Looking to keep you more informed on some of the happenings in the hockey world, we’ll be looking to update you on news and rumours from around junior hockey. While the majority of it will come from the CHL’s three leagues (OHL, WHL and QMJHL), this update will be open to any news pertaining to junior hockey.
With that, in today’s edition, we’ll look at the Peterborough Pete’s banner ceremony, an OHL goalie facing a tough recovery and one club that could be on the move.
Colin Campbell Honoured in Peterborough
Before he was with the NHL’s brass, Colin Campbell was a member of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes. On Saturday, the team honoured the current NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations by raising a banner to the rafters of the Memorial Centre donning his name.
Campbell played parts of 11 seasons in the NHL, but wore the Petes’ colours prior to making his jump to the big leagues. He was a part of the team’s 1972 Robertson Cup winning team and was one of many names to help the team to the championship win.
Campbell played three seasons as a defenceman for the Petes, racking up 14 goals and 95 points in 169 regular season games for the team. He wasn’t exactly a Lady Byng type player during his junior days either as he finished his Petes’ career with 507 penalty minutes – including a junior career-high 189 in his final season in Peterborough.
15 Years of Sea Dogs Hockey
Jumping over to the QMJHL, the Saint John Sea Dogs are celebrating their 15th season in the league. With that comes team milestones and the Sea Dogs were no exception this year.
On Friday, the team celebrated their 1,000th regular season game in the Quebec league. Over that time, the team has a winning record of 483-441-41-36 and has already made noise in the QMJHL.
Over that time, they have been crowned QMJHL champions three times (2011, 2012 and 2017) and won the Memorial Cup back in 2011. The team has graduated a number of NHL talents, including Jonathan Huberdeau, Mike Hoffman, Charlie Coyle and recent NHL draft pick Joe Veleno.
Unfortunately, the Sea Dogs with thrashed 8-2 in their 1,000th game in franchise history at the hands of the Cape Breton Eagles.
Tynan Undergoes Surgery
If you remember, earlier this season an OHL game was postponed between the Niagara IceDogs and London Knights after IceDogs’ goaltender Tucker Tynan was forced from the game following a scary incident that saw Tynan slashed by a skate blade to his thigh.
Tynan underwent surgery to repair the cut on Dec. 12, but had to undergo another procedure on Jan. 9 to make sure that the muscle was re-attaching properly, according to the IceDogs.
The cut was so severe that when it first happened, many feared for the 17-year-old’s life, including IceDogs general manager.
“There was a point in time last night that there was an option that he may have died on the ice due to loss of blood,” said GM Joey Burke.
That fortunately wasn’t the case, and it seems as though Tynan will make a full recovery following the most recent procedure.
Prior to the injury, Tynan had an 11-8-3-1 record with a 3.80 goals against average and .910 save percentage in 23 games as a rookie for the IceDogs.
Are the Bulldogs Out?
Hamilton’s OHL franchise could be on the move, which wouldn’t be the first time that the fans in the city have had to deal with losing a franchise. According to Hamilton Spectator columnist, Scott Radley, the Bulldogs could be headed out of town after the team’s owner – Michael Andlauer – says his proposed arena idea was killed by the city and staff.
Related: 2020 NHL Entry Draft Preview – OHL Prospects
According to an article released by Radley, “The proposed Lime Ridge Mall development would result in a significant amount of investment, assessment growth and net new taxes on the existing FirstOntario Centre and Lime Ridge sites. However, moving a major amenity such as an arena out of the downtown core could negatively impact the amount of investment that the City could expect to see in its downtown moving forward.” (from ‘Lime Ridge Mall arena decision predictable in a city blinded by its downtown’, Hamilton Spectator – 1/10/20)
The city has already seen the team go from the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL farm team to the Montreal Canadiens AHL farm team to taking a step down in levels to an OHL franchise. While they have had some success, including a run after acquiring Robert Thomas a couple of years ago, Hamilton could be bracing yet again for a change in their beloved hockey team – or a potential move.
