From Connor McDavid rewriting the record books and proving himself a generational talent to Canada ending its IIHF World Junior Championship drought to the Oshawa Generals winning the MasterCard Memorial Cup to a team walking out on its owner, there is no doubt that 2015 has been one to remember.
Here are your top junior hockey stories of the year.
10. Josh Ho-Sang is not your average CHLer
Whether he was being shipped out of town by the Windsor Spitfires, bumped back to the OHL for showing up late to New York Islanders’ training camp or left out of Team Canada tryout camps, Niagara IceDogs star Josh Ho-Sang couldn’t stop making news for all the wrong reasons in 2015.
Arden Zwelling: Josh Ho-Sang vs. the world
9. The WHL’s 50th anniversary celebrations
There is a whole lot of history in the Dub—great players, great teams and, simply, great stories spanning decades. This year the league celebrated its 50th anniversary with a call-out to fans to vote for their top players of the past half century.
Andy Eide: Top 25 WHL teams of all time
8. Stromes set up a hockey dynasty
First it was Ryan, the Niagara IceDogs star who went fifth overall to the Islanders in 2011. Then it was Dylan, who went third to the Arizona Coyotes in 2015. Then it was youngest brother Matthew, who scored the OHL Cup-winning goal for his Toronto Marlboros. Born between 1993 and 1999, the Brothers Strome might just be the next Staals.
Michael Grange: Stromes a growing hockey dynasty
7. The incredible life of David Levin
Born in Israel, David Levin came to Canada as a kid and wound up becoming a pretty good hockey player. In and of itself, that’s not an unbelievable story. What is unbelievable, however, is that just three years after learning to skate, Levin became the No. 1-overall pick in the 2015 OHL Draft.
Gare Joyce: ‘Israel is not a hockey town’
6. Veleno becomes the Q’s first exceptional player
Others had applied and been rejected but in 2015, Hockey Canada granted Joseph Veleno the QMJHL’s first exceptional player status—allowing him to enter the league a year ahead of schedule at 15. Veleno was drafted first overall by the Saint John Sea Dogs and had 22 points in 29 games heading into the Q’s holiday break. Plus, he and his teammates are not taking any guff.
Jonathan Briggins: Veleno involved in huge brawl
5. Learning to live with great expectations
Speaking of exceptional players: At 15, Sean Day was pegged for NHL stardom. So much so that he became the latest exceptional OHLer, following in the footsteps of household names like John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad and Connor McDavid. Only, for Day, the designation hasn’t exactly worked out. The first exceptional player not taken first overall, Day has been dogged from the beginning of his junior career, and the Mississauga Steelheads blueliner will need a big second half of the season to be a first-round NHL pick this summer.
Gare Joyce: The exception to the rule
4. Oshawa Generals win it all
It had been 25 years since the Oshawa Generals won the Memorial Cup. They couldn’t do it with Eric Lindros at his most dominant or with Marc Savard netting two OHL scoring titles. And they couldn’t do it with John Tavares making a case for himself as the greatest goal-scorer in league history. But in 2015, led by a decidedly more lunch pail cast, the Gens won the most competitive national championship tournament in recent memory. Walk-on Anthony Cirelli played the hero with two goals in a 2-1 overtime win versus the Kelowna Rockets in the final.
Gare Joyce: Winners and losers at the Memorial Cup
3. Canada ends gold drought at world juniors
We have a certain attitude in this country when it comes to hockey: We’re the best. Period. So when our top junior-aged players haven’t won—and in some cases even medalled—at the World Junior Championship in five years, we start to get a little antsy. That anxiety came to an end on home ice in 2015 thanks to a team that dominated all the way to the gold medal game, when our boys came up against arch-rival Russia. A 5-1 lead withered to 5-4 by the end, but Canada came out on top.
Gare Joyce: How Canada stacks up to defend in 2016
2. Flint Firebirds walk out
Hockey players aren’t known for making waves, and that goes doubly for CHL players. But that’s exactly what the Firebirds did—after a win, no less—when the coaching staff in Flint was fired, reportedly because team owner Rolf Nilsen wasn’t happy with how much ice time his son, Hakon, was receiving. When coach John Gruden broke the news to his players, they marched up to the owner’s office and quit, including poor Hakon.
The incident was resolved within hours, after CHL commissioner David Branch made a trip to Flint. The coaches were rehired and given contract extensions, and the players returned to the team.
Gare Joyce: How the firestorm started in Flint
1. Connor McDavid wows the hockey world
The greatest talent to hit junior hockey since Sidney Crosby lived up to all the hype. Even a broken hand suffered during a fight in November couldn’t stop McDavid from redefining success in your NHL Draft year. He scored 120 points in just 47 games for the Erie Otters, and added another 49 in 20 playoff games. In between he helped Canada to gold at the world juniors. Then he went No. 1 to the Edmonton Oilers.
Gare Joyce: The last days of normal for Connor McDavid
Bonus!
Mitchell Skiba, a defenceman for the Alpena Flyers of the Midwest Junior Hockey League, would probably like a do-over.
Mike Johnston: Hockey fail of the year
Double bonus!
You might never see a more devastating hit than the one delivered by Moncton Wildcats defenceman Zachary Malatesta.
Mackenzie Liddell: Huge hit sparks QMJHL brawl