1978 AQHL Draft
Many top teams tried to offer the bottom 3 teams picks for players, but those offers were not good enough to anybody’s taste, so the bottom team’s picks are still in their hands. With their 1st pick still intact, the Sherbrooke Loups wasted no time and made their pick, and they took forward Josh Winter from Saint John, New Brunswick. The Volts select goalie Trevor Corbet from Boisbriand, QC. Forward Jaune Poulette of Quebec City, QC, was the 3rd pick by the New Glasgow Highlanders.
1978 OMJHA Draft
Peterborough Braves hit the jackpot with forward Mike Mellon from Pickering, Ontario, who is a scoring machine after making 42 goals for the Pickering Jr. B club and lead them to an all-Ontario Jr. B title. The Orangeville O’s select from Collingwood defence Ron Green. Not only he can play defence, he can score too, which could be what the O’s need to boost their offence. Pick number 3, the Burlington Metros took defence Matthew Walton from Guelph that the Metros title him “the man with the cleanest hits,” which they need in hopes of heading back to the top of the league.
1978 WCLH Draft
The Battalion may have traded some picks, but they kept their 1st pick and used it to select defence Peter Warwick from Flin Flon, MB. Lethbridge Cougars pick, from Calgary, AB forward Jack Burk. Medicine Hat Hawks got themselves a forward from Red Deer, AB Seth Lewis, who’s been under the Hawk's radar for a good year and believes that he could give the team what they need in the chance of getting in the playoffs long term.
News
CIHA: The Valor Cup is going to the national capital as the brand new Ottawa Civic Forum will be the place for the tournament. It’s also the home of soon-to-be Ottawa Pro Hockey Club as the city got themselves an expansion team which they’ll debut in the 1980-81 season.
CIHA: With Ottawa hosting the 1979 Valor Cup tournament, the trio leagues and the CIHA president Joseph McGeorge saw some teams giving their arenas upgrades to even building brand new arenas, so they decided they will have a team hosting the Valor Cup tournament, which means that the host can be part of the tournament along with the champions to make it a four-team tournament. Some owners don’t like the idea, but most believe that it can benefit both the teams and the cities. They will announce who will host the tournament during the 1979 Valor Cup tournament.
AQHL: With the addition of the Manchester Americans for the 1978-79 season, the AQHL decide to make two divisions. One will be called the “Quebec division” that has all six teams from Quebec, while the other one is now known as the “Atlantic division” as for the playoffs, it’s now extended, both the 1st and 2nd Round will be just like the finals it’ll be the best 4 of 7 games.
AQHL: After much hype, the Manchester Americans officially showed off their jersey set in red, white and blue. The light jersey got red and blue stripes all over the arms and hem. The arms were so full of stripes that the TV numbers were placed on the shoulders. On the dark is the same, but the cuffs are thick white stripes while on the hem the white is thin.
OMJHA: After a meeting with the owners, president Franklin Name announced that next season all three rounds of the playoffs are going to be the best 4 of 7 games in hopes in make it more interesting to all of the teams.
OMJHA: Little by little Generals GM Todd Holmes is almost done purchasing the team from current owner Gerald Herbco as he is getting ready to retire from the sport altogether so he can look after his dairy farm more in his hometown of Thamesville, Ontario.
WCLH: The Western Canadian League of Hockey welcomes from Billings, Montana the owner of the club Bill Knox held a press conference in front of the brand new “Star Sky Sports Complex” a multi-sport facility that houses a hockey rink, baseball field, basketball court, and a football practice facility. The rink house 3000 seats and could expanse more if the hockey market catches on. Bill Knox named the team the “Billings Trains” named after the history of the rapid growth of the economy thanks to being part of the railroad town and both his father and his grandfather were in the railway business that helped the city grow. An old steam train with steam surrounding it is the team’s logo with green, black, light blue as trim around the logo and gold letters that said “Trains” sitting on top of the train. On the light jersey, both the arms and hem got a thick green stripe along with light blue and gold thin stripes. On the dark jersey, the green and white switch roles and both light blue and gold tin stripes switch roles as well.
WCLH: The WCLH also welcomes Portage la Prairie, MA as part of the league as well as owner Matthew Durocher successful businessman who has deep hockey roots where his grandfather Jaune Durocher was a great hockey player and coach in the province of Manitoba, his father William “the Magic” Durocher was the first Manitoba native to win a pro hockey MVP and won three pro hockey titles under his belt, and lastly his brother Greg Durocher is currently playing for the Manitoba Pro Hockey Club after playing 5 seasons for the Chicago Pro Hockey Club. Matt did have a good 5-year pro hockey career but suffered a career-ending injury, so he runs a hockey equipment business that helps a lot of hockey clubs that needed equipment fast. Standing in front of a 2500-seat arena named the “Jaune Durocher Memorial Arena” he names the team the “Portage la Prairie Magic” after his father’s nickname “the magic” where he can make the puck disappear from his stick to the net that drives goalies crazy. The logo is a black top hat with a red stripe and purple letters of two big caps “Ps” and small-cap “L” and “A” sitting on top of it. The light jersey got a thick black stripe, a thin purple stripe, and a thick red stripe on the cuffs and hem, while the dark jersey is the same but both black and white switch roles.
WCLH: With two more teams being added for the 1978-79 season, two divisions need to be made and so the “West division” and the “East division” are born. Both the league president James Name and the owners made an agreement to expand the 1st and 2nd round playoff games from the best of 3 of 5 to best of 4 of 7 games. “Now we got ourselves a real playoff series bottom line!” Nanaimo Sharks owner Jake Peterson said after the announcement.
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