The Espanola Paper Kings are a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Junior "A"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based out of

Espanola, Ontario Espanola (2021 population census 5,185) is a town in Northern Ontario, Canada, in the Sudbury District. It is situated on the Spanish River, approximately west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17. ...

. They are members of the

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Junior ice hockey league with eleven teams in Northeastern Ontario and Upper Michigan. The league is a constituent member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and is governed by the ...

(NOJHL) and play their home games at the Espanola Regional Recreational Complex.

History

The Express were one of two

expansion teams An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

that entered the league prior to the start of the 2015–16 season. The team hired former NHL forward Tom McCarthy as its first head coach. McCarthy had previously coached the Espanola Rivermen prior to the teams disbandment. The team played its first game on September 11, 2015, losing at home 4-1 to the

Rayside-Balfour Canadians The Greater Sudbury Cubs are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Sudbury, Ontario. They are a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL). History The Sudbury Northern Wolves came into the league in 2000 and were present up until th ...

before a crowd of 346. After losing the first six games in franchise history, the team picked up its first victory with a 3-2 win against the

Blind River Beavers The Blind River Beavers are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Blind River, Ontario Blind River is a town situated on the North Channel (Ontario), North Channel of Lake Huron in the Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. The town, named after the n ...

. Espanola made the playoffs in their first season just ahead of the

. However, they fell to the Soo Eagles in a best-of-three series 2 games to 0. Espanola finished last in the league attendance wise, averaging only 181 fans per game. In August 2016, coach McCarthy announced he was taking a head coaching position with

HSC Csíkszereda Hoki Sport Klub Csíkszereda () is a professional ice hockey club based in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. They play in the country's top-level championship, the Romanian Hockey League, and also participate in the international competition Erste Liga, ...

in the

Romanian Hockey League The Romanian Hockey League (''Campionatul Național'') is the highest level of Romanian ice hockey. It is governed by the ''Federația Română de Hochei pe Gheață'' (FRHG) ( Romanian Ice Hockey Federation). Romanian clubs in European competiti ...

but would also remain involved with the Express as one of the owners. Co-coach Jason Rapcewicz took over as head coach. However, after one season, McCarthy returned to Espanola and the head coaching position. He left again after one season and was replaced by Dave Clancy from the

. Prior to the 2019–20 season,

Jason Rapcewicz Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea, t ...

became the sole owner of the team and took over as general manager from former owner Chad Clarke.

Season-by-season records

References

External links

Espanola Express webpage
{{NOJHL Ice hockey teams in Ontario Sport in Northern Ontario 2015 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 2015

History

Season-by-season records

References

Further reading

External links