The 1977–78 OMJHL season was the fourth season of the
Ontario Major Junior Hockey League
In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...
(OMJHL). The Fincups franchise moved back from St. Catharines to Hamilton after a temporary year away from the city due to lack of a suitable arena. The league featured a wealth of scoring talent during the season, with two players recording the league's highest single season point totals. Third season veteran
Bobby Smith, edged 17-year-old rookie
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
for 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 ...
, scoring 192 points. Twelve teams each played 68 games. The
Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league.
...
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 ...
, defeating the
Hamilton Fincups
The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...
.
League business
Hosting duties for the
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
rotated among the three constituent leagues of the
Canadian Major Junior Hockey League CMJHL), since its founding in 1975. OMJHL commissioner
Tubby Schmalz
Clarence Vincent "Tubby" Schmalz (December 19, 1916 – December 7, 1981) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He served as vice-president of the Western Ontario Athletic Association from 1940 to 1950, and coached and managed the senior ice ...
announced that two
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...
cities were chosen by the OMJHL to co-host the
1978 Memorial Cup in
Sudbury and
Sault Ste. Marie.
In February 1978,
Iona Campagnolo
Iona Victoria Campagnolo, (née Hardy, born October 18, 1932) is a Canadian politician who served as the 27th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 2001 to 2007; Campagnolo was the first woman to hold that office. Prior to becoming Lieut ...
, the
Minister of State of Fitness and Amateur Sport released a report which claimed that junior hockey functioned in the best interests of professional hockey instead of the players. Schmalz said that the CMJHL would welcome a study into its player development programs, if given a say on selecting the inquiry members. He stated an inquiry would reveal that the CMJHL was doing its best for the welfare of the players. He highlighted its academic standards, and stated that the OMJHL fined players who missed classes, suspended players who did not keep up with the workload.
The CMJHL expressed frustration with the 1978
WHA Amateur Draft The WHA Entry Draft was the Draft (sports), entry draft for the World Hockey Association. The professional league operated from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979, but only held its annual draft from 1973 through 1978.
The fle ...
being held during the junior season and four months earlier than the
1978 NHL Amateur Draft. The league was concerned that its players would be pursued for professional contracts while playing junior hockey, despite the names of drafted players not being released. The league considered having the
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...
use its
International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...
membership as leverage to block
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
(WHA) exhibition games against international teams and force the WHA to negotiate. In May 1978, Schmalz stated that the continued signing of junior-aged players by the WHA would mean forfeiture of a $150,000 bond paid as a promise not to sign players before November.
Regular season
Standings
Scoring leaders
Playoffs
First round
Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...
defeat
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...
3–2
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defeat
Kingston Canadians
The Kingston Canadians were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
History
The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontario ...
3–2
Hamilton Fincups
The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...
defeat
Windsor Spitfires
The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975â ...
4–1, 1 tie
Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league.
...
defeat
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...
4–1, 1 tie
Quarterfinals
Ottawa 67's
The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play their h ...
defeat
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 4–3, 1 tie
London Knights
The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...
defeat
Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...
4–0
Semifinals
Hamilton Fincups
The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...
defeat
London Knights
The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...
4–2, 1 tie
Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league.
...
defeat
Ottawa 67's
The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play their h ...
4–3, 1 tie
J. Ross Robertson Cup
Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league.
...
defeat
Hamilton Fincups
The Hamilton Fincups were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played in Hamilton, Ontario for three years, and in St. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fin ...
4–3, 1 tie
Awards
See also
*
List of OHA Junior A standings
This is a list of OHA standings and season-by-season summaries of the Ontario Hockey Association's Junior A division from 1933 to 1972, and its Tier I division from 1972 to 1974.
;Legend
* GP = games played
* W = wins
* L = losses
* T = ties
* P ...
*
List of OHL seasons
This is a list of Ontario Hockey League seasons since inception of the league, as well as a list of seasons for its precursor leagues, the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL), and the Ontario Hockey Association Junior A League (OHA).
OHA se ...
*
1978 Memorial Cup
*
1978 NHL Entry Draft
*
1977 in sports
1977 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiing
* Alpine Skiing World Cup
** Men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
** Women's overall season champion: Lise-Marie Morerod, Switzerland
American football
...
*
1978 in sports
References
External links
HockeyDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:1977-78 OMJHL season
Ontario Hockey League seasons
OMJHL
In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate indepe ...