Hamilton Red Wings (1973–)
| Markham Royals | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Markham, Ontario, Canada |
| League | Ontario Junior Hockey League |
| Division | West |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Home arena |
Markham Centennial Centre 2015- (Markham) Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena 1973-2015 (Hamilton) |
| Colours |
Blue, and White |
| Owner(s) | Stuart Hyman |
| General manager | Mike Galati |
| Head coach | Mike Galati |
| Franchise history | |
| 1973-1975 | Hamilton Red Wings |
| 1975-1976 | Hamilton Mountain A's |
| 1977-2002 | Hamilton Kilty B's |
| 2002-2015 | Hamilton Red Wings |
| 2015-Present | Markham Royals |
The Markham Royals are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Markham, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. From 1973 until 2015, the team operated in Hamilton, Ontario as the Kilty's and the Red Wings.
The Red Wings were founded in 1973 as the second Hamilton-based team in the Niagara District Junior B Hockey League.
After one season, the league divided into two leagues and the Red Wings went the way of the Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League. In 1975-76, the other Hamilton team joined the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League and became the Hamilton Mountain A's. The draw of a local Junior A club weakened the team and they took a one-year leave a season later.
In 1977, under new ownership the team came back as the Kiltys. Although a very competitive team, it took the Kiltys until 1992-93 to win a Golden Horseshoe championship. With that win, the Kiltys were promoted to the newly formed Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League with a variety of other Junior B squads.
Outside of some brief troubles in the late 1990s, the Hamilton franchise has been very successful in regular season play in the OJHL. The team was renamed the Hamilton Red Wings in 2002 and continues to field highly competitive teams season after season.
In the spring of 2015, the Hamilton Red Wings left the city to make way for an Ontario Hockey League franchise the will serve the community for the first time in 24 years as the Belleville Bulls will relocate to Hamilton to become the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Red Wings moved to Markham, Ontario and became the Markham Royals. Markham has been without an OJHL franchise since 2012. The club also acquired the rights for Waxers Junior A, and has chosen to play as the Markham Royals.
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