The 1995–96 OHL season was the 16th season of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

. The league expanded as the

Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League (OHL), based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The Colts play home games at the Sadlon Arena. The Colts joined the OHL in 1995, and previously competed at lower levels of junio ...

entered into the central division. The

Detroit Junior Red Wings The Detroit Junior Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 1992 to 1995. The Jr. Red Wings were based in Detroit, Michigan. History The Compuware Ambassadors were renamed the Detroit Junior Red ...

become the Detroit Whalers. Seventeen teams each played 66 games. The

Peterborough Petes The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league. ...

won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

Expansion

Barrie Colts

On May 6, 1994, The

were approved as an expansion team in the

beginning in the 1995-96 season. The Colts began their inaugural season playing in the Barrie Arena, however, on December 31, 1995, the Colts moved into their new home, the Barrie Molson Centre. The Colts joined the Central Division.

Rebranding

Detroit Junior Red Wings to Detroit Whalers

At the conclusion of the 1994-95, the

severed all ties with the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, as

Peter Karmanos Peter Karmanos Jr. (born March 11, 1943) is an American businessman who was most recently the minority owner and alternate governor of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise until June 30, 2021. He served as their principal owner from 1994 (when the H ...

renamed the franchise the Detroit Whalers. The Whalers moved out of

Joe Louis Arena Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena ...

and into the

Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly known as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Opened in 1988, it was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shock of the ...

, home of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and the

Detroit Vipers The Detroit Vipers were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the International Hockey League (IHL). Originally founded in 1969 as the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in Salt Lake City, the team was purchased by Palace Sports & Entertainment ...

of the International Hockey League. The Whalers would play 21 of their 33 home games in the regular season at the

while playing their remaining 12 home games at Oak Park Ice Arena. The Whalers played all of their home playoff games at the Oak Park Ice Arena. The club remained in the West Division.

Regular season

Final standings

''Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = earned first round bye''

East Division

Central Division

West Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

East Division

=(2) Peterborough Petes vs. (5) Kingston Frontenacs

=(3) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Oshawa Generals

Central Division

=(2) Kitchener Rangers vs. (5) Barrie Colts

=(3) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (4) Owen Sound Platers

West Division

=(1) Detroit Whalers vs. (4) Windsor Spitfires

=(2) Sarnia Sting vs. (3) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

OHL quarter-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (C3) Niagara Falls Thunder

(W1) Detroit Whalers vs. (C2) Kitchener Rangers

(E1) Ottawa 67's vs. (E3) Belleville Bulls

(W2) Sarnia Sting vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

OHL semi-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E3) Belleville Bulls

(W1) Detroit Whalers vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

All-Star teams

First team

Alyn McCauley Alyn Daniel McCauley (born May 29, 1977) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for ten years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and the Los Angeles Kings. Prior to his NHL ...

, Centre,

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 centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play thei ...

Daniel Cleary Daniel Michael Cleary (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. He currently ...

, Left Wing,

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, ...

* Cameron Mann, Right Wing,

* Bryan Berard, Defence, Detroit Whalers * Kevin Bolibruck, Defence,

* Craig Hillier, Goaltender,

* Brian Kilrea, Coach,

Second team

* Aaron Brand, Centre, Sarnia Sting * Sean Haggerty, Left Wing, Detroit Whalers * Jeff Johnstone, Right Wing,

Niagara Falls Thunder The Niagara Falls Thunder were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1988 to 1996. The team was based in Niagara Falls, Ontario. History Niagara Falls became home to its third OHL franchise in 1988 upon the relocation of the H ...

* Sean Brown, Defence, Sarnia Sting *

Jay McKee Jay McKee (born September 8, 1977) is a Canadian coach and former professional ice hockey defenceman. He last played for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was previously with the Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis B ...

, Defence,

Dan Cloutier Daniel Cloutier (born April 22, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, who has recently taken on an Executive position with the Ontario Hockey League , OHL Guelph Storm, the team he completed his Junior Career. In his 10- ...

, Goaltender,

* Bert Templeton, Coach,

Third team

* Sean Venedam, Centre,

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

* Jamie Wright, Left Wing,

* David Nemirovski, Right Wing, Sarnia Sting * Marc Moro, Defence,

Kingston Frontenacs The Kingston Frontenacs are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario. The Frontenacs play home games at Slush Puppie Place, which opened in 2008. The team's history predates the Ontario Ho ...

* Ryan Risidore, Defence,

* David Belitski, Goaltender,

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

, Goaltender,

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. ...

* Mark Hunter, Coach, Sarnia Sting

Awards

1996 OHL Priority Selection

On June 1, 1996, the OHL conducted the 1996 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection at the

Kitchener Memorial Auditorium The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex (also known as The Aud) is a multi-use municipally-owned facility in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The complex is located on East Avenue, near the Ottawa Street interchange on the Conestoga Parkway. The c ...

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

. The

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 ...

held the first overall pick in the draft and selected Rico Fata from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Fata was awarded the

Jack Ferguson Award The Jack Ferguson Award is awarded each year to the top draft pick in the Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the W ...

, awarded to the top pick in the draft. Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1996 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

References

HockeyDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 OHL season Ontario Hockey League seasons OHL

Expansion

Barrie Colts

Rebranding

Detroit Junior Red Wings to Detroit Whalers

Regular season

Final standings

East Division

Central Division

West Division

Scoring leaders

Playoffs

Division quarter-finals

East Division

=(2) Peterborough Petes vs. (5) Kingston Frontenacs

=(3) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Oshawa Generals

Central Division

=(2) Kitchener Rangers vs. (5) Barrie Colts

=(3) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (4) Owen Sound Platers

West Division

=(1) Detroit Whalers vs. (4) Windsor Spitfires

=(2) Sarnia Sting vs. (3) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

OHL quarter-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (C3) Niagara Falls Thunder

(W1) Detroit Whalers vs. (C2) Kitchener Rangers

(E1) Ottawa 67's vs. (E3) Belleville Bulls

(W2) Sarnia Sting vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

OHL semi-finals

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E3) Belleville Bulls

(W1) Detroit Whalers vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

All-Star teams

First team

Second team

Third team

Awards

1996 OHL Priority Selection

See also

References