Ontario Hockey League

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Ontario Hockey League

OHL All-Star Game 2006 Opening Face Off.
Game played in Belleville's Yardmen Arena.
February 1st, 2006.

The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.

In 1980, the Ontario Hockey League was born with the renaming of the "Ontario Major Junior Hockey League." Previously the OMJHL officially separated from the Ontario Hockey Association in 1974.

David Branch has been the only Commissioner of the OHL from this time. Since 1980 the league has grown rapidly into a high profile marketable product, with many games broadcast on television and radio.

There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; 17 are based in Ontario, 2 teams in Michigan and 1 team in Pennsylvania. The league is often referred to as the "O".

History

Current member teams

Schedule

2007-08 OHL season
Bell OHL All-Star Classic
OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup

Memorial Cup champions
Priority Selection
OHL Records
Trophies and awards
See also
External links

History

Junior age ice hockey in Ontario began in 1896, organized by the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). Since then it has undergone four major eras of distinction in levels of junior hockey. In 1933, the junior division was divided into two levels, junior A and junior B. In 1972 the upper level was divided into two more levels, Tier I and Tier II. In 1974 the "Major Junior A Tier I" portion of the OHA separated from the OHA and became the 'Ontario Major Junior Hockey League.' (OMJHL) In the 1980, the OMJHL became the "Ontario Hockey League."

Current member teams

Division	Team	City	Arena
Ontario Hockey League
Eastern Conference
East	Belleville Bulls	Belleville, Ontario, Canada	Yardmen Arena
	Kingston Frontenacs	Kingston, Ontario, Canada	K-Rock Centre
	Oshawa Generals	Oshawa, Ontario, Canada	General Motors Centre
	Ottawa 67's	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada	Ottawa Civic Centre
	Peterborough Petes	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada	Peterborough Memorial Centre
Central	Barrie Colts	Barrie, Ontario, Canada	Barrie Molson Centre
	Brampton Battalion	Brampton, Ontario, Canada	Powerade Centre
	Mississauga St. Michael's Majors	Mississauga, Ontario, Canada	Hershey Centre
	Niagara IceDogs	St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada	Gatorade Garden City Complex
	Sudbury Wolves	Sudbury, Ontario, Canada	Sudbury Community Arena
Western Conference
Division	Team	City	Arena
Midwest	Erie Otters	Erie, Pennsylvania, USA	Louis J. Tullio Arena
	Guelph Storm	Guelph, Ontario, Canada	Sleeman Centre
	Kitchener Rangers	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex
	London Knights	London, Ontario, Canada	John Labatt Centre
	Owen Sound Attack	Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada	Bayshore Community Centre
West	Plymouth Whalers	Plymouth, Michigan, USA	Compuware Arena
	Saginaw Spirit	Saginaw, Michigan, USA	The Dow Event Center
	Sarnia Sting	Sarnia, Ontario, Canada	Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre
	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada	Essar Centre
	Windsor Spitfires	Windsor, Ontario, Canada	Windsor Arena

A map of the OHL teams' home cities.

Schedule

The 20 OHL clubs play a 68 game unbalanced schedule, which starts in the third full week of September, running until the third week of March. Ninety per cent (90%) of OHL games are scheduled between Thursday and Sunday to minimize the number of school days missed for its players. Ninety-five per cent (95%) of the players in the league are attending high school or college.

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

2007-08 OHL season

The current OHL season commenced on September 19, 2007.

Bell OHL All-Star Classic

The 2008 OHL All-Star Classic will be played February 6, 2008, at the Steelback Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.

OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup

The J. Ross Robertson Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series. The Cup is named for John Ross Robertson, who was president of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1901 to 1905.

The OHL playoffs consist of the top 16 teams in the league, 8 from each conference. The teams play a best-of-7 game series, and the winner of each series advances to the next round. The final two teams eventually compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

The OHL champion then competes with the winners of the Western Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and the host of the tournament to play for the Memorial Cup, which is awarded to the junior hockey champions of Canada. The host team of the tournament is alternated between the three leagues every season. This year's tournament is hosted by the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL.

Memorial Cup champions

The Memorial Cup has been captured 12 times by OHL/OHA teams since the tournament went to a 3-league format in 1972:

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

Priority Selection

The Priority Selection was first conducted the summer before the 1974-75 OMJHL season. It has been conducted annually since then. It is a selection of players aged 16 and 17 years old who are residents of the province of Ontario, the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York, and other designated U.S. states.

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

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