Founded by Paul St. John in 2011, the Canadian Lacrosse League (CLax) was a men's semi-professional

indoor lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in the 1930s in Canada, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...

league based exclusively in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. CLax ceased operation on August 31, 2016 after the league's single-entity ownership group, Charlesway Corporation Limited and Rodney 'Demon' Hill, deemed the league's business model to be no longer viable. Similar to the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

, and unlike other Canadian

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in the 1930s in Canada, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...

leagues that play in the summer, CLax played its regular season games in the winter with its playoff games and championship culminating in the early spring. CLax opened its inaugural season with six teams in three cities:

Brampton Inferno SouthWest Cyclops were a Canadian professional indoor lacrosse team that played in the Canadian Lacrosse League. The team, originally named the Brampton Inferno, played their 2015 season in Paris, Ontario. History The team ownership was confirmed ...

and

Peel Avengers Niagara Lock Monsters are a Canadian professional indoor lacrosse team that play in the Canadian Lacrosse League. The Lock Monsters play out of the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario. History The Peel Avengers were founded in the summer ...

Brampton, Ontario Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

; the

Iroquois Ironmen Iroquois Ironmen were a Canadian professional indoor lacrosse team that played in the Canadian Lacrosse League. The Ironmen, along with the Ohsweken Demons, played out of the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Ohsweken, Ontario. On November 8, 2013, te ...

and Ohsweken Demons in

Hagersville, Ontario Hagersville is a community in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. History Upon the construction of Ontario Highway 6, Highway 6, known formerly as the Plank Road, a small village popped up around 1855 when Charles and David Hager bought most of ...

; and the

Durham TurfDogs Durham TurfDogs were a Canadian professional indoor lacrosse team that played in the Canadian Lacrosse League. The TurfDogs, along with the Oshawa Machine, played out of the GM Centre in Oshawa, Ontario. History The TurfDogs played their first ...

and

Oshawa Machine Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

History

The league's original intentions were to feature eastern and western leagues. This plan was modified to have multiple Ontario teams and one Quebec location in the first year. The first three teams announced were franchises in Ohsweken, Peterborough, and Montreal. A ''Brampton Guardian'' article listed a team in London. Of the original three, only Oshweken wound up with an actual team in the 2012 season. With only three teams, the league decided two teams should operate in each announced location, leading to the creation of the Iroquois Ironmen, Peel Avengers, and Durham TurfDogs. Rodney Hill operated the two Oshweken teams, but the league owned the other clubs initially. The inaugural games took place January 7, 2012 starting in Ohsweken. The first game was an 18–11 win for the

over the hometown

. In the second game, the

defeated the

16–9. To conclude the opening day of league play, the

played the Ohsweken Demons, losing 13–9. It was announced on October 3, 2012 that the league would be expanding to three new markets:

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

. The Oshawa Machine would be moving to Toronto to become the

Toronto Shooting Stars Toronto Shooting Stars were an indoor soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 1996–1997 season, with home games taking place at Maple Leaf Gardens. However, the ownership of the fra ...

; the Peel Avengers would relocate to St. Catharines and the city of Barrie would be awarded an expansion team. It was also announced that the Durham Turf Dogs would be changing their name to the Oshawa Turf Dogs. In November 2013, the defending champion

announced that they were ceasing operations and would no longer compete in CLax. That was followed in December with the news of 2013 finalists,

also folding. The Brampton Inferno would become a touring team based out of

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

called the SouthWest Cyclops for 2014.

Former Teams

Creators' Cup championship history

Major awards

Players

Team and League Officials

Statistical leaders

Team Regular Season Champions

Runners

Goalies

All-star teams

First team

Second team

Rookie

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Lacrosse League (2012-16) 2011 establishments in Canada Professional sports leagues in Canada Sports leagues established in 2011