Kitchener Canucks | |
---|---|
City | Kitchener, Ontario |
League | Ontario Hockey Association |
Operated | 1954 | -1956
Home arena | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium |
Franchise history | |
1951-54 | Kitchener Greenshirts |
1954-56 | Kitchener Canucks |
1956-Present | Peterborough Petes |
The Kitchener Canucks were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1954 to 1956. The team was based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and played home games at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
The Kitchener Greenshirts changed names becoming the Kitchener Canucks for the 1954-55 season. The Canucks finished last place in the OHA their first year in operation.
Stan Baliuk helped the team finish second place in the league in 1955-56, winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the top scorer that year, with 31 goals, 73 assists, totalling 104 points.
Canuck's defenceman Kent Douglas would go on to win the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in the 1962-63 NHL season, when he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Willie O'Ree would become the first black player in the NHL, playing as a winger for the Boston Bruins.
Despite moving up in the standings their second year, they did not make enough money to recover from the financial woes of a very poor first season. In 1956 the team moved to Peterborough, Ontario becoming the Peterborough TPT Petes.