1981 CIHA Off-season

WCLH Expansion draft

The expansion draft came and went for both the Chilliwack Alpines and the Surrey River Dogs as they started to build a team that could be, one day down the road, becoming champions.

The River Dogs were focused on defence more than offence. Most of the top 5 are going into their 2nd season in the WCLH; Head Coach Alexander Adams said, “Our goal is to give them a chance to score goals as they already show that they can defend and with the rest of the staff and I will make them into scorers.”

Meanwhile, the Alpines got most of their picks forwards as they would draft defencemen and goalies at the 1981 WCLH draft. “We need good offence so we can work on developing and nurture some defencemen and goalies; that’s why in our expansion draft, we selected mostly veteran forwards; it’s a risk, but I believe in the coaching staff, we can pull it off,” Alpines GM Bert Broda said after the expansion draft.

Chilliwack Alpines

1. Eric Greiner, F (Saskatoon)

2. Rick Cofilin, F (Abbotsford)

3. Gordie Miami, F (Billings)

4. Dan Zachary, F (Moose Jaw)

5. Bruce Cornwall, D (Portage la Prairie)

Surrey River Dogs

1. Sam Abel, G (Swift Current)

2. Steve Patrick, D (Fargo)

3. Jeff Blue, D (Nanaimo)

4. Mitchell Matthiessen, D (Kenora)

5. Bill Gervais, F (Lethbridge)

1981 CIHA Off-Season

WCLH Draft

From the expansion draft to the league draft, teams try to fill the holes they lost to two new teams. Saskatoon Cats got themselves a forward that can score goals in Fred Adams, who have been under the pro hockey league scouts’ radar since he was 12 years old. The Medicine Hat Hawks took Ross Featherstone from Vancouver, that got the potential to be a top forward in the WCLH. From Seattle, WA, defence Mike Dalman has become the first Seattle native to be drafted in the top 3 and could hopefully help the Nanaimo Sharks avoid hitting last place. The draft spotlight was defence Glen Sasakamoose, a nephew of the Saskatchewan pro hockey club's current GM Herb Sasakamoose was selected by the Billings Trains to improve the results better than last season.

1. Saskatoon Cats – Fred Adams, F (Powell River, B.C.)

2. Medicine Hat Hawks – Ross Featherstone, F (Vancouver B.C.)

3. Nanaimo Sharks – Mike Dalman, D (Seattle, WA) 

4. Fargo Owls – Jack Plaxton, F (Minneapolis, MN)

5. Moose Jaw Wings – Colin Fernando, G (Moose Jaw, SK)

6. Brandon Buffalos – David Hartford, F (International Falls, MN)

7. Portage la Prairie Magic – Marc Sasser, D (Calgary, AB)

8. Billings Trains – Glen Sasakamoose, D (Prince Albert, SK)

9. Swift Current Battalion – Eric Wilcox, F (Everett, WA)

10. Kenora Pioneers – Jason Classen, F (Victoria B.C.)

11. Abbotsford Forest Kings – Aaron Boyer, D (Salem, OR)

12. Fargo Owls (from Lethbridge Cougars) – Frank Cupolo, F (Grand Forks, ND)

OMJHA Draft

This year's draft had “risk” written all over from the Bee's first three picks, a player from Alberta and picking a player from their rival territory in the southwest. The Bees took forward William VanDean, goalie Sam Dempsey, and defence Greg Dahlstrom; these three could turn Buffalo from rock bottom to the top of the mountain. The Neon made a bold draft move by picking Frank Grant from Erie, PA, a forward that had been targeted by many teams from the SWOHL, but the Neon took the chance and believed that it could lead them to championships.

1. Buffalo Bees (from Owen Sound Arrowbirds) – William VanDean, F (Niagara Falls, ONT)

2. Buffalo Bees – Sam Dempsey, G (Hamilton, ONT)

3. Buffalo Bees (from Kitchener Generals) – Greg Dahlstrom, D (Syracuse, NY)

4. Toronto Hornets – Leon Jay Jr. F (Markham, ONT)

5. Milton Micmacs – Kurt Jenkins, F (Vaughan, ONT)

6. Kitchener Legionnaires (from Toronto Neon) – Alex Aurora, D (Cambridge, ONT)

7. Toronto Neon (from Kitchener Legionnaires) – Frank Grant, F (Erie, PA)

8. Peterborough Braves – Rick Collin, G (Sudbury, ONT)

9. Oakville Oaks – Jake Johannsson, D (Edmonton, AB)

10. Burlington Metros – Leo Mair, G (North Bay, ONT)

11. Orangeville O’s – Dan Nowak, G (Ottawa, ONT)

12. Oshawa Gems – Keith Patrick, D (Beaverton, ONT)

13. Barrie Admirals – Lester Starr, D (Newmarket, ONT)

14. Waterloo Maroons – Tom Zehr, D (Parry Sound, ONT)

AQHL Draft

With the expansion draft coming next year, many teams are trying to get ready as some players on their roster could be taken by one of two new teams. The Titans took Glenn Pageau from Quebec City, who is the so-called best scorer in Quebec; it is a great pick to turn the Titans around after a terrible last-place finish. Fredericton used their pick to improve the defence core, and Ed Thibault from Bangor, ME, is just what they needed. During the 1980-81 season, scouts for the Laval Tigers told everyone at the front office that Christian Felix was the one that could help them in turning the team around. The spotlight in this year's draft was Roman and Simon; the Klatt brothers got drafted in the first round Roman will be in the net for the New Glasgow Highlanders, while Simon looks after the blue lines for the Verdun Knights.

1. Trois-Rivieres Titans – Glenn Pageau, F (Quebec City, QC)

2. Fredericton Vikings – Ed Thibault, D (Bangor, ME)

3. Laval Tigers – Christian Felix, F (Terrebonne, QC)

4. Manchester Americans – Ted Dill, G (Plattsburgh, VT)

5. Drummondville Les Rouges – Garry Cambridge, D (Saint John, NB)

6. Verdun Knights (from Shawinigan Voltages) – Frank Young, G (Verdun, QC)

7. Portland Clippers – Paul Gamble, F (Moncton, NB)

8. Cape Breton Warriors – Mike Gamble, F (St. John, NL)

9. Moncton Bears – Eric Gall, D (Halifax NS)

10. Manchester Americans (from Sherbrooke Loups) – Kevin Gassoff, F (Quebec City, QC)

11. New Glasgow Highlanders – Roman Klatt, G (Cornwall, ONT)

12. Verdun Knights – Simon Klatt, D (Cornwall, ONT)

News

CIHA

Many had been waiting for news of who is hosting the 1982 Valor Cup tournament; after numbers of votes by owners, GMs, and even coaches that were, the tournament is officially headed to Sherbrooke, Quebec, just beating Cape Breton by just one vote. “It’s an honour to have this tournament here and play in a brand-new rink!” Allen Poulette Jr said at the press conference after his team was named the 1982 Valor Cup tournament host.

Reporters ask about when the next Valor Star tournament is; CIHA president Randy Howard said that they have no plans for now, but he said that come the 1984 off-season, they’ll consider putting the tournament back up for 1985, the location is either in Toronto or in Montreal there are some talks that some teams are placing bids to host the tournament.

AQHL

With the additions of 2 new teams for the 1982-83 season, both teams presented their new names. They are called the Val-d’Or Monarchs and Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds. Both teams will be in the Quebec division, making the total number of teams in that division 8 while the Atlantic division stays at six; the word is over at P.E.I. the contract between Charlottetown Arena and the Minor pro hockey club ends after the 1981-82 season became official after negotiations fell through, once their season ends the city will put good money in giving the arena some upgrades mainly the press boxes as one was torn down last year after it fell apart and landed all over some empty seats during the off-season. There is also a local businessman who has a high interest in owning a team; history tells that he’s been trying to buy an AQHL team but failed to do so, but he hopes that he gets a team in P.E.I this time.

The town of Moncton got some great news from the Bears. The team is getting a new arena after the Reese brothers purchased land that once was an old town hall that got burned down many years ago, and it has been empty since then. That will change as the Reese Brothers show off the blueprint of what the new arena would look like, and the number of seats is where everyone thought it was unthinkable. This new arena will have 5000 seats. The new arena will be built and ready for the 1984-85 season.

OMJHA

The Peterborough Braves lost one of the club members, Michael Hawk, the club president, as he passed away peacefully. He had a great 15 years of his pro hockey playing career, including becoming the first Indigenous hockey player to win a pro hockey league MVP title, making a pro hockey league record of 50 goal season 5 years in a row and getting inducted into the pro hockey hall of fame. In 1977 he was named the team’s president, and the reason for naming the team the Braves after an all-indigenous army group that served in World War II. With his passing, the owner of the club, Nathen Runnels, announced that the 1981-82 season would be the last for the team to be called the “Braves” as they would open a “name a team” contest; the reason is he felt that he can’t move forward with the current name no matter what.

During the Valor Cup tournament, the Oshawa Gems revealed the new logos and new colours for the 1981-82 season; the feedback about the new look was so bad that the owners decided to go ahead with the new name but scrap the new look and just keep the current look from the beginning the same for now.

The 1981 Valor Cup Tournament was so successful that Guy Perry is in talks with the city of Waterloo about putting in good money to build a new arena in hopes of hosting any future Valor Cup tournaments to increase the city's economies in a big way.

WCLH

With two new teams added for the 1981-82 seasons, both the Chilliwack Alpines and the Surrey River Dogs are put in the west division, with that the Moose Jaw Wings are now in the east division, so no one can question anything about why the Wings was in the west division what’s so ever.

The league is now at 14 teams; many ask, “Will more teams be added?” WCLH President James Name said, “As of right now, we are laying low on it, but some businessmen are talking to some of their hometowns about putting good money on upgrades to even building new arenas.” One of them is Thomas Hendricks, a former promoter for a wrestling company called “Edmonton Championship Wrestling” (ECW), who made many top stars that many other wrestling promotions want to get their hands on; recently, his promotion has been losing money after many of his top stars have been taken by big-time wrestling promotions one of the most significant loss was his number 1 star Scott Chambers signed with Frontier Wrestling Federation, with that signing Thomas decides to close his promotion and invested his money in to bring a WCLH team in his hometown Red Deer, Alberta.

Jersey Changes

Lethbridge Cougars: After the team’s 75th anniversary season, the Cougars returned to their previous seasons with the addition of coloured yokes on both home and away sets.

Peterborough Braves: For the 1981-82 season, the team is wearing a memorial patch to honour Michael Hawk, the team’s first president of the club; after that, the team will reveal their new name for next season.

New team’s jerseys

 Surry River Dogs: A round corner square logo with a “SURRY” above the dog sitting with navy and light blue stripes behind it with orange trim around it, the logo on the road is vice versa. The jerseys got a thin orange stripe and a thick stripe on the cuffs and the hem. The nameplate is just one solid colour, but the numbers are light blue with navy and orange trims that stay the same on both the home and the road.

 Chilliwack Alpines: A diamond shape with the letter “A” on the top and underneath it a mountain upside down in sky blue, grey, and a touch of green trim for a logo. The home and road design has two thick stripes with a thin green stripe. The team was going to have sky blue pants, but after the team did a photo shoot on the ice, it looked like they were wearing white pants, so the team changed them to green.