The West Toronto Nationals were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1929 to 1936. Prior to that time, the team was known as the West Toronto Redmen, due to their red colour sweaters. Home games were played at

Mutual Street Arena Mutual Street Arena, initially called Arena Gardens or just the Arena, was an ice hockey arena and sports and entertainment venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1912 until 1931, with the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens, it was the premier site o ...

and later

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. The Nationals 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 ...

as champions of the OHA in 1930, and defeated the Niagara Falls Cataracts by an 11–9 combined score in two games. The Nationals won the Eastern Canada junior playoffs by defeating teams from Sault Ste. Marie and Ottawa, to earn a berth in the 1930 Memorial Cup played in Winnipeg. The Nationals lost to the

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...

in two games by scores of 3–1 and 3–2. The Nationals were finalists for the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 1931, and were defeated by the Niagara Falls Cataracts by a 12–7 combined score in two games. The Nationals won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 1936, by defeating the

Kitchener Greenshirts The Kitchener Greenshirts name has been used by five separate ice hockey teams playing in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. These include one 'Senior A' level hockey team, two 'Junior A' level teams, and two 'Junior B' level teams. The name has also b ...

in two games in a best-of-three series. The Nationals were led by Peanuts O'Flaherty who was the league's leading scorer and winner of the

Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy The Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the player scoring the most points in the regular season. The trophy was donated by the Toronto Marlboro Athletic Club in memory of athlete and coach Eddie Power ...

. The Nationals won the

George Richardson Memorial Trophy The George Richardson Memorial Trophy was presented annually from 1932 until 1971, by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. It represented the Eastern Canada junior hockey championship, and a berth in the Memorial Cup final versus the Abbot ...

as Eastern Canada junior playoffs champions by defeating the South Porcupine Porkies, the Junior Quebec Aces, and the Pembroke Lumber Kings. The Nationals earned a berth in the 1936 Memorial Cup played in Toronto, and defeated the

Saskatoon Wesleys The Saskatoon Blades are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195-seat SaskT ...

in two games, by scores of 5–1 and 4–2.

National Hockey League alumni

Alumnus Roy Conacher was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. List of alumni who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

: * Norman Collings *

Roy Conacher Roy Gordon Conacher (October 5, 1916 – December 29, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He was the ...

* Jack Crawford * John Doran * Jimmy Fowler * Bob Gracie *

Red Heron Robert Geatrex "Red" Heron (December 31, 1917 — December 14, 1990) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played 106 games in the National Hockey League between 1938 and 1942 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brooklyn Americans, and Montreal Canadie ...

* Bill Jennings * Peanuts O'Flaherty * George Parsons * Bill Thoms

References

Sources

* {{Defunct OHL Defunct Ontario Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Toronto