Central Junior A Hockey League

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History

The league started in 1961 as the "Ottawa-Hull District Junior Hockey League", under the sponsorship of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, in hope of a better development program. The league has featured such NHL stars as Steve Yzerman and Larry Robinson of which the two divisions were named for. As this league was for the Ottawa District, teams out of the area were not allowed to compete, with one exemption - Pembroke. In the early years, any player in the league was automatically a member of the Montreal Canadiens, and were forced into a contract which would disallow them to sign with any other National Hockey League team if they were ever to achieve such greatness. The Canadiens also wanted the league to be strictly for development, allowing 4 19-year-olds and 5 18-year-olds per team with the rest of the players being 17 or younger. This was met with much anger and disappointment with players who had just reached their 20's, but the league substantially gained in popularity, and they were ignored. A remarkable alumnus of the league is 4-time Stanley Cup Champion Billy Smith of New York Islanders fame, a former member of the Smiths Falls Bears. In 1963, the Montreal Canadiens allowed the Chicago Blackhawks-sponsored Brockville Braves into the league.

After the ruling that allowed 20-year-olds to play in the league, teams began attempting to "buy" championship teams by going after former Major Junior players. The effect of this resulted in the labeling of the league as a "goon league" or "bush league" as the league got more violent. The fan base dwindled, and by 1984 there were only 5 teams left in the league, all on the verge of bankruptcy. The owners of the five teams approached the owners of Ottawa's Talisman Hotel and asked them to purchase the league. Through new management and rule changes, the league barred 20-year-olds from the Major Junior ranks, created a limit of 5 20-year-olds (homegrown from the CJHL), and banned the paying of players. The new rules worked, and the league was once again successful. The league then approached the Canadian Hockey Association, and requested a new system. After the fall of the Rockland Nationals, the league realized there was a revenue problem amongst its teams. The league demanded longer regular seasons and a shorter National playdown schedule to determine the National Champion. This new system was guaranteed to increase revenue amongst all teams nation-wide as they were allowed to have more home games, increasing revenue through ticket sales, and decreased the travel expenditures that forced the Rockland Nationals to fold when they won the National Championship.

The league began flourishing, and by the early 90's, had expanded over 2-fold. Teams that had folded during the "dark days" of the late 70's and early 80's came back. The league even allowed for the expansion of their first American hockey team, the Massena Americans. Also, now a member of the OHL, the Cornwall Royals moved from Cornwall. In response, the CJHL allowed the Messena Americans to move to Cornwall, hoping the Cornwall Colts could help the city fill its competitive hockey "void".

Currently with 10 teams, the Central Junior A Hockey League, with an annual attendance of over 350,000 fans, is considered to be one of the more successful Tier II Junior "A" leagues in all of Canada.