The 1984–85 OHL season was the fifth season of the
Ontario Hockey League. The
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds were undefeated in all 33 home games during the regular season. The
Brantford Alexanders moved back to
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, becoming the
Hamilton Steelhawks. Fifteen teams each played 66 games. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds won the
J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the
Peterborough Petes.
Relocation/Team Name Change
Brantford Alexanders to Hamilton Steelhawks
The
Brantford Alexanders relocated and moved back to the city of
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
for the 1984-85 season. The franchise had previously played in Hamilton from 1953-1976 as the
Hamilton Tiger Cubs from 1953-1960, and the
Hamilton Fincups from 1960-1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to
St. Catharines and played as the
St. Catharines Fincups for the
1976-77 season, however, the club returned to Hamilton for the
1977-78 season. The club then relocated to
Brantford
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 indep ...
and was renamed as the
Brantford Alexanders for the
1978-79 season.
The Steelhawks would play the 1984-85 season out of
Mountain Arena while their new arena,
Copps Coliseum, was being constructed and would not open until the 1985-86 season. The team remained in the Emms Division.
Windsor Spitfires to Windsor Compuware Spitfires
The
Windsor Spitfires were bought by
Peter Karmanos, the founder and CEO of
Compuware in 1984 and were renamed as the
Windsor Compuware Spitfires beginning in the 1984-85 season.
Tragedy
On January 4, 1985,
Bruce Melanson of the
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...
collapsed at practice and died from a heart ailment known as
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome which resulted in him having a rapid heartbeat because of electrical impulses in the heart taking extra pathways. He was 18 years old at the time of the incident. Melanson was a second round draft pick of the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
at the
1984 NHL Entry Draft.
The Generals wore black arm bands for the remainder of the season in memoriam of their teammate. In his memory, the club no longer issues the uniform number "9". A memorial scholarship was also set up at his former high school in
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
.
Regular season
Final standings
''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title''
Leyden Division
Emms Division
Scoring leaders
Playoffs
Division quarter-finals
Leyden Division
=(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (6) Ottawa 67's
=
=(2) Belleville Bulls vs. (5) Oshawa Generals
=
=(3) Toronto Marlboros vs. (4) Cornwall Royals
=
Emms Division
=(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (6) Kitchener Rangers
=
=(2) London Knights vs. (5) Windsor Compuware Spitfires
=
=(3) North Bay Centennials vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks
=
Division semi-finals
Leyden Division
=(2) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Cornwall Royals
=
Emms Division
=(2) London Knights vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks
=
Division finals
Leyden Division
=(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (2) Belleville Bulls
=
Emms Division
=(1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (4) Hamilton Steelhawks
=
J. Ross Robertson Cup
(E1) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. (L1) Peterborough Petes
Awards
1985 OHL Priority Selection
The
Kingston Canadians held the first overall pick in the 1985 Ontario Priority Selection and selected
Bryan Fogarty from the Aurora Tigers. Fogarty was awarded the
Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1985 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
See also
*
List of OHA Junior A standings
*
List of OHL seasons
*
1985 Memorial Cup
*
1985 NHL Entry Draft
*
1984 in sports
*
1985 in sports
1985 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiing
* 1984–85 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Alpine Skiing World Cup:
** Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
** Women's overall season champion: Michela Fig ...
References
HockeyDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:1984-85 OHL season
Ontario Hockey League seasons
OHL