The Rimouski Océanic are 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

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

(QMJHL). The franchise was granted for the 1969–70 season as the

Sherbrooke Castors The Sherbrooke Castors or Beavers (in English) was the name of two different junior ice hockey teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and another team in the Quebec Eastern Provincial Hockey League. Both later franchises played at the Pal ...

. The Castors played in

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 ...

from 1969 to 1982 before moving to

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost naviga ...

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 ...

, in 1982 to become the

Saint-Jean Castors Saint-Jean (French for Saint John) may refer to: Places Belgium * Sint-Jan, a borough of Ypres, sometimes referenced as ''Saint-Jean'' in a World War I-related context Canada *Lac Saint-Jean *Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality *L ...

. In 1989, the team was renamed the

Saint-Jean Lynx Saint-Jean Lynx were a junior ice hockey team which played from 1989 to 1995 in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They played at the Colisée Isabelle-Brasseur. In 1982 they moved from Sherbrooke and were formerly the Sherbrooke Castors. Th ...

. In 1995, the team then moved to

Rimouski Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), the C ...

, Quebec, to become the Rimouski Océanic.

History

The team won the QMJHL championship in the 1999–2000 season and went on to win the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

that year, with a team featuring future NHL star

Brad Richards Bradley Glen Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Lightning, New York Ra ...

Sidney Crosby Sidney Patrick Crosby (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Sid the Kid" and dubbed " The Next One", he was selected first o ...

joined the team during the

2003–04 QMJHL season The 2003–04 QMJHL season was the 35th season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The league continued to expand to new eastern markets, with teams relocating to Maine and Prince Edward Island. Conferences were abandoned and t ...

. Crosby's 135 points for the club set a new record for a 16-year-old in the QMJHL and was second only to

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

in that particular age-group for all Canadian hockey. Other notable alumni through the years include

Vincent Lecavalier Vincent "Vinny" Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently a special advisor to hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens. Lecavalier, played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey ...

, Brad Richards, Ryane Clowe and Michael Frolik. In 2005, the Océanic set a QMJHL record after going 28 consecutive games without a loss. The team then went on to win seven games in a row in the playoffs, improving the unbeaten streak to an unofficial 35-straight. They won their second QMJHL championship in five years and subsequently represented the QMJHL in the

2005 Memorial Cup The 2005 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2005 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was held May 21–29, 2005 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. It was the 87th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ic ...

. After losing the opener against the hometown

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

, the Océanic beat both the defending Memorial Cup champion

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The Rockets play in the Western Hockey League (WHL), out of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They play their home games at Prospera Place. The Roc ...

, who were in their third-straight Memorial Cup, and the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's Canadian Centennial, centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's c ...

. Rimouski then beat the 67's again in the semi-finals to set up a rematch of their opening game against the Knights. However, the Océanic were shut out in the final game 4–0. The QMJHL announced on April 3, 2008, that the Océanic were chosen to host the

2009 Memorial Cup The 2009 Memorial Cup was a four-team round-robin format ice hockey tournament played during May 2009 in Rimouski, Quebec. It was the 91st annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey L ...

. In the 2014–15 season, the Océanic captured the QMJHL championship in double overtime of the seventh game against the

Quebec Remparts There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts (french: Remparts de Québec) that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The first edition played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has pla ...

. Because the Remparts were the hosts of

2015 Memorial Cup The 2015 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2015 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a four-team round-robin format tournament that began on 22 May and ended on 31 May, 2015. It was the 97th Memorial Cup championship and determined the ...

, they had already qualified for the Memorial Cup tournament prior to the QMJHL final, thus entering Rimouski into the Cup tournament. The Océanic finished 1–2 in the round robin portion in the tournament, advancing to the tie-breaker to play the Remparts, ultimately losing 5–2.

Logo and jerseys

The Océanic logo is an ocean liner with a set of teeth on the bow, jutting out of waves creating both a profile that suggests both a striking shark and a

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

. The team colours are royal blue, navy blue and white, and their home arena is the

Colisée Financière Sun Life The Colisée Financière Sun Life (in English, Sun Life Financial Coliseum) is a 4,285-seat (total capacity 5,062) multi-purpose arena in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, built in 1966. It is home to the Rimouski Océanic ice hockey team A team i ...

. The team's sweater has proven popular in the United States, as

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

has issued it with Crosby's number 87 on it.

Playoff results

Season-by-season playoff results.

Players

Retired numbers

's # 87 was retired by the Océanic on 27 September 2019, and retired for all teams in the QMJHL.

NHL alumni

Alumni of the Océanic who have played in the National Hockey League. *

Éric Bélanger Éric Bélanger (born December 16, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played the majority of his professional career as a centre in the National Hockey League (NHL), representing the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurrican ...

Marc-André Bourdon Marc-André Bourdon (born September 17, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant coach for the Liberty University Flames Division 1 ACHA Hockey team ...

* Jordan Caron *

Sébastien Caron Sébastien Caron (born June 25, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He last played for the defunct Hamburg Freezers of the then Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing car ...

* Ryane Clowe *

Patrice Cormier Patrice Victor Cormier (born June 14, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently under contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Cormier was drafted in the second round, 54th overal ...

* Michael Frolik *

Frédérik Gauthier Frédérik Gauthier (born April 26, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre currently under contract with HC Ajoie of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). Gauthier was selected by the Toronto Ma ...

* Aaron Johnson * Juraj Kolnik *

Alexis Lafrenière Alexis Lafrenière (, born October 11, 2001) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected first overall by the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League ...

Michel Ouellet Michel Ouellet (born March 5, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Ouellet was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round (124th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry ...

Jean-Marc Pelletier Jean-Marc Pelletier (born March 4, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven National Hockey League (NHL) games over parts of three seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes between 1999 and 200 ...

Marc-Antoine Pouliot Marc-Antoine Pouliot (born May 22, 1985) is a Canadian-Swiss professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with Genève-Servette HC of the National League (NL). He was selected 22nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2003 NHL Entry D ...

Philippe Sauvé Philippe Sauvé (born February 27, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played with the Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Sauvé played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, Cal ...

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimouski Oceanic Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in Quebec Sport in Rimouski Ice hockey clubs established in 1995 1995 establishments in Quebec