1935 MHL Offseason: Off the Ice

Two teams leave MHL, including one on hiatus

The story of the Locomotives’ drive to survive has been well-documented. But unfortunately, despite their late success, the market was just too small to support a professional team for any longer. The city’s population of 78,000 is barely half as big as the next-smallest market. While their time in the MHL is over, there are already talks of a new ownership group “resurrecting” them to play in the minor leagues.

One thing that got a little swept under the Locomotives story was the fact that Quebec also was unable to field a team for the 1935-36 season. However, their financial situation was a little better than London’s, so like Peoria 5-ish years ago, the league allowed them to take a one-year hiatus before attempting a return for 1936-37. Commissioner Holland made it very clear that any financial struggles after would result in the loss of the team, so they needed to make this year off count. Like the Foxes before, all Quebecois players would be free agents for teams to sign for the 1935-36 season, and the team would have to pick from the free agent pool for the 1936-37 season.

1934-35 Hackatt Trophy Winner unveiled

William Smith took home the MHL’s MVP award for the 1934-35 season, and it’s surprising that this is only his first. He’s lead the league in points 3 of the last 4 years, but hadn’t been first place in voting until now. His 39 assists were a personal career high, and were the third-highest total the league had seen. Smith is widely regarded as the best player in the league at the moment, and he finally has the recognition for his great play.



10 teams make branding changes

Aesthetically, it was a BUSY summer for the league, with 10 different teams changing some aspect of their brand, whether logo, jerseys, or both.

In Boston, the Harpers changed the arched name above their harp to a cursive script. Neither script is officially considered a logo, just an extra jersey element.

Next, in Brooklyn, the Kings did an old switcheroo of their colors. The black jersey with white stripes is now a white jersey with black stripes, but still the exact same design otherwise.

In Chicago, the Wildcats continued their tradition of not staying with a jersey set, as they came up with another new design, this one similar to their inaugural set. The away jersey remains with a blue base, an odd choice considering many teams in the league have blue home jerseys.

In Detroit, the Guardians made one of the most unnecessary tweaks, changing the blue lettering on their road jersey to green. This is despite the fact that green appears nowhere else in their branding. The reasoning for this was that their new ownership “likes the color green”. Alright then.

Speaking of random color changes, the Montreal Barons decided to match the flag of Montreal more, by removing the blue from their brand entirely, now being red and white only. Everything stays the same otherwise.

The new champion Montreal Greys continued the trend of random tweaks, by making the top of their socks grey instead of black. 

One of the more exciting brand changes came from Nassau County, where the Scouts changed their jersey design for the first time ever. No longer an orange base, they now wear navy at home, with a new striping pattern incorporating orange and the yellow. The away is a color swap, with a yellow base. They also ever so slightly changed their logo, lengthening the left leg of the N.

In New York, the Blue Birds unveiled a new set as well, similar to their old with the chest stripe, but new in terms of the actual stripes themselves. They also added an yoke to both their jerseys, and switched the cream color back to white, as it was originally.

Toronto updated their logo for the first time, simply adding an outline to their T. They also removed some stripes from their home jersey, and actually used their logo on a jersey for the first time. The “Toronto” script is no more.

Lastly, the Washington Bats apparently decided to copy Toronto, as they also added an outline to their logo. Their jersey set stays the same otherwise.

1935-36 MHL Season: First Half

The 1935-36 season may end up being the one with the most parity the league has seen. Every team in the league from top to bottom is separated by only 9 points at the halfway mark, and everyone is still easily in the playoff race. As well, after a shocking offseason trade, we saw another big trade that only added to the drama.

Atop the Western Division and currently the #1 seed are the Toronto Lakers. Their play at home has been the biggest reason for their position, as they’ve gone a crazy 11-1-3 at the Toronto Garden. On the other hand, their road play has left a lot to desire, being the worst of any team in a playoff position. For individual players, Ajax Sorensen has been one of the best players in the league, being tied for the point lead with New York’s Jack Lilly. Quebec pickup Matthew Young has been great for them as well. Toronto sits at 17-12-3.

Second in the West at 0.500 are the Detroit Guardians. Based on their expectations it’s a little disappointing they aren’t above even, but they’re still playing a whole lot better than their extremely disappointing 1934-35 season. Their offseason moves have all been good, with the exception of struggling centre Will Breton. There is some concern the Detroit may regress, as their goal differential is negative. It’s ultimately up to them to decide their fate and try to make the playoffs for the first time. The Guardians sit at 14-14-6.

In Third and the final playoff spot are the Chicago Wildcats, but they’re only third because of fewer games played. They’ve played like the #2 in the West, but their defense and goaltending have cost them multiple games. Starting goalie Claude Kepkay has a woeful 0.854 save percentage, and the team’s 92 goals allowed are 2nd-worst in the entire league. On the bright side, 21-year-old Patrick Quinn is breaking out and starting to become an offensive star. He’s 2nd in the league in goals and 4th in points. Chicago sits at 14-13-4.

In fourth are the Philadelphia Minutemen, who shocked the entire league by starting off 6-1-2. It was looking like they wouldn’t only make the playoffs, but have home-ice advantage. However, they’ve cooled down after that start, and are just outside the playoffs at the moment. There’s definitive improvement throughout the roster, with goalie Richard Parent being an upgrade over Lawrence Turner, and rookie Jack Alexander being the consensus top rookie of the year so far. Philly absolutely can make the playoffs this year. They sit at 14-14-4.

In fifth and at the bottom of the West are the Washington Bats. They’ve been the opposite of Philly, with an awful start and better run after. Unfortunately, for them a “better” run is playing around 0.500, so they’re still 4 games below even. Their defense has allowed 97 goals, worst in the league. Having their defense fixed should see them battle for a playoff spot with the rest of the division. There’s still time for them to make a run, but it needs to be soon. Washington sita t 12-16-6, 2nd-worst in the league on points%.

In the East, an unexpected team leads the way halfway through. The Brooklyn Kings have been light-years better than their league-worst 1934-35 campaign, and already have more wins than they did for the entirety of last year. Players like offensive defenseman John Laurence and quickly-rising forward Martin Ferre have them looking like a legitimate contender. That’s not even mentioning defenseman George Patchian, who is currently having the best all-around defensive season in the league. The Kings sit at 15-11-5, one of the best turnarounds the league has seen.

In second are the New York Blue Birds, who are enjoying some great individual talent. London pickup Jack Lilly is looking like a Hackatt Trophy front-runner, being first in the league in both goals and points. another free agent signing in James Whaley is also leading the league in assists, so the team is on pace for a triple crown of sorts. The depth needs some work, but the Blue Birds are on track to make the playoffs for the first time since 1927. New York sits at 14-13-4 at the halfway point.

Sitting third are the Boston Harpers. They’ve actually been a little unlucky results-wise, as their defense has been best in the league, and they have the 2nd-best goal differential, behind Brooklyn. Bernard Simard has been an amazing pickup for Boston, and he’s on pace for his best all-around season. Jack Roy is also enjoying a great year offensively, being top 5 in goals and points. Boston hasn’t made the playoffs since being runner-up in 1932-33, but they’re on track to challenge for the Abbott Cup once again. They sit at 14-13-4.

In fourth are the Nassau Scouts, who were best in the league one season ago. They had a bit of controversy with the William Smith trade in the offseason, and it took another turn early in the year. Smith was doing decent, with 28 points in 27 games. However, with the team outside of the playoffs, owner Henry Peters publicly blamed the team’s struggles all on Smith, who in return refused to play until the statement was walked back or he was traded. The next day, Smith was traded back to the Greys in exchange for James Urban and Richard Nichols, two solid pieces. It’s still fresh since that whole saga, so we will see how it plays out for the rest of the year. Nassau sits at 13-14-5, on the outside looking in.

In 5th are the Montreal Greys, who were the last unbeaten team, but have struggled mightily since then. Their return for the first William Smith trade have been decent, but not as good as expected. As well, it appears as though Alan Clercius used up the remained of his good play for their Abbott Cup last year, as he’s struggling mightly at the age of 36. When the news of Smith refusing to play for Nassau reached them, it felt like a perfect scenario to welcome him back, even if it meant parting with two other solid pieces. The Greys will look to rebound in the second half with Smith back in tow, as they sit at 9-13-11.

At the bottom of the East are the Montreal Barons. It’s been inexplicable how a team that has consistently been one of the best in the league just suddenly plays like they have this year. Their goaltending and defense haven’t been the issue, it’s been the offense that has seemingly dried up. In a move to address this, management fired Abbott Cup-winning coach Orville St. James and replaced him with recently-retired Thaddeus Morgan. We will see how this move pays off in the second half. The Barons sit at 11-14-6.



Season Leaders (so far)