Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

From Vero - Wikipedia
(Redirected from QMJHL)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use Canadian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox sports league

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; Template:Langx, LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), alongside the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The league includes teams in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, and previously had teams in Maine and New York in the United States.

The Gilles-Courteau Trophy is the championship trophy of the league. The QMJHL champion then goes on to compete in the Memorial Cup against the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) champions, and the CHL host team. The QMJHL had traditionally adopted a rapid and offensive style of hockey. Former QMJHL players hold many of the Canadian Hockey League's career and single season offensive records.

Hockey Hall of Fame alumni of the QMJHL include Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, Ray Bourque, Pat LaFontaine, Mike Bossy, Denis Savard, Michel Goulet, Luc Robitaille, and goaltenders Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur.

Teams

List of teams

Overview of QMJHL teams
Conference Division Team City Arena
Eastern East Baie-Comeau Drakkar Baie-Comeau, Quebec Centre Henry-Leonard
Chicoutimi Saguenéens Saguenay, Quebec Centre Georges-Vézina
Quebec Remparts Quebec City, Quebec Centre Vidéotron
Rimouski Océanic Rimouski, Quebec Colisée Financière Sun Life
Maritimes Cape Breton Eagles Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia Centre 200
Charlottetown Islanders Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Eastlink Centre
Halifax Mooseheads Halifax, Nova Scotia Scotiabank Centre
Moncton Wildcats Moncton, New Brunswick Avenir Centre
Newfoundland Regiment St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Mary Brown's Centre
Saint John Sea Dogs Saint John, New Brunswick TD Station
Western West Blainville-Boisbriand Armada Boisbriand, Quebec Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau
Gatineau Olympiques Gatineau, Quebec Centre Slush Puppie
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec Aréna Glencore
Val-d'Or Foreurs Val-d'Or, Quebec Centre Agnico Eagle
Central Drummondville Voltigeurs Drummondville, Quebec Centre Marcel Dionne
Shawinigan Cataractes Shawinigan, Quebec Centre Gervais Auto
Sherbrooke Phoenix Sherbrooke, Quebec Palais des Sports
Victoriaville Tigres Victoriaville, Quebec Colisée Desjardins

Map

Template:See also Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break

Template:OSM Location map Template:Col-end

History

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was founded in 1969, through the merger of the best teams from the existing Quebec Junior Hockey League and the Metropolitan Montreal Junior Hockey League, declaring themselves a "major junior" league. Of the original eleven QMJHL teams, eight came from the QJHL, two from the MMJHL, and the Cornwall Royals, from Cornwall, Ontario, near the Quebec border, who transferred from the Central Junior A Hockey League. The Rosemont National and Laval Saints transferred from the MMJHL. The eight teams from the QJHL were the Drummondville Rangers, Quebec Remparts, Saint-Jérôme Alouettes, Shawinigan Bruins, Sherbrooke Castors, Sorel Éperviers, Trois-Rivières Ducs and the Verdun Maple Leafs.

Most of the teams were within a few hours' drive of Montreal. From the first season in 1969–70, only Shawinigan remains in the same city with an uninterrupted history, although the team's name has changed to the Cataractes.

In 1972 the QMJHL had been in operation for three years, and wanted a team in the province's largest city. It threatened a lawsuit to force the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association into the Quebec-based league. Over the summer of 1972, the OHA granted the Junior Habs a "one-year suspension" of operations, while team ownership transferred the team and players into the QMJHL, renaming themselves the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge in the process. The OHA then reactivated the suspended franchise for the 1973–74 season in Kingston, Ontario, under new ownership and with new players, calling the team the Kingston Canadians.

QMJHL teams have won the Memorial Cup twelve times since 1969, with the Shawinigan Cataractes, Saint John Sea Dogs, the Granby Prédateurs, the Hull Olympiques, Halifax Mooseheads, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Rimouski Océanic, and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan each winning once, the Quebec Remparts winning three times(once in their first edition 1969–1985, and twice in their second edition 1997–present) and the Cornwall Royals winning three times.

Starting in 1994, the QMJHL began to expand farther east, outside of Quebec, filling the void in Atlantic Canada after the exodus of American Hockey League franchises, when the AHL had a strong presence in the 1980s and 1990s; all of the Maritime Division cities save for Bathurst, New Brunswick are former homes of AHL franchises. To date, Fredericton, New Brunswick is the lone former AHL market that has not established a QMJHL franchise.

In recent seasons, the QMJHL has been scouting players from the Atlantic Canada region along with a surge in players coming out of the New England area: the QMJHL has territorial rights to draft and recruit players from New England as part of an agreement where players from the United States can be drafted by the CHL league that is in a similar geographic area.

In December 2023, the QMJHL changed its name to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and released a new logo. The change recognized the league's expansion into the Maritime provinces, whose teams had been a part of the QMJHL for almost 30 years.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly amended labour laws in 2024, to consider junior players as student-athletes and not employees subject to minimum wage, similarly to other provinces in the league. The QMJHL returned to Newfoundland for the 2025–26 season, with the relocation of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to St. John's as the Newfoundland Regiment.<ref name="Leroux-2024">Template:Cite news</ref>

Retired numbers

League-wide retired numbers
No. Player Position QMJHL Career No. retirement
4 Guy Lafleur RW 1966–1971 September 2021<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
87 Sidney Crosby C 2003–2005 27 September 2019<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

League presidents

Canadian Hockey League records

This is a list of Canadian Hockey League career and single season records accomplished by QMJHL players.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Most goals, career
1st – 309 – Mike Bossy, Laval National (1972–77)
2nd – 281 – Stephane Lebeau, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88)
3rd – 278 – Normand Dupont, Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge, Montreal Juniors (1973–77)
Most assists, career
1st – 408 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88)
3rd – 346 – Patrick Emond, Trois-Rivières Draveurs, Hull Olympiques, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (1981–86)
7th – 315 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins (1981–84)
Most points, career
1st – 595 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88)
3rd – 580 – Stephane Lebeau, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88)
4th – 575 – Patrick Emond, Trois-Rivières Draveurs, Hull Olympiques, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (1981–86)
Most goals, one season
1st – 133 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins, 1983–84 (70 games)
2nd – 130 – Guy Lafleur, Quebec Remparts, 1970–71 (62 games)
4th – 104 – Pat LaFontaine, Verdun Juniors, 1982–83 (70 games)
5th – 103 – Guy Lafleur, Quebec Remparts, 1969–70 (56 games)
6th – 100 – Gary MacGregor, Cornwall Royals, 1973–74 (66 games)
Most assists, one season
1st – 157 – Pierre Larouche, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (70 games)
2nd – 149 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins, 1983–84 (70 games)
3rd – 136 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes, 1987–88 (70 games)
5th – 135 – Michel Deziel, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (69 games)
5th – 135 – Marc Fortier, Chicoutimi Saguenéens, 1986–87 (65 games)
Most points, one season
1st – 282 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins, 1983–84 (70 games)
2nd – 251 – Pierre Larouche, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (67 games)
3rd – 234 – Pat LaFontaine, Verdun Juniors, 1982–83 (70 games)
4th – 227 – Michel Deziel, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (69 games)
5th – 216 – Real Cloutier, Quebec Remparts, 1973–74 (69 games)
6th – 214 – Jacques Cossette, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (68 games)
8th – 209 – Guy Lafleur, Quebec Remparts, 1970–71 (62 games)
9th – 206 – Jacques Locas, Quebec Remparts, 1973–74 (63 games)
10th – 201 – Marc Fortier, Chicoutimi Saguenéens, 1986–87 (65 games)
11th – 200 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes, 1987–88 (70 games)

Timeline of teams

Current teams are shown in blue. Gold stars denote Gilles-Courteau Trophy (League championship) winners. <timeline> DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:06/01/1969 till:2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Define $Right = anchor:till align:right Define $RightMargin = anchor:till align:right shift:(-1) Define $UpRight = anchor:till align:right shift:(3,1) Define $UpLeft = anchor:from align:left shift:(5,1) Define $Down = shift:(,-7) Define $t = textcolor Define $champ = text:"*" $t:gold2 fontsize:XL shift:(-1,-10)

Colors = id:barcolor 

id:line        value:pink
id:bg          value:white
id:black       value:rgb(0.0,0.0,0.0)
id:Former      value:rgb(0.82,0.80,0.80) # Use this color to denote a team that is a former league member
id:Current     value:rgb(0.0,0.16,0.36) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current league member
id:gold2       value:rgb(1,0.75,0.0)
id:gray        value:rgb(0.62,0.60,0.60)
id:lineColor   value:gray(0.5)
id:silver      value:rgb(0.75,0.75,0.75)

PlotData= 

width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1981            $Down text:Cornwall Royals
bar:1   at:06/01/1972 $champ
bar:1   at:06/01/1980 $champ
bar:1   at:06/01/1981 $champ

bar:2  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1974            text:Drummondville Rangers

bar:3  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1970            text:Laval Saints

bar:4  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1985            $Down text:Quebec Remparts
bar:4  color:Former  from:09/01/1988 till:06/01/1991            text:Longueuil
bar:4  color:Former  from:09/01/1991 till:06/01/1994            text:Verdun Collège-Français
bar:4   at:06/01/1970 $champ
bar:4   at:06/01/1971 $champ
bar:4   at:06/01/1973 $champ
bar:4   at:06/01/1974 $champ
bar:4   at:06/01/1976 $champ
bar:4   at:06/01/1992 $champ

bar:5  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1971            text:Rosemont
bar:5  color:Former  from:09/01/1971 till:06/01/1998            $Down text:       Laval National/Voisins/Titan/Titan Collège-Français
bar:5  color:Former from:09/01/1998 till:06/01/2025 $t:black $Down text:Acadie-Bathurst Titan
bar:5  color:Current from:06/01/2025 till:end $t:white $Down text:Nfd.Regiment
bar:5   at:06/01/1984 $champ 
bar:5   at:06/01/1989 $champ 
bar:5   at:06/01/1990 $champ 
bar:5   at:06/01/1993 $champ 
bar:5   at:06/01/1999 $champ 
bar:5   at:06/01/2018 $champ

bar:6  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1972            text:Saint-Jérôme Alouettes

bar:7  color:Current from:09/01/1969 till:end                   $Down $t:white text:Shawinigan Bruins/Dynamos/Cataractes
bar:7   at:06/01/2022 $champ

bar:8  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1982            $Down text:Sherbrooke Castors
bar:8  color:Former  from:09/01/1982 till:06/01/1995            text:Saint-Jean Castors/Lynx
bar:8  color:Current from:09/01/1995 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Rimouski Oceanic
bar:8   at:06/01/1975 $champ
bar:8   at:06/01/1977 $champ
bar:8   at:06/01/1982 $champ
bar:8   at:06/01/2000 $champ
bar:8   at:06/01/2005 $champ
bar:8   at:06/01/2015 $champ

bar:9  color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1977            text:Sorel Éperviers
bar:9  color:Former  from:09/01/1977 till:06/01/1979 shift:(-5) text:Verdun
bar:9  color:Former  from:09/01/1979 till:06/01/1981            text:Sorel
bar:9  color:Former  from:09/01/1981 till:06/01/1997            $Down text:Granby Bisons/Prédateurs
bar:9  color:Current from:09/01/1997 till:end                   $t:white text:Cape Breton Screaming Eagles/Eagles
bar:9   at:06/01/1996 $champ

bar:10 color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1992            $Down text:Trois-Rivières Ducs/Draveurs
bar:10 color:Former  from:09/01/1992 till:06/01/2003            text:Sherbrooke Faucons/Castors
bar:10 color:Former  from:09/01/2003 till:06/01/2011            $Down text:Lewiston Maineiacs
bar:10 color:Current from:09/01/2012 till:end                   $t:white text:Sherbrooke Phoenix
bar:10  at:06/01/1978 $champ
bar:10  at:06/01/1979 $champ
bar:10  at:06/01/2007 $champ

bar:11 color:Former  from:09/01/1969 till:06/01/1972            text:Verdun Maple Leafs

bar:12 color:Former  from:09/01/1972 till:06/01/1982            text:Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge/Jrs
bar:12 color:Former  from:09/01/1982 till:06/01/1989 shift:(-3) $Down text:Verdun Jrs/Jr Canadiens
bar:12 color:Former  from:09/01/1989 till:06/01/1996            text:    St-Hyacinthe Laser
bar:12 color:Current from:09/01/1996 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
bar:12  at:06/01/1983 $champ
bar:12  at:06/01/1985 $champ
bar:12  at:06/01/2016 $champ
bar:12  at:06/01/2019 $champ

bar:13 color:Current from:09/01/1973 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Chicoutimi Saguenéens
bar:13  at:06/01/1991 $champ
bar:13  at:06/01/1994 $champ

bar:14 color:Current from:09/01/1973 till:09/01/2003            $t:white $Down text:Hull Festivals/Olympiques
bar:14 color:Current from:09/01/2003 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Gatineau Olympiques
bar:14  at:06/01/1986 $champ
bar:14  at:06/01/1988 $champ
bar:14  at:06/01/1995 $champ
bar:14  at:06/01/1997 $champ
bar:14  at:06/01/2003 $champ
bar:14  at:06/01/2004 $champ
bar:14  at:06/01/2008 $champ

bar:15 color:Current from:09/01/1982 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Drummondville Voltigeurs
bar:15  at:06/01/2009 $champ
bar:15  at:06/01/2024 $champ

bar:16 color:Former  from:09/01/1982 till:06/01/1987   $Down shift:(-20) text:Longueuil Chevaliers
bar:16 color:Current from:09/01/1987 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Victoriaville Tigres
bar:16  at:06/01/1987 $champ
bar:16  at:06/01/2002 $champ
bar:16  at:06/01/2021 $champ

bar:17 color:Former  from:09/01/1984 till:01/01/1985            text:Plattsburgh Pioneers

bar:18 color:Former  from:09/01/1990 till:06/01/1997            text:Beauport Harfangs
bar:18 color:Current from:09/01/1997 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Quebec Remparts
bar:18  at:06/01/2023 $champ

bar:19 color:Current from:09/01/1993 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Val d'Or Foreurs
bar:19  at:06/01/1998 $champ
bar:19  at:06/01/2001 $champ
bar:19  at:06/01/2014 $champ

bar:20 color:Current from:09/01/1994 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Halifax Mooseheads
bar:20  at:06/01/2013 $champ

bar:21 color:Current from:09/01/1995 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Moncton Alpines/Wildcats
bar:21  at:06/01/2006 $champ
bar:21  at:06/01/2010 $champ
bar:21  at:06/01/2025 $champ

bar:22 color:Current from:09/01/1997 till:end                   $t:white text:Baie-Comeau Drakkar

bar:23 color:Former  from:09/01/1999 till:06/01/2003   shift:(-10) text:Montreal Rocket
bar:23 color:Current from:09/01/2003 till:09/01/2013            $t:white text:PEI Rocket
bar:23 color:Current from:09/01/2013 till:end                   $t:white text:Charlottetown Islanders

bar:24 color:Current from:09/01/2005 till:end                   $t:white $Down text:Saint John Sea Dogs
bar:24  at:06/01/2011 $champ
bar:24  at:06/01/2012 $champ
bar:24  at:06/01/2017 $champ

bar:25 color:Former  from:09/01/2005 till:06/01/2008            text:St. John's
bar:25 color:Former  from:09/01/2008 till:06/01/2011            text:Montreal Jrs
bar:25 color:Current from:09/01/2011 till:end                   $t:white text:Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1970 TextData = 

   fontsize:L
   textcolor:black
   pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)
   text:

</timeline>

This is a complete list of team histories since 1969.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cities represented

Team Hometown Province/State Years Active
Cornwall Royals Cornwall Ontario 1969–1981
Plattsburgh Pioneers Plattsburgh New York 1984–1985
Laval Titan Laval Quebec 1969–1970; 1971–1998
Quebec Remparts Quebec City Quebec 1969–1985; 1997–present
Drummondville Voltigeurs Drummondville Quebec 1969–1974; 1982–present
Saint-Jerome Alouettes Saint-Jerome Quebec 1969–1971
Trois-Rivieres Draveurs Trois-Rivieres Quebec 1969–1992
Sorel Eperviers Sorel Quebec 1969–1977; 1980–1981
Verdun Juniors
Montreal Junior Hockey Club 		Verdun Quebec 1969–1971; 1977–1980; 1982–1989;

1991–1994; 2008–2011
2008–2011

Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge
Montreal Juniors
Montreal Rocket 		Montreal Quebec 1969–1971
1972–1982
1999–2003
Shawinigan Cataractes Shawinigan Quebec 1969–present
Sherbrooke Phoenix
Sherbrooke Castors
Sherbrooke Faucons 		Sherbrooke Quebec 1969–1982; 1999–2003; 2012–present
Chicoutimi Saguenéens Chicoutimi Quebec 1973–present
Gatineau Olympiques Hull/Gatineau Quebec 1973–present
Granby Prédateurs Granby Quebec 1981–1997
Saint-Jean Lynx Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec 1982–1995
Longueuil Chevaliers Longueuil Quebec 1982–1991
Victoriaville Tigres Victoriaville Quebec 1987–present
Saint-Hyacinthe Laser Saint-Hyacinthe Quebec 1989–1996
Beauport Harfangs Beauport Quebec 1990–1997
Val-d'Or Foreurs Val-d'Or Quebec 1993–present
Rimouski Océanic Rimouski Quebec 1995–present
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Rouyn-Noranda Quebec 1996–present
Baie-Comeau Drakkar Baie-Comeau Quebec 1997–present
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada Boisbriand Quebec 2011–present
Moncton Wildcats Moncton New Brunswick 1995–present
Acadie-Bathurst Titan Bathurst New Brunswick 1998–2025
Saint John Sea Dogs Saint John New Brunswick 2005–present
Lewiston Maineiacs Lewiston Maine 2003–2011
Charlottetown Islanders Charlottetown Prince Edward Island 2003–present
Halifax Mooseheads Halifax Nova Scotia 1994–present
Cape Breton Eagles Sydney Nova Scotia 1997–present
St. John's Fog Devils
Newfoundland Regiment 		St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador 2005–2008, 2025–present

Memorial Cup champions

The Memorial Cup has been captured fifteen times by ten different QMJHL teams since the league's founding in 1969:

Entry draft

Starting in 1971, the QMJHL has held a draft to select the rights to future players.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The league held separate drafts for junior-aged players and for midget-aged players. The initial drafts addressed only players not protected by their territorial programs. In 1972, teams could protect 15 players within their territory, and Mike Bossy was never drafted because the Laval National protected him. In 1973, the midget protection was dropped to five players, then increased to six players in 1976. The territorial rights created issues in 1973, when the Sorel Éperviers picked Lucien DeBlois with the first pick, and the Drummondville Voltigeurs selected him with the 8th pick because he also was within their region.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The last year of separate drafts for midget and junior players was 1977, when teams were allowed to protect one midget player. Starting in 1978, the league had a single draft.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Trophies and awards

This is a list of QMJHL trophies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The trophy's first season being awarded is shown in brackets.

Team

Player

Executive

Defunct trophies

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

Template:Refbegin

Template:Refend

Template:Commons category

Template:QMJHL Template:QMJHL Arenas Template:Defunct QMJHL Template:Canadian Hockey League Template:Junior Hockey

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Quebec_Maritimes_Junior_Hockey_League&oldid=151098"