London Knights
| London Knights | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | London, Ontario |
| League | Ontario Hockey League |
| Conference | Western |
| Division | Midwest |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Home arena | Budweiser Gardens |
| Colours | Green, gold, black, and white |
| General manager | Rob Simpson |
| Head coach | Dale Hunter |
| Captain | J. J. Piccinich |
| Affiliate(s) | London Nationals, St. Thomas Stars |
| Championships |
Memorial Cup Champions: 2005, 2016 OHL Champions: 2005, 2012, 2013, 2016 |
| Website | www.londonknights.com |
| Franchise history | |
| 1965–1968 | London Nationals |
| 1968–present | London Knights |
The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their current name in 1968.
The London Nationals were granted a franchise in the OHA for the 1965–66 season under the ownership of the London Gardens arena, with the Toronto Maple Leafs controlling the team's players. Upon the collapse of the Metro Junior A League in 1963, the Leafs were left with only one sponsored OHA team, the Toronto Marlboros, with which to place their prospects. The team in London replaced the old Toronto St. Michael's Majors, who had folded a couple of years earlier. The Leafs originally wanted the Nationals to begin play in 1963–64, but it wasn't until a year later that the Nats became the Leafs' second team.
The Nationals were named for their sponsor, the Canadian National Recreation Association, an organization of Canadian National Railways employees, and took their uniforms as copies of those of the Maple Leafs, except for the words "London Nationals" spelled out on the Leaf instead of the familiar Toronto Maple Leafs script.
Brian Murphy played the most games for the Nationals, 98 in total over three seasons. Garry Unger lead the team in career goals with 42 in only 50 games. Walt McKechnie was their all-time point leader with 26 goals, and 74 assists, totalling 100 points.
After three seasons, direct NHL sponsorship of junior teams ended. The team and Gardens was sold to businessman Howard Darwin for $500,000, who renamed the team to the Knights and changed the colours to green and gold.
In 1968, businessman Howard Darwin bought the London Nationals (he also owned the Ottawa 67's) as the era of NHL sponsorship of junior hockey ended. Darwin wanted to give a fresh look to the team, and so held a contest to rename the team. Londoner Nawaal Salat suggested the name Knights, and the team's colours were changed to green, white and gold. In 1970 the team also hired trainer Don Brankley, who stayed with the team until retiring at the end of the 2007–08 season. The team grew from a chronic also-ran in the late 1960s and early 1970s to a contender near the end of the decade. The highlight of the Darwin era came in 1976–77, when a powerful Knights team led by future NHLers Rob Ramage, Brad Marsh and Dino Ciccarelli defeated the St. Catharines Fincups in the conference final on an overtime goal by Dan Eastman to advance to the OHL final against the 67's. However, the 67's were triumphant in six games in the league final. In the early 1980s the Knights descended to a nadir in franchise history, with small crowds and a poor record. However, right winger Brendan Shanahan would soon rise to prominence and help to draw larger crowds.
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