The St. Catharines Saints was a minor league

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 St. Catharines, Ontario. It 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

from 1982 to 1986 as the farm team 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 ...

History

The Moncton-based

New Brunswick Hawks The New Brunswick Hawks were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Home games were played at the Moncton Coliseum. They were a member of the American Hockey League (AHL) between 1978 and 1982. The Hawks operated as a mino ...

had been established in 1978 as members of the

(AHL), and were jointly operated by the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and the

as their

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. Maple Leaf Gardens Limited (MLGL) and the Black Hawks each owned half of the franchise. By 1980,

Harold Ballard Harold Edwin Ballard (born Edwin Harold Ballard, July 30, 1903 – April 11, 1990) was a Canadian businessman and sportsman. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as their home arena, Maple ...

, owner of the Leafs, had decided that they needed a developmental team of their own, with a spokesperson citing the limited number of roster spots as the rationale for the move. MLGL launched the Cincinnati Tigers in the old

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 ...

in 1981 to serve as their own affiliate, while retaining their share of the New Brunswick Hawks. However, after the Tigers averaged only 1,500 fans and lost $750,000 in their first season, the Leafs folded the Tigers in the spring of 1982. That same summer, with Chicago having already pulled out of New Brunswick in favour of affiliating with the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

on their own, the Maple Leafs announced that they would not operate the team in Moncton the following year after they couldn't come to terms with the city on a new arena lease, even though the team had the fifth highest attendance in the league. The Maple Leafs wanted to relocate the team closer to Toronto, with both St. Catharines and

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

in Ontario potential destinations for the franchise. When MLGL applied to the AHL to relocate the New Brunswick Hawks to St. Catharines, the nearby

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

initially blocked the move due to objections to a team moving into their territory without prior discussions with them. However, following protests by fans in St. Catharines and threats by Ballard to suspend the Moncton franchise to prevent another AHL team from playing in the city and to sue the Sabres and NHL for $20 million, the relocation was approved unanimously and the franchise became the St. Catharines Saints, serving as the Maple Leafs' primary affiliate. At the same AHL Board of Governors meeting, 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 ...

received approval to purchase a new AHL franchise to replace the departed Hawks in Moncton, leading to establishment of the Moncton Alpines as their affiliate that fall. Following the 1985–1986 season, the team moved to

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket ( 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The name stems from th ...

, and became the

Newmarket Saints The Newmarket Saints were a minor league hockey team in Newmarket, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1986 to 1991 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Ray Twinney Complex. After the 1985–86 season, the Tor ...

. An earlier team under this name played in the OHA Senior League in the 1940s and '50s.

Alumni

Former players include: *

Allan Bester Allan Bester (born March 26, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Dallas Stars between 1984 and 1996. Playing career Bester ...

* Bruce Boudreau * Steve Thomas *

Ken Wregget Kenneth Lee Wregget (born March 25, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. His professional hockey career spans nearly 20 years, and he suited up in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia F ...

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

Team records

:Goals: Bruce Boudreau (50, 1982–83) :Assists: Bruce Boudreau (72, 1982–83) :Points: Bruce Boudreau (122, 1982–83) :Penalty minutes: Leigh Verstraete (300, 1985–86) :GAA (min. 20 games):

(3.64, 1985–86) :SV% (min. 20 games): Allan Bester (.881, 1985–86) :Career goals: Bruce Boudreau (97) :Career assists: Bruce Boudreau (134) :Career points: Bruce Boudreau (231) :Career penalty minutes: Leigh Verstraete (868) :Career goaltending wins:

Tim Bernhardt Timothy John Bernhardt (born January 17, 1958) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender who played 67 games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames between 1982 and 1986. Playing career Bernhardt bega ...

(36) :Career shutouts: Bob Parent (3) :Career games: Craig Muni (269) :Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catharines Saints Toronto Maple Leafs minor league affiliates Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ice hockey clubs established in 1982 Sports clubs disestablished in 1986 1982 establishments in Ontario