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Junior hockey has a loyal following in Muskoka
By Don McCormick
Years ago, every community across
Canada had its own hockey team and
the people in those communities lived
and died by the fortunes of their team.
In spite of the various things competing
for our attention today, the community
hockey team continues to hold a
special place in the hearts of many. In
the spotlight are the rising stars on the
junior hockey teams.
“I think it may be that the level of play
is that much higher with the older players,”
says Huntsville’s Bill Muckler, who
has been involved in hockey in almost
every capacity for over four decades.
Junior hockey leagues were an
offshoot of the minor hockey system
that is a fixture of almost every
community in this country. The minor
system caters to boys and girls between
the ages of about five and 17 years of
age. Without a junior team, players
graduating from the minor system
would have nowhere to
continue to play the game. The first junior
teams began to appear in Muskoka in
the early to mid 1960s.
Junior teams were classified as Junior
A, B, C and D according to the size of
the community. Muskoka communities
were classified as Junior C. These teams
were intended primarily for local
players and there was a defined local area
from which each team could draw its
players. Each team was allowed a couple
of “import” players from other communities.
Because the players were primarily
local, small communities would only
have a small pool of players from which
to draw. Some years the quality of players
coming out of the minor system was
high and the team would be quite successful.
“There seems to be a natural cycle in
which a group of talented local players
will come along, win, get great fan and
sponsor support, be financially successful
and flourish,” Muckler says.
He notes that this is typically followed
by a period that produces fewer talented
players, a losing team, a decline in fan
and sponsor support and a lack of
money coming in. If the drought of
good players lasts long enough, the coffers
run dry and the team fails.
“When the team is losing, the fans
stop coming, the sponsors lose interest
and pull their support and the money
dries up,” says Huntsville’s Brenda
Demaine, a former board member of the
now defunct Huntsville Wildcats.
“There isn’t enough money to attract
good players so the team can’t ice a competitive
team and they continue to lose.
The team is either folded or sold to
someone else to stop the financial bleeding.
It’s a vicious circle.”
In 1966, Huntsville had a particularly
talented group of young hockey players
graduating from the minor system so a
Junior C team was formed so they could
continue playing. The team played in
the Georgian Bay Junior C League with
Parry Sound, Midland, Stayner, Innisfil,
Oro, Penetang and others. They continued
in operation for 26 years as the
Huntsville Teen Towners, then the
Huskies and finally the Blair McCanns.
During those 26 years the team experienced
the characteristic ebb and flow in
their fortunes and
eventually folded in 1993.
The Bracebridge Bears entered
the league in 1974 and continued to
function until the team folded in 1982.
The Gravenhurst Indians had
a team in the league from about 1980-
87, winning the league championship in
1981. The Gravenhurst Cubs played in
the league from 1994-2000 winning the
league championship in 1997.
Currently, there are no Muskoka Junior
C teams. There are, however, two
Junior A hockey teams in
operation in Muskoka – the South
Muskoka Shield and the Huntsville
Otters.
Presently, the designation Junior A
operates under a model that allows a
team to draw the best players it can
attract, regardless of their location, to
form the team. With this system, there
may be no local players on the team.
The South Muskoka Shield plays
in the Greater Metro Junior A
Continued on p. 24
Photograph: Don McCormick
Photograph: Anna White
Muskoka only has two Junior A hockey teams left: the Huntsville Otters
(above) and the South Muskoka Shield (below).
Norm
Miller
Member of Provincial Parliament
Parry Sound – Muskoka
If you have questions or concerns about provincial
government services,please contact my office for
information and assistance. I am here to help!
BRACEBRIDGE OFFICE
165 Manitoba Street, Unit 1 • Bracebridge, ON P1L 1L3
1-888-267-4826
norm.millerco@pc.ola.org
www.normmillermpp.com
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www.whatsupmuskoka.com February 2010 23