The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a

Junior A Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

league under

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It consists of five teams from

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 ...

and one team from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, which make up the EastLink North Division (formerly Roger Meek), and six teams from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

which make up the Eastlink South Division. The winner of the MHL playoffs competes for the Fred Page Cup against the winners of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League and the

Central Junior A Hockey League The Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) is a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey league operating in eastern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Canada and is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey Leagu ...

. The winner of the Fred Page Cup then moves on to compete for the Canadian National Junior A Championship, formerly known as the Royal Bank Cup.

History

Originally known as the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League, the league was founded in 1967 by Fred McGillivray and Louie Lewis of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

and Don Stewart of

Berwick, Nova Scotia Berwick is a Canadian town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. The town is located in the eastern part of the Annapolis Valley on the Cornwallis River. The town site stretches south from the river and Exit 15 of Highway 101 to Highway 1. Berwick occu ...

as a Junior "B" level hockey league. Originally an exclusively Nova Scotia hockey league, it included six teams: East Hants Junior Penguins, Halifax Colonels, Dartmouth Hoyts, Windsor Royals, Kentville Riteways, and Berwick Shell Juniors. 1968 saw the Truro Bearcats and Amherst Ramblers replace the teams from Kentville and Berwick. In 1971–72 the New Glasgow Bombers and the Pictou Maripacs entered the league. Stellarton and a new Kentville franchise entered the league in 1973 and 1974 respectively. In 1977, still known as the "Metro Valley", the league entered into the Tier II Junior "A" level. The jump to Junior "A" was, in theory, to be a catalyst for the development of the league. However The budgets necessary to play at the Jr. 'A' level resulted in the immediate withdrawal of the Chester Ravens and the East Hants Penguins. The Cole Harbour Colts (Scotia Colts), who entered the league in 1976, became the first team in league history to host the national championship, then known as the Centennial Cup, in 1980. The 1983 season saw the addition of the expansion Moncton Midland Hawks of

Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

, the league's first non-Nova Scotia team. The Hawks came from the

New Brunswick Junior Hockey League The New Brunswick Junior Hockey League (NBJHL) was a Canadian Junior ice hockey league in the province of New Brunswick. The NBJHL was in competition for the Callaghan Cup and Centennial Cup as a Junior A league. History Possibly founded in 196 ...

and are now known as the Edmundston Blizzard. In 1986, the league expanded to

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.p ...

and the Scotia Colts, again, hosted the Centennial Cup. The

Summerside Western Capitals The Summerside Western Capitals are a Junior "A" hockey team based out of Summerside, Prince Edward Island. They play out of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The team currently plays their home games at the Consolidated Credit Union Place. ...

of the

Island Junior Hockey League The Island Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" ice hockey league in Prince Edward Island, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. History Since being founded in 1996, the IJHL has been strictly a Junior "B" League—one tier below the Maritime Jun ...

's junior hockey league, hosted the 1989 Centennial Cup. In 1991, Summerside and

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

of Prince Edward Island left the IJHL and joined the newly dubbed "Maritime Junior A Hockey League". The IJHL is still PEI's premier Junior league, but now is only a Junior "B" league. The winner of the IJHL's playoffs compete for the Don Johnson Cup, the Maritime Junior "B" Championship. For the 1996–97 season, the league added the Cape Breton Islanders and Restigouche River Rats. In 1996–97 the league consisted of the Amherst Ramblers, Antigonish Bulldogs, Charlottetown Abbies, East Hants Penguins, Dartmouth Oland Exports, Moncton Gagnon Beavers, Saint John Alpines, and Summerside Western Capitals. The Saint John Alpines folded in January. With financial losses totalling $40,000 and an additional $50,000 shortfall projected should the team finish the season, they simply ran out of money. The Summerside Western Capitals won the league's first ever national title. The Capitals hosted the Royal Bank Cup at

Cahill Stadium The Cahill Stadium was an arena in Summerside, Prince Edward Island designed for ice hockey events and was home to the Summerside Western Capitals hockey team, who won a Royal Bank Cup in the building in 1997. In March 2007 the building was closed ...

and won the championship game 4–3 over the South Surrey Eagles. Truro and Bathurst received approval for new teams to start in 1997–98 but due to the relocation of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Laval Titan to Bathurst, the Truro Bearcats would be the sole new team. The Cape Breton Islanders moved to Glace Bay and became the Glace Bay Miners, but with the arrival of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, they folded in December of that season, leaving the league with nine teams again. During the 1998–99 season two teams changed their names. The first was the Dartmouth Oland Exports when they moved to the Halifax Forum to become the Halifax Oland Exports. The second was the 1998–99 MJAHL champions, the Restigouche River Rats, as they changed their name to the Campbellton Tigers. A tenth team was added for the 2000–01 season, the Miramichi Timberwolves. At the same time, the East Hants Penguins moved to Dartmouth and became the Scotia Dairy Queen Blizzard. At the end of the 2001–02 season, the league approved the transfer of the Blizzard to Yarmouth. The Yarmouth Motormart Mariners began play in September 2002. In early 2003 the league governors approved expansion into Woodstock, N.B., with the Slammers beginning play in the 2003–04 season. The league hired its first professional full-time league president in 2003, Vernon Doyle. The league got their second national Championship when the Halifax Oland Exports won the 2002 Royal Bank Cup on home ice. One year later, after financial trouble with Oland Brewery, the franchise's name was changed to Halifax Team Pepsi. In the spring of 2004, the Weeks Hockey Organization bought the club, moved it to

New Glasgow New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,075 ...

and renamed it the

Pictou County Weeks Crushers The Pictou County Crushers (also commonly known as Weeks Jr. A Crushers due to a sponsorship deal with Weeks Construction) are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. They are in the Maritime Junior Hockey League's ...

. On that same day Halifax was granted an expansion franchise, the

Halifax Wolverines The Halifax Wolverines (sometimes; Halifax Wolves) were an amateur men's senior ice hockey team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team won the 1935 Allan Cup, and were nominated to represent Canada in ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics bu ...

. In the spring of 2008, the MJAHL had some big changes. On April 15, the Antigonish Bulldogs announced that they were applying for a leave of absence for one year. On April 26, the Bulldogs had to choose between two groups trying to buy the team and relocate it. The first group would move the franchise to New Richmond, Quebec. The other group would relocate the team to the Halifax area. At the Board of Governors meeting that day, the proposal to relocate the Antigonish franchise to New Richmond,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

was not considered to be in the best interests of the league and its members. The Governors did leave the door open to the sale to a Halifax group and a move to Metro Halifax. The sale and relocation of the franchise to Halifax was later approved. At the same Governors meeting, in response to the decision to leave the door open on the sale of the Bulldogs, the owners of the Halifax Wolverines announced their plans to move to Bridgewater. The Governors voted on the decision and it was approved. Following a name the team contest, the franchise was dubbed the

Bridgewater Lumberjacks The South Shore Lumberjacks are a Junior A Ice Hockey team from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. They play their home games at the 1300 seat Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre. The team is a member of the Maritime Hockey League and plays in the Eastlink ...

. Later that week on April 29, the Moncton Beavers announced that they had failed to come to terms on a new lease for the

Tim Hortons 4-Ice centre The Superior Propane Centre is a multi-purpose arena in Moncton, New Brunswick which opened on November 8, 2003, with four NHL-sized ice surfaces, one of which (the Champions Arena) has seating for 1,500 spectators. It was home to the Moncton Be ...

and had subsequently moved themselves to the neighboring city of

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

. The team was renamed the Dieppe Commandos. Rounding out this very busy month in the history of the MJAHL was the Charlottetown Abbies' decision on May 1 to apply for a leave of absence for one year, which was accepted. The Halifax franchise (former

Antigonish Bulldogs The Valley Wildcats are a Canadian junior ice hockey franchise from the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia. The team is a member of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and plays in the EastLink Division. They play their home games in the King ...

) announced on August 22 that the club would be known as the Halifax Lions. This was the name of the successful Halifax team in the 1980s. In 2010, the MJAHL changed its name to the Maritime Junior Hockey League and unveiled a new logo. In 2011, the Halifax Lions moved to Dartmouth and were renamed the

Metro Marauders The Valley Wildcats are a Canadian junior ice hockey franchise from the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia. The team is a member of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and plays in the EastLink Division. They play their home games in the Ki ...

. Two years later the Marauders were renamed the

Metro Shipbuilders The Valley Wildcats are a Canadian junior ice hockey franchise from the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia. The team is a member of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League and plays in the EastLink Division. They play their home games in the Ki ...

for the 2012–13 season. That season was a disaster for the Shipbuilders, as they only recorded four wins in their 52-game schedule and averaged just 232 fans per game. The relocation rumours had them moving back to Halifax after three years in Dartmouth but they finally moved to

Kentville Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929. History Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River ...

and were renamed the Valley Wildcats. After one season in

they moved to Berwick. In 2014 the league approved an expansion team in

St. Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

named the

County Aces The St. Stephen Aces were a Canadian junior ice hockey franchise from St. Stephen, New Brunswick. The team was a member of the Maritime Junior Hockey League and played in the Eastlink North Division. They played their home games in the Garcelon ...

. As a result of the expansion, the league was back up to 12 teams for the first time since the folding of the Charlottetown Abbies in April 2008. In November 2014, the league took over the ownership of the

after owner Ken Petrie left the team because of financial trouble. The team was sold two weeks later to a local businessman and the team was renamed the

South Shore Lumberjacks The South Shore Lumberjacks are a Junior A Ice Hockey team from Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. They play their home games at the 1300 seat Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre. The team is a member of the Maritime Hockey League and plays in the Eastlink ...

. In November 2016, the

Dieppe Commandos The Edmundston Blizzard are a junior ice hockey team from Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada. They play in the Maritime Junior Hockey League. History The Moncton Hawks were New Brunswick Junior Hockey League Junior A champions in 1981, 1982, and ...

announced they would be moving to Edmundston, New Brunswick after the 2016–17 season, and be renamed the Edmundston Blizzard. In May 2018, the

Woodstock Slammers The Woodstock Slammers were a junior "A" hockey team based in Woodstock, New Brunswick. They played as part of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL). The team played their home games at the Carleton Civic Centre, formally known to fans as "S ...

applied for a leave of absence for the 2018–19 season; the team is later sold and relocated to Grand Falls, New Brunswick and renamed the Grand Falls Rapids. In April 2019, the

St. Stephen Aces The St. Stephen Aces were a Canadian junior ice hockey franchise from St. Stephen, New Brunswick. The team was a member of the Maritime Junior Hockey League and played in the Eastlink North Division. They played their home games in the Garcelon ...

were sold to a group from

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

and became the third team in three years to relocate. The Aces relocated to Fredericton, New Brunswick for the 2019–20 season and were renamed the Fredericton Red Wings. The current MHL has twelve teams, six in each division. The league has hosted the Royal Bank Cup and Centennial Cup seven times, winning twice. MHL teams have also won seven Fred Page Cups as the Junior "A" Eastern Canadian champions to earn the right to compete for the Royal Bank Cup.

Teams

*relocated franchise

League champions

From the 1970s until 1991, the Callaghan Cup was the Atlantic Junior A Championship of Canada. The winners of

, and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

would playdown for this trophy during the

Dudley Hewitt Cup The Dudley-Hewitt Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy awarded to the Central Canadian Junior A champion. The trophy is currently decided by round robin tournament format, at the conclusion of the playoffs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, ...

and Manitoba Centennial Cup playdowns. In 1991, the Callaghan Cup became exclusive to the MJAHL. The Callaghan Cup was their championship trophy until after the 2006 playoffs, when it was replaced by the Kent Cup, In the Kent Cup era the bold team indicates the Kent Cup winner.

Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian Champions

All champions in this table are from the Maritime Junior Hockey League

Callaghan Cup The J. Pius Callaghan Cup is a trophy that was formerly given to the ice hockey Junior A Champion of Atlantic Canada from 1981 until 1991. The trophy is named for Joseph Pius Callaghan, sports writer for the Charlottetown Guardian, school teache ...
MVJHL Champions

All champions in this table are from the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League against interleague opponents.

Defunct teams

Cape Breton Islanders A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. T ...

/Glace Bay Miners * Charlottetown Abbies *

Dartmouth Arrows Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university ...

/Eagles/Fuel Kids/Pepsis *

Kentville Colonels Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929. History Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River ...

Saint John Alpines In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Truro Bearcats (1977–1983) The Truro Bearcats were a Junior "A" Hockey team based in Truro, Nova Scotia, that played out of the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League. Originally a founding member of the league, and then known as the Kentville Riteway Rangers in 1967, the fran ...

(Joined MJAHL again in 1997 with new franchise) *Valley Wildcats (1980–1984) (Awarded new team after the relocation of the Metro Shipbuilders) *

Windsor Royals The Windsor Royals, originally known simply as Windsor baseball club and formerly the Windsor Engineers is a baseball club that participates in the Greater Brisbane League competition and Brisbane Metro Baseball competition. History The 1948-1 ...

*Mount Denson Rangers

Timeline of teams in the MHL

*1967 – Metro Valley Junior Hockey League is founded at Junior B level *1967 – East Hants Junior Penguins, Halifax Colonels, Dartmouth Hoyts Arrows, Windsor Royals, Kentville Riteway Rangers, and Berwick Shell Junior Bruins are founding members of the league. *1968 – Kentville Riteway Rangers move to Truro and are renamed the Truro Bearcats *1968 – Berwick Shell Junior Bruins move to Amherst and are renamed the Amherst Ramblers *1969 – The Halifax Colonels become the Halifax Blazers sometime between the inaugural season and the 1972–73 season. *1972 – Chester Ravens enter league? *1972 – New Glasgow Bombers enter league *1972 – Pictou Maripacs enter league *1973 – Stellarton Spitfires join league *1974 – Kentville Colonels join league *1975 – Stellarton Spitfires leave league *1975 – Pictou Maripacs leave league *1975 – Halifax Blazers are renamed Halifax Centennials *1976 – Cole Harbour Colts join league *1976 – New Glasgow Bombers leave league *''1977 – League is promoted to Junior A'' *1977 – East Hantz Penguins leave league *1977 – Chester Ravens leave league but franchise is demoted to Jr. B in 1980 *1977 – Halifax Centennials are renamed Halifax Lions *1978 – Windsor Royals expelled from league mid-season for short roster *1980 – Kentville Colonels leave league *1980 – Valley Wildcats join league *1983 – Truro Bearcats fold mid-season (November) *1983 – Moncton Hawks join league from

*1984 – Valley Wildcats leave league *1986 – Antigonish Bulldogs join league *1987 – Dartmouth Arrows renamed Dartmouth Fuel Kids *1988 – Dartmouth Fuel Kids renamed Dartmouth Eagles *1989 – Dartmouth Eagles renamed Dartmouth Pepsis *1989 – Halifax Lions renamed Halifax DQ Blizzards *1990 – Moncton Hawks renamed Moncton Classics *1990 – Halifax DQ Blizzards renamed Halifax Canadians *1991 – ''Metro Valley Junior Hockey League is renamed Maritime Junior A Hockey League'' *1991 – Charlottetown Abbies join league from

*1991 - Summerside Western Capitals join league from

*1991 – Halifax Canadians renamed Halifax Mooseheads *1991 – Moncton Classics renamed Moncton-Dieppe Classics *1992 – Dartmouth Pepsis leave league *1993 – Moncton-Dieppe Classics become Moncton-Dieppe Beavers *1993 – Halifax Mooseheads renamed Halifax Oland Exports *1994 – Moncton-Dieppe Beavers renamed Moncton Beavers *1994 – Amherst Ramblers renamed Amherst Mooseheads *1994 – Charlottetown Abbies take one-year leave *1995 – Charlottetown Abbies return to league *1995 – Saint John Alpines join league *1995 – Halifax Oland Exports move to Dartmouth and are renamed Dartmouth Oland Exports *1995 – Cole Harbour Colts move to East Hants and are renamed East Hants Penguins *1996 – Restigouche River Rats join league *1996 – Cape Breton Islanders join league *1997 – Saint John Alpines fold mid-season (January) *1997 – Truro Bearcats join league *1997 – Cape Breton Islanders renamed Glace Bay Miners *1997 – Glace Bay Miners fold mid-season (December) *1998 – Dartmouth Oland Exports move to Halifax and are renamed Halifax Oland Exports *1998 – Amherst Mooseheads renamed Amherst Ramblers *1999 – Restigouche River Rats renamed Campbellton Tigers *2000 – Miramichi Timberwolves join league *2000 – East Hants Penguins move to Dartmouth and are renamed Dartmouth DQ Blizzard *2002 – Dartmouth DQ Blizzard move from Dartmouth and renamed Yarmouth Mariners *2003 – Halifax Oland Exports renamed Halifax Team Pepsi *2003 – Woodstock Slammers join league *2004 – Halifax Team Pepsi move from Halifax to New Glasgow and renamed Pictou County Weeks Crushers *2004 – Halifax Wolverines join league *2005 – Campbellton Tigers change their name to Restigouche Tigers *2008 – Charlottetown Abbies take one-year leave *2008 – Halifax Wolverines move from Halifax to Bridgewater and are renamed Bridgewater Lumberjacks *2008 – Antigonish Bulldogs move from Antigonish to Halifax and are renamed Halifax Lions *2008 – Moncton Beavers move from Moncton to Dieppe and are renamed Dieppe Commandos *2009 – Restigouche Tigers renamed Campbellton Tigers *2009 – Charlottetown Abbies fail to return to league *2010 – Halifax Lions move from Halifax to Darmouth and are renamed Metro Marauders (Dartmouth) *''2010 – Maritime Junior A Hockey League changes their name to Maritime Junior Hockey League'' *2012 – Metro Marauders renamed the Metro Shipbuilders *2013 – Metro Shipbuilders move from Dartmouth to Kentville and renamed the Valley Wildcats. *2014 – Valley Wildcats move from Kentville to Berwick *2014 – County Aces joined league *2014 – Bridgewater Lumberjacks renamed South Shore Lumberjacks *2017 – Dieppe Commandos move from Dieppe to Edmundston and are renamed Edmundston Blizzard *2018 – Woodstock Slammers request "leave of absence". Franchise instead re-located to Grand Falls, NB and were renamed the Rapids *2019 – St. Stephen Aces move from St. Stephen to Fredericton and are renamed the Fredericton Red Wings. Bolded teams indicate the original names of active franchises.

External links

MHL WebsiteCJHL Website

References

{{Junior Hockey Ice hockey leagues in Prince Edward Island Ice hockey leagues in Nova Scotia Ice hockey leagues in New Brunswick A Canadian Junior Hockey League members Organizations based in Nova Scotia Truro, Nova Scotia