The J. Pius Callaghan Cup is a trophy that was formerly given to the

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 ...

Junior A Champion of Atlantic Canada from 1981 until 1991. The trophy is named for Joseph Pius Callaghan, sports writer for the

Charlottetown Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a daily newspaper published six days a week in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The paper was originally launched in the 1870s as ''The Presbyterian and Evangelical Protestant Union'', owned by Presbyterian mini ...

, school teacher, and sports executive, by

Hockey PEI The Hockey PEI is the governing body of ice hockey in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Hockey PEI is a branch of Hockey Canada. The organization has been in existence since 1974. It is subdivided into six smaller councils - Minor Hockey Council, ...

. From 1991 until 2006, the trophy was awarded to the playoff champion of the

Maritime Junior A Hockey League The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It consists of five teams from New Brunswick and one team from Prince Edward Island, which make up the Ea ...

. In 2006 it was retired and now resides in the

Charlottetown Civic Centre The Eastlink Centre (formerly known as the Charlottetown Civic Centre) is a combined hockey/basketball arena and trade and convention facility located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History The facility's original name was the ...

. Prior to 1981, the championship was just called the Atlantic Junior A Championship.

History

First awarded in 1981, the Callaghan Cup was awarded to the top team to play in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, or

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

. Prior to this, the championship was just known as the Atlantic Junior A Championship. Depending on the year, the Callaghan Cup was the quarter-final of the

Manitoba Centennial Cup The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of junior A ice hockey. It is a ten-team round robin featuring the winners of ...

National Championship and the winner would play the Central Champions for the Dudley Hewitt Cup Eastern Canada Championship. Eventually, as Maritime hockey became less prominent, the Dudley Hewitt Cup went to the Central Champion only. By 1991, all Maritime leagues had amalgamated into the

and the St. John's Junior Hockey League dropped down to Jr. B play. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association gave the MJAHL custody over the Callaghan Cup as its playoff championship. In 2006, the Maritime Junior A Hockey League retired the trophy and replaced it with the Kent Cup. Prior to the MJAHL taking control of the trophy, the Callaghan Cup/Atlantic Championship was won by a

team 9 times, a

team 8 times,

3 times, and

once. Since 1995, the Atlantic Region,

Ottawa District The Ottawa District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was created in 1816 by splitting the counties of Prescott and Russell from the Eastern District. The district town was L'Orignal. In 1838 Gloucester towns ...

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 ...

and the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

champions all compete together for a spot at the Royal Bank Cup through the

Fred Page Cup The Fred Page Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy, won by a tournament conducted by the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The award is given to the winner of a round-robin and playoff between the Bogart Cup champions of the Central Canada Hoc ...

Leagues in competition

* Eastern Junior A Hockey League *

Island Junior Hockey League The Island Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" ice hockey league in Prince Edward Island, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. History Since being founded in 1996, the IJHL has been strictly a Junior "B" League—one tier below the Maritime Ju ...

Maritime Junior A Hockey League (1968–1971) The original Maritime Junior A Hockey League was a Canadian Junior ice hockey league from 1968 until 1971 in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The league competed for the Memorial Cup until 1970 when it was rel ...

* Metro Valley Junior Hockey League *

New Brunswick Junior Hockey League The New Brunswick Junior Hockey League (NBJHL) was a Canadian Junior ice hockey league in the province of New Brunswick. The NBJHL was in competition for the Callaghan Cup and Centennial Cup as a Junior A league. History Possibly founded in 1969 ...

* Newfoundland Junior A Hockey League * St. John's Junior Hockey League

Champions

References

External links

Fred Page Cup WebsiteMJAHL WebsiteCJAHL Website
{{CJAHL Ice hockey tournaments in Canada Canadian ice hockey trophies and awards Maritime Junior Hockey League Atlantic Canada awards