Durham Huskies Jr. A
| Durham Huskies | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Durham, Ontario, Canada |
| League |
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League Metro Junior A Hockey League |
| Operated | 1996-2001 |
| Home arena | Durham Community Centre |
| Colours |
Blue, Red, Grey, and White |
| General manager | Dennis Graham |
| Head coach |
Jon Antonopolis Brian Warrilow Jamie Petrie |
| Affiliates |
Owen Sound Platers (OHL) Mount Forest Patriots (WOJCHL) |
The Durham Huskies were a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey team from the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The Huskies played in the Metro Junior A Hockey League for two seasons and the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League for three season. The Huskies were a continuance of the Traditional Durham Huskies Senior/Intermediate team that existed from 1920 until 1992.
After the demise of the Sr. Huskies, Durham decided to pursue a Junior hockey team. From the early days the team was dubbed the Huskies as well, all they had to do was find a league to play in. The Huskies had no chance to play in Junior Development as it was a league that depended on close locale and the closest team to Durham was Seaforth, over 80 kilometers away. They tried Jr. "C" and were turned down for political reasons involving the player drawing availability of potential rival teams: the Hanover Barons and Mount Forest Patriots. Midwestern Junior B and Provincial Jr. "A" did not work out either. As a last resort, the Huskies attempted to join the on-again off-again renegade Metro Junior A Hockey League.
In 1996 they were successful, and they joined a league spanning the entire Province of Ontario with teams in the States of New York and Pennsylvania. Although the Jr. "A" Huskies never did obtain a winning season, the highlight of their junior hockey stint may have been their 1998 playoff run. The Huskies entered the playoffs in second place in the Central Division and drew the always potent Markham Waxers. The series was penalty and fight filled, but ultimately the Huskies walked away with a 3-games-to-1 series win. In the divisional final, the Huskies drew the Caledon Canadians and were swept by one of the best Junior A teams of the 1990s 3-games-to-none. Although they did not advance further, the desire and skill shown by the Huskies directly resulted in 9 members of the team being drafted into the Ontario Hockey League that summer. Sadly, as many made their respective OHL teams or moved on to college, from this point on the Huskie roster would never reach to those heights again. After 2 seasons in the "Metro", the league folded and the team was allowed into the super-competitive Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League.
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