The 1994–95 OHL season was the 15th season of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

. The Newmarket Royals relocated, and became the

Sarnia Sting Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

. The OHL realigned from two divisions, creating the east, central, and west divisions. The Bumbacco Trophy is inaugurated to be awarded to the first place team in the west division, during the regular season. The Leyden Trophy is reallocated to the east division, and the

Emms Trophy The Emms Trophy is presented annually to the regular season champion of the Central division in the Ontario Hockey League. The trophy was inaugurated in the 1975–76 season for the winner of the Emms division, the more westerly of the two division ...

to the central division. Sixteen teams each played 66 games. The

Detroit Junior Red Wings The Detroit Junior Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 1992 to 1995. The Jr. Red Wings were based in Detroit, Michigan. History The Compuware Ambassadors were renamed the Detroit Junior Red ...

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

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

Relocation

Newmarket Royals to Sarnia Sting

The Newmarket Royals relocated to

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes w ...

and were renamed the

after two seasons in Newmarket. The club was sold to the Ciccarelli brothers at the beginning of the 1993-94 season and were relocated to Sarnia for the 1994-95 season. The club was originally the

Cornwall Royals The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with o ...

from 1969-1992, in which the franchise won 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 ...

three times. Following the 1991-92, the franchise was relocated to Newmarket. In two seasons in Newmarket, the Royals made the playoffs once, losing to the Sudbury Wolves in the first round of the 1993 playoffs. The Sting will play at the

Sarnia Arena The Pat Stapleton Arena is a 2,302 capacity arena in Sarnia, Ontario that is home to the Sarnia Legionnaires, one of the most successful teams in Canadian junior ice hockey history. Located at the corner of Wellington and Brock Streets, it is th ...

and play in the newly created West Division.

Arena Renaming

London Gardens to London Ice House

The

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 ...

home arena, the London Gardens, was renamed to the London Ice House after the team and arena were purchased by new owner Doug Tarry. Tarry upgraded the building, including replacing seats and add more emergency exits to bring the building up to the

fire code Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

Realignment

The OHL announced realignment for the 1994-95 season, as the league would now have three divisions based on geographical location. The three new divisions were the East Division, Central Division and West Division.

East Division

Six teams from the Leyden Division would form the newly created East Division. The teams are:

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario ...

, Kingston Frontenacs,

North Bay Centennials The North Bay Centennials were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, who played from 1982–2002. The team was based in North Bay, Ontario. History The North Bay Centennials or "Cents" as they were popularly known, were named afte ...

, Oshawa Generals and

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 ...

. The winner of the East Division will earn the Leyden Trophy.

Central Division

Five teams would make up the newly created Central Division, four teams from the Emms Division and one from the Leyden Division. The teams were:

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 ...

Niagara Falls Thunder The Niagara Falls Thunder was a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1988 to 1996. The team was based in Niagara Falls, Ontario. History Niagara Falls became home to its third OHL franchise in 1988 upon the relocation of the H ...

Owen Sound Platers Owen Sound Platers was a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Owen Sound, Ontario. The team played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1989 to 2000, then was sold to new owners who renamed the team the Owen Sound Attack. History In 1989 the H ...

, and Sudbury Wolves. The winner of the Central Division will be awarded the

West Division

Five teams would make up the newly created West Division, four teams from the Emms Division and one from the Leyden Division. The teams are:

, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and

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 1975� ...

. The winner of the West Division will earn the newly created Bumbacco Trophy.

Regular season

Final standings

''Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = earned first round bye''

East Division

Central Division

West Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

East Division

=(2) Oshawa Generals vs. (5) Peterborough Petes

=(3) North Bay Centennials vs. (4) Belleville Bulls

Central Division

=(2) Sudbury Wolves vs. (5) Kitchener Rangers

=(3) Owen Sound Platers vs. (4) Niagara Falls Thunder

West Division

=(1) Detroit Junior Red Wings vs. (4) London Knights

=(2) Windsor Spitfires vs. (3) Sarnia Sting

OHL quarter-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (C3) Owen Sound Platers

(W1) Detroit Junior Red Wings vs. (E5) Peterborough Petes

(E1) Kingston Frontenacs vs. (E4) Belleville Bulls

(C2) Sudbury Wolves vs. (W2) Windsor Spitfires

OHL semi-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E4) Belleville Bulls

(W1) Detroit Junior Red Wings vs. (C2) Sudbury Wolves

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (W1) Detroit Junior Red Wings

Awards

All-Star teams

The OHL All-Star Teams were selected by the OHL's General Managers.

First team

Jeff O'Neill Jeffrey O'Neill (born February 23, 1976) is a Canadian broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played 12 seasons with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs. P ...

, Centre,

* Dave Roche, Left Wing,

* David Ling, Right Wing, Kingston Frontenacs * Ed Jovanovski, Defence,

Bryan Berard Bryan Wallace Berard (born March 5, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Berard was the first overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He is most noted for a debilitating eye injury he received e ...

, Defence, Detroit Jr. Red Wings * Tyler Moss, Goaltender, Kingston Frontenacs *

Craig Hartsburg Craig William Hartsburg (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach, who currently serves as an amateur scout and defense development coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League ( ...

, Coach,

Second team

Marc Savard Marc Savard (born July 17, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and current head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers (who o ...

, Centre, Oshawa Generals * Larry Courville, Left Wing, Oshawa Generals *

Todd Bertuzzi Todd Bertuzzi (born February 2, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a power forward (ice hockey), power forward, he has played in the NHL for the New York ...

, Right Wing,

Wes Swinson Wes or WES may refer to: * Westmorland, county in England, Chapman code __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Wes (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Wes Madiko (1964–2021), Cameroonian musici ...

, Defence, Kingston Frontenacs * Jamie Rivers, Defence, Sudbury Wolves * Mark McArthur, Goaltender,

Paul Maurice Paul Maurice (born January 30, 1967) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and coach. He is the head coach of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). At age 43, Maurice became the youngest coach in NHL history to coach 1,000 g ...

, Coach, Detroit Jr. Red Wings

Third team

* Bill Bowler, Centre,

* Ethan Moreau, Left Wing, Sudbury Wolves *

Vitali Yachmenev Vitali Aleksandrovich Yachmenev (russian: Виталий Алексарович Ячменёв; born January 8, 1975) is a Russian former professional ice hockey left wing. He was drafted in the third round, 59th overall, by the Los Angeles Kings ...

, Right Wing,

* Rory Fitzpatrick, Defence, Sudbury Wolves *

Brad Brown Bradley Lorne Brown (born December 27, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Playing career As a youth, Brown played in the 1989 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Mississauga ...

, Defence,

* Matt Mullin, Goaltender, Sudbury Wolves * Stan Butler, Coach, Oshawa Generals

1995 OHL Priority Selection

The Barrie Colts held the first overall pick in the 1995 Ontario Priority Selection and selected

Daniel Tkaczuk Daniel Tkaczuk (born June 10, 1979) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former centre who played 19 games in the National Hockey League for the Calgary Flames. He is currently an assistant coach for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hock ...

from the Mississauga Senators. Tkaczuk was awarded the

Jack Ferguson Award The Jack Ferguson Award is awarded each year to the top draft pick in the Ontario Hockey League priority selection draft. The trophy is named in honour of Jack Ferguson, a former director of OHL Central Scouting. Winners List of OHL first overall ...

, awarded to the top pick in the draft. Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1995 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

References

HockeyDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:1994-95 OHL season Ontario Hockey League seasons OHL

Relocation

Newmarket Royals to Sarnia Sting

Arena Renaming

London Gardens to London Ice House

Realignment

East Division

Central Division

West Division

Regular season

Final standings

East Division

Central Division

West Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

East Division

=(2) Oshawa Generals vs. (5) Peterborough Petes

=(3) North Bay Centennials vs. (4) Belleville Bulls

Central Division

=(2) Sudbury Wolves vs. (5) Kitchener Rangers

=(3) Owen Sound Platers vs. (4) Niagara Falls Thunder

West Division

=(1) Detroit Junior Red Wings vs. (4) London Knights

=(2) Windsor Spitfires vs. (3) Sarnia Sting

OHL quarter-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (C3) Owen Sound Platers

(W1) Detroit Junior Red Wings vs. (E5) Peterborough Petes

(E1) Kingston Frontenacs vs. (E4) Belleville Bulls

(C2) Sudbury Wolves vs. (W2) Windsor Spitfires

OHL semi-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E4) Belleville Bulls

(W1) Detroit Junior Red Wings vs. (C2) Sudbury Wolves

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (W1) Detroit Junior Red Wings

Awards

All-Star teams

First team

Second team

Third team

1995 OHL Priority Selection

See also

References