The North of Superior Junior B Hockey League (NSHL) is a defunct Junior

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 ...

league in

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, sanctioned by

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 ...

. The league used to be a part of the

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 Northern ...

History

The North of Superior Junior B Hockey League was the brain-child of Chris Joubert of

Terrace Bay, Ontario Terrace Bay is a township in Thunder Bay District in northern Ontario, Canada, located on the north shore of Lake Superior east of Thunder Bay along Highway 17. The name originates from a series of lake terraces formed as the water level in Lak ...

. He served as president of the NSHL for its first two years before stepping down due to work commitments. Claude Montfort of

Marathon, Ontario Marathon is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Thunder Bay District, on the north shore of Lake Superior north of Pukaskwa National Park, in the heart of the Canadian Shield. Geography Personal residences encompass an area sta ...

took over after him. The league occupied most of the same zone as the old

International Junior B Hockey League The International Junior B Hockey League (IJBHL) was a Canadian junior hockey, Junior ice hockey league in the Northern Ontario and Northern Michigan regions. The league was controlled by the Northern Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Ama ...

. The first season, 1996–97, the league consisted of the

Aguasabon River Rats The Aguasabon River Rats were a Junior "B" ice hockey team based out of Terrace Bay, Ontario. They played out of the North of Superior Junior B Hockey League (NSHL) and the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League. History The Aguasabon River Rats pla ...

, Longlac Merchants,

Marathon Renegades The Marathon Renegades were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Marathon, Ontario. They were currently members of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. History They were members of the North of Superior Junior B Hockey League from 1996 ...

, and

Wawa Travellers The Wawa Travellers were a Junior "B" team based out of Wawa, Ontario. They played in the North of Superior Junior B Hockey League. History The Travellers played in all eight of the NSHL's seasons. After a slow start, the team moved through t ...

. In 1997, the Hearst Elans, who played previously under

Hockey Quebec Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, joined the league and made an instant impact. They won both the 1998 and 1999 league championships, the 1998 and 1999 Northern Ontario Championships, and Bronze at the 1998

Keystone Cup The Keystone Cup is the Junior B ice hockey championship and trophy for Western Canada. From 1983 to 2017, the championship was the culmination of the champions of 12 hockey leagues in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwe ...

. For reasons unknown, the Elans left the league in 1999. The NSHL survived for 8 seasons. After their 7th season, they tried to expand to increase the competition in the small league, but the expansion was blocked by the NOHA. The league threatened to take the issue to 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 one ...

, but nothing came of it. The victors of the league's playoffs earned the right to compete against the

Hockey Northwestern Ontario Hockey Northwestern Ontario (HNO) is the governing body of all ice hockey in Northern Ontario, Canada. Hockey Northwestern Ontario is a branch of Hockey Canada. Jurisdiction Empowered by Hockey Canada, Hockey Northwestern Ontario has control of ...

Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League The Lakehead Junior Hockey League is a Canadian Junior ice hockey league in Northwestern Ontario, sanctioned by Hockey Northwestern Ontario and Hockey Canada. An earlier edition of this league existed in the 1970s. The Thunder Bay-based league ...

in the Northwestern Ontario Regionals. The winner of that series used to earn the right to compete for the

, the Western Canadian championship. In 2004, the NSHL took a leave of absence from the NOHA. The Wawa Travellers were the only healthy team that still wanted to compete in the NSHL. The Marathon Renegades left the league for a season to attempt to find better ways of drawing players and came back in 2005 to find there was nothing left. The Thessalon Flyers were officially defunct as their owner was thrown out of

for shady business practices. The last team, the Aguasabon River Rats left the league because they did not want to compete in such a small league, they left for the rival TBJBHL with an all-star contingent of NSHL players, lost their 2005 league final and never came back. With the Wawa Travellers being the only team registered to the league in 2004-05 and for the 2005-06 season, the league official closed its doors in early 2005. In the aftermath of the dispersal of the league in 2004, the

took a shot at covering the distance to play in the Thunder Bay Junior "B" league. They last only one season, but were regular season champions. In 2006, the

came back to life to play Junior "A" in the

Superior International Junior Hockey League The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of M ...

. The

have attempted ever since the folding of the NSHL to enter the SIJHL, but lack a core financial sponsor.

The teams

Royal Goodyear Cup Champions

{, cellpadding="0" , - align="left" style="vertical-align: top" , , {, cellpadding="1" width="500px" style="font-size: 90%; border: 1px solid gray;" , - align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd" , Year , , Champion , , Runner Up , , Final Result , - align="center" , 1997 , , Marathon Renegades , , , , Lost Regional to Northwestern , - align="center" , 1998 , , Hearst Elans , , Marathon Renegades , , Won Bronze at

, - align="center" , 1999 , , Hearst Elans , , , , 6th at

, - align="center" , 2000 , , Auguasabon River Rats , , , , Lost Regional to Fort William , - align="center" , 2001 , , Auguasabon River Rats , , , , Lost Regional to Westfort , - align="center" , 2002 , , Auguasabon River Rats , , Wawa Travellers , , 5th at

, - align="center" , 2003 , , Wawa Travellers , , , , Lost Regional to

Nipigon Nipigon () is a township in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located along the west side of the Nipigon River and south of the small Lake Helen running between Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon is located approximat ...

, - align="center" , 2004 , , Wawa Travellers , , Thessalon Flyers , , Lost Regional to

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

References

External links

NOHA Webpage
Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ontario Sport in Northern Ontario