The Toronto Ravinas / Toronto Falcons were a minor league professional hockey team that competed in the Canadian Professional Hockey League in the 1927–28 season. The team was a minor league affiliate of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

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 ...

. Future Leaf hall-of-famer

Joe Primeau Alfred Joseph Francis "Gentleman Joe" Primeau (January 29, 1906 – May 14, 1989), was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Playing career Born in Lindsay, Ontario, and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Primeau moved to Toronto at an e ...

was the team's leading scorer. Ex-Leaf

Bert Corbeau Bertram Orion "Pig Iron" Corbeau (February 9, 1894 – September 21, 1942) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Hamilton Tigers, Toronto St. Pats and Tor ...

was also on the team, winding up his professional career in the Canpro league. The Ravinas were coached by Frank J. Selke, who would be hired as assistant to Leafs managing director

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, Military Cross, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs ...

in 1929. The Leafs bought the team in February 1928 and renamed them the Falcons. The club initially played its home games at

Ravina Gardens Ravina Gardens was an ice hockey arena located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It supported amateur hockey from before World War I until 1961, and professional hockey briefly in the 1920s. The location of the demolished arena is parkland, and is known ...

in what was then

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 ...

's west end. Attendance was poor—even the season opener only attracted 1,500 fans—and the Leafs moved the Falcons to

Arena Gardens An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

for some games after they purchased the team. The Falcons would also play some home games late in the season in

Brantford, Ontario Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

when crowds remained poor in Toronto. With the Falcons fighting for a playoff position, they drew a crowd of 700 to Ravina Gardens on March 14, 1928. The team finished the season with a 20–18–4 record over 42 games, which was good for third place in the eight-team league. The Falcons disbanded at the end of the year, with several players joining the London Panthers the following season.

References

{{Reflist Ra Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Ice hockey teams in Ontario Toronto Maple Leafs minor league affiliates 1927–28 in Canadian ice hockey by team