1983 CIHA Off-season

 AQHL Expansion Draft

The Charlottetown Greens made an impact with their expansion draft, as they took a player from each team except two teams, Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds and Val-d’Or Monarchs, as they joined the AQHL last season. The Greens select players drafted between the 1980’s and 1981s, hoping for a good first-season result without finishing last place. Here are the top 5 picks made by the Greens

1. Roy Messier, F (Manchester)
2. John Orlando, D (Shawinigan)
3. Roman Klatt, G (New Glasgow)
4. Glenn Pageau, F (Trois-Rivieres)
5. Lou Baillargeon, F (Drummondville)

1983 AQHL Draft

The players from the East Coast being in the draft weren’t vital to many team minds; not a lot of high goals nor savings against average to make the first round worth getting hyped up for, but that doesn’t stop from giving everyone surprises. The Firebirds made a pick that many questions everyone as they took Daniel Aalto, a forward from Finland who caught GM Scott Cournoyer's eyes from a youth summer hockey event in Sweden while on vacation a year ago; Daniel has the skill to play both offence and defence playing center and could give them a better result. Meanwhile, Sweden forward Mathieu Burakovsky was drafted by the Monarchs to give the offence the boost they needed. On the third pick, Cape Breton takes Curt Holik from Bilovec, Czechoslovakia. That pick would be something that head coach Lenny Copeland can work with after the 1982-83 season when the defence was very poor and one of the reasons the Warriors had the worst goals against average. Drummondville and Laval drafted top players from each other's territories, which was not the first time both did that, but those times from the past were in the second and third rounds. This rival could get ugly soon down the road. The dark horse of the draft was the Fredericton Vikings as they took hometown local Ted Savage, who plays defence very well, just like his father Jack Savage Jr., who retired two years ago after playing 12 seasons in the pros.

1. Rouyn-Noranda – Daniel Aalto, F (Lappeenranta, Finland)
2. Val-d’Or – Mathieu Burakovsky, F (Umea, Sweden)
3. Cape Breton – Curt Holik, D (Bilovec, Czechoslovakia) 
4. Trois-Rivieres – Dale Holst, G (Trois-Rivieres, Que)
5. Drummondville – Ed Mellanby, F (Laval, Que)
6. Laval – Tom Meighan, D (Drummondville, Que)
7. New Glasgow – Stan Giffin, D (Chatham, NB)
8. Cape Breton (from Verdun) – Matthew Dandenault, F (Verden, Que)
9. Portland – M.J. Daigneault, F (Bathurst, NB)
10. Manchester – Mike Saunders, G (Concord, NH)
11. Laval Tigers (from Shawinigan) – Ollie Sarault, F (Drummondville, Que)
12. Fredericton – Ted Savage, D (Fredericton, NB)
13. Sherbrooke – Miro Sandstrom, F (Vaasa, Finland)
14. Moncton – Kurt Dresden, F (Charlottetown, PEI)

1983 OMJHA Draft

Many teams made deals upon deals, but in the end, the Kitchener Generals kept their first pick, and they picked Lenny Stone, a forward from Sudbury who had a hot streak in the Junior Bs, scoring 40 goals and led his Sudbury Jr.B team to a championship win. "That is the player we need for our roster." Generals owner Todd Holmes said at the draft press conference. Oshawa Gems has a lot of work cut out, mainly losing some good core defences in their roster; what better way to rebuild it than to select a goalie, Shawn Bedard, who had 30 wins and 10 shutouts last season in the Jr.Bs. With the future in a dark place, the Orillia Lakers push forward by drafting a forward named Andy Ivan, a well-sharped playmaker who can give the Lakers the need to win lots of games.

1. Kitchener – Lenny Stone, F (Sudbury, On)
2. Oshawa – Shawn Bedard, G (Brantford, On)
3. Orillia – Andy Ivan, F (Cobourg, On)
4. Peterborough – Nick Canton, F (Peterborough, On)
5. Brantford – George Iafrate, D (Kingston, On)
6. Orangeville – Sam Gilbert, G (Ottawa, On)
7. Toronto Hornets – John Getliffe, F (Rochester, NY)
8. Owen Sound – Mike Farly, F (Burlington, On)
9. Milton – Frank Daley, F (St. Catharines, On)
10. Barrie – Will Colborne, D (Lockport, NY)
11. Toronto Neon – Kenny Barkersons, F (Guelph, On)
12. Waterloo – Nick Hope, D (North Bay, On)
13. Oakville – Warren Burk, F (Toronto, On)
14. Buffalo – Paul Akron, D (Buffalo, NY)

1983 WCLH Draft

This year's draft for the WCLH was a tough one, with many reporters scratching their heads. It was one of many gambles they could pull off. The Saskatoon Cats drafted a forward, which many believed was that they were supposed to draft a defenceman, but it did not happen; that forward they drafted is J.J. Orcas, a playmaker powerhouse who made a name for himself in the Manitoba Jr.B league and let his Steinbach Jr.B club to a perfect season and a third championship in a row. Unhappy with the Cats' pick, the Brandon Buffalos selected defence Herb Von Edwards, a big-time enforcer with a season-high 75 PIM, but he can also score goals. The Nanaimo Sharks select a player around their area more by taking forward Ben Goff, a Vancouver native who scored 56 goals at Jr.B level last season and helped his North Vancouver Jr.B club a first-place finish and a championship.

1. Saskatoon – J.J. Orcas, F (Neepawa, MB)
2. Brandon – Herb Von Edwards, D (Regina, SK)
3. Nanaimo – Ben Goff, F (Vancouver, B.C.) 
4. Surrey – P.J. McLister, F (Victoria, B.C.)
5. Kenora – Mike Robert, G (Edmonton, AB)
6. Chilliwack – Steve Comrie, F (Kelowna, B.C.)
7. Moose Jaw – Randy Redden, D (Prince Albert, SK)
8. Fargo – Lionel Knipscheer, F (Bismarck, ND)
9. Surrey (from Abbotsford) – Peter Wickenheiser, G (Spokane, WA)
10. Medicine Hat – Leon White, D (Winnipeg, MB)
11. Billings – Luke MacIsaac, D (Kelowna, B.C.)
12. Portage la Prairie – James McDougall, F (Bemidji, MN)
13. Swift Current – Lenny Folk, F (Swift Current, SK)
14. Saskatoon (from Lethbridge) – Harold Richmond, G (Calgary, AB)

News

With many issues going on in the OMJHA, the Valor Cup committee pushed on, and with a close vote between two cities, the Buffalo Bees were named host of the 1984 Valor Cup Tournament over Orangeville. Bees GM Ryan Byron Jr. made a statement about it. “Within the Bees organization, including my father, Ryan Byron Sr., we are honoured to be the first American junior hockey team to host this wonderful event as we will be ready for any team to represent their league as champions.”

With Lethbridge doing the unthinkable and going perfect, there are talks that all three leagues may add 10 more games to a season; initially, the increase of games from 50 to 60 came to full fruition at the 1985-86 season for the CIHA’s 15th anniversary; however, if another perfect season happens again, the increase of games could happen sooner and could be more than 60.


There was no big news on the AQHL side, but one small news was that they could add Saint John, NB, to the league. Currently, the town has an AA minor-pro hockey club under the Halifax minor-pro, which is the Quebec pro hockey club’s affiliate team. Talks are that the Quebec Pro club could buy the Saint John team and move them elsewhere. If that happens, the AQHL could get the town on board.

Meanwhile, the Moncton Bears are putting their name on the ballot to host the 1985 CIHA Valor Cup tournament; however, Trois-Rivieres, Drummondville, Laval, Rouyn-Noranda, and Val-d’Or are also in the bid to host the event.

The Shawinigan Voltages failed to meet the city's bid for a new arena; some said the owner was playing hardball with the city, and others claimed Pierre Leflar had a gambling problem that cost him his chance to build an arena sooner. Whatever the case, Paul Name is investigating Leflar because many other owners have complained to Paul about the issues.


In the Aftermath of the court battle, the Kitchener Generals got the rights to all histories of the Legionnaires without paying any money to John Rupert, leaving him almost broke. Bitter with this, John Rupert said, “One day I’ll be back to this league, and when I do, Todd Holmes will be wishing that he should never steal this team away, not just from me but the community of Kitchener.”

For the second season in a row, the OMJHA lost another team. To make things worse, next season, they could witness a third team fold as the Orillia Lakers have a hard time with the attendance, but more so, team owner Tim O’Connor had no plans to stay in Orillia long term. His plan is to relocate the team to Belleville, Ontario, but one problem is there is a minor-pro hockey team playing there, and they are the Ottawa Pro Hockey affiliate team; there are talks that Ottawa could relocate the team from Belleville to Hull, Quebec if it goes according to plan we could see the Lakers moving, if not the team will fold.

The only good news in the OMJHA is that the Waterloo Maroons got the approval from the city of Waterloo to build a new arena. This new arena will have four rinks: one is the main rink, and the three others are used for practices and small league hockey games. The new arena will open its doors for the 1985-86 season.


In the light of a tragedy that ended Moose Jaw Wings Paul Phillip's career, WCLH President James Name had a meeting with the owners about the Lite-sonic pants becoming a danger to any players after the news that the NIHA pro hockey league officially banned the long pants, James and the owners guaranteed to follow suit with the banned and hopefully both OMJHA and AQHL will join in as well.

A big trade was made that shook the league, and that is the Chilliwack Alpines traded their 1984 and 85 1st round draft pick to the Portage la Prairie Magic in return for forward Max Peterson, even though Max led the 1982-83 season in goals and points and gave the Magic a good run in the playoffs but was not well-liked in the locker room. Hence, it was a good choice in the Magic end, and Max can play better and get along well with the Alpines locker room.

The WCLH is officially adding Red Deer to the league; former wrestling promoter Thomas Hendricks got the green light to put his team in the 3000 seats at Red Deer Arena; the team’s name will be called the Red Deer Bucks, and their colours are Red, black, and gold. 1984 is the date when the Bucks will play their first season.

Jerseys Set
Charlottetown Greens

The Logo is just the letters C and G but with a twist on the home jerseys: the G sits on top of C, while on the road, the C sits on top of the G. The home jersey has a green stripe from the collar down to the wrist with red and blue, and the hem is green, red, and blue. The road jersey is the same but mostly green.



CIHA Alumni (where are they now)

Eric Dunn – Nanaimo Greyhounds, 1970-74
Eric was the first player to score a goal for the Greyhounds at their first game of the team’s history, even though they had a bad first two seasons until the 1972-73 season, where they turned it around thanks to Eric as he led the Greyhounds to win the Jade Trophy title along with the team’s first and so far the only CIHA Valor Cup championship and Eric was named the first Valor Cup MVP. In 1974, Eric Dunn was drafted by Manitoba in the 2nd round; his pro hockey career was short as he played only 366 games in 5 seasons and made 123 goals and 245 assists to make a total of 368 points. On July 30, 1979, Dunn hung his skates up and called it a career. After suffering a back injury, he tried coaching, and after coaching his hometown club in Kelowna, B.C., he got an assistant coach role with the Manitoba Pro Hockey Club and has been with them since.

1984 WCLH Playoffs

Round One
The playoffs are set the first place East Saskatoon Cats takes on fourth place West Medicine Hat Hawks, the second place East Fargo Owls takes on third place West Billings Trains, first place West Abbotsford Forest Kings face-off against fourth place East Swift Current Battalion, and lastly the second place West Lethbridge Cougars battles with third place East Portage la Prairie Magic.

1st East Saskatoon Cats vs. 4th West Medicine Hat Hawks
The Saskatoon Cats wasted no time taking down the Hawks by sweeping them in four games. The Hawks did poorly in the first two games in Saskatoon with two blowout losses (8-0 and 6-0), but they did score some goals in games three and four; it was not enough to win as the Cats won those last two games (5-1, 7-2) to move on to the second round thanks to Fred Adams who made 8 goals, 14 points within those four games. The Cats wins the series 4-0 

2nd East Fargo Owls vs. 3rd West Billings Trains
The Billings Trains went from losing the Jade Trophy finals a season ago to being swept in the first round by the Fargo Owls. The main reasons for the Trains' downfall are that Glen Sasakamoose got called up to the minors, Drew Eastwood got called up by the Saskatchewan Royals, and both David Lemay and Frank Colton are in IR. The Fargo Owls took advantage of this and won all four games. The Owls won the series 4-0.

1st West Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. 4th East Swift Current Battalion
Early in the season, the Battalion swept the Forest Kings in season series; in this playoff series, that role switched as the Forest Kings took them down; what really made this series was Eric Wilcox scored a hat-trick in game one and mocked the Forest Kings bench which was a wrong move, and the Forest Kings took over game one and the rest of the series big thanks to Ryan Wedgewood with scoring 14 out of 21 goals total in that series. The Forest Kings wins the series 4-0.

2nd West Lethbridge Cougars vs. 3rd East Portage la Prairie Magic
It was a historic series as the Portage la Prairie Magic pulled an upset over the Cougars in six games, but also the team’s first-ever series win thanks to rookie James McDougall scored a hat-trick in game three, along with another hat-trick in game four, and a hat-trick in game six becoming the second player in WCLH history to scored three hat-tricks in a series, the first was Hockey hall of Famer and former Brandon Buffalos star Lenny Gray during the pre-CIHA era. The Magic wins the series 4-2.

Round Two

1st East Saskatoon Cats vs. 3rd East Portage la Prairie Magic
With only three teams from the east and one from the west, the league reranked it overall. The Magic is one point behind the Forest Kings, so the Magic go face-to-face with the Cats. In speaking of, the Forest Kings are not happy with the reranked. Despite being in first place in the west, the Owls have 11 points more, which means the Owls have four home games while the Forest Kings got only three.

1st East Saskatoon Cats vs. 3rd East Portage la Prairie Magic
The Magic played as hard as they could, forcing overtime, but in the end, it took the Cats six games to win the series. Rookie goalie Harold Richmond held his ground in a big way, mainly because his first shutout happened in game six's triple overtime. The Cats wins the series 4-2.

1st West Abbotsford Forest Kings vs. 2nd East Fargo Owls
Both the Forest Kings and the Owls went head-to-head in hopes of heading back to the Jade trophy finals. It was a back-and-forth series until game seven, where Jon Hedberg and Jack Plaxton scored a hat-trick to tie the game to end the third period and headed in overtime. 5:12 left into overtime, and the Owls had a 5 on 3 power play when Aaron Boyer burst past the defence for a breakaway, and for the first time in his playoff career, he scored a goal and gave the Abbotsford Forest Kings a ticket to the Jade Trophy Finals for the third time in five years. The Forest Kings wins the series 4-3.

Jade Trophy Finals

Saskatoon Cats vs. Abbotsford Forest Kings
In game one, it was a hat-trick fest as the Forest Kings Jon Hedberg and Ryan Wedgewood pulled it off with their three goals, while the Cats Nathen Faulk and J.J. Orcas scored a hat-trick themselves also, as the third period closing to the end, out of nowhere Matthew Goodfellow of the Cats flick the puck over the head of Forest Kings Mike Lessard to break the tie and give the Cats a 7-6 win. Game two was a high-scoring game, just like game one, but no one got a hat-trick. Matthew Goodfellow did it again with a game-winner as the Cats took two games to none lead with the score of 8-7. After losing two games in Saskatoon, the Abbotsford Forest Kings are playing games on their home turf, and it shows with help from Jon Hedberg, Aaron Boyer, and Ryan Wedgewood, combine 5 goals and 10 points to win 6-2 to get back into the series. The Forest Kings goalie Mike Lessard plays like a brick wall in a successful shutout win over the Cats to even the series two a piece. Both the Forest Kings and the Cats went back and forth all the way to the end of the third period tied 5-5; in first overtime, the Cats were all over Mike Lessard, but he kept his ground all the way to the end of the first OT, 3:40 left in the second overtime Aaron Boyer got a breakaway and scored a goal to end game five with the score of 6-5 to give the Forest Kings one win away to win it all. The Forest Kings showed the Cats no mercy as Ryan Wedgewood scored a hat-trick to finish game six 5-2 to become the 1983-84 WCLH Jade Trophy Champions and going to Buffalo New York for the 1984 Valor Cup tournament. The Forest Kings wins the series 4-2.





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