Hockey in Canada spans all aspects of society, and the CHL is no different. The stories below touch triumph and tragedy, top prospects and teams, even a pissing match between a goaltender and his former coach.
These are your top CHL stories of 2014.
The Terry Trafford tragedy
“Questions remain in wake of Trafford’s death”
March 17, 2014 — Read full story
The biggest story in junior hockey this year was also the most tragic. On March 3, Saginaw forward Terry Trafford was sent home by the Spirit and asked to change his behaviour after violating team rules. It was the last time Trafford was seen. He went missing that day and was found dead just over a week later inside his SUV as a result of self-inflicted asphyxiation. The 20-year-old’s death rocked the hockey world and raised important questions about how CHL players are treated by teams, mental health and how to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Connor McDavid breaks hand in a fight
“The shame of Connor McDavid’s injury”
Nov. 12, 2014 — Read full story
Connor McDavid is the hottest prospect since Sidney Crosby, and fighting in hockey is one of the most combustible topics in the sport. As expected, McDavid’s decision to drop the gloves, which resulted in a fractured hand and a five-to-six week recovery, set the hockey world on fire. Another round of debate on the merits of fighting ensued, with players, coaches, fans and, of course, the media all weighing in.
Whether you support fighting or not, we can all agree the game is more exciting when McDavid is on the ice doing things like this:
Canada finishes misses podium again at World Junior Championship
“Won’t get any easier for Canada at WJC”
Jan. 5, 2014 — Read full story
Team Canada doubled down on disappointment at the 2014 World Junior Championship, leaving junior hockey’s marquee event without a medal for the second straight year. After falling apart against the Russians in the third period of the bronze medal game in 2013, Canada was trounced by Finland in the semis before fizzling out against the Russians to finish in fourth place in 2014, scoring just two total goals in those games. With wounds still raw and a medal drought mounting, tensions will be high when the tournament shifts to the bright lights of Toronto and Montreal this holiday season.
Panthers select Aaron Ekblad first overall in NHL draft
“A draft pick the panthers can’t pass up on”
April 17, 2014 — Read full story
Despite formidable competition from his peers, selecting Aaron Ekblad with the first-overall pick was a no-brainer for the Florida Panthers. But it didn’t always seem that way. The hulking defenceman was leapfrogged by Sam Bennett in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings and rumours surfaced that the Panthers were considering trading the pick. It’s a good thing they didn’t, Ekblad has made an immediate impact early on in Florida.
Oil Kings upset Storm to win MasterCard Memorial Cup
“Oil Kings lift the MasterCard Memorial Cup jinx”
May 25, 2014 — Read full story
The Edmonton Oil Kings’ road to their first MasterCard Memorial Cup in modern franchise history was not an easy one. They stumbled out of the gate to open the tournament and suffered a tough double-overtime loss to Val-d’Or before getting revenge against the Foreurs with a triple-OT win—the longest game in tournament history—in the semifinal. Waiting for Edmonton in the final was a rested and heavily favoured Guelph Storm team, who breezed through the round-robin portion of the tournament. The Oil Kings fell behind one minute into the game and trailed after 20, but took over in the second half and never let up, upsetting the Storm 6-3 and breaking the WHL’s five-year MasterCard Memorial Cup jinx.
Tim Bozon’s near-fatal bout with meningitis
“Support pours in for Ice forward Bozon”
March 10, 2014 — Read full story
Tim Bozon was admitted to hospital one day after scoring a goal in a Kootenay win. Days later he was fighting for his life. The Montreal Canadiens prospect was in critical condition and placed into a medically induced coma after being diagnosed with meningitis. He spent a month in hospital recovering from the potentially fatal illness before being released.
Josh Ho-Sang ‘snubbed’ by Hockey Canada
“Ho-Sang not invited to Canada’s WJC selection camp”
Dec. 1, 2014 — Read full story
Josh Ho-Sang was one of junior hockey’s most interesting characters in 2014. Once considered a top-10 prospect, the dynamic winger fell to 28th in the draft in large part due to his outspoken nature and reputation as a selfish player. He was also left off Hockey Canada’s summer development camp roster—a decision he called “insulting”—and didn’t receive an invite to selection camp in December despite an impressive performance in the Subway Super Series.
Tumultuous times for Lethbridge Hurricanes
“Nightmare season in Lethbridge hits new low”
Feb. 10, 2014 — Read full story
The Lethbridge Hurricanes’ problems didn’t start in 2014, but they certainly took a turn for the worse. With a poor on-ice product and dwindling attendance numbers, the community-owned club announced in February that it was $100,000 in debt and had lost $1 million in the past five years, leaving the franchise’s future in jeopardy. In 2014, the Hurricanes also had an assistant walk out on the team, fired the head coach and the GM, and replaced long-time president Brian McNaughton. The Hurricanes, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2009-10, are once again scraping the bottom of the league. Can Kris Versteeg save the day?
OHL players suspended 15 games for harassing women on Tinder
“OHL suspends two players for Tinder abuse”
Nov. 5, 2014 — Read full story
Belleville’s Jake Marchment and Peterborough’s Greg Betzold made headlines for all the wrong reasons, earning 15-game suspensions for vulgar and sexist messages sent to women on the dating site Tinder. Both apologized for the disturbing messages, which were published online, but the damage had already been done.
Former Remparts goaltender has harsh words for ex-coach Roy
“Ex-Remparts goaltender fires back at Avs’ Roy”
April 21, 2014 — Read full story
This wasn’t a major storyline in junior hockey last season, but it certainly got people’s attention. While speaking about his time with the Remparts prior to his NHL playoff coaching debut, Patrick Roy blamed Quebec’s shocking playoff loss two years ago on bad goaltending. That didn’t sit well with Quebec’s goalie during that time, Louis Domingue, who hit back with some scathing—albeit not overly shocking—criticisms of his own, painting a not-so-nice picture of what life was like under Roy’s regime.