Junior ice hockey season
The 1988–89 OHL season was the ninth season of the Ontario Hockey League . The Hamilton Steelhawks move to Niagara Falls becoming the Niagara Falls Thunder . The Kingston Canadians rename themselves to the Kingston Raiders . The OHL awards the inaugural Bill Long Award for distinguished service to the OHL. Fifteen teams each played 66 games. The Peterborough Petes won the J. Ross Robertson Cup , defeating the Niagara Falls Thunder .
Relocation/Team Name Change
Hamilton Steelhawks to Niagara Falls Thunder
The Hamilton Steelhawks relocated their franchise to the city of Niagara Falls after four seasons in Hamilton . The club was renamed as the Niagara Falls Thunder and would play out of the Niagara Falls Memorial Arena . The Thunder would remain in the Emms Division.
This would be the first club since the Niagara Falls Flyers , who relocated to North Bay in 1982, to be based out of the city.
Kingston Canadians to Kingston Raiders
The Kingston Canadians were rebranded as the Kingston Raiders for the 1988-89 season. Kingston had used the Canadians name since they were announced as an expansion club in 1973. The club changed their colour scheme from red, blue and white to black, silver and white, effectively stealing the NFL's Los Angeles Raiders' name and color scheme.
Teams
1988-89 Ontario Hockey League
Division
Team
City
Arena
Leyden
Belleville Bulls
Belleville , Ontario
Yardmen Arena
Cornwall Royals
Cornwall , Ontario
Cornwall Civic Complex
Kingston Raiders
Kingston , Ontario
Kingston Memorial Centre
Oshawa Generals
Oshawa , Ontario
Oshawa Civic Auditorium
Ottawa 67's
Ottawa , Ontario
Ottawa Civic Centre
Peterborough Petes
Peterborough , Ontario
Peterborough Memorial Centre
Toronto Marlboros
Toronto , Ontario
Maple Leaf Gardens
Emms
Guelph Platers
Guelph , Ontario
Guelph Memorial Gardens
Kitchener Rangers
Kitchener , Ontario
Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
London Knights
London , Ontario
London Gardens
Niagara Falls Thunder
Niagara Falls , Ontario
Niagara Falls Memorial Arena
North Bay Centennials
North Bay , Ontario
North Bay Memorial Gardens
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Sault Ste. Marie , Ontario
Sault Memorial Gardens
Sudbury Wolves
Sudbury , Ontario
Sudbury Community Arena
Windsor Compuware Spitfires
Windsor , Ontario
Windsor Arena
Map of teams
Emms Division
Leyden Division
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
[ 1]
Division quarter-finals
Leyden Division
(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (6) Belleville Bulls
Peterborough wins series 4 – 1
(2) Oshawa Generals vs. (5) Ottawa 67's
(3) Toronto Marlboros vs. (4) Cornwall Royals
Cornwall wins series 4 – 2
Emms Division
(1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (6) North Bay Centennials
North Bay wins series 4 – 1
(2) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (5) Windsor Compuware Spitfires
March 21
Niagara Falls Thunder
7 – 6
Windsor Compuware Spitfires
Windsor Arena
March 24
Niagara Falls Thunder
6 – 3
Windsor Compuware Spitfires
Windsor Arena
Niagara Falls wins series 4 – 0
(3) London Knights vs. (4) Guelph Platers
Division semi-finals
Leyden Division
(4) Cornwall Royals vs. (5) Ottawa 67's
Cornwall wins series 4 – 2
Emms Division
(3) London Knights vs. (6) North Bay Centennials
Division finals
Leyden Division
(1) Peterborough Petes vs. (4) Cornwall Royals
Peterborough wins series 4 – 2
Emms Division
(2) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (3) London Knights
Niagara Falls wins series 4 – 3
J. Ross Robertson Cup
(L1) Peterborough Petes vs. (E2) Niagara Falls Thunder
Peterborough wins series 4 – 2
Awards
J. Ross Robertson Cup :
Peterborough Petes
Hamilton Spectator Trophy :
Kitchener Rangers
Leyden Trophy :
Peterborough Petes
Emms Trophy :
Kitchener Rangers
Red Tilson Trophy :
Bryan Fogarty , Niagara Falls Thunder
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy :
Bryan Fogarty , Niagara Falls Thunder
Matt Leyden Trophy :
Joe McDonell , Kitchener Rangers
Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy :
Stan Drulia , Niagara Falls Thunder
Max Kaminsky Trophy :
Bryan Fogarty , Niagara Falls Thunder
OHL Goaltender of the Year :
Gus Morschauser , Kitchener Rangers
Jack Ferguson Award :
Eric Lindros , Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Dave Pinkney Trophy :
John Tanner and Todd Bojcun , Peterborough Petes
Emms Family Award :
Owen Nolan , Cornwall Royals
F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy :
Jeff Wilson , Kingston Raiders
William Hanley Trophy :
Kevin Miehm , Oshawa Generals
Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy :
Stan Drulia , Niagara Falls Thunder
Bobby Smith Trophy :
Brian Collinson , Toronto Marlboros
Bill Long Award :
Alec Campagnaro, Guelph Platers & Earl Montagano, Ottawa 67's
1989 OHL Priority Selection
The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds held the first overall pick in the 1989 Ontario Priority Selection and selected Eric Lindros from the St. Michael's Buzzers. Lindros 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 1989 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. [ 2]
#
Player
Nationality
OHL Team
Hometown
Minor Team
1
Eric Lindros (C )
Canada
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
London, Ontario
St. Michael's Buzzers
2
Jamie Matthews (C )
Canada
Sudbury Wolves
Amherst, Nova Scotia
Amherst Ramblers
3
Dave Stewart (D )
Canada
Kingston Frontenacs
Norwood, Ontario
Waterloo Siskins
4
Jamie Caruso (RW )
Canada
North Bay Centennials
Bramalea, Ontario
Bramalea Blues
5
Ryan Merritt (LW )
Canada
Windsor Spitfires
Cottam, Ontario
Waterloo Siskins
6
Brent Gretzky (C )
Canada
Belleville Bulls
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford Classics
7
Trent Cull (D )
Canada
Guelph Platers
Georgetown, Ontario
Georgetown Gemini
8
Ryan Kuwabara (RW )
Canada
Ottawa 67's
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton Kilty B's
9
Rod Pasma (D )
Canada
Cornwall Royals
Georgetown, Ontario
Georgetown Gemini
10
Alek Stojanov (RW )
Canada
Hamilton Dukes
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor Midgets
11
Wade Simpson (D )
Canada
Oshawa Generals
Navan, Ontario
Nepean Raiders
12
Greg Ryan (D )
Canada
London Knights
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington Cougars
13
Ken Ruddick (RW )
Canada
Niagara Falls Thunder
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton Huskies
14
Dale McTavish (C )
Canada
Peterborough Petes
Eganville, Ontario
Pembroke Lumber Kings
15
Jack Williams (RW )
United States
Kitchener Rangers
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Chicago Young Americans
See also
References
East Division Central Division Midwest Division West Division Defunct teams