Northeast Eagles | |
---|---|
City | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
League | St. John's Junior Hockey League |
Division | City Division |
Founded | 1980 |
Home arena | Jack Byrne Arena |
Colors |
Black, yellow and white |
General manager | Doug Tibbo |
Head coach | Rob Cahill Sr. |
Franchise history | |
1980–2014 | St. John's Jr. Celtics |
2013–2016 | Northeast Celtics |
2016–current | Northeast Celtics |
The St. John's Jr. Celtics are a Canadian Junior ice hockey club from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. They are members of the St. John's Junior Hockey League, are a former Junior A team, and were the first ever Don Johnson Cup Maritime Junior B champions in 1982.
Prior to 1980, junior hockey in St. John's was for the most part a juvenile-level recreation league. Every year, an all-star team was drafted from the city and named the St. John's Jr. Capitals, after their senior team the St. John's Capitals, to compete against teams from across the province for the Veitch Memorial Trophy at either the Junior A or B level.
In 1980, the St. John's Junior Hockey League was organized and a legitimate Junior B league was formed. The winner of this league, not an all-star team, would represent the city in provincial and inter-provincial events. One of the founding members of this league was the St. John's "Brothers Rice" Jr. Celtics. In 1982, the Celtics would win their first league championship. They would win the Veitch Memorial Trophy and move on to the first ever Don Johnson Cup—an inter-provincial Junior Championship featuring the best Junior B clubs from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In the final game, the Jr. Celtics defeated PEI's Kensington Bombers, 4–3, to win the first ever championship. Newfoundland's own Don Johnson had the honour of awarding the trophy bearing his name to his own son, Celtics' Michael Johnson, at the first event.