The Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), formerly known as the Metro Toronto Hockey League, is a minor level

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

organization based in the Greater Toronto Area of

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 C ...

. The league was founded in 1911 as the Beaches Hockey League by Fred C. Waghorne, Sr., and it is the largest minor hockey organization in the world. The league is sanctioned by the

Ontario Hockey Federation The Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) is the governing body of all sanctioned ice hockey in the province of Ontario in Canada, except for those portions governed by Hockey Northwestern Ontario and the Hockey Eastern Ontario. The federation is on ...

and

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

History

Early years

The Greater Toronto Hockey League was founded in 1911 by Frank D. Smith. Its first season consisted of 5 teams and 99 players. Smith was 17 years old when he founded the organization, and would continue to oversee the operation for 50 years. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962 in part for his contributions to minor hockey in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. The League's name underwent several changes over its history. Originally called the Beaches League, it was renamed to the Toronto Hockey League (THL) shortly after its inception. It was renamed again in 1972 to the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League before settling on the current Greater Toronto Hockey League moniker in 1998. The League saw increases in membership during its first few years. During World War I, the then THL maintained its numbers due to having younger age divisions, such as peewee and bantam, where the players were too young to participate in the war. By the 1960s, The league had over 20,000 members on teams across Toronto. During the summer in 1989, the MTHL and the

Ontario Minor Hockey Association The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) is a minor ice hockey governing body in Ontario. The OMHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada. History The OMHA was founded on November 30, 1940, after a merger of the Ontari ...

(OMHA), broke away from the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

(OHA) and formed the Central Canada Hockey Association, due to disagreement with an OHA restructuring proposal which would have limited their voting powers. The dispute ended when the

(OHF) was established, with equal representation for the OHA,

Northern Ontario Hockey Association The Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) is an ice hockey governing body for minor, junior and senior ice hockey. The NOHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada. The major league run by the NOHA is the Northe ...

, MTHL, and OMHA. The OHF was given the mandate to oversee hockey in Ontario, and be a review panel for three years to propose further restructuring if necessary.

The GTHL

In 2011, the Greater Toronto Hockey League and its affiliates consisted of 2,800 teams and around 40,000 players. It is currently the largest youth ice hockey organization in the world in terms of members. The league has expanded its area of operation over the years from primarily the city of Toronto to many of its surrounding municipalities. Currently, there are 51 separate associations that operate under the GTHL. These associations provide teams for the various age groups and divisions that make up the league. Around 275 GTHL alumni have gone on to play in North American professional ice hockey leagues, such as the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

and the defunct

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) ...

. The GTHL is a not-for-profit organization, however its operating costs are high. In 2011, league expenses were in excess of $9 million per year. The high costs of operating teams has been an issue for the league, with some teams having trouble paying for the increasing costs of ice in the Toronto area. The costs for someone to play on a AAA GTHL team, its highest level of play, is approximately $6,000 per player. In 2011, the GTHL along with

changed its rules regarding hits to the head. Stricter rules were placed on what constituted a hit to the head, and the severity of punishment for instances of it was increased.

Affiliates

The GTHL serves as the parent organization for several other minor hockey leagues. These leagues coordinate "Select" League play for players in the Toronto area seeking to play at a level below "rep" teams in the GTHL. * North York Hockey League (NYHL) - Coordinates "select" level programs for the Toronto, Scarborough and North York area. * Mississauga Hockey League (MHL) - Coordinates "select" and Rep "A" level programs for the Mississauga area.

Levels of play

The GTHL runs competitive leagues at the "rep" levels (AAA, AA, and A), as well as coordinating several affiliates to operate "Select" leagues throughout the city. Rep hockey in the GTHL begins at "minor Atom" (U9) age and continues through U21. House League and Select programs include children of all ages, extending from Timbits (3 or 4 years of age) all the way to U21. All hockey is played under "Hockey Canada" rules. There is no body checking allowed at all age groups for "select" and rep "A" level in the GTHL and affiliates. Body checking is permitted for minor bantam (U14) and above for the rep "AA" and rep "AAA" levels.

Notable alumni

Andreas Athanasiou Andreas Athanasiou (born August 6, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Athanasiou was drafted 110th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Pla ...

* Sam Bennett * Jordan Binnington * David Bolland * Carl Brewer * Connor Brown * Michael Bunting *

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Brent Burns Brent Burns (born March 9, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted as a right wing (20th overall) at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild, he wa ...

Mike Cammalleri Michael Anthony Cammalleri (born June 8, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for five different teams. He was selected in the second round, 49th overall, by the Los ...

* Chris Campoli *

Anson Carter Anson Horace Carter (born June 6, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eight teams, most notably with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. He was la ...

Ben Chiarot Ben Chiarot (born May 9, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Chiarot was drafted 120th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He has previous ...

Jakob Chychrun Jakob Chychrun ( ; born March 31, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted sixteenth overall by the Coyotes at the 2016 NHL Entry Dr ...

* Anthony Cirelli * Casey Cizikas *

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* Andrew Cogliano *

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* Trevor Daley * Mike Danton * Jack Devine *

Max Domi Maxwell Johannes Domi (born March 2, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, 12th overall, of the 2013 NHL E ...

* Kris Draper * Jamie Drysdale *

Bill Durnan William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven seasons with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his career he was one of the most domin ...

* Sean Durzi *

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Ray Emery Raymond Robert Emery (''né'' Nichols; September 28, 1982 – July 15, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eleven seasons, between 2003 and 2015. Emery was chosen 99th over ...

* MacKenzie Entwistle * Jake Evans *

Robby Fabbri Robert Fabbri (born January 22, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round, 21st overall, of the 2014 NHL Entry Dra ...

* Mario Ferraro * Warren Foegele * Alex Formenton * Mark Friedman *

Sam Gagner Sam William Gagner (born August 10, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who plays in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipeg Jets. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, 6th overall, of the 2007 NHL ...

* Mark Giordano *

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* Dougie Hamilton * Barrett Hayton *

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* Josh Ho-Sang *

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* Zach Hyman *

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* Chris Kelly *

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* Jordan Kyrou *

Scott Laughton Scott Laughton (born May 30, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in Oakville, Ontario, Laughton spent his junior hockey career playin ...

* Jack LaFontaine * Brendan Lemieux *

Eric Lindros Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals ...

* Ryan Lomberg *

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* Andrew Mangiapane *

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Shawn Matthias Shawn Matthias (born February 19, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Matthias played in the NHL, making appearances with the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets ...

Connor McDavid Connor Andrew McDavid (born January 13, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers selected him first overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. McDavid ...

Kirk McLean Kirk Alan McLean (born June 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. ...

* Michael McLeod *

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Victor Mete Victor Joseph Mete (born June 7, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Mete was selected 100th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Pl ...

Rick Middleton Richard David "Nifty" Middleton (born December 4, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. Playing career As a youth, Middleton played in the 1966 Quebe ...

* Sean Monahan * Dominic Moore *

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* Richard Park *

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Adam Pelech Adam Pelech ( ; born August 16, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born and raised in Toronto, Pelech followed his older brothers Michael and Matthew into playi ...

* Cole Perfetti *

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* Owen Power * Bob Pulford * Bill Quackenbush * Taylor Raddysh * Mike Ricci *

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* Jason Robertson * Nick Robertson *

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* Frank Selke *

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* Steve Shutt *

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* Brendan Smith * Gemel Smith * Givani Smith *

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* Sid Smith *

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* Matt Stajan * Mitchell Stephens * Chris Stewart *

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* Malcolm Subban * PK Subban * Brandon Tanev * Chris Tanev *

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* Philip Tomasino * Joel Ward *

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* Tom Wilson *

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References

External links

GTHL web site
{{Midget AAA Hockey in Canada 1911 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey leagues in Toronto Sports leagues established in 1911 Youth ice hockey leagues in Canada