The Kitchener Dutchmen were 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 Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

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 based in Kitchener,

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. They played in the Mid-Western division of the

Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is c ...

History

The Kitchener Dutchmen franchise was founded in 1956 when the Junior A

Kitchener Canucks The Kitchener Canucks were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1954 to 1956. The team was based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and played home games at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. History The Kitchener Greensh ...

were moved to become the

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

. With the Canucks gone, the new Kitchener Greenshirts were founded as members of the Central Junior B Hockey League to fill the void left by their Junior A counterparts. The Greenshirts changed their name to the "Ranger B's" in 1969 to better reflect their relationship with their parent club, the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

who entered the market in 1963. The team started in the Central Junior B league, but as part of the 1971 geographic realignment, moved to the Western Junior B league. In 1973, the team joined the "Southwestern Junior "B" Hockey League", which became the "Waterloo-Wellington Junior "B" Hockey League" and then the Midwestern "B" in 1977. The team is a long-standing member of the league and remains there to this day as the Kitchener Dutchmen. An original charter member team, in 1992 the franchise became the first team in Mid-Western "B" history, other than the

Waterloo Siskins The Kitchener-Waterloo Siskins are a junior ice hockey team based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Founded in 1934, the Siskins are one of the longest runni ...

and the

Stratford Cullitons The Stratford Warriors are a junior ice hockey team based in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was originally named the Warriors but was changed to Cullitons i ...

, to win the league and the Sutherland Cup. They won a second consecutive league title in 1993, but failed to come away with another

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 ...

title. The team has not missed the playoffs since 1979, a streak only surpassed by the Siskins and Cullitons. The Dutchmen are a long time farm team for the

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

. On April 26th, 2020, it was announced that the OHA had given approval for the

Ayr Centennials The Ayr Centennials are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Ayr, Ontario. They play in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History The Ayr Centennials were founded in 1982 as members of the Sout ...

to purchase the Dutchmen and move them to

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

in order to promote the Centennials from Junior C to Junior B, effective starting in the 2020-21 season. This thus brought an end to the 63 years of Dutchmen hockey in Kitchener.

Season-by-season record

Sutherland Cup appearances

:''1965'': Kitchener Greenshirts defeated

Etobicoke Indians Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

''4-games-to-2'' :''1967'': Kitchener Greenshirts defeated

Dixie Beehives Dixie Beehives are a pair of defunct junior ice hockey teams from Weston, Ontario, Canada, which is now part of Toronto, Ontario. They played in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League and the Central Junior B Hockey League. Jr. A Beehive ...

''4-games-to-2'' :''1992'': Kitchener Dutchmen defeated

Milton Merchants The Brantford 99ers are a Junior ice hockey#Junior A, Junior A ice hockey team from Brantford, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. The 99ers have previously been known as the Milton Icehawks, Milton Merchants, M ...

''4-games-to-1'' :''1993'':

Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League, based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Pre-OHL history There were two previous Barrie Colts teams which played Junior A & B hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association, one from 1 ...

defeated Kitchener Dutchmen ''4-games-to-none''

George S. Dudley Trophy Super "C" Appearances

:''1971'':

Woodstock Navy-Vets The Woodstock Navy-Vets are a junior hockey team based in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Provincial Junior Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. The team was known as the Woodstock Renegades for three seasons f ...

defeated Kitchener Ranger B's ''4-games-to-2'' :''1973'':

defeated Kitchener Ranger B's ''4-games-to-3 with 1 tie''

Notable alumni

* Chris Ahrens *

Jerry Byers Jerry William Byers (March 29, 1952 – December 25, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Career Byers was drafted in the first round, twelfth overall, by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. He played forty- ...

Jonathan Cheechoo Jonathan Cheechoo (; Cree: ; born July 15, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). During the 2005–06 season, he led the NHL with 56 goals and won the Maurice "Rocket" R ...

* Dave Cressman *

Jack Egers John Richard Egers (January 28, 1949 – September 10, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. Originally drafted in 1966 by the New York Rangers, Egers would also play for the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals. Egers w ...

* Mike Hoffman * Jim Krulicki *

Gary Kurt Gary David Kurt (born March 9, 1947, in Kitchener, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Kurt played Junior hockey for the Ontario Hockey Association's Kitchener Rangers, at the time owned by the New York Rang ...

Don Maloney Donald Michael Maloney (born September 5, 1958) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player. He is currently the Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Calgary Flames. He was formerly the general manager of the Phoenix/Arizona Coy ...

* Joe McDonnell *

Rich Peverley John Richard Peverley (born July 8, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent four years with the St. Lawrence University hockey team before turning professional, then playing three years for several teams in both the ...

Mike Robitaille Michael James David Robitaille (born February 12, 1948) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman (ice hockey), defenceman and commentator. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wi ...

Mark Scheifele Mark Scheifele (born March 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and an alternate captain for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Jets in the first round, seventh overall, of the 2011 N ...

* Danny Seguin *

Scott Stevens Ronald Scott Stevens (born April 1, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. As a defenseman, Stevens played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues and New Jersey ...

Walt Tkaczuk Walter Robert Bogdan Tkaczuk (born September 29, 1947) is a Canadian former ice hockey centre who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers between 1967 and 1981. Tkaczuk's family, originally from Ukraine, move ...

* Scott Walker * Bennett Wolf

References

External links

Dutchmen Webpage
{{GOJHL Ice hockey teams in Ontario Sport in Kitchener, Ontario