The Wembley Monarchs were an

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 h ...

team in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. They were founded in 1929 as the Grosvenor House Canadians, transferred to Wembley Canadians for the 1934–35 season and became the Monarchs in 1936. The team played in the English League 1931–35, 1936–37 and in the

English National League The English National League was an early ice hockey league in England. It was founded in 1935 by most of the teams who had previously competed in the English League. It was suspended during the Second World War World War II or t ...

1935–36, 1937–50. The Grosvenor House Canadians played their home matches at the Park Lane Rink but from 1934 the Empire Pool in

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broade ...

, London, (now the SSE Arena) was the home ice for the Canadians/Monarchs (which they shared with the

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

). Foreign players faced heavy fines and deportation if found to have engaged in on-ice violence or unsportsmanlike conduct, so bar brawls and fights in the locker rooms with opposing players after games were far from uncommon. The Grosvenor House Canadians won the English League in 1933-34 but the only success as the Monarchs came in 1948 when they won the English Autumn Cup title. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

ice shows became frequent events over the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

period and hosting two teams at Empire Pool became impractical. The Monarchs were closed down in 1950 as a result. The heart of their strength was the famed "Kid Line",made up in 1948 of Mauno "Kid" Kauppi, Les Anning and Jean-Paul Lafortune. Left Wing Kauppi was voted MVP of the 1949 Autumn Cup game for scoring the winning goal in overtime.

References

A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey
Defunct ice hockey teams in the United Kingdom Ice hockey clubs established in 1929 Sports clubs disestablished in 1950 Ice hockey teams in London Wembley Arena 1929 establishments in England 1950 disestablishments in England {{Europe-icehockey-team-stub