The French River Rapids are a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

Junior "A"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team based out of

Noelville, Ontario French River, also known as Rivière-des-Français, is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, in the Sudbury District. The municipality had a population of 2,662 in the Canada 2016 Census. It was formed in 1999 through the merger of ...

. They are members of the

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Canadian Junior ice hockey league and member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Northern Ontario Hockey Association. The winner of the NOJHL playoffs competes for the Dudley Hewitt Cup ...

and play their home games at Noelville Arena.

History

The Rapids 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

(NOJHL) prior to the start of the 2015–16 season along with the Espanola Express. The team hired former NHL defenseman

Moe Mantha, Jr. Maurice William Mantha Jr. (born January 21, 1961) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota ...

as its first general manager and head coach. The team played its first game on September 11, 2015, losing at home 6-5 to the

Powassan Voodoos The Powassan Voodoos are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team based out of Powassan, Ontario. They are members of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and play their home games at the Powassan Sportsplex. History The Voodoos were founded i ...

before a crowd of 450. After losing the first 13 games in franchise history, the team picked up its first victory with a 3-2 overtime win against the Espanola Express, the other expansion team.

left the club near the end of the season to take over as the interim head coach of the

Saginaw Spirit The Saginaw Spirit are a major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the Major Junior leagues of the Canadian Hockey League ...

. His record as head coach of the club was 1–41–1–1. In summer 2016, the French River Rapids came under new ownership when Jessy Landry purchased the franchise from original owner Allan Donnan. Landry then assumed the role of president and general manager and was able to get Mantha to return as head coach of the Rapids. However, after the team was assured of another last place finish in the league, Landry stepped down in February 2017. In April 2017, under new management of team president Paul Frustaglio, the Rapids named

Sherwood Bassin Sherwood Bassin (born August 14, 1939) is a Canadian ice hockey executive known primarily for 36 years of involvement in the Ontario Hockey League as a general manager, team owner and coach. Bassin successfully turned franchises around, and his ...

the director of hockey operations and

Ken Strong Elmer Kenneth Strong (April 21, 1906 – October 5, 1979) was an American football halfback and fullback who also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted ...

as head coach. Towards the start of the 2017–18 season, the Rapids had a four-game win streak (surpassing their total wins in a season) within their first ten games.

Season-by-season records

References

External links

French River Rapids Webpage
{{NOJHL Ice hockey teams in Ontario Sport in Northern Ontario 2015 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 2015