1984 CIHA Off-season part 2: News and jersey changes

 CIHA: With the 1984 Valor Cup in books the league announced that after a 10-5 vote the Moncton Bears are the host of the 1985 Valor Cup tournament, and just in time as the Reese brothers presented the new arena in Moncton called the “Brown Bear Memorial Centre” named after the old NIHA club the New Brunswick Brown Bears that played from 1930 to 1940, even thou they won three Alexander Cups (1931, 1932. And 1934) but as World War II came half of the rosters went over sea to fight with no star players the team fell apart, and after 1939-40 season the team folded, and James North established an amateur hockey club now known as the Moncton Bears which as the 40s turns to the 50s they became part of East Coast Junior Hockey League. “It’s an honour to host this wonderful tournament, as we will have a whole season of celebrations.” Ron Reese said at the press conference.

CIHA: The League also announced that in July 1985, the Valor Star tournament will be held. Toronto, Ontario, will host it as both Neon and Hornets arenas will be the place for the round-robin rounds. At the same time, the Toronto Forum, home of the NIHAs Toronto Pros, will house the semis and the finals, just like the previous Valor Star tournament, team OMJHA, team AQHL, and team WCLH. While there is a team CIHA, unlike the 1980 team that contains players aged 16-18, this team will be an international theme featuring players from all around the world. As for the jerseys it’ll be the same design. “We felt like it really wasn’t necessary to change them. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” CIHA President Randy Howard said at the press conference.

AQHL: For many years, Plattsburgh, New York, has worked its way to being a hotbed for hockey players developing their skills. Their market caught Paul Name’s eyes in a big way, and there are talks that Plattsburgh could have an AQHL team there.

OMJHA: many had questions for the Buffalo Bees, and that is, where is Ryan Bryon Jr? It was found out that Ryan Sr. fired him after numbers of disagreements between the two; it got so bad that Sr. took his son to court and took his 20% ownership from him, pretty much putting Jr. on the streets. There is a silver line for Jr., as he got a GM job for the NIHA’s Chicago Lancers, and the higher-ups love his style, and he can work well with their fresh new coaching staff.

OMJHA: With losing three teams in three years, OMJHA President Tom Van Ryan was hoping for at least some good news, and he did from Abrum and Isaac Wall, as the arena they built is complete, but there is a problem, make that two problems, Abrum Wall build his arena in Niagara Falls, Ontario. While Isaac Wall built his arena in Niagara Falls, New York. With issues clouded over his head, Tom Van Ryan announced that he is giving both Wall brothers their own team, one for Abrum and one for Isaac. Both teams will begin their first season in the 1985-86 season.

WCLH: With the addition of the Red Deer Bucks, there are no talks of any expansions down the road, but there is news that the NIHAs Saskatchewan Royals got themselves a deal to build a brand-new arena, and it will be built in downtown Regina; their current arena is just outside of the town. With the Royals leaving that arena, talks are on the table for an expansion in Regina for the first time since the 60s when the Regina Royals folded in line for a minor-pro club, then became part of the IWHL in the 70s.

Jerseys changes

The Kenora Pioneers, Manchester Americans, Moose Jaw Wings, Peterborough Bolts, Toronto Neon, and Val-d’Or Monarchs have officially discontinued the Lite-sonic pants. They are now wearing more traditional pants and socks. The new team, Red Deer Bucks, and the relocated Newmarket Express showed off their sets.

Kenora Pioneers: They returned to the same pants and socks they had before the Lite-sonic system. In fact, many fans thanked the team for going back, and hopefully, it stays like that; little did anyone know that there are talks that the team could be building up for a new look.

Manchester Americans: The pants don’t have stripes on the side like the Lite-sonic pants, which disappointed fans. The Americans added trims around the letters on the nameplates. On the home jersey, the letters are red with blue trim, just like the numbers.

Moose Jaw Wings: The pants and socks are back. What makes the fans happier is that the pants are not white. Since white pants are banned from the WCLH, the Wings made them red with white and blue stripes.

 Toronto Neon: The pants and socks came back. The only thing Neon took from their Lite-sonic pants was the thin neon colour stripes, which they placed on the side of the pants. The neon green number on the road jersey got promoted from the sleeves to the back, while the neon yellow went on the sleeves.

Val-d’Or Monarchs: Just like Lite-sonic, the pants have a thick white stripe on the side of their navy blue pants, and the socks also have thick stripes on both home and road.

 Peterborough Bolts: The Bolts did more than just change the pants. They changed their look entirely by dropping red, darkening the blue, and putting simple stripes on the arms, hem, and socks. The numbers are rounded, and the letters on the nameplate no longer have trim around them.

Newmarket Express: The former Milton Micmacs went from red and gold to blue and orange. The crest has the word “EXPRESS” on it, which is based on the team owner’s trucking company, Canpress Trucking. Multiple stripes are on the arms, hem, and socks. The team will wear orange helmets for both home and road.

Red Deer Bucks: The prominent crest is the wordmark with antlers. The home jersey is white with red and gold stripes on the arms, black cuffs, and red, gold, and black stripes on the hem and socks. The road jersey is red with gold and black stripes and white cuffs, along with gold, black, and white stripes on the hem and socks.

CIHA Alumni (where are they now)

Jaune Dupont, Sherbrooke Loups (1971-75)

The 1974 CIHA Valor Cup MVP played one more season with the Loups before getting drafted by NIHAs Quebec City Macareux, which didn’t sit well with his family because they are big Montreal Or Rouge fans, but they all got used to seeing him in a different uniform. His pro hockey career has been great for him. He had four 50 goals per season within his nine pro hockey seasons. For his tenth season with the team, he became the captain of a very young and well-put-together roster ready for a deep playoff run and hoping to get themselves an Alexander Cup title or more into the second half of the 1980s.

1984 CIHA Off-season part 1: League Drafts and Expansion Draft

 WCLH Expansion Draft

As the WCLH added the Red Deer Bucks, a lot of teams feared that their top players could be picked to be part of the Bucks. There is a rule that you can trade picks to an expansion team, but the first and second-round picks are off-limits; however, if a team trades first and/or second-draft picks, that team will face a fine of $5000.00 and loses a draft pick next year, double it if both first and second draft picks were made. The higher-ups of the Lethbridge Cougars talked about it, and with an agreement between the owner and GM, the Cougars took a gamble and traded their first-round pick to the Red Deer Bucks to protect their top player from the expansion draft. The Bucks's picks mainly were players who got drafted in the second round; the best pick the Bucks made was Kurt Lscroix from the Moose Jaw Wings.

1. Kurt Lscroix, D (Moose Jaw Wings)

2. Donald Queen, F (Abbotsford Forest Kings)

3. Nick Yoke, G (Saskatoon Cats)

4. Frank Littlewood, F (Kenora Pioneers)

5. Leon Jakins, G (Kenora Pioneers)

 

AQHL Draft

With so many draft picks, the first-round picks remain intact as many up-and-comers are hoping to be picked and part of the desired team. The Firebirds made a strong pick with forward Zack Knox from Montreal, who made an impressive run with the Terrebonne Jr. B club, scoring 20 goals and 68 assists. It is just the Firebirds need to up the team’s playmaker style to move up the ranks and maybe have a chance to make it to the playoffs. Another Montreal local drafted its defenceman Matthew Daoust by the Greens need to boost their defence up after a poor 1983-84 season performance. The disaster was painful for the Volts, but drafting forward Rick Daley from Quebec City can turn it around if they don’t tamper with the roster like the 83-84 season. The big surprise is the rise of well-developed players from the town of Plattsburgh, Vermont, as both forward Oscar Chapman (drafted by Manchester) and defence Mike Giffin (drafted by Trois-Rivieres) were many good players that caught many scouts' eyes to keep a watch out for more good players that could have a chance to have a player or two to be in the top ten.

1. Rouyn-Noranda Firebirds – Zack Knox, F (Montreal, QC)

2. Charlottetown Greens – Matthew Daoust, D (Montreal, QC)

3. Shawinigan Voltages – Rick Daley, F (Quebec City, QC)

4. New Glasgow Highlanders – Conner Draper, G (Sussex, NB)

5. Val-d’Or Monarchs – Bruce McDonald, F (Summerside, PEI)

6. Verdun Knights – Ryan Valiquette, F (Shawinigan, QC)

7. Drummondville Les Rouges – Trent McKenny, D (Burlington, Vermont)

8. Laval Tigers – Shawn Montpelier, D (Lewiston, NH)

9. Cape Breton Warriors – Paul Fredericton, F (Bangor, Maine)

10. Sherbrooke Loups – Pat Skinner, F (Campbellton, NB)

11. Fredericton Vikings – Bill Boyle, F (North Sydney, NS)

12. Portland Clippers – Nick Cassels, D (Brunswick, Maine)

13. Manchester Americans – Oscar Chapman, F (Plattsburgh, Vermont)

14. Trois-Rivieres Titans – Mike Giffin, D (Plattsburgh, Vermont) 

15. Moncton Bears – Ryan Handzus, G (Bilovec, Czechoslovakia)

OMJHA Draft

The Orilla Lakers folded, giving many teams a better chance at the right pick to help them get a better result. Unfortunately, many top prospects in the Toronto area are being picked and given better opportunities from the SWOHL as they have been the top Junior league for the fourth year in a row and show no slowing down, even pairing up the Pro Junior Hockey Players Association (PJHPA) a brother union with the National Ice Hockey Association Players Union (NIHAPU) were the players are getting a guaranteed pay that they deserved, many believed that the CIHA could join in the union, but the CIHA has their own program that helps players to hit the pros and/or great education opportunities, and joining the union would not sit well with the OMJHA to share union revenues with their rival SWOHL. The draft wasn’t as strong as last season, the Kitchener Generals picked Markham, Ontario forward Ryan Cheevers who is the only the best as many others from that city got picked up by SWOHL. Questions are up in the air about the future of the Orangeville O’s office, mainly the GM, but however, the team needs to beef up their defence, and Kingston, Ontario’s Dany Toth can be what they need. The Oshawa Gems took hometown forward Andrew Saddy to give them better-scoring depth. The Buffalo Bees came in this year's draft without Ryan Byron Jr., and it shows as they selected forward Steven Plank, who was predicted to be in the 4th to 6th round. As the now former Milton Micmacs, the new owner Leon Littlestone official, came on to the stage and announced the name of his team, they are called the “Newmarket Express.” After that, he drafted a forward named Louis Lansdowne. As the 1983-84 season came to an end, the Arrowbirds made a significant change to their office by naming Walter Eagle as the team’s new GM. He used to play for that team; in fact, he was one of the original players who played in the team’s first season in the OMJHA. His goal was to bring locals on the rosters, and he did just that by taking a hometown hero forward, Lucas Goldclaw; he’s played a big role for the Owen Sound major AAA hockey team with 42 goals and 95 points within two years.

1. Kitchener Generals – Ryan Cheevers, F (Markham, ON)

2. Orangeville O’s – Dany Toth, D (Kingston, ON)

3. Oshawa Gems - Andrew Saddy, F (Oshawa, ON)

4. Peterborough Bolts – Roger Duplacey, G (Sudbury, ON)

5. Newmarket Express – Louis Lansdowne, F (Buffalo, NY)

6. Brantford Skyflyers – Duke Regency, D (St. Catharines, ON)

7. Barrie Admirals – Will York, D (Collingwood, ON)

8. Waterloo Maroons – Quinn Keller, F (New Tecumseth, ON)

9. Owen Sound Arrowbirds – Lucas Goldclaw, F (Owen Sound, ON)

10. Buffalo Bees – Steven Plank, F (Rochester, NY)

11. Toronto Hornets – John Warren, G (Niagara Falls, ON)

12. Oakville Oaks – Leonard Ellsworth, F (Hamilton, ON)

13. Toronto Neon – Ben Topeka, D (Toronto, ON)

WCLH Draft

This year draft was more defence focus than offence, the Kenora Pioneers took Adam Harrison from Brandon, MA, Adam may never be a high scorer but he a great enforcer and for bonus he is also a playmaker as well a rare thing to see in hockey. After missing the playoffs for the third year in a row, the Brandon Buffalos are still stuck in rebuild mode as they try to beef up their offence with forward Luke Conway from Mosse Jaw with him. The Buffalos are hoping that the 1984-85 season will be the season they will go deep into the playoffs. After four years since the 1980 Valor Cup tournament, the Nanaimo Sharks had missed the playoffs, so the team made some tough decisions and naming a new GM is one of them as they named Edward Osward as their new GM, Edward was once part of the Saskatoon Cats dynasty in the late 60s, He may not have a successful pro career with playing only 2 seasons with the rest of his 6 years in the minors; however, he got the knowledge of putting together a good team during his time as GM for the Sault Ste. Marie Northmen of the SWOHL, when that team got relocated to Marquette, Edward was looking for a new job until the Sharks took him in as GM, His first pick as the GM is defence James Emmelot, the best defenceman in B.C. With him, the Sharks could make a comeback very soon.

1. Kenora Pioneers – Adam Harrison, D (Brandon, MA)

2. Brandon Buffalos – Luke Conway, F (Moose Jaw, SK)

3. Nanaimo Sharks - James Emmelot, D (Cranbrook, BC)

4. Surrey River Dogs – Frank Famer, G (Kelowna, BC)

5. Moose Jaw Wings – Jason West, D (Prince George, BC)

6. Chilliwack Alpines – Nick Whitebear, G (Anchorage, AK)

7. Medicine Hat Hawks – Tony Greenbird, F (Grande Prairie, AB)

8. Swift Current Battalion – Howard Bulk, F (Winnipeg, MB)

9. Billings Trains – Anthony Bostwick, F (Spokane, WA)

10. Red Deer Bucks (from Lethbridge Cougars) – Sam Ottawa, D (Calgary, AB)

11. Portage la Prairie Magic – John Ketter, D (Edmonton, AB)

12. Abbotsford Forest Kings – Terry Sabon, F (Saskatoon, SK)

13. Fargo Owls – Steven Yak, D (Winnipeg, MB)

14. Saskatoon Cats – Waylen Hook, D (Regina, SK)

1984 CIHA Valor Cup Tournament

The round-robin was a crazy one; in the first place, the host Buffalo Bees had a good streak, winning the first four games but losing the last two to both the Oaks and the Bears, which angered Ryan Byron Sr. There were words that both Sr and Jr butting heads throughout the season even though the Bees have been successful for the past four years. The OMJHA Smyth Cup champion, the Oakville Oaks, did well, but their losses to the Bees and twice to the Forest Kings hurt their chance to take first place, and they finished second 3-3. The Forest King won twice over the Oaks and the Bears, but their two blowout losses to the Bees hurt them so much that they lost to the Bears on the last day of the round-robin. It was almost another déjà vu for the Moncton Bears as they lost the first four games, and many believed that the Bears may get another winless tournament run, but they won their first over the Bees and their second over the Forest Kings to go to the semi-finals finishing 4th.

Semi-Finals

Buffalo Bees vs. Moncton Bears

First-place Buffalo Bees held their ground against the Bears after the Bears tied it at two after the second period; midway in the third, William VanDean scored twice for the Bees as the third period came to an end as the Buffalo Bees are going to the finals for the third year in a row winning the semi-final game 4-2.

Oakville Oaks vs. Abbotsford Forest Kings

It was a back-and-forth match between the Forest Kings and the Oaks as each scored goals all the way to the third period when Aaron Boyer scored from point spot to tie the game up with only 30 seconds left, the Forest Kings tried to score as Ryan Wedgewood got an open net shot, but it bounces off the post, and the clock hit zero, and both teams are going to overtime. 4:50 minutes left into overtime, Ryan Wedgewood got another chance to score when he took the puck and passed through the Oaks defence, shot past the goalie, and scored the overtime winner 6-5 and moved on to the finals.

Valor Cup Finals

Buffalo Bees vs. Abbotsford Forest Kings

The first period came and gone, with Buffalo scoring a goal made by Todd Zemlak by pure luck; in the second period, it took Abbotsford top star Ryan Wedgewood to score a goal to tie it up, but 15 seconds later, Mark O’Reilly broke the tie game to give the Bees the lead as the second period came to an end, it was all Buffalo in the third as William VanDean scored twice as the clock ticks away many were expect both Sr. and Jr. celebrate together instead Jr. went to the team's locker room to get everything together while Sr. looks like a very not happy owner, the clock hit zero the Buffalo Bees wins the team’s first Valor Cup championship winning 4-1 over the Abbotsford Forest Kings, William VanDean was named the Valor Cup MVP, and Greg Dahlstrom received the Valor Cup Trophy and raise it up as the Bees fans celebrate.