The Niagara Predators 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 Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

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 in

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York (state), New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the R ...

, Ontario, Canada. They play in the

Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) is a Canadian developmental junior ice hockey league. The league has primarily had teams in the Greater Toronto Area, Central Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Quebec. As of December 2019, the le ...

(GMHL).

History

The Toronto Predators joined the GMHL as an expansion franchise in February 2013. Founded by Allan Donnan, the Predators called the historic

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

(now known as Mattamy Athletic Centre) home. The Predators played their first game on September 7, 2013, at home, against the

Orangeville Americans The Orangeville Ice Crushers were a Junior ice hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL). History The Orangeville Americans were announced in the spring o ...

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, politician, lawyer, businessman, and author. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was ...

and

Darryl Sittler Darryl Glen Sittler (born September 18, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1970 until 1985 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings. H ...

, and singer John McDermott did the opening puck drop, as the Americans won the game 4–2. Mitch Hebert scored the first goal in team history, just five seconds into the game, while goaltender Marc Villeneuve made 49 saves in a losing effort. On September 28, 2013, Robin Bonvin scored in overtime to give the Predators their first franchise victory. Playing on home ice, Marc Villeneuve made 58 saves in net, against the

Knights of Meaford The Knights of Meaford or the Meaford Knights are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Meaford, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL). History The Knights of Meaford joined the GMHL in spring 2013. ...

, in the 3–2 victory. Mitch Hebert scored a franchise record four goals on October 27, 2013, against the Powassan Eagles. Hebert was the first Predator to notch a hat trick. After their inaugural season the Predators were taken over by Robert Turnbull. A longtime Hamilton Red Wings (1999–2014) general manager and team president, Turnbull took over from previous owner Allan Donnan (who also owned the

Toronto Attack The Toronto Attack was a junior ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It played in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL). History The Attack was announced as an expansion team on March 19, 2012, by the GMHL. On September 1 ...

). Before the 2017–18 season, the Predators had relocated their home games to

Canlan Ice Sports – York Canlan Sports – York is an ice hockey arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is operated by Canlan Ice Sports Corporation. It is the main ice rink at York University's Keele Campus, as the home of the York Lions men's and women's varsity hockey ...

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

. Following the 2020–21 season that was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the team relocated to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the 2021–22 season.

Season-by-season standings

References

External links

Niagara Predators website
{{GMHL 2013 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 2013 Ice hockey teams in Ontario Niagara-on-the-Lake