolnaturephotos.com/aurora-borealis-at-rouyn-noranda-qc-canada-by-charles-schiele-photography. Shot of interior of Aréna Iamgold, photo by François Fortin at stationnation.blogspot.com.
Standout Huskies players in 2016 QMJHL playoffs…
Timo Meier, photo unattributed, here, at sportsnet.ca. Francis Perron, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at huskies.qc.ca/article/24-h-plus-tard-victoire-des-huskies. Chase Marchand, photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images via sportsnet.ca. Anthony-John Greer, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Jean-François Vachon/TC Media via lafrontiere.ca/sports/hockey/2016/5/7/huskies-shawinigan. Jean-Christophe-Beaudin, photo by Agencie QMI via bsndenver.com/nhl-draft-prospect-profile-jean-christophe-beaudin. Title celebration photo, by Vincent Éthier/QMJHL Media at theqmjhl.ca/2016-president-cup-huskies-win-first-ever-president-cup-title.

Val-d’Or Foreurs: 2nd-best at filling their arena in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 93.2 percent-capacity…
val-d-or-foreurs_centre-air-creebec_c_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey and shoulder-patch illustrations by sportslogos.net/Val d’or Foreurs. Aerial shot of Val-d’Or in the autumn, photo unattributed at voyageretdecouvrir.com/voyage_au_quebec_abitibi_temiscamingue. Aerial shot of some of the extensive precious metals mining in the Val-d’Or area, photo by Agnico Eagle at agnicoeagle.com/northern-operations/goldex. Exterior shot of Centre Air Creebc, photo unattributed at ici.radio-canada.ca. Interior shot of Centre Air Creebec, photo by atmosphare.com/fr/Interieur_Realisations/Mobilier/Centre-Air-Creebec. Another full house of Val-d’Or Foreurs fans applaud their team [circa April 2015], screenshot of video by tvasport.ca. Shot of Huskies one ice for Canadian national anthem. photo by stationnation.blogspot.com.

___
-Thanks to the contributors at Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Thanks to STyx at Wikipedia for the blank map of Eastern Canada [segment of map of Canada], by STyx at File:Canada (geolocalisation).svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-A big thank you to Hockey Database site, for the hard-to-find OHL attendance figures (nobody wants to bother hunting down and compiling them, I guess), at Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

May 14, 2016

2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Red Deer, Alberta/ May 20 to May 29) – the 4 teams: Red Deer Rebels (host team), Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL), London Knights (OHL), Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016 playoffs/+ 2016 CHL location-map.

Filed under: Canada,Hockey — admin @ 2:47 pm

By Bill Turianski on 14 May 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
WHL official site…whl.ca [live scores at top banner]
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org),
…2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament preview at Reddit.com…Memorial Cup Preview (reddit.com/r/hockey, posted by SchoppNotebook).

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. It is an 8 game tournament (9 if a tie-breaker is needed).

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 20th to May 29th, 2016. (Note: within the Red Deer Rebels illustration below, you can read a short paragraph about the etymology and early history of Red Deer, Alberta, and its location with respect to Edmonton & Calgary.)

    Below: the 4 teams who have qualified for the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament…
    2016 Host: Red Deer Rebels / 2016 WHL champions: Brandon Wheat Kings / 2016 OHL champions: London Knights /2016 QMJHL champions: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies…

Red Deer Rebels: 2nd-best at filling their arena in the WHL in 2015-16, at 93.9 percent-capacity.
Host of 2016 Memorial Cup tournament, the Red Deer Rebels…
red-deer-rebels_emax-centrium_k_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Red Deer Rebels. Aerial view of Red Deer, photo by Waynercook at File:Red Deer – Aerial – downtown bridges.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Aerial view of Red Deer Alberta in summer, photo unattributed at yellowpencil.com/reddeer-aerial.jpg. View of Red Deer in summertime, photo unattributed at meshav.com. Red Deer Rebels 2014-15 alternate burgundy jersey & R and RED DEER shoulder-patch logos, photos from reddeerrebels.com/article/back-in-burgandy-rebels-unveil-third-jersey. Exterior shot of Enmax Centrium, photo by Curtis Lund via goodkey.com. Shot of traveling Red Deer fans cheering on the Rebels’ 5-0 away-win versus the Oil Kings at Rexall Place in Edmonton on March 6, 2014. photo by Derek Leung at gettyimages.co.uk.
Players…
Ivan Nikolishin, photo by Red Deer Rebels at reddeerrebels.com/players. Adam Helewka, photo by WHL.ca at whl.ca/rebels-helewka-named-whl-player-of-the-week. Jake DeBrusk, photo by Swift Current Broncos.com at swiftcurrentonline.com/debrusk-pederson-thriving-after-trade.

The Brandon Wheat Kings are the 2016 Ed Chenowyth Cup winners (their 3rd WHL title)…
brandon-wheat-kings_keystone-centre_2016-whl-champions_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Brandon Wheat Kings jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Brandon_Wheat_Kings. View of Brandon skyline from nearby lake, photo by Travel Manitoba at flickr.com . Exterior shot of Keystone Centre in winter, photo by stadiumjourney.com. Interior shot of Keystone Centre, with Wheat Kings fans waving gold scarves, photo by keystonecentre.com. Wheat Kings players celebrating Championship Series OT win over Seattle [May 7 2016], photo by Tim Smith at winnipegsun.com.
Players…
Nolan Patrick, photo by Tim Smith at
brandonsun.com. John Quenneville, photo unattributed at alchetron.com/John-Quenneville. Tim McGauley, photo by Marissa Baeker, Getty Images via sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/whl-playoffs-mcgauleys-hat-trick-helps-wheat-kings-advance.
Jordan Papirny, photo by Greg Southam at edmontonjournal.com. Ivan Provorov, photo unattributed at hockeywilderness.com. Reid Duke, photo by Doug Westcott at eliteprospects.com. Jayce Hawryluk, photo unattributed at brandon-wheat-kings-online-store.myshopify.com/products/jayce-hawryluk-vintage-jersey. Wheat Kings celebrating in ice after a goal, photo by Brian Liesse at new.whl.ca/gallery/frozen-moments-brandon-wheat-kings-whl-champions [5/24]. Wheat Kings full-team title celebration photo, photo by Brian Liesse at new.whl.ca/gallery/frozen-moments-brandon-wheat-kings-whl-champions [24/24], via luberslounge.blogspot.com/2016/05/wheat-kings-claim-whl-title.





London Knights: Best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 2nd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16 at 99.6 percent-capacity
And: the London Knights are the 2016 Robertson Cup champions (their 4th OHL title)…
london-knights_budweiser-gardens_r_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above – Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/London Knights. Aerial view of London, ON in early autumn, photo by londontourism.ca via ctvnews.ca/canada. Aerial view of downtown London, ON, photo unattributed at ca.hotels.com. Rppftop view of Budweiser Gardens, photo by Craig Glover/London Free Press/QMI Agency via sunmediaphotos.photoshelter.com. Exterior shot of main entrance to Budweiser Gardens, photo unattributed at londonmoms.ca. Logos from sportslogos.net/London Knights. Team lined up on ice for national anthem in front of another full house at the JLC (aka Budweiser Gardens), photo by London Knights at londonknights.com/team-history.
Players…
Mitchell Marner, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/12/06/mitch-marners-second-consecutive-hat-trick. Christian Dvorak, photo by London Free Press via londonknights.com. Matthew Tkachuk, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Tyler Parsons, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via zimbio.com. Knights players celebrating after sweeping Niagara in finals, photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images via blackburnnews.com/knights-sweep-ice-dogs-claim-ohl-championship.

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies:
Best at filling their arena in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 100.5 percent-capacity.
And: the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are the 2016 President’s Cup winners (their first QMJHL title)…
rouyn-noranda-huskies_arena-iamgold_2016-qmjhl-champions_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies jersey, illustration by sportslogos.net/Rouyn-Noranda. Huskies Aerial shot of Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Point du Jour Avaiation, here via gigi461.canalblog.com. Shot of Northern Lights above Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Charles Schiele Photography at coolnaturephotos.com/aurora-borealis-at-rouyn-noranda-qc-canada-by-charles-schiele-photography. Shot of interior of Aréna Iamgold, photo by François Fortin at stationnation.blogspot.com.
Standout Huskies players in 2016 QMJHL playoffs…
Timo Meier, photo unattributed, here, at sportsnet.ca. Francis Perron, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at huskies.qc.ca/article/24-h-plus-tard-victoire-des-huskies. Chase Marchand, photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images via sportsnet.ca. Anthony-John Greer, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Jean-François Vachon/TC Media via lafrontiere.ca/sports/hockey/2016/5/7/huskies-shawinigan. Jean-Christophe-Beaudin, photo by Agencie QMI via bsndenver.com/nhl-draft-prospect-profile-jean-christophe-beaudin. Title celebration photo, by Vincent Éthier/QMJHL Media at theqmjhl.ca/2016-president-cup-huskies-win-first-ever-president-cup-title.
___
-Thanks to the contributors at Western Hockey League;
Ontario Hockey League;
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).

Thanks to the fine site known as Elite Prospects.com (Hockey Prospects), for player info…eliteprospects.com.

April 25, 2016

Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs).

Filed under: Canada,Canada>OHL,Hockey — admin @ 12:01 pm

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

ontario-hockey-league_ohl_map_2016_w-2015-16-attendances_arena-capacities_percent-caps_chl-ohl-titles_post_f_.gif
Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed




By Bill Turianski on 25 April 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Teams, etc…Ontario Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site…ontariohockeyleague.com.
-2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament… 2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).

-2015-16 OHL attendances…Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

-My recently-posted map-and-post on the Western Hockey LeagueWestern Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 4 WHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs), and the 3 WHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders).

(Note: QMJHL map-and-post to be posted on May 21 2016.)

-My 2012 map-&-post on major junior hockey in Canada (CHL) from Nov.2012…Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities….

….

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues, along with the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Since 1971-72, the 3 leagues have sent their league-champion to compete for the Memorial Cup title. Since 1975-76, the 3 leagues together comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The 3 CHL leagues are for players aged 16 to 20 – there are no restrictions for the amount of USA-born players on each team; however, non-Canadian-&-American players (ie, European and Russian players) are restricted to 2 per team roster. The 3 leagues of the CHL are quite a big deal, because approximately 54% of all NHL players, currently, were drafted from either the OHL, the WHL, or the QMJHL. {Citation: see 2nd paragraph, here [Ontario Hockey League page at en.wikipedia.org].}

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. (Note: see 3 paragraphs below for more info about the Memorial Cup.)

On the map page…
The map page shows the locations (and the logos) of the 20 OHL teams – 17 of which are in the Canadian province of Ontario, and 3 of which are USA-based: 2 from Michigan and 1 from Pennsylvania. The locations of all the NHL teams (from the region) are also shown on the map.

On the right-hand-side of the map page is a chart which shows 7 things…
1). 2015-16 average attendance {source: Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com)}.
2). Home arena seated capacity.
3). Percent-capacity [average-attendance divided by arena-seated-capacity] (ie, how well the team fills its arena).
4). Metropolitan-area population of each team’s home-city; or, as with the Owen Sound Attack, the team’s home-town)…the metro-area population of Owen Sound, Ontario is 32,000. {Sources: List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada [2011 census figures] (en.wikipedia.org) ; USA-based-teams: List of metropolitan areas of the United States (en.wikipedia.org).}
5). Season the team began play in its home-city. [Note: see boxes under the chart (on the map-page), pertaining to the Oshawa and Mississauga franchises, on this subject.]
6). OHL titles (and the year of last title). {OHL titles: J. Ross Robertson Cup (en.wikipedia.org).}
7). CHL/Memorial Cup titles (and the year of last title) [/ see notes below]. {Memorial Cup/CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).}

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May/ see next paragraph.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 29th, 2016.

List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

OHL teams that have won Memorial Cup/CHL titles (1972-2016)
1973: Toronto Marlboros
1975: Toronto Marlboros (note: franchise is now the Guelph Storm [since 1991-92])
1976: Hamilton Fincups (note: franchise is now the Erie Otters [since 1996-97])
1979: Peterborough Petes
1982: Kitchener Rangers
1984: Ottawa 67′s
1986: Guelph Platers (note: franchise moved to Owen Sound in 1989-90; are now the Owen Sound Attack [since 2000-01])
1990: Oshawa Generals
1993: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
1999: Ottawa 67′s
2003: Kitchener Rangers
2005: London Knights
2009: Windsor Spitfires
2010: Windsor Spitfires
2015: Oshawa Generals

    The 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16
    (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs)

Oshawa Generals: 2015 CHL/Memorial Cup champions & best at filling their arena in OHL in 2015-16 (103.3 percent-capacity/standing-room-only)
oshawa-generals_general-motors-centre_2015-chl-memorial-cup-champions_k_.gif
Photo credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net/Oshawa Generals. General Motors plant in Oshawa, photo by Dave Thomas/QMI Agency via thepeterboroughexaminer.com. Exterior of General motors Centre, photo by thesportsroadtrip.com/ontariohockeyleague. Oshawa Generals’ banners hung from rafters at General Motors Centre, photo by The Creamer, uploaded at boards.sportslogos.net/[topic: Arena rafters banners]. 2015 title banners raised, image from screenshot of video uploadedby DRL Productiona at youtube.com. Oshawa FW Andrew Cirelli scores against Kelowna Rockets in overtime to win the 2015 Memorial Cup trophy (Oshawa 2, Kelowna 1 OT) and Oshawa players celebrate their title-win, 3 photos by Francis Vachon Photographie at francisvachon.com/blog/gallerie-de-photos-final-de-la-coupe-memorial-cup-2015.

London Knights: Best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 2nd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16 at 99.6 percent-capacity
& London Knights, 2016 OHL (Robertson Cup) champions…

london-knights_budweiser-gardens_r_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above – Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/London Knights. Aerial view of London, ON in early autumn, photo by londontourism.ca via ctvnews.ca/canada. Aerial view of downtown London, ON, photo unattributed at ca.hotels.com. Rppftop view of Budweiser Gardens, photo by Craig Glover/London Free Press/QMI Agency via sunmediaphotos.photoshelter.com. Exterior shot of main entrance to Budweiser Gardens, photo unattributed at londonmoms.ca. Logos from sportslogos.net/London Knights. Team lined up on ice for national anthem in front of another full house at the JLC (aka Budweiser Gardens), photo by London Knights at londonknights.com/team-history.
Players…
Mitchell Marner, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/12/06/mitch-marners-second-consecutive-hat-trick. Christian Dvorak, photo by London Free Press via londonknights.com. Matthew Tkachuk, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Tyler Parsons, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via zimbio.com. Knights players celebrating after sweeping Niagara in finals, photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images via blackburnnews.com/knights-sweep-ice-dogs-claim-ohl-championship.

Kitchener Rangers: 2nd-best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 3rd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, with a 98.3 percent-capacity…
kitchener-rangers_kitchener-memorial-auditorium_i_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/Kitchener Rangers. Winter scene in downtown Kitchener, photo by Colin Butler/CBC at cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo. Summer festival in downtown Kitchener, photo by City of Kitchener via placestogrow.ca. Exterior shot of Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, photo by SCI at stadiumci.com/sci/projects/kitchener-memorial-auditorium. Interior shot of Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, photo by SCI at stadiumci.com/sci/projects/kitchener-memorial-auditorium. Logos from sportslogos.net/Kitchener Rangers.

Barrie Colts: 4th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 91.2 percent-capacity…
/barrie-colts_barrie-molson-centre_h_.gif"
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net. Aerial shot of Barrie, photo unattributed at pratthomes.ca/barrie-ranks-3rd-ontario-best-place-invest/. View of downtown Barrie, photo unattributed at andrew-thompson.on.ca. Exterior shot of Barrie Molson Centre, photo by stadiumci.com/sci/projects. Interior shot of Barrie Molson Centre by Mark Wanzel at thebarrieexaminer.com/library-checked-out. Logos from sportslogos.net/Barrie Colts.

Guelph Storm: 5th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 89.7 percent-capacity…
guelph-storm_sleeman-centre_h_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Guelph Storm road jersey (dark jersey), photo from ebay.com. Guelph in the autumn with Church of Our lady in the distant background, photo unattributed at crbprogram.org/renting/guelph. Guelph in the winter, photo by Sir Scavenger at flickr.com. Exterior-street-view shot of Sleeman Centre front entrance, photo from rlproyalcity.com/guelph-real-estate. Interior shot of Sleeman Centre during a game [11 Dec.2015], photo by Jfvoll at Sleeman Centre (Guelph) (en.wikipedia.org). Logos from sportslogos.net/Guelph Storm.

Niagara IceDogs: 6th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 85.9 percent-capacity…
niagara-icedogs_meridian-centre_i_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net/Niagara IceDogs. Shot of downtown St. Catherines, photo by John Elmslie, St Paul Street, St Catharines, Ontario at flickr.com. Niagara IceDogs dog-bone-shoulder-patch logos: black-crossed-bones logo, image from sportslogos.net/Niagara IceDogs; red crossed-bones-with-St-Catherines/S-T-C-inset logo from a photo by Vaughn Ridley at gettyimages.com. Exterior shot of Meridian Centre, photo by Bob Tymczyszyn/St. Catharines Standard/Postmedia Network at stcatharinesstandard.ca. Interior/live-action-shot of Meridian Centre, photo from stcatharines.ca/Meridian-Centre-Community-Suite.

___
Thanks to all at the following links,
Sources for titles: OHL titles: J. Ross Robertson Cup ; CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

-Thanks to USGS.gov for blank map of the Great Lakes – unfortunately, the map is no longer available online (well, I couldn’t find it, anyway).
-Thanks to the contributors at Ontario Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-A big thank you to Hockey Database site, for the hard-to-find OHL attendance figures (nobody wants to bother hunting down and compiling them, I guess), at Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

April 13, 2016

Western Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 4 WHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs), and the 3 WHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders).

Filed under: Canada,Canada>WHL,Hockey — admin @ 9:26 pm

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

western-hockey-league_whl_map_2016_w-2015-16-attendances_arena-capacities_percent-caps_chl-whl-titles_post_d_.gif
Western Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed



By Bill Turianski on 13 April 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Teams, etc…Western Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site…whl.ca.
-2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament… 2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).

50th Anniversary Official All-time Greatest WHL players (voted on by fans, at official WHL site)…WHL Top 50 Players of All-Time Countdown Concludes
#1, Joe Sakic (Swift Current Broncos, 1986-88). #2: Bobby Clarke (Flin Flon Bombers, 1967-69). #3, Carey Price (Tri-City Americans, 2003-07).

-2015-16 WHL attendances… Western Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

-My recently-posted map-and-post on the Ontario Hockey League…Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs).

-My recently-posted map-and-post on the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League…Ligue de Hockey Junior Majeur du Québec (LHJMQ) [English: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)]: location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, QMJHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 2 QMJHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (the Quebec Remparts & the Halifax Mooseheads), and the 2 QMJHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies & the Val-d’Or Foreurs).

-My 2012 map-&-post on major junior hockey in Canada (CHL) from November 2012…Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities….


Western Hockey League, established 1966-67
Below, a map of the first season of the WHL (1966-67 CMJHL [WHL]/ 7 teams), which features the 1967 champions, the Moose Jaw Canucks. The map below also features 6 present-day franchises (see small text above map for franchise-histories) – including 2 founding-members-of-the-WHL (the present-day-WHL-teams the Regina Pats and the Saskatoon Blades), as well as 4 charter-franchises-of-the-WHL (those 4 WHL franchises now located in the present-day WHL cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Kamloops, and Moose Jaw)…
1966-67_whl_map_western-hockey-league_1st-whl-season_7-teams_moose-jaw-canucks-champions_r_.gif"
Logos in map above from: en.wiipedia.org/Western Hockey League / 1966-67 CMJHL [WHL], hockeydb.com/Logos, sportslogos.net/WHL. logoserver.com/Western CHL. Photo of Moose Jaw Canucks 1966-67 champions banner raised to the rafters of Mosaic Place, photo unattributed at discovermoosejaw.com/lmoose-jaw-hockey-history-honoured. Image of Moose Jaw Warriors 2015-16 opening-night-jersey from WHL at whl.ca/warriors-unveil-opening-night-jersey.

The Western Hockey League (WHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues, along with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Since 1971-72, the 3 leagues have sent their league-champion to compete for the Memorial Cup title. Since 1975-76, the 3 leagues together comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The 3 CHL leagues are for players aged 16 to 20 – there are no restrictions for the amount of USA-born players on each team; however, non-Canadian-&-American players (ie, European and Russian players) are restricted to 2 per team roster. The 3 leagues of the CHL are quite a big deal, because approximately 54% of all NHL players, currently, were drafted from either the OHL, the WHL, or the QMJHL. {Citation: see 2nd paragraph, here [Ontario Hockey League page at en.wikipedia.org].}

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. (Note: see 5 paragraphs futher below for more info about the Memorial Cup.)

On the map page…
The map page shows the locations (and the logos) of the 22 WHL teams – 6 of which are in the Canadian province of British Columbia, 5 of which are in the Canadian province of Alberta, 5 of which are in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, one of which is in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and 5 of which are USA-based: 4 from the state of Washington and 1 from the state of Oregon. The locations of all the NHL teams from the Western Canada/USA region are also shown on the map (ie, the 4 Western Canadian NHL teams).

On the right-hand-side of the map page is a chart for the WHL which shows 7 things…
1). 2015-16 average attendances of the 22 WHL teams, ranked {source: Western Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com)}.
2). Home arena seated capacity of the 22 WHL teams.
3). Percent-capacity for each team in 2015-16 [Percent Capacity equals Average Attendance divided by Arena-seated-capacity] (ie, how well the team fills its arena).
4). Metropolitan-area population of each team’s home-city; or, as with the Swift Current Broncos, the team’s home-town…the metro-area population of Swift Current, Saskatchewan is ~17,500. {Sources: List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada [2011 census figures]; USA-based-teams: List of metropolitan areas of the United States (en.wikipedia.org).}
5). Season the WHL team began play in its home-city. (Note: for extra details about the first-WHL-seasons of the Regina and Swift Current teams, see boxes below chart.)
6).WHL titles (and the year of last title/ since 1966-67). {WHL titles: Ed Chynoweth Cup (en.wikipedia.org).}
7). CHL/Memorial Cup titles (and the year of last title/ since 1971-72) [/ see notes below]. {Memorial Cup/CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).}

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 29th, 2016. (Note: within the Red Deer Rebels illustration further below, you can read a short paragraph about the etymology and early history of Red Deer, Alberta, and its location with respect to Edmonton & Calgary.)


List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

WHL teams that have won Memorial Cup/CHL titles (1972-2016)
1974: Regina Pats
1977: New Westminster Bruins
1978: New Westminster Bruins
1983: Portland Winter Hawks
1985: Prince Albert Raiders
1987: Medicine Hat Tigers
1988: Medicine Hat Tigers
1989: Swift Current Broncos
1991: Spokane Chiefs
1992: Kamloops Blazers
1994: Kamloops Blazers
1995: Kamloops Blazers
1998: Portland Winter Hawks
2001: Red Deer Rebels
2002: Kootenay Ice
2004: Kelowna Rockets
2007: Vancouver Giants
2008: Spokane Chiefs
2014: Edmonton Oil Kings

    Below: the 4 best-drawing teams in the 2015-16 WHL (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs),
    and the 3 teams that filled their arenas the best (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders)…

Calgary Hitmen: Best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 8,217 per game
calgary-hitmen_scotiabank-saddledome_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Calgary Hitmen. Aerial view of Greater Calgary in winter-time with Canadian Rockies in the background, photo by reddit.com/user/thelonelyYOTTABYTE at The 27 most beautiful photos of Canada uploaded to Reddit. Aerial view of downtown Calgary, photo unattributed at canadian-wellsite.com/images/Calgary. View of downtown Calgary in winter, photo by theconstantrambler.com at theconstantrambler.com. Exterior shot of the Saddledome, photo unattributed at static.gofansgo.com/images/Saddledome. Shot of Saddledome at night, photo by Rob Moses Photography at robmosesphotography.com Shot of fans at Saddledome cheering on the tunnel entrance of the Calgary Hitmen, photo by twitter.com/WHLHitmen/media. Shot of fans in front rows cheering after a goal with celebrating Hitmen clustered before them, photo by facebook.com/HitmenHockey/photos_stream. Original logos (1995) images from File:Hitmenlogos.png. 2015-16 Calgary Hitmen 20th anniversary black-silver-pink jersey, photo by Calgary Hitmen at hitmenhockey.com

Portland Winterhawks: 2nd-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 7,004 per game
portland-winterhawks_veterans-memorial-coliseum_moda-center_d_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Portland Winterhawks. Downtown Portland, OR at night, photo unattributed at portland2016.com. Portland, OR winter scene of skyline, photo unattributed at portlandloftscondos.com/portland-oregon-winter Aerial shot of Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Moda Center, photo by Mike Brewington at brewsphoto.com, here. Street-level-view of the Vet and Moda Center, photo by Jonathan House at Portland Tribune, at pamplinmedia.com/memorial-coliseum-money-pit. 1st-period-faceoff shot at the Moda Center, photo by @roncallan via emeraldcitysportsblogs.wordpress.com. Winterhawks fans celebrate a goal versus Seattle {april 2015], photo by Kent Frasure at portlandtribune.com/sports.

Edmonton Oil Kings: 3rd-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 6,838 per game
edmonton-oil-kings_rexall-place_e_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Edmonton Oil Kings.. Edmonton skyline, photo by WinterE229 (WinterforceMedia) at File:Downtown-Skyline-Edmonton-Alberta-Canada-01A.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Winter scene with tobogganners and view of Edmonton skyline, photo by Edmonton Tourism at uofainsideout.ca. View of Edmonton skyline on a winter night, photo by Lumens Borealis at lumensborealis.com. Shot of Rexall Place at night, photo by Heimo Kramer at sanjogonline.blogspot.com. 1963 Memorial Cup champions the Edmonton Oil Kings (I) (1951-76): 1962-63 game-worn jersey, photo by classicauctions.net. Oil Kings black/green-alternate-home-jersey & shoulder-patch logo, photos from ebay.com/edmonton-oil-kings. Shot of Oil Kings game from the stands at Rexall Place, photo by Codie McLachlan/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency at sunmediaphotos.photoshelter.com. 2014 Oil Kings squad with banners and trophies on Banner Night in Edmonton, photo by David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Age at edmontonsun.com/2014/09/21/jones-warm-glow-for-oil-kings-banner-raising.

Spokane Chiefs: 4th-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 5,765 per game
spokane-chiefs_spokane-veterans-memorial-arena_m_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Spokane Chiefs. Aerial view of Spokane, photo unattributed at carousels.org/Spokane2010. Spokane Falls, photo by Steven Lamar at flickr.com. Exterior shot of Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, photo by Jdubman at File:SpokaneArenaSECorner.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Chiefs fans cheer after goals at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (Oct. 2011) by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review at spokesman.com/galleries/2011/oct. Shot of Chiefs squad before the first outdoor game in WHL, Jan.15 2011: at Avista ballpark in Spokane, WA (Spokane Chiefs 11, Kelowna Rockets 2), photo by Jessee Tinsley at spokesman.com/nachbaur-whl-coach-year.

Kelowna Rockets: 5th-best attendance in the WHL in 2015-16, at 5,242 per game + Best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 95.1 percent-capacity
kelowna-rockets_prospera-place_25th-anniversary-gear_e_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Kelowna Rockets. Aerial view of Kelown, photo unattributed at trijuice.com/images/kelowna. Kelowna looking towards downtown, photo by stephanscharnberg.blogspot.com. Exterior shot of Prospera Place, photo by Tomtar.ca External Sheeting and Roofing. Interior of Prospero Place during a Rockets’ matinee game, photo by kelownanow.com/files. Kelowna 25th anniversary home alternate jersey (throwback), photo by kelownanow.com/Kelowna_Rockets_Reveal_25th_Anniversary_Jerseys. Kelowna Rockets 25th Anniversary patch, photo unattributed at power104.fm/powerpatrol/2015/08/24/.

Red Deer Rebels: 2nd-best at filling their arena in the WHL in 2015-16, at 93.9 percent-capacity
red-deer-rebels_emax-centrium_i_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Red Deer Rebels. Aerial view of Red Deer, photo by Waynercook at File:Red Deer – Aerial – downtown bridges.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Aerial view of Red Deer Alberta in summer, photo unattributed at yellowpencil.com/reddeer-aerial.jpg. View of Red Deer in summertime, photo unattributed at meshav.com. Red Deer Rebels 2014-15 alternate burgundy jersey & R and RED DEER shoulder-patch logos, photos from reddeerrebels.com/article/back-in-burgandy-rebels-unveil-third-jersey. Exterior shot of Enmax Centrium, photo by Curtis Lund via goodkey.com. Shot of traveling Red Deer fans cheering on the Rebels’ 5-0 away-win versus the Oil Kings at Rexall Place in Edmonton on March 6, 2014. photo by Derek Leung at gettyimages.co.uk.

Prince Albert Raiders: 3rd-best percent capacity in the WHL in 2015-16, at 91.8
prince-albert-raiders_art-hauser-centre_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Prince Albert Raiders. Aerial photo of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, photo by Woodland Aerial Photo via peterballantyne.ca/communities/princealbert [Cree Nation]. View of PA skyline from North Saskatchewan River, photo by Prince Albert Downtown Improvement District Association via rvwest.com/prince_albert. Exterior shot of Art Hauser Centre unattributed at stadiumjourney.com. Mike Modano’s Prince Albert Raiders retired jersey-number (#9), image from screenshot of video downloaded by Shaw TV Prince Albert at youtube.com. Logos from sportslogos.net/Western_Hockey_League.
___
Thanks to all at the following links,
Sources for titles: WHL titles: Ed Chynoweth Cup ; CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

-Thanks to the contributors at Western Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-A big thank you to Hockey Database site, for the hard-to-find WHL attendance figures (nobody wants to bother hunting down and compiling them, I guess), at Western Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph.

July 3, 2015

Canadian Football League: CFL location-map for 2015, with 2014 attendances, percent-capacities, and titles-listed-by-team./ Plus illustrations for the 3 new stadiums in the CFL (Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg)./ Plus an editorial on the present-day Montreal Alouettes’ bogus claim to the 4 CFL titles won by the original Montreal Alouettes (I) (1961-81).

Filed under: Canada,Canadian Football League — admin @ 6:12 pm

canadian-football-league_2015-map_2014-attendances_titles-by-team_post_h_.gif
Canadian Football League: CFL location-map for 2015, with 2014 attendances and percent-capacities & titles-listed-by-team




Links…
-Teams…Canadian Football League/Teams (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site…http://www.cfl.ca/.
-Schedule, scores, standings, etc…flashscores.co.uk/american-football/canada/cfl/.

    Canadian Football League: location-map for 2015, with 2014 attendances and percent-capacities & titles-listed-by-team./
    Plus illustrations for the 3 new stadiums in the CFL (Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg)./
    Plus an editorial on the present-day Montreal Alouettes’ bogus claim to the 4 CFL titles won by the Montreal Alouettes (I) (1961-81).

By Bill Turianski on 3 July 2015; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.com.

2014: the completely renovated 24,000-capacity stadium and an expansion-CFL-team in Ottawa (the Ottawa RedBlacks)…
First and second photos below: on July 18, 2014…after a 9-year absence, the CFL returns to Canada’s capital – opening day at TD Place Stadium at Lansdowne Park, with the completely renovated (and not at-that-point completely re-built) stadium, playing host to 24,000 football-starved fans. The Ottawa RedBlacks beat the Argonauts 18-17. But the RedBlacks only won once more in their debut season (going 2-16). Here is the wiki page off the Ottawa RedBlacks, Ottawa RedBlacks (en.wikipedia.com).
ottawa-redblacks_cfl_td-place-stadium_opening-day_18-july-2014_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Long-view aerial shot, photo by aerialphotographs.ca. Helmet photo from morethanjustcaps.com. Aerial shot with construction sites L R & Ctr, photo by Front Page Media Group at frontpagemediagroup.ca. RedBlacks jerseys (illustration circa 2014), by Cmm3 at File:CFL OTT Jersey.png (en.wikipedia.org).

2014: new stadium in Hamilton for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats…
At the following link there are lots of photos of, and info on, the Tiger-Cats’ nice new 24,000-capacity stadium: Tim Hortons Field…Tim Hortons Field/Stadium experience (ticats.ca).

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were formed in 1950 as a result of a merger of two football teams from Hamilton, Ontario: the black-and-gold-clad Hamilton Tigers (established in 1869 as Hamilton Football Club, with 5 Grey Cup titles [1913, 1915, 1928, 1929, 1932]), and the red-and-white-clad Hamilton Flying Wildcats (established in 1941, and winners of the 1943 Grey Cup title). All of the 6 Grey Cup titles in the last sentence are not claimed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have won 8 Grey Cup titles (1953, 1957, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1986, 1999).

Traditional Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ cheer:
Oskie Wee Wee, Oskie Wah Wah.
Holy Mackinaw !
Tigers eat ‘em RAW ! !
-traditional Tiger-Cats’ cheer
Traditional Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ cheer (Hamilton Tiger-Cats Alumni Association). Oski Yell/Oskee Wee Wee (en.wikipedia.org).

The Oskie-Wee-Wee, Oskie-Wah-Wah cheer is kind of corny, but it also is definitely great fun. The Hamilton faithful sing it every game, and it serves as a rallying cry. In the third photo below, you can see most everyone in the stands there in Canada’s Steel City belting out the goofy cheer at the top of their lungs. Here is the wiki page off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Hamilton Tiger-Cats (en.wikipedia.com).
hamilton-tiger-cats_cfl_tim-hortons-place_2014_s_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Helmet illustration by mghelmets.com/canada. Aerial shot from Calgary Stampeders’ Twitter account, https://twitter.com/calstampeders/status/500359211578970114. Interior field & crowd shots by Hamilton Tiger-Cats at ticats.ca/tim-hortons-field-overview. Ti-Cats jerseys (illustration circa 2014), by Cmm3 at File:CFL HAM Jersey.png (en.wikipedia.org).

Here is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ new stadium, which opened in May 2013…
Winnipeg Football Club was formed in 1930, as Winnipeg Rugby Football Club. Their original colors were green and white. Two years later, in 1932, the club merged with St Johns Rugby Club of Winnipeg, retaining the name ‘Winnipeg Football Club’, but changing their colors to dark blue and gold. In 1935, the team got their nickname after the sportswriter for the Winnipeg Tribune, Vince Leah, began referring to them as the ‘Blue Bombers of Western football’. That same year the team won their first Grey Cup title, beating the Hamilton Tigers 18-12 (thus becoming the first team from Western Canada to win the Grey Cup title). Winnipeg Football Club (aka the Blue Bombers) have won 10 Grey Cup titles (1935, 1939, 1941, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1984, 1988, 1990). As seen on the sign on the stadium exterior in the second photo below, to this day the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are officially known as the Winnipeg Football Club.
Here is the wiki page off the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Blue Bombers (en.wikipedia.org).
winnipeg-blue-bombers_cfl_investors-group-field_2013_m_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Helmet illustration by mghelmets.com/canada. Aerial shot of stadium by Winnipeg Blue Bombers at stadiumdb.com/stadiums/can. Blue Bombers jerseys (illustration circa 2014), by Cmm3 at File:CFL WPG Jersey.png. Exterior shot of the stadium: photo by Phil Hossack at winnipegfreepress.com.

Notes on the map page…
The flags on the map page at the lower-center are provincial flags. Here is Wikipedia’s page on the Provinces and Territories of Canada.

The chart on the right-hand-side of the map page shows the average attendances of CFL teams from the last 3 seasons (2012, 2013, 2014). Also shown are 2014 stadium-seated-capacities and each teams’ 2014 percent-capacities (Percent-capacity equals Average Attendance divided by Stadium-seated-capacity).

Titles are listed at the far right of the chart. Notes below that chart touch upon how 1). Hamilton has opted to not claim titles won by the original Hamilton Tigers football club (because that is what the folks in charge of the football club back then felt was the proper thing to do); and 2). how Montreal Alouettes (III) are trying to pretend they won 4 titles as the original Montreal Alouettes (I), despite the fact that that original team folded in 1987 (because the current Alouettes franchise is trying to re-write history/ see below).

Grey Cup titles (aka CFL titles) that are listed for each team on the 2 charts on the map page are for that franchise, not for other franchises that a current CFL franchise is trying to pass off as their own history (see previous sentence above). See below, for why the CFL’s claim and the Montreal Alouettes (III) claim to the 4 CFL titles won by the original Montreal Alouettes (I) is dishonest and should not be acknowledged.

    Regarding the present-day Montreal Alouettes’ bogus claim on the 4 CFL titles won by the Montreal Alouettes (I) (1961-81)…

On the map, the Montreal Alouttes (III) are listed as having won 4 CFL titles, and not the 7 CFL titles they claim, for the reasons elaborated below…

The following two excerpts are from the Wikipedia page on the CFL team called the Baltimore Stallions…”However, when it became apparent that the CFL was writing off its American experiment as a lost cause, the [Baltimore Stallions owner Jim Speros] decided to relocate the Stallions franchise to Montreal as the now third incarnation of the Montreal Alouettes. Speros kept the Alouettes for only one year before selling the franchise to current owner Robert C. Wetenhall in 1997.”… /…”The CFL does not officially consider the Stallions to be part of the Alouettes’ history. According to official league records, Speros canceled the Stallions franchise after the 1995 season and reclaimed the dormant Alouettes franchise. Consequently, when Speros moved the team to Montreal, all of the Stallions’ players were released from their contracts, though [General Manager Jim] Popp managed to resign many of them…”{end of excerpts at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Stallions}.

The extra titles (the 4 CFL titles won by the original Montreal Alouettes) that this present-day Montreal Alouettes (III) franchise claims were won by a separate franchise, namely Montreal Alouettes (I), which existed from 1946 to 1981, and won 4 CFL titles (in 1949, 1970, 1974, 1977). [Note: Montreal Concordes/Alouettes (II), which existed from 1982-86, won zero CFL titles and folded in June 1987, 2 days before the start of the 1987 CFL season.]

Both those earlier Montreal Alouettes franchises folded. The [2015] present-day Montreal Alouettes (III), which first played as the Baltimore CFLers and the Baltimore Stallions, played 2 CFL seasons when they were located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA (in 1994 and 1995), and did win a CFL title (in 1995). This is the only other CFL title that Montreal Alouettes (III) should be claiming, besides, of course the 3 CFL titles that the franchise has won as the third version of the Montreal Alouettes (III) – in 2002, 2009, and 2010. Because that CFL franchise, that spent its first 2 years in Baltimore, was (and still is) the team which moved from Baltimore to Montreal in 1996. The present-day Montreal Alouettes franchise has always had nothing to do with those two earlier CFL franchises in Montreal other than occupying the same location, and so therefore as dictated by logic and pro sports convention, the present-day Montreal Alouettes should not get to claim those titles.

And if that doesn’t convince you, they why don’t the present-day Ottawa Senators NHL team (est. 1991, and with zero Stanley Cup titles) claim the 11 Stanley Cup titles won by the original incarnation of the Ottawa Senators ? (The original Ottawa Senators (I) existed from 1883 to 1934 and won the last of their 11 Stanley Cup titles in 1926-27. Declining attendance and the Depression forced the Senators to sit out the 1931-32 NHL season, then a couple years later, the franchise left Ottawa and moved to St. Louis, MO as the St. Louis Eagles, in 1934-35, and then the franchise folded 8 months later in April 1935, as one of the very many pro sports teams in North America which fell victim to the Great Depression.)

I’ll tell you why the present-day Ottawa Senators (II) don’t claim the Original Senators’ 11 Stanley Cup titles…because it would be stupid and false and cheap – in other words, it would be fraudulent – to claim titles that your organization had nothing to do with, other than later occupying the same location under the same name as the original title-winning organization. Take two people from the same town with the same name – one in the present-day and one from the distant past…that latter-day person has no right to claim the accomplishments of that earlier person. Duh. This is not rocket science. And sentimentality has no place in this discussion. The Oakland A’s own the 5 MLB World Series titles won by the Philadelphia Athletics. The Los Angeles Dodgers own the 1 MLB World Series title won by the Brooklyn Dodgers (in 1955). The San Francisco Giants own the 5 MLB World Series titles won by the New York Giants. The Indianapolis Colts own the 3 NFL titles (incl. 1 Super Bowl title) won by the Baltimore Colts. And yes, although Canadian puck-heads do not like to talk about it, the Arizona Coyotes, and not the new version of the Winnipeg Jets (II), own the 3 WHA Avco Cup titles that the original Winnipeg Jets (I) won in the 1970s, when that franchise was in the WHA, a decade before the Winnipeg Jets (I) slunk off to the desert in Arizona in 1996. Period.

In all these aforementioned cases, the organization in question – the organization which won the title(s), is a distinct entity. The city did not win the title, regardless of the support that that city gave the pro team. The pro team won the title…and if that pro team moves, than the titles go with them. And if that pro team folds, the titles still exist, but they now go unclaimed in perpetuity. Too bad for the residents of the cities whose title-winning franchises either folded or absconded from that city – but there you have it. Sometimes life sucks. To say that the present-day Montreal Alouettes (III) deserve to claim the legacy (including the 4 Grey Cup titles) of the original Alouettes teams – teams that folded and thus ceased to exist – is to say that it is OK to re-write history to serve selfish and sentimental needs.

Here is what the NHL media guide has to say about why the present-day Ottawa Senators do not claim the 11 Stanley Cup titles of the original Ottawa Senators who existed from 1883 to 1934…
NHL Media Guide 2010. …“The original Senators (also known as the Ottawa Hockey Club) organization won eleven Stanley Cups, not the current organization founded in 1990. Neither the NHL or the Senators claim the current Senators to be a continuation of the original organization or franchise. The awards, statistics and championships of both eras are kept separate and the NHL franchise founding date of the current Senators is in 1991.”…”… {end of excerpt at footnote at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Senators#cite_note-1 (en.wikipedia.org)}.

The one CFL title that the franchise of the Montreal Alouettes (III) should be claiming…the 1995 CFL title of the Baltimore Stallions…just happens to be the only Grey Cup title won by a CFL team not located in Canada. Nice try re-writing history, CFL. And don’t give me this story about how the second iteration of the Alouettes, who folded in 1987, went into dormancy. How come you (the CFL) never announced that in 1987 ? Where is there any fact to the effect that the Montreal Alouettes’ franchise was in dormancy in the 1987-to 1995 time period ? You just made that “dormant franchise” BS up, when it suited your needs. Here is a Youtube video of a CBC broadcast from June 24 1987, the day the Montreal Alouettes (II) folded…the 7-minute video contains a very thorough discussion about the demise of the Montreal Alouettes (II)…and there are exactly zero mentions that the franchise has gone into a “dormant” state…Alouettes Fold (1987) {7:23 video uploaded by retrosask at youtube.com)}. At the 0:18 point in the video, the CBC newsreader says, “…mark a dark day in the Canadian Football League’s history: commissioner Doug Mitchell, in the CFL’s headquarters in Toronto, announcing that the Montreal Alouettes are no longer…” {quote transcribed from CBC broadcast of 24 June 1987}. You get that, CFL front office circa-1995-&-96? You guys said that the Alouettes were dead on June 24, 1987. In a press conference. So, CFL-front-office-of-1995-&-96, how did you revive this DEAD FRANCHISE ? How? That franchise was pronounced dead in 1987 – and you guys said it. Dead is dead, you weasels in the CFL front office. What, CFL, you think eight years later we all forgot that you read the last rites to the Montreal Alouettes franchise? I guess the Alouettes franchise-mark-three-and-born-in-1996 are actually the Undead – like a frigging zombie-franchise or something. Or maybe the Montreal Alouettes-mark-three think they actually are the Only Begotten Son, and the CFL are actually a magical Sky Wizard. Because by declaring, 8 years after the team folded, that the Montreal Alouettes were in fact a “dormant franchise” means that the CFL thinks that they can bring back the dead.

Here is the gist of what the CFL said to the Baltimore Stallions’ franchise in early 1996, as that franchise was in the process of relocating to Montreal:
‘We can’t be ever mentioning or reminding Canadian sports fans that one of our current franchises won its first CFL title while located in the USA. So let’s pretend this new version of the Alouettes is connected to the original version of the Alouettes. We’ll make it legit by saying your franchise, the Baltimore Stallions, have folded, and have taken over the Alouettes’ franchise that was in dormancy. Yeah, that’s it – dormancy. You know, like how the Cleveland Browns fans got the NFL to re-write their history after Baltimore stole their team. Then you guys in the Baltimore Stallions front office can just change you business cards to read ‘Montreal Alouettes’, and you guys can just pretend that you released all your players, then you can re-sign most of them as Alouettes, as you see fit. Heck, Mr Piros, here, have those 4 old titles the original Alouettes won…they’re just laying around collecting dust. Let’s buff them up and put them on your mantlepiece, and pretend that you new guys earned those 4 Grey Cup titles. And while we’re at it, let’s all conspire to pretend that your franchise never won the Grey Cup in the States. In a few years, people will start to forget about that harebrained scheme we had to try to expand into the USA. And up here in Canada, hopefully most sports fans will forget you guys originally came from America.’

Nomenclature aside, the new guys who are using the old Alouettes name had nothing to do with the original Alouettes, and they certainly did not earn those 4 Grey Cup titles that the original Montreal Alouettes won. The CFL cheapens their biggest asset -the Grey Cup itself – by this cavalier behavior, and by its historical revisionism on the matter of the Baltimore/Montreal franchise shift.
_____
Thanks to…
Globe-map of Canada by: Aquarius.geomar.de at File:Canada (orthographic projection).svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
Blank map of Canada by: S Tyx and Sémhur and Riba, at File:Blank map of Canada.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
Provinces-map of Canada by E Pluribus Anthony at File:Political map of Canada.png.

Helmet illustrations at CFL-league-&-teams banner on lower-centre-of-map-page by: Cmm3 at en.wikipedia, such as File:CFL MTL Jersey with alternate.png.
Helmet illustrations on that banner of 2014 champs (Calgary) & all-time-most-titles-won (Toronto) are by: MG Helmets; mghelmets.com.

2014 Attendance figures from stats.cfldb.ca/league/cfl/attendance/2014.
Past seasons of CFL attendance figures from cfl-scrapbook.no-ip.org/CFL-Attendance.php.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ 2014 home attendances, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Hamilton_Tiger-Cats_season.
Several CFL team logos were found at sportslogos.net/Canadian_Football_League.

November 8, 2012

Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities, and the Shawingan Cataractes – the 2012 CHL Memorial Cup winners.

Filed under: Canada,Hockey — admin @ 9:14 pm

Please note: I have made 4 more recent map-and-posts related to the Canadian Hockey League…

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

…Below are 3 posts from 2016…
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (May 2016), here:
Ligue de Hockey Junior Majeur du Québec (LHJMQ) [English: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)]: location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, QMJHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 2 QMJHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (the Quebec Remparts & the Halifax Mooseheads), and the 2 QMJHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies & the Val-d’Or Foreurs).

Western Hockey League (April 2016), here:
Western Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 4 WHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs), and the 3 WHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders).

Ontario Hockey League (April 2016), here:
Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs).

canadian-hockey-league_whl_ohl_qmjhl_2012_segment_.gif
WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams)



WHL standings‘ (whl.ca).
OHL standings‘ (ontariohockeyleague.com).
QMJHL standings‘ (theqmjhl.ca).

From the CHL official website, from Nov. 7 2012, ‘CHL Announces BMO CHL Mastercard Top 10 Rankings, November 7, 2012‘.

The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella-organization for the 3 Canadian major junior hockey leagues, the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The leagues are the top echelon of junior hockey on Canada and are for players aged 16 to 20 years old. Every June, the NHL has an entry draft where WHL, OHL, AND QMJHL players figure prominently.

There are 52 Canadian-based teams in the CHL, and 8 teams in the CHL that are based in the United States. The 5 American-based teams in the WHL are the Everett Silvertips (from Everett, Washington); the Seattle Thunderbirds (from Seattle, Washington); the Tri-City Americans (from Kennewick/Pasco/Richland, Washington); the Spokane Chiefs (from Spokane, Washington); and the Portland Winterhawks (from Portland, Oregon). The 3 American-based teams in the OHL are the Saginaw Spirit (from Saginaw, Michigan); the Plymouth Whalers (from Plymouth Township, Michigan); and the Erie Otters (from Erie, Pennsylvania). The one American-based team in the QMJHL, from Lewiston, Maine, folded after the 2010-11 season. The franchise remained dormant for the 2011-12 season, then the city of Sherbrooke in southern Quebec was awarded the franchise and the Sherbrooke Phoenix began play in 2012-13.

The Memorial Cup has been awarded to a Canadian junior hockey club since 1919. The Memorial Cup tournament as a three-team tournament dates to 1972 {see this, ‘List of Memorial Cup champions‘ en.wikipedia.org)}. The inclusion of a 4th team/host-city team began in 1982-83. The winners of the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL play in a 4-team round-robin tournament along with the team from the host-city (the host city changes each year). The format now has an initial 3-games-per-team round robin stage, followed by a semifinals which has second place in the round robin versus third, followed by the final which has the semifinal winner versus first place in the round robin. The inclusion of the fourth team/host-city team was done to boost attendance at the tournament (and recent tournaments being played to near capacity [see second paragraph below] show that this decision was a good one). From cbc.ca, ‘Shawinigan takes Memorial Cup in OT win over London‘.
From National Post.com, from May 28, 2012, by Bill Beacon, ‘Cataractes win Memorial Cup in overtime over Knights‘.

The Shawingan Cataractes were 2012 CHL Memorial Cup champions. The hockey club, from Shawingan, Quebec, had been the only franchise that was a founding member of the QMJHL when the league was formed in 1969-70 that had never claimed Canada’s top junior hockey prize. Shawingan is the only team in the QMJHL still operating in the same city of its founding. The Shawingan Cataractes play at Centre Bionest de Shawinigan, a 4,125-seat multi-purpose arena, which opened in 2008. Shawingan is 134 km. (83 mi.) north-east of Montreal and 116 km. (72 mi.) south-west of Quebec City. Shawinigan, QC has a metro area population of around 52,000 {2011 figure}. The most famous citizen of Shawingan is Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. The most notable former Shawingun Catarctes player in the NHL these days is Buffalo Sabres’ right-winger Jason Pominville, who was an NHL All-Star in 2011-12. He played for Shawingan from 1998-2002. 39 former Shawingan players have played in the NHL.
The Cataractes averaged 3,258 per game in 2011-12 (at 78.9 percent-capacity).

    2012 CHL Memorial Cup champions: Shawingan Cataractes.

shawingun-cataractes_2012-chl-memorial-cup_champions_shawingun-quebec_e.gif
Photo credits above –
Photo of 2012 Memorial Cup semifinal game by JC Pinheiro for sportsnet.ca.
Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images via sports.nationalpost.com/2012/05/27/cataractes-win-memorial-cup-in-overtime-over-knights/.
cldshawinigan.qc.ca.
Shawingan Cataractes players with Memorial Cup trophy by (Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) at cbc.ca.

On May 27, 2012, the Shawinigan Cataractes defeated the London Knights 2-1 in overtime to win the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup, and also become the sixth team in CHL history (since 1983) to win the Canadian Junior Hockey championship as the host team without having won their league title that season. Host teams that didn’t win their league that season get a big break in being allowed to enter the tournament, but they still have to get by the 3 league champions to win the Memorial Cup title. The first time a host-city won the CHL title without having won their league that season was in the first year of the 4-team format, in 1983, when the Portland Winterhawks were champions. The second time was when the Soo Greyhounds did it in 1993. The third time was when the Ottawa 67s did it in 1999. The fourth time was when the Kelowna Rockets did it in 2004. The fifth time was when the Vancouver Giants did it in 2007. That was when a record was set for highest attendance for the tournament – the 2007 tournament in Vancouver set a new Memorial Cup attendance record with 121,561 fans attending the nine games (for a 13,506 per game average). Since then, the Memorial Cup has played to 90%-to-100%+ capacity in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario in 2008; in Rimouski, Quebec in 2009; in Brandon, Manitoba in 2010; in Missisauga, Ontario in 2011; and in Shawingan, Quebec in 2012. This season, in May 2013, the Memorial Cup tournament will be played in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, at the 15,195-capacity Credit Union Centre there in central Saskatchewan {see this ‘2013 Memorial Cup‘.(en.wikipedia.org)}. So there might be a new Memorial Cup attendance record set, especially if another team from Saskatchewan gets in to the tournament.

Lists of CHL titles, including WHL titles, OHL titles, and QMJHL titles…
MEMORIAL CUP CHAMPIONS‘ (tsn.ca).
List of Memorial Cup champions‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
WHL titles, ‘Ed Chynoweth Cup‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
OHL titles, ‘J. Ross Robertson Cup‘ (en.wikipedia.org).
QMJHL tirles, ‘President’s Cup (QMJHL)‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

List of CHL franchise post-season droughts‘ (en.wikipedia.org).

    The 3 highest-drawing teams in Canadian Junior Hockey – the Quebec Remparts, the London Knights, and the Calgary Hitmen.

Quebec Remparts. The original Quebec Remparts were a QMJHL team that played from 1969-70 to 1984-85, and were initially a very successful team. The Remparts were eastern Canadian champions in 1970–71. It was this team, which featured future Hockey Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur, that won a Memorial Cup title in 1971. The team also won the QMJHL title (called the President’s Cup) 5 times.

The present-day Quebec Remparts’ franchise was originally located in the Quebec City suburb of Beauport and were a QMJHL team called the Beauport Harfangs, who played in a 2,000 seat arena in Beauport. That was in the 1990-91 to 1996-97 time period. In 1995, the former-WHA-and-NHL team the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver, Colorado, USA (becoming the Colorado Avalanche) and left the citizens of Quebec City without a pro hockey team to support. Two years later the Beauport Harfangs moved from the eastern suburbs a few kilometers west to Quebec City proper, into the Nordiques’ old arena, the Colisée de Québec, a 15,176-capacity arena built in 1949 which is now called the Colisée Pepsi. So the Quebec Remparts inherited the Nordiques’ arena. But it took a while for the Quebec Remparts to inherit the Nordiques’ fan base, because when the Beauport Harfangs first moved to downtown Quebec City and became the Quebec Remparts (II),, they were only drawing in the mid-2,000-per game range. By 2001-02 the Remparts were averaging 3,349 per game. By 2003-04 the Remparts were averaging 5,932 per game. Two seasons later, in 2005-06, the Remparts drew 8,603 per game and surpassed the Halifax Mooseheads as the highest-drawing QMJHL team. The Quebec Remparts have been drawing above 10,000 per game since 2006-07 and they reached their peak attendance in 2009-10, drawing an astounding 12,089 per game. Twelve thousand per game to watch junior hockey! Quebec City is the 7th-largest metropolitan area in Canada and has a metro population of around 765,000 {2011 figure}. Quebec City might be, from a purely mathematical viewpoint, viewed as too small a city to support a major league sports franchise. But that pure numbers viewpoint fails to factor in Canadian hockey culture, and anyway, Winnipeg is slightly smaller than Quebec City and the Winnipeg Jets (II) had no trouble at all selling out their NHL games in their first season in 2011-12. If a junior hockey team in Quebec City can draw over 10,000 per game for several years in a row now, then Quebec City can surely fill their arena for an NHL team if and hopefully when the NHL finally puts a team back where it belongs in Quebec City. The name ‘Remparts’ means curtain walls in French, and is a nod to the history of the city – the ramparts surrounding Old Quebec are the only remaining fortified city walls that still exist in Canada or in the USA. The current head coach and general manager of the Quebec Remparts is 2006 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Patrick Roy, the great goaltender who won Stanley Cup titles with the Montreal Canadians and the Colorado Avalanche. 37 former Quebec Remparts players from the first incarnation of the team played in the NHL, including Hockey Hall of Famers Guy Lafluer and Michel Goulet. 19 former Beauport Harfangs/Quebec Remparts (II) players have played in the NHL, including LA Kings’ Cup-winner and left-winger Simon Gagné.
The Quebec Remparts averaged 10,525 per game in 2011-12.
quebec-city_quebec-remparts_colisee-pepsi_.gif
Photo credits above – gocanada.about.com
Jean Chiasson at pbase.com.

London Knights. Established in 1965. This was in the era when some junior hockey teams in Canada were affiliated with NHL teams as farm teams, and before the OHL existed [NHL-team-sponsorship of Canadian junior hockey teams ended in 1967-68; and the OHL was established in 1968-69]. The London Nationals, est. 1965 were owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs for their first 3 seasons, and sported a variation of the Leafs’ logo {see it here (en.wikipedia.org)}. In 1968 the franchise was sold and the teams’ colors became green and gold and their name was changed to the London Knights. The Knights’ name was submitted by a London, Ontario native named Brian Logie and was the winner of the team’s name-the-team contest. The London Knights played at the London Gardens (later called the Ice House), a 5,075-seat arena that was built in 1963 and was the Nationals/Knights’ home from 1965 to 2002. Then in 2002, the London Knights moved into their current home, the 9,100-seat John Labatt Centre, usually referred to as the “JLC”. The name was changed to Budweiser Gardens in 2012, but some folks and media outlets, like the site that posted the photo from the 2012 OHL finals (below) still call it the Labatt Centre (nativist impulse). The London Knights are owned by NHL veterans Dale Hunter and Mark Hunter. Dale was head coach until being hired by the Washington Capitals as head coach in Nov. 2011; while his brother Mark has been the general manager of the Knights and is now the head coach as well. An impressive 158 former London Nationals/London Knights players have played in the WHA and/or the NHL. There are 2 former London Knights players in the Hockey Hall of Fame – Leafs’ great center Daryl Sittler (on London from 1967-70) and North Stars and Capitals right-winger Dino Ciccarelli (on London from 1976-80). Another notable London Knight player in recent times was 3-time Cup winner at Detroit, the Red Wings’ right-winger Brendan Shanahan (who played for the London Knights from 1985-87). A notable present-day NHL player who played for the London Knights is Anaheim Ducks’ right-winger Corey Perry, who played for the Knights from 2001-04. Corey Perry, who won the Cup with the Ducks in 2007, is also the all-time leading scorer of the London Knights. Blackhawks’ scoring machine and 2010 Cup-winner, the American-born Patrick Kane, also played for the London Knights (in 2006-07). So did another US-born player, Islanders’ centre John Tavares (in 2008-09). Those last three players mentioned, along with Daryl Sittler, Brendan Shanahan, and Columbus Blue Jackets’ right-winger Rick Nash, are among the 21 London Knights players who were selected in the 1st round of the NHL draft.
[Note- there is another illustration and more team/city info for the London Knights further down in this post in the next section at 5th-highest percent-capacity].
The London Knights averaged 8,525 per game in 2011-12.
london-knights_2012-ohl-champions_.gif
Photo credits above -
123rf.com.
Adam Colvin at en.wikipedia.org

Calgary Hitmen. Established in 1994, the team has been owned by the NHL’s Calgary Flames since 1997. Like the Flames, the Calgary Hitmen play their home games at the Saddledome, which was opened in 1983 and which has a capacity of 19,289 seated. Bret “The Hitman” Hart, a local-born professional wrestler, was in the original ownership group of the Calgary Hitmen and was the inspiration for the team’s name. Calgary, Alberta is the fifth-largest metro area in Canada (Calgary metro population is 1.2 million {2011 figure}). Since 2005-06 the Calgary Flames have been playing to sell-out crowds of 19,289, and for the last 8 seasons the Calgary Hitmen have been averaging over 7,000 per game, with a peak of 10,061 per game in 2004-05. In other words, Calgary really supports their hockey teams. 36 Calgary Hitmen player have gone on to play in the NHL. Two Hitmen alumni have won Stanley Cup titles – Andrew Ladd has gone on to win two Stanley Cup titles since playing for the Hitmen: with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. His former Hitmen teammate, Ryan Getzlaf won the Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. The Calgary Hitmen have won 1 WHL title (in 1999).

The Calgary Hitmen averaged 7,428 per game in 2011-12.
calgary-hitmen_saddledome_h.gif
Photo credits above –
Gorgo at en.wikipedia.org.
visitcalgary.com.

    The teams that fill their arenas the best – the 10 WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams with the highest percent-capacity figures in Canadian Junior Hockey.
    The Kelowna Rockets – highest percent-capacity in Canadian Junior Hockey at 101.0%-capacity.

1. at 101.0%-capacity (and 6,072 per game), the Kelowna Rockets (WHL). Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Kelowna, BC metro population is around 173,000 {2011 figure}. Kelowna, BC is 273 km. (169 mi.) east of Vancouver, BC. Kelowna Rockets (WHL) est. 1991. 36 former Kelowna Rockets players have played in the NHL. Kelowna Rockets, 3 WHL titles (last in 2009). 1 CHL Memorial Cup title (in 2004).
kelowna-rockets_canadian-hockey-league_whll_best-percent-capacity_kelowna-bc_k.gif
Image and photo credits above -
kelowna.ca.
reginapatsalumni.net/2010_07_01_archive.html.
Aidan Rice at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prosperaplace.
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/newsandevents/publications/publications/soolocks-saultste-marie/aerialpicture2/.


2. at 100.9%-capacity (and 6,236 per game) the Kitchener Rangers (OHL). Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Kitchener-Waterloo, ON metro population is around 477,000 {2011 figure}. Kitchener, ON is 90 km. (56 mi.) north-west of Toronto, ON. Kitchener Rangers (OHL) est. 1963. The Kitchener Rangers played to standing-room-only last season [2011-12], and the city of Kitchener (the arena’s owner) expanded the arena by 973 seats during the off-season to a 7,241 seated capacity [Note: thanks to commenter Chris (see comment #3 below) for pointing this out to me]. The city of Kitchener hopes to soon build a new arena with a capacity of 10,000 or so. The Kitchener Rangers are a publicly owned hockey team, governed by a 40-person Board of Directors made up of season ticket subscribers. Former Kitchener Rangers players include Hall of Famers Scott Stevens, Bill Barber, Paul Coffey, Larry Robinson and Al MacInnis. 136 former Kitchener Rangers players have played in the National Hockey League. Kitchener Rangers, 4 OHL titles (last in 2008). 2 CHL Memorial Cup titles (in 1982 and in 2004).
kitchener-rangers_kitchener-memorial-auditorium-complex_e.gif
Photo credits above -
Jenn Wilson Photography via kitchener.cityseekr.com.
In midst of NHL absence, local talent shines‘ (theimprint.ca).


3. at 100.6%-capacity (and 2,817 per game), the Niagara Ice Dogs (OHL). St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada. St. Catherines, ON metro population is around 392,000 {2011 figure}. St. Catherines, ON is 56 km. (34 mi.) east of Hamilton, ON. Niagara Ice Dogs (OHL) est. 1998. There are 4 former Ice Dogs players who have played in the NHL including 22-year-old Blues’ defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who played full seasons for St. Louis in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
niagara-ice-dogs_st-catherines-ontario_d.gif
Photo credits above –
my.opera.com.
mrc.ca/mrc_projects.
Ryanz4 at en.wikipedia.org
stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/gatorade-garden-city-complex.
Bob Tymczyszyn/St. Catherines Standard at stcatharinesstandard.ca/2011/11/28/city-staff-recommend-new-spectator-facility-and-ice-rink-read-report.


4. at 100.0%-capacity (and 4,006 per game), the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL). Medicine Hat, Alberta Canada. Medicine Hat, AB population is around 60,000 {2011 figure}. Medicine Hat, AB is 267 km. (166 mi.) south of Calgary, AB. Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) est. 1970. 99 former Medicine Hat players have played in the NHL, including southern-Alberta-born right-winger Lanny MacDonald, who played for Medicine Hat from 1971-73 (see photo of his banner in the Tigers’ arena, below) and who went on to play 16 seasons in the NHL with Toronto, Colorado, and Calgary, finishing of in 1989 as captain of the Stanley Cup winning 1988-89 Calgary Flames. MacDonald was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. Medicine Hat Tigers, 5 WHL titles (last in 2007). 2 CHL Memorial Cup titles (in 1987 and 1988).
medicine-hat-tigers_f.gif
Photo credits above –
activerain.com/overview-of-medicine-hat-alberta.
sportsroadtrips.blogspot.com/2012/02/brandon-wheat-kings-2-at-medicine-hat.html.
ohlarenaguide.com.


5. at 97.3%-capacity (and 8,859 per game), the London Knights (OHL). London, Ontario, Canada. London, ON metro population is around 474,000 {2011 figure}. London, ON is 166 km. (103 mi.) west of Toronto, ON. London, ON is also 166 km. (103 mi.) east of Detroit, MI, USA. London Knights (OHL) est. 1965. London Knights, 2 OHL titles (last in 2012). 1 CHL Memorial Cup title (in 2005).
london-knights_budweiser-gardens_m.gif
Image and photo credits above -
penguins.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=642843.
Go Knights Go!!‘, photo by Dude with a Canon at flickr.com.
London Knights logos, http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/369/London_Knights/.


6. at 96.0%-capacity (and 2,976 per game), the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL). Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. Boisbriand, QC is 22 km. (13 mi.) north-west of Montreal, QC and is an off-island suburb of Montreal. Boisbriand, QC has a population of around 23,000 and is part of Greater Montreal [metro population, 3.8 million {2011 figures}]. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL) est. 2011 (when the Verdun, Montreall-based QMJHL franchise named Montreal Junior Hockey Club moved about 28 km. north-west to become the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada).
blainville-boisbriand-armada_centre-d-excellence-sports-rousseau_f.gif
Photo credits above -
Quevillon at .flickr.com.


7. at 88.1%-capacity (and 2,283 per game), the Prince Albert Raiders (WHL). Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. Prince Albert, SK population is around 42,000 {2011 figure}. Prince Albert, SK is 515 km. (320 mi.) east of Edmonton, AB. Prince Albert, SK is 306 km. (190 mi.) north of Regina, SK. Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) est. 1982. 56 former Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) players have played in the NHL, including future-Hall of Famer and 5-time All-Star and 1999 Stanley Cup winner (with Dallas) Mike Modano, the longtime centre for the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars. Modano is from Michigan, and has the NHL record for the most goals by a player born in the United States, with 561 goals. Circa 1986-89, Modano simultaneously played for an elite midgets team in Michigan called Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, while also playing in the WHL for the Prince Albert Raiders (1986-89). That era was right after Prince Albert won their only national title in 1985. Modano was drafted #1 by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988 (one of only 5 Americans to do so). Prince Albert Raiders, 1 WHL title (in 1985). 1 CHL Memorial Cup title (in 1985).
prince-albert-raiders_northern-saskatchewan_d.gif
Photo credits above -
ca.epodunk.com.
raiderhockey.com/article/raiders-host-4th-annual-raider-day.


8. at 87.5%-capacity (and 4,375 per game), the Soo Greyhounds (OHL). Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario , Canada. Sault Ste. Marie, ON population is around 79,000 {2011 figure}. Sault Ste. Marie, ON is 498 km. (309 mi.) north-west of Toronto, ON. Sault Ste. Marie, ON is 470 km. (292 mi.) north of Detriot, MI, USA. Soo Greyhounds (OHL) est. 1962. There are 6 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame that have played for a team known as the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. New York Rangers legends Bill Cook and Bun Cook played for the Greyhounds of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) from 1921–25, and were instrumental in helping the Rangers win their first Stanley Cup title in 1928. Canadiens’ and Black Hawks’ goaltender Tony Esposito played for the Greyhounds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) in 1962–63, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. 31 Soo Greyhounds from the first era played in the NHL [1919 to 1945, 1949 to 1958 (NOHA )]. 5 Soo Greyhounds from the 1960s-early 1970s time period played in the NHL, including Jerry Korab and Ivan Boldirev [1962 to 1972 (NOJHL)]. The present-day Soo Greyhoinds’ franchise dates back to 1962 (see last sentence). That Soo Greyhounds team switched leagues after the 1971-72 season and joined the precursor-league to the present-day OHL in 1972. Since 1972, 86 former Soo Greyhounds players have played in the NHL [1972 to present (OHA / OMJHL / OHL)]. Wayne Grezsky is one of these Greyhounds alumni. The Great One played for the Soo Greyhounds in 1977-78 as a 16-year old and broke the league scoring record with 70 goals and 112 assists for 182 points in 64 games (2.84 pts. per game). Gretzky then went on to the short-lived Indianapolis Racers of the WHA (because the NHL did not allow the drafting of teen-aged players back then). After the briefest of spells at Indianapolis (8 games), Gretzky was sold to the WHA’s Edmonton Oilers in late 1978 and the rest was history, including winning 4 Stanley Cup titles with Edmonton and becoming the all-time NHL points leader (with 2,957 points in 20 NHL seasons). The Soo Greyhounds of the 1972-to-present era have three former players in the Hockey Hall of Fame – Wayne Gretzky (a 1999 Hall of Fame inductee), Paul Coffey (in 2004), and Ron Francis (in 2007). In total, spanning 87 seasons, 123 Soo Greyhounds players have made it to the NHL. Soo Greyhounds, 3 OHL titles (last in 1992). 1 CHL Memorial Cup title (in 1993).
soo-greyhounds_sault-ste-marie-ontario_m.gif
Photo credits above -
lre.usace.army.mil/newsandevents/publications/publications/soolocks-saultste-marie/aerialpicture2/.
http://www.ohlarenaguide.com/greyhounds.htm.


9. at 86.3%-capacity (and 5,613 per game) the Windsor Spitfires (OHL). Windsor, Ontario. Windsor, ON metro population is around 319,000 {2011 figure}. Windsor, ON is across the Detroit River from Detroit, MI, USA (6 km. east of Detroit). Windsor, ON is 329 km. (204 mi.) west of Toronto, ON. Windsor Spitfires (OHL) est. 1975. 96 former Windsor players have played in the NHL. Windsor Spitfires, 3 OHL titles (last in 2010). 2 CHL Memorial Cups (in 2009 and 2010).
windsor-spitfires_wfcu-stadium_e.gif
Photo credits above -
os2voice.org.
robsarenatour.com.


10. at 84.0%-capacity (and 3,752 per game), the Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL). Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. Moose Jaw, SK metro population is around 35,000 {2011 figure}. Moose Jaw, SK is 605 km. (376 mi.) east of Calgary; and it is 66 km. (41 mi.) west of Regina, SK. Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) est. 1980. 42 former Moose Jaw Warriors players have played in the NHL, including 1989 Flames’ Cup-winning pocket-dynamo right-winger and fan favorite Theo Fleury, an Oxbow, Saskatchewan native.
moose-jaw_warriors_mosaic-place_d.gif
Photo credits above –
bcrealestateconvention.com.
ibackpackcanada.com.
voicevicroyals.blogspot.com/2012/01/preview-victoria-at-moose-jaw.html.

Here is a great site – OHL Arena Guide.com, http://www.ohlarenaguide.com/.

___
Thanks very much to Hans Hornstein’s Hockey Attendance Page at www.mib.org/~lennier/hockey/leagueatt.cgi.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Canadian Hockey League‘.

September 25, 2010

Canadian Hockey League, with all WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams); reigning champions listed; and 2009-10 attendances.

Filed under: Canada,Hockey — admin @ 4:17 pm

Please note: I have made a more “recent” map-and-illustrated-post of the CHL that I am guessing would be more enjoyable to read than this one (seeing as how it shows a more updated map and is chock-full of illustrations on teams and their arenas and hometowns). Click on the following link for that,
Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities, and the Shawingan Cataractes – the 2012 CHL Memorial Cup winners.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
canadian-hockey-league_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_2e.gif

Canadian Hockey League


I made this map because a viewer asked for a map of all 3 CHL leagues on one map, here (40th comment). At first, I didn’t think I would be able to fit in team logos, because there are so many teams in a relatively small area in southern Ontario Province. I solved that problem by including an enlarged map segment of that region at the lower left of the map page.

The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella-organization for the 3 Canadian major junior hockey leagues, the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The leagues are the top echelon of junior hockey on Canada and are for players aged 16 to 20 years old (there can exceptions made for young phenoms being allowed to play, but this has happened just once since the CHL implemented the 16 year old minimum-age rule a few years ago…that player was New York Islander and 2009 #1 draftee John Tavares, who was allowed to play when he was 15). Each team has a European player allotment of 2 players. [see this: {Junior hockey page from en.wikipedia.org}].There are 60 teams in the CHL, with 22 teams in the WHL, 20 teams in the OHL, and 18 teams in the QMJHL.

There are 51 Canadian-based teams in the CHL, and 9 teams in the CHL that are based in the United States. The 5 American-based teams in the WHL are from Everett, Washington; Seattle, Washington; Kennewick/Pasco/Richland, Washington; Spokane, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. The 3 American-based teams in the OHL are from Saginaw, Michigan; Plymouth Township, Michigan; and Erie, Pennsylvania. The one American-based team in the QMJHL is from Lewiston, Maine.

There is no inter-league play between the 3 leagues except for the Memorial Cup competition, which is played each May at a different site, and is a round robin tournament made up of the 3 league champions and a fourth team which is the team from the host city. In 2010, Brandon, Manitoba was the host city, meaning that the Brandon Wheat Kings squared off against the WHL-champion Calgary Hitmen, the OHL-champion Windsor Spitfires, and the QMJHL-champion Moncton Wildcats. In the final, Windsor demolished Brandon 9 to 1, and so the Windsor Spitfires were Memorial Cup winners for the second straight season.

One player on that twice-champion Windsor team was the #1 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Kingston, Ontario-born LW Taylor Hall, who was selected by the Edmonton Oilers. [2010 NHL Entry Draft, here (en.wikipedia.org).]

So I know a few of you are asking, “what do CHL players get paid?”. Well, they get paid a per deim, or basically meal money, which amounts to around $70 to $100 a week; and the families that some players are staying at [ie, being billeted at] get a little money. And, significantly, the players get full college scholarships to Canadian universities (players get a year’s tuition paid for each season they play in the CHL). The NCAA considers the CHL a “pro league”, so players have to decide at a pretty young age (14-15 years old) if they are going to play in the NCAA hockey system or the Candadian Hockey League. Because if they play in the CHL and then decide they do want to play in American college hockey, they will not be allowed to get a scholarship, because the NCAA considers that miniscule meal money to be payment as a professional. From this thread at the HF Boards, it is evident that some of the top prospects in the CHL are getting more than that meal money, though, and are being paid under the table {see entries 11 through 16, here, at ‘How much do juniors make in OHL, etc?’ thread from May, 2008 @ hfboards.com}. Entry #13 names names, and of the 5 OHL teams that the poster names, London, Kitchener, Windsor, Brampton, and Ottawa, four of those teams are in the top eight highest-drawing teams in the CHL (Brampton is the exception). So you can see how luring top-shelf players with some under the table payments has become a part of some higher-drawing teams’ business strategy. Why it isn’t being punished might be explained by the following link below.

There might be a reason all this under-the-table paying of exceptional players is being turned a blind eye by Canadian authorities…and that is the fact that the major junior leagues in Canada are competing with American universities for players. See this article from the PipelineShow.blogspot.com, from December 15, 2009, by Dean Willard, ‘[Executive Director with College Hockey, Inc.'s] Paul Kelly: CHL teams are paying players under the table‘. Kelly accuses CHL teams of targeting American players for the under the table pay arrangements.

I got the 2009-10 attendance figures from this site, http://www.mib.org/~lennier/hockey/ (Han’s Hornstein’s Hockey Attendance, Schedules, and Standings Pages).
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, Canadian Hockey League.
Official site, http;//www.chl.ca
Western Hockey League, http://www.whl.ca/
Ontario Hockey League, http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/
Ligue de Hockey Junior Majeur du Québec [Quebec Major Junior Hockey League], http://www.lhjmq.qc.ca/

June 30, 2010

Canadian Football League: with stadium photos, 2009 attendances, and 2009 uniforms.

Filed under: Canada,Canadian Football League — admin @ 12:06 pm

canadian-football-league2010_post.gif



Note: click on the following link for my most recent [2015] map & post on the CFL,
Canadian Football League: CFL location-map for 2015, with 2014 attendances, percent-capacities, and titles-listed-by-team./ Plus illustrations for the 3 new stadiums in the CFL (Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg).

Official CFL site (www.cfl.ca).
2010 CFL season, including images of 2010 CFL retro uniforms (en.wikipedia.org).
For 2010, the CFL season will once again start on the national holiday of Canada Day, on July 1st.
The 2009 Grey Cup finalists…reigning champions the Montreal Alouettes, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, will play in Regina, Saskatchewan; and the Calgary Stampeders will host the Toronto Argonauts. {CFL schedule, here}.
-
The 2009 CFL season saw a nail-biting finish. In the 2009 Grey Cup, the Montreal Alouettes snatched a last second, 14-point come-from-behind-victory, from the out-coached Saskatchewan Roughriders. I can see why Montreal head coach Marc Trestman’s name has been mentioned as a possible NFL head coaching hire…the Alouettes methodically pared down the Roughriders’ lead, and positioned themselves for a field goal as the clock ran down. Right before that, Saskatchewan couldn’t run the clock down, with 2 lame up the middle runs that failed to get that crucial final first down. Montreal got the ball back and moved right down the field. Their first field goal attempt was actually missed, but Saskatchewan was penalized for having too many men on the field, and Montreal got a second shot and won it wih a 32-yard FG. Montreal running back Avon Cobourne was named MVP.
-
The map and chart shows all the 2009 uniforms of the 8 CFL teams (including 1960s-themed throwback uniforms), as well as average attendances, plus 3 or 4 photos of each team’s stadium.
-
Here is an article from Sports Business daily.com, from last November
Turnstile Tracker: CFL Attendance Down Slightly From ’08.
The fact that attendance was down slightly should not distract one from the fact that there are real success stories in the CFL. Three of the eight teams played to capacity last season…the Calgary Stampeders, the Montreal Alouettes, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. True, Montreal was playing in a 20,000-seat stadium, but the team has just expanded the facility by 4,800. [You can see the new stand in the middle photo in Montreal's section on the map page (the photo is from the July 27th game v. Toronto). And the photo on the right is a Bing.com Bird's Eye satellite view that shows the stand from earlier in 2010 when construction was still ongoing.]

Calgary and Edmonton also upgraded their stadia, and the BC Lions are putting a retractable roof on BC Place (for a 2011 re-opening). Also, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be moving into a new stadium at the University of Manitoba in 2012. Hamilton and Saskatchewan are considering new stadiums as well, and there is the new Ottawa franchise slated for 2013. And the September 25, 2010 CFL game to be played in Moncton, New Brunswick’s new stadium sold out in less than 48 hours {‘CFL game in Moncton a sell out‘ {CBC.ca)}.

Frankly, the dead weight in the CFL is the team from Canada’s largest city…the Toronto Argonauts. It seems that the Canadian Football League is just too, well, provincial, for the refined tastes of the people of Toronto. Toronto is a city with a metro area population of around 5.1 million {2006 figure}. Many people from Toronto believe they live in a world-class city and thus deserve things like a Major League Baseball team (which has been poorly supported for over a decade, now, with the fifth-worst average attendance as of June 30th, 2010 {see this}, as well as an NFL franchise (which would mean they would steal the Buffalo Bills from the fans that make up the Bills’ very solid fan base in western New York). I think there are very many sports fans in Toronto who feel the Canadian Football League is beneath them. The Toronto Argonauts drew 26,374 per game last season, which is horrible when you take into account the fact that Toronto is over 9 times the size of cities like Hamilton and Winnipeg, and more than 25 times the size of Regina. [List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada, from en.wikipedia.org.]
-
My mom was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, so I can’t resist linking up to this article by Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive lineman Kelly Bates, from the CFL.ca website, ‘Have to love that Rider pride‘ (June 30,2010).
-
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org Canadian Football League.
Thanks to Geology.com Canada Physical Map.
Thanks to the brilliant MG’s Helmets.comMG’s Helmets. Last year, this site was the only place I could find images of the circa-1960s-throwback helmets that all the CFL teams sported in week 3. PS, this season, the CFL teams will have throwback uniforms from the 1970s, during weeks 6 and 7…see this, from the official CFL site, ‘Kicking off 2010 schedule with momentum’.

July 1, 2009

Canadian Football League, 2009.

Filed under: Canada,Canadian Football League — admin @ 4:50 am

canadian-football-league2009_post.gif


Defending CFL champions are the Calgary Stampeders,  who beat the Montreal Alouettes, 22-14,  in the 96th Grey Cup at Olympic Stadium in Montreal,  on November 23, 2008.  It was the Stampeders’ 6th Grey Cup Title,  and their first since 2001.  This season’s Grey Cup will be played at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium,  on November 29th.

CFL page at TSN [Canadian Sports Network]  {click here}.

Calgary Stampeders 2009 preview at TheCanadianFootball LeagueReport.blogspot.com {click here}.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats 2009 preview {click here}.   Saskatchewan Roughriders 2009 preview {click here}.   [all the other teams' 2009 previews also at http://thecanadianfootballleague.blogspot.com/  ]  

The Canadian Football League’s 52nd season begins with Toronto at Hamilton,  and Montreal at Calgary, on July 1st,  which is a national holiday known as Canada Day (formerly Dominion Day),  and is the anniversary of the 1867 treaty {see this},  which united Canada into a single country of 4 provinces {see this map from the Atlas of Canada site}. 

Canada is now a federation comprised of 10 provinces and 3 territories. { See this map: Animation of the Territorial Evolution of Canada. }  The 10 provinces {see this from Wikipedia} are,  (from west to east):  British Columbia (1871),  Alberta (1905),  Saskatchewan (1905),  Manitoba (1870),  Ontario (1867),  Quebec (1867),  New Brunswick (1867),  Nova Scotia (1867),  Prince Edward Island (1873),  Newfoundland and Labrador (1949).   The 3 territories are (from west to east):  the Yukon Territory (1898),  the Northwest Territories (1870; partitioned in 1999),  Nunavut (1999) {see this].

Thanks to Geology.com {click here}, for the base map of Canada.  Thanks to MG’s Helmets {click here},  for the helmets.   Thanks to Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos Page {click here}.   Thanks to Logo Shak {click here}.   Thanks to this page, for the attendance figures {click here}.   Thanks to the contributors to the pages at Wikipedia (click here,  (set at Canadian Football League page)}.

Update: For the 1960′s-style rero helmets that the 8 teams are wearing for a few games…Thanks to MG’s Helmets {click here}.

« Newer PostsOlder Posts »

Powered by WordPress