The 1984–85 OHL season was the fifth season of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

. The

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was founded in 1962 as a team in th ...

were undefeated in all 33 home games during the regular season. The

Brantford Alexanders The Brantford Alexanders were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League from 1978 to 1984. The team was based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. History The Hamilton Fincups were relocated in 1978 be ...

move back to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

becoming the Hamilton Steelhawks. Fifteen teams each played 66 games. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds won the

J. Ross Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and ...

, defeating the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

Relocation/Team Name Change

Brantford Alexanders to Hamilton Steelhawks

The

relocated and moved back to the city of

for the 1984-85 season. The franchise had previously played in Hamilton from 1953-1976 as the

Hamilton Tiger Cubs The Hamilton Tiger Cubs were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1953 to 1960. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario. History The Hamilton juniors which they were called initially in the early part of 19 ...

from 1953-1960, and the

Hamilton Fincups The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...

from 1960-1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

and played as the St. Catharines Fincups for the 1976-77 season, however, the club returned to Hamilton for the 1977-78 season. The club then relocated to

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

and was renamed as the

for the 1978-79 season. The Steelhawks would play the 1984-85 season out of Mountain Arena while their new arena,

Copps Coliseum FirstOntario Centre (originally Copps Coliseum) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1985, it has a capacity of up to 19,000. History Hamilton was lef ...

, was being constructed and would not open until the 1985-86 season. The team remained in the Emms Division.

Windsor Spitfires to Windsor Compuware Spitfires

The

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

were bought by Peter Karmanos, the founder and CEO of

Compuware Compuware Corporation was an American software company based in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers products aimed at the information technology (IT) departments of large businesses, and its services also include testing, development, automation ...

in 1984 and were renamed as the

Windsor Compuware Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

beginning in the 1984-85 season.

Tragedy

On January 4, 1985, Bruce Melanson of the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. In November 2016, th ...

collapsed at practice and died from a heart ailment known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome which resulted in him having a rapid heartbeat because of electrical impulses in the heart taking extra pathways. He was 18 years old at the time of the incident. Melanson was a second round draft pick of the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

at the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lowe ...

. The Generals wore black arm bands for the remainder of the season in memoriam of their teammate. In his memory, the club no longer issues the uniform number "9". A memorial scholarship was also set up at his former high school in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Regular season

Final standings

''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title''

Leyden Division

Emms Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (6) Ottawa 67's

=(2) Belleville Bulls vs. (5) Oshawa Generals

=(3) Toronto Marlboros vs. (4) Cornwall Royals

Emms Division

=(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (6) Kitchener Rangers

=(2) London Knights vs. (5) Windsor Compuware Spitfires

=(3) North Bay Centennials vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks

Division semi-finals

Leyden Division

=(2) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Cornwall Royals

Emms Division

=(2) London Knights vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks

Division finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (2) Belleville Bulls

Emms Division

=(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(E1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (L1) Peterborough Petes

Awards

1985 OHL Priority Selection

The Kingston Canadians held the first overall pick in the 1985 Ontario Priority Selection and selected Bryan Fogarty from the Aurora Tigers. Fogarty was awarded the

Jack Ferguson Award The Jack Ferguson Award is awarded each year to the top draft pick in the Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft. The trophy is named in honour of Jack Ferguson, a former director of OHL Central Scouting. Winners List of OHL first overall ...

, awarded to the top pick in the draft. Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1985 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

References

HockeyDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:1984-85 OHL season Ontario Hockey League seasons OHL

Relocation/Team Name Change

Brantford Alexanders to Hamilton Steelhawks

Windsor Spitfires to Windsor Compuware Spitfires

Tragedy

Regular season

Final standings

Leyden Division

Emms Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (6) Ottawa 67's

=(2) Belleville Bulls vs. (5) Oshawa Generals

=(3) Toronto Marlboros vs. (4) Cornwall Royals

Emms Division

=(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (6) Kitchener Rangers

=(2) London Knights vs. (5) Windsor Compuware Spitfires

=(3) North Bay Centennials vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks

Division semi-finals

Leyden Division

=(2) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Cornwall Royals

Emms Division

=(2) London Knights vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks

Division finals

Leyden Division

=(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (2) Belleville Bulls

Emms Division

=(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(E1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (L1) Peterborough Petes

Awards

1985 OHL Priority Selection

See also

References