The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional

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 Halifax,

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 ...

, Canada. They played in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, from 1971 to 1984. Originally chartered as the

Houston Apollos The Houston Apollos were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Houston, Texas. They played in the Central Hockey League from 1965 to 1969, and then from 1979 to 1981. From 1965 to 1969, they were a farm team of the NHL's Montreal Canadie ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

, the organization was relocated to Montreal after five seasons due to low attendance and travel costs. The Voyageurs (or "Vees" for short) played their first two seasons (1969–71), as the Montreal Voyageurs and were the affiliate of the

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

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. In 1971, they relocated to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. They were the first AHL team to be located in

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...

, and would be the first to play in the

Halifax Metro Centre Scotiabank Centre (formerly known as Halifax Metro Centre) is the largest multi-purpose facility in Atlantic Canada, located in the heart of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The main entrances to the building are located on Brunswick Str ...

. The team was also the first Canadian club to win the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

, and were the class of the league for many years - only in two seasons did the team garner a losing record, and the Voyageurs never missed the playoffs. The team eventually moved to

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

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 ...

to become the

Sherbrooke Canadiens The Sherbrooke Canadiens were a professional ice hockey team in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. They played their home games at the Palais des Sports. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1984 to 1990, and were a farm team of the M ...

. The Vees won three

Calder Cups The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

, the first in 1972. Nova Scotia won again in 1976 and 1977, while their parent Canadiens were winning back-to-back

Stanley Cups The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

; this is the only time an NHL/AHL affiliated combo have won both Cups in the same year twice. The team was replaced in Halifax by the

Nova Scotia Oilers The Nova Scotia Oilers were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1984 to 1988. The Oilers played their home games at the Halifax Metro Centre, and were the AHL affiliate of the Edmon ...

, an affiliate of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

and subsequently the

Halifax Citadels The Halifax Citadels were a professional ice hockey team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They played in the American Hockey League between 1988 and 1993. They were created by the relocation of the Fredericton Express and filled a void left by th ...

, an affiliate of the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

. With the success of the Voyageurs in its existence of 13 seasons, it spawned a period of 34 consecutive years where there would be at least one AHL team in Atlantic Canada. This was largely due to the desire of several Canadian NHL franchises to continue to pay players sent down to the minors in Canadian dollars throughout the 1980s and 1990s. However, by the late 1990s, many of the remaining AHL teams in Atlantic Canada had disappeared, either by relocation or by the franchise being rendered dormant. The last remaining team in this long period would be the

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was a ...

, which moved from

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

in 2005 to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 ...

to play as the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. The AHL did not return to Atlantic Canada until 2011 with the

St. John's IceCaps The St. John's IceCaps were a professional ice hockey team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. They were members of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was originally aff ...

Team records

;Single Season :Goals: 52

Yvon Lambert Yvon Pierre Lambert (born May 20, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Lambert was born in Drummondville, Quebec. Although drafted in 1970 by the Detroit Red Wings, Lambert started his National Hockey League (NHL) caree ...

(1971–72) :Assists: 73 John Chabot (1982–83) :Points: 104

(1971–72), 104 Peter Sullivan (1974–75) :Penalty Minutes: 335 Dwight Schofield (1981–82) :GAA: :SV%: ;Career :Career Goals: 103,

Dan Metivier Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

:Career Assists: 163, Wayne Thompson :Career Points: 251, Don Howse :Career Penalty Minutes: 1084 ,

Dave Allison David Bryan Allison (born April 14, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played three games with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1983–84 season and was head coach of ...

:Career Goaltending Wins: :Career Shutouts: :Career Games: 371, Jim Cahoon

Notable alumni

List of Voyageurs alumni that played more than 100 games in Halifax, and also played at least 100 games in the

and/or

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) ...

. *

Keith Acton Keith Edward Acton (born April 15, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), with the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Was ...

Ron Andruff Ronald Nicholas Andruff (born July 10, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Career Andruff was selected as the first draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, of the breakaway World Hockey Association, as well as 32nd pick overall (s ...

* Jeff Brubaker * Mike Busniuk *

Guy Carbonneau Joseph Harry Guy Carbonneau (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive in the National Hockey League. He was also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Chicoutimi Saguenéens ...

Dan Daoust Daniel Armand DaoustDan Armand Daoust http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12406#.UTYOs1eQm2U ( ; born February 29, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. All but four of his 522 career ...

Norm Dupont Normand Joseph Gilles Dupont (born February 5, 1957) is a Canadian retired ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward. As a youth, he played in the 1970 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Montréal-Nord ...

Brian Engblom Brian Paul Engblom (born January 27, 1955) is a Canadian ice hockey broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a former professional hockey defenseman. Biography Engblom was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and played for the University of Wiscons ...

* Tony Featherstone * Greg Fox *

Ed Gilbert Edmund Francis Gilbert (June 29, 1931 – May 8, 1999) was an American actor, with extensive credits in both live-action roles and voice work in animation, although he was better known for the latter. He is also credited, under his birth name (E ...

Glenn Goldup Glenn Michael Goldup (born April 26, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 291 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings. As a youth, he played in the 1965 ...

Mark Holden Mark Ronald Holden (born 27 April 1954) is an Australian singer, actor, TV personality, record producer, songwriter, and barrister. He was a pop star in the 1970s and had four top 20 hit singles, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (May 1976 ...

* Pat Hughes *

* Peter Lee *

Craig Levie Craig Dean Levie (born August 17, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 183 games in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, Winnipeg Jets, and Vancouver Canucks The Vanc ...

Dave Lumley David Earl Lumley (born September 1, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lumley was selected in both the twelfth round of the 1974 NHL amateur draft (199th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens and in the eighth round of the ...

Gilles Lupien Joseph Leonard Gilles Lupien (April 20, 1954May 18, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Hartford Whal ...

Mike McPhee Michael Joseph McPhee (born July 14, 1960) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward. Playing career McPhee began his professional career with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League, after being selected in the sixth-round (124th ...

Rick Meagher Richard Joseph Meagher (born November 2, 1953) is a Canadian former ice hockey player. Meagher played almost 700 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues. He wo ...

Pierre Mondou Joseph Julien Claude Pierre Mondou (born November 27, 1955) is a former Canadians, Canadian ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward. Mondou played in the National Hockey League from 1976–77 NHL season, 1977 to 1984–85 NHL season, 1985. Duri ...

* Bob Murray *

Bill Nyrop William Donald Nyrop (July 23, 1952 – December 31, 1995) was a professional ice hockey player who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Early life Born in Washington, D.C., his father, Donald Nyrop, served ...

Greg Paslawski Gregory Stephen "Mud" Paslawski (born August 25, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabr ...

* Mike Polich *

Noel Price Garry Noel Price (born December 9, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with seven teams between 1957 to 1976. He also spent considerable time in the minor American Hockey League d ...

* Bill Riley *

Larry Robinson Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...

* Bill Root *

Randy Rota Randolph Frank Rota (born August 16, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 212 games in the National Hockey League and 90 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles King ...

Rod Schutt Rodney Gordon Schutt (born October 13, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 286 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and Pittsburgh Penguins The Pitts ...

* Dwight Schofield * Peter Sullivan *

Michel Therrien Michel Therrien (born November 4, 1963) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. (NHL). Therrien formerly coached the Montreal Canadiens, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. Prior to his coaching career, Therrien played pr ...

John Van Boxmeer John Martin Van Boxmeer (born November 20, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He has also served extensively as a hockey coach with various teams from 1984 to the present. Bio John Van Boxmeer was considered a top prospec ...

* Rick Wilson * Ron Wilson * Paul Woods

Coaches

Al MacNeil Allister Wences MacNeil (born September 27, 1935) is a former National Hockey League player and coach. He was the first native of Atlantic Canada to serve as a head coach in the NHL. Career He played parts of eleven seasons in the National Hockey ...

- 1971–72 to 1976–77 * Frank St. Marseille - 1977–78 to 1978–79 *

Bert Templeton Robert "Bert" Templeton (May 11, 1940 – December 5, 2003) was a junior ice hockey coach. He worked primarily in the Ontario Hockey League from 1974 to 2003. Templeton compiled a career coaching record of 907-678-148 with major junior teams in ...

Team records

Notable alumni

Coaches

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

See also