The Kam River Fighting Walleye is a
junior ice hockey
Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...
team in the
SIJHL based in
Oliver Paipoonge, Ontario
Oliver Paipoonge is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located directly west of the city of Thunder Bay. The municipality was formed on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former Township of Oliver and Township of Paipoon ...
. Apart from the team's inaugural
2020–21 season, which was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the team has finished each regular season in 1st place in the league. The team won the league championship
Bill Salonen Cup in
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
and advanced to the
national championship tournament where they were eliminated in the preliminary round.
Arena
The team plays its home games at the NorWest Arena in
Oliver Paipoonge, Ontario
Oliver Paipoonge is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located directly west of the city of Thunder Bay. The municipality was formed on January 1, 1998, with the amalgamation of the former Township of Oliver and Township of Paipoon ...
.
Team identity
The team gets its name from its
junior B predecessor that played in the
Lakehead Junior Hockey League from 2017–2020. Before joining the
SIJHL in 2020, the team's logo was notably similar to that of the
Toledo Walleye of the
ECHL; so much so that the
Toledo Walleye considered it to be a
trademark infringement and the Kam River Fighting Walleye agreed to change it.
Franchise history
The team's inaugural
2020–21 season was cancelled with only 4 regular season games played due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The following year, the team hosted a pre-season exhibition tournament called the Teleco Cup. The team went on to finish the
2021–22 regular season in first place before losing to the
Red Lake Miners
The Red Lake Miners are a Canadian junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Red Lake, Ontario. The Miners play in Hockey Canada's Superior International Junior Hockey League.
History
In May 2013, the SIJHL announced that the Ear Falls Eagles would be ...
in the final round of the playoffs. The team won the league championship
Bill Salonen Cup in the
2022–23 SIJHL season. The team then advanced to the
2023 Centennial Cup national junior A championship tournament and were eliminated in the preliminary round.
In 2024, the team set an all-time league record with 104
shots on goal during a single match against the
Kenora Islanders in which the Fighting Walleye won by a score of 11-0. It may have also been a record for the
Kenora Islanders goaltender,
Kaden King, who made 93 saves.
, + style="background:#000000; border-top:#D05126 5px solid; border-bottom:#D05126 5px solid",
! style=width:4em , Season
! style=width:2.2em ,
GP
! style=width:2.2em ,
W
! style=width:2.2em ,
L
! style=width:2.2em ,
OTL
! style=width:2.2em ,
SOL
! style=width:2.2em ,
Pts
! style=width:5em , Finish
! style=width:18em , Playoffs
, - align="right"
, align="left", 2020–21 , , 4 , , 3 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 6 , , colspan="2"; align="center",
''Season cancelled''
, - align="right"
, align="left", 2021–22 , , 37 , , 28 , , 6 , , 2 , , 1 , , 59 , , align="left",
1st overall , , align="left",
Won semifinal, 4-0 ( North Stars}
Lost final, 2-4 ( Miners)
, - align="right"
, align="left", 2022–23 , , 54 , , 40 , , 11 , , 1 , , 1 , , 83 , , align="left",
1st overall , , align="left",
Won semifinal, 4-1 (Lumberjacks
Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unit ...
)
Won final, 4-3 ( North Stars)
, - align="right"
, align="left", 2023–24 , , 49 , , 39 , , 9 , , 1 , , 0 , , 79 , , align="left",
1st overall , , align="left",
Won quarterfinal, 4-0 ( Islanders)
Won semifinal, 4-0 ( Miners)
Lost final, 0-4 ( Lookout)
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Kam River Fighting Walleye official websiteSuperior International Junior Hockey League official website
{{SIJHL
Superior International Junior Hockey League teams
Ice hockey teams in Ontario