London Knights

SummaryLondon Knights OHL Team History and Statistics

http://www.londonknights.com/ Official Site

History of the Knights

The team was founded as an Ontario Hockey Association junior A team in 1965 as the London Nationals. Prior to 1965, the team's history dated back to the early 1950s, playing in the Western Junior B league out of the Ontario Arena at the Western Fairgrounds. They won the Western Junior B title in 1952 as the London Lou Ball Juniors, after sponsor Lou Ball's clothing store. In 1963 the Toronto Maple Leafs began sponsoring the team, by now called the Nationals after sponsor the Canadian National Recreation Association, an organization of Canadian National Railways employees. The Leafs traditionally had affiliations with the Toronto Marlboros and St. Michael's Majors, however with the withdrawal of the Majors from the OHA and the collapse of the Metro Junior A League, the Leafs were left with one team only. They decided to sponsor the junior team in London, which would play at the new London Gardens and be promoted to the OHA. The league initially balked at the proposition, however, and so the Nationals continued to play junior B, winning the London Free Press Trophy as league champions in 1964 and 1965. For the 1965-66 season the team was finally admitted to major junior hockey. The team's uniforms were copies of those of the Maple Leafs, coloured in blue and white and with a Leaf logo with "London Nationals" spelled out on the front.

In 1968, a businessman called Howard Darwin bought the London Nationals (he also owned the Ottawa 67's) as the era of NHL sponsorship of junior hockey ended. Darwin wanted to give a fresh look to the team, and so a "rename the team" contest was held. Londoner Brian Logie suggested the name Knights, and the team's colours were changed to green, white and gold. In 1970 the team also hired legendary trainer Don Brankley, who is still with the Knights as of 2006. The team grew from a chronic also-ran in the late 1960's and early 1970's to a contender near the end of the decade. The highlight of the Darwin era came in 1976-77, when a powerful Knights team led by future NHLers Rob Ramage, Brad Marsh and DinoCiccarelli defeated the St. Catharines Fincups in the conference final on an overtime goal by Dan Eastman to advance to the OHL final against the 67's. However, the 67's were triumphant in six games in the league final. In the early 1980's the Knights descended to a nadir in franchise history, with low crowds and a poor record. However, a young phenom named Brendan Shanahan would soon rise to prominence and help to draw in new crowds.

In 1986 Howard Darwin sold the Knights to a group of Paris, Ontario, businessmen named Jack Robillard, Al Martin and Bob Wilson. The team was sold for a dollar but the London Gardens was sold at market value. The new ownership group updated the team's logo to a more modernized Knight and renovated the Gardens. Under their stewardship the Knights would go on a run of success. Between 1987 and 1993 the team would finish no lower than third in the Emms Division, including a division title in 1989-90. However, regular season success did not translate into playoff success, as the Knights would never make the league final in these years.

In 1994 the Knights were sold to St. Thomas, Ontario real estate developer Doug Tarry, Sr. Unfortunately, Tarry would die before the team had played a game under his ownership, and the team was inherited by his son, Doug Tarry, Jr.. Upon taking command, Tarry carried out further renovations on the Gardens including a name change to the "London Ice House." He also alienated a fair portion of the team's fan base by changing the team's uniforms from traditional green and gold to eggplant and teal, and changing the logo to a cartoonish Spider-Man caricature, instantly and derisively nicknamed "Spiderknight" by the faithful. The 1995-96 OHL season went down in history as the worst in the history of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights set a new record for futility by winning only three games all season in sixty-six tries, finishing with nine points and a 3-60-3 record. The years following the so-called "Knightmare" season were improved, but the team was still a long way from the league's upper echelon. Meanwhile, the Ice House was falling apart as the Tarry family had stopped putting money into it as a part of their lobbying the city of London for a new arena. However, the re-signing of former Head Coach Gary Agnew, and the signing of future NHL#ers Rico Fata and Tom Kostopoulos heralded a marked turnaround for the team's fortunes. In 1999, the Knights went on an unexpected playoff run, in which they defeated the number-one-in-the- CHL PlymouthWhalers in seven games in the quarterfinals and ultimately went all the way to the OHL championship, which they lost in seven games to the BellevilleBulls.

In 2000, former NHL players Dale Hunter and Mark Hunter bought the Knights and began a process of rebuilding. The Hunters rebuilt the Knights' scouting network and began lobbying the city of London for a new arena. The Ice House was scheduled to close at the conclusion of the 2001-02 OHL season, and as a treat for their fans, the Knights changed back to their 1986-94 green and gold uniforms in February of 2002. In October of that year the John Labatt Centre opened, and new, modernized versions of the old green and gold uniforms debuted. The 2003-04 OHL season would mark the beginning of a remarkable dynasty. The Knights had the best record in the CHL after the regular season, also setting an OHL record with 110 points, but they lost to the Guelph Storm in the OHL Western Conference final. In the 2004-05 season, the Knights broke a CHL record, going 31 games in a row without a loss (29-0-2).[1] The previous record of 29 games, held by the 1978-79 BrandonWheatKings (who went 25-0-4 during their streak), was broken with a 0-0 tie against the Guelph Storm on December 10, 2004. The streak ended at 31 games after a 5-2 loss to the Sudbury Wolves on December 17. The Knights finished the season with 120 points (59 wins, 7 losses, 2 ties), breaking their own OHL record set the previous season. In the playoffs, the Knights started by sweeping two best-of-seven series against the GuelphStorm and WindsorSpitfires. In the Western Conference final, the Knights defeated the Kitchener Rangers 4-1 to win the WayneGretzky Trophy. In the OHL finals against the Ottawa 67's, the Knights won the series 4-1 to win their first J. Ross Robertson Cup, and in so doing, ended the longest championship drought in the CHL. That same year, the London Knights and the John Labatt Centre were awarded the right to host 2005 MemorialCup Tournament, which was played from May 21 to May 29. In the tournament, they defeated the RimouskiOcéanic 4-3 on May 21, the KelownaRockets 4-2 on May 23, and the Ottawa 67's 5-2 on May 26. This earned the Knights a bye into the championship game. On May 29, the Knights defeated Rimouski 4-0 to win their first Memorial Cup. In 2005-06, the team won their third consecutive Hamilton Spectator Trophy for winning the regular season title, but their run into the playoffs ended with a loss to Peterborough in the OHL final.

Current Players

Notable NHL Alumni

RickNash
CoreyPerry