The Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats were a 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 hock ...

team from Rayside-Balfour,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. This defunct hockey team was a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

History

A very successful franchise, the Sabrecats won the

Dudley Hewitt Cup The Dudley-Hewitt Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy awarded to the Central Canadian Junior A champion. The trophy is currently decided by round robin tournament format, at the conclusion of the playoffs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, ...

three times (1997, 2000, and 2002) and a dynastic seven straight McNamara Trophies as NOJHL champions (1996–2002). In 2000, they reached the finals of the

Royal Bank Cup Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, only to lose a heartbreaking 2–1 game to the host

Fort McMurray Oil Barons The Fort McMurray Oil Barons are a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada at the Centerfire Place. The Oil Barons have won three AJHL playoff championships, three regular ...

. While still playing for the Sabrecats, goaltender Sebastien Laplante was selected in the 9th round (277th overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in the

2001 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was the 39th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. As of 2022, the only remaining active players in the NHL from the 2001 draft class are M ...

. The team was granted a one-year leave from the NOJHL in 2005, but in Spring 2006 the NOJHL announced that the Sabrecats will not be returning and have officially folded.

Season-by-season results

Past coaches

* Larry Bedard

References

Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Sports teams in Greater Sudbury Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1962 1962 establishments in Ontario 2005 disestablishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2005 {{Ontario-icehockey-team-stub