Flashback: Dukes of Hamilton
An oddly-named Ontario Hockey League team, the Dukes of Hamilton would prove to be an ill-fated successor to the storied Toronto Marlies franchise over a two-year operating period from 1989 to 1991.
It was hailed as a new beginning for major junior hockey in Hamilton after a local ownership group purchased the Marlies franchise from Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. for the then going rate of about $500,000.
Amid considerable hoopla, Hamilton was awarded the 1990 Memorial Cup Tournament with the Dukes to get automatic entry as the host team.
But Hamilton started the 1989-1990 campaign with a string of losses and by mid-season it was apparent that it would be an embarrassment to the team and the OHL to allow the lowly Dukes into the Memorial Cup Tournament.
As it turned out, the Dukes won only 11 games and missed the playoffs and it was the champion Oshawa Generals and league finalist Kitchener Rangers that represented the host OHL at the 1990 Mem Cup.
Season no. 2 in Hamilton was just marginally better as the Dukes won only 17 games, though they managed to squeak into the Emms Division playoffs before being swept by the Soo Greyhounds in the first round.
In all, under three head coaches — Jerry Harrigan, Jay Johnston and Jerry Andreatta — the Dukes posted an abysmal two-season record of 28-92-12 before the franchise was sold and relocated to Guelph where the Storm has become a solid, respectable OHL program over the past 25 years.
Despite their two-year struggle in Hamilton, a number of top players skated for the Dukes including future National Hockey League forwards Alek Stojanov, Chris Govedaris and Shawn McCosh and the productive likes of forwards Jeff Bes, Darren Bell, Darcy Cahill, Chris Code, Gordon Pell, Michael Reier and Gairin Smith and defensemen Derek Booth, Rob Leask, Kayle Short and Jason Soules.
Ironically and rather amazingly, the Dukes employed five better-than-average goalies over two seasons who posted winning records for other OHL teams — but not in Hamilton.
They were Dan Ryder (Sudbury Wolves and Ottawa 67’s), George Dourian (Sudbury Wolves and Ottawa 67’s), David Schill (London Knights and Kitchener Rangers), Dan Tanevski (Soo Greyhounds) and Gus Morschauser (Kitchener Rangers.) In all, nine different goalies saw action for the Dukes over their two OHL seasons.
A number of useful players hailing from northeastern Ontario also suited up for the Dukes including forwards David Ritchie (Sault Ste. Marie) and Dale Chokan (Garson) and defensemen Sean Burns (North Bay), Todd Gleason (North Bay) and Scott Jenkins (North Bay.)
The hard-nosed Ritchie played just one season in Hamilton and had 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points and 128 penalty minutes over 56 games while earning a reputation as a team-first player.
Then there was former Dukes defenseman Glenn Craft, a transplanted northerner whose son, Cole Craft, is now a rookie forward with the North Bay Trappers of the Great North Midget Hockey League and a candidate for selection at the 2017 OHL draft.
To be sure, despite their very-unimpressive, two-year win total of 28, a number of good players wore Dukes colours during the team’s brief OHL existence.
But for whatever reason, success was just not meant to be for the forgettable, albeit memorable, Dukes of Hamilton.
Good article. R.R. I suggest the Memorial Cup host committee consider giving the rights to host to a team who are going to have a better performance on the ice than a big arena. Back in 1990, CHL teams were playing in smaller arenas. If you look at the OHL now, almost all the teams have newer arenas, except for Hamilton, Ottawa, Peterborough, Kitchener, and Sudbury who were playing in the same arenas in 1990, and are still playing in those arenas in 2016 with major renovations.
Great article, thanks for the memories. It was a long year but the guys you’ll never forget.
Good Article Mr, Russon, I remember that series against the hounds in ’91, they were way to overmatched by the hounds, Game 2 score was 14-1 for the hounds I was at the game.
I remember a 4-0 game sweep in 90/91, one of the games ending 14-1 and I believe the Hounds mustered a 60+ shot attack
There was Sturgeon Falls native Luc Gagnon that made the opening nite lineup for the Dukes!!!
Thanks Gord, I note that Luc played in 6 games for the Dukes. Appreciate the info, man.
My Dad was a scout for the Dukes he got him a tryout.He made the team..
yes he did, as I noted, he played 6 games.
Dave Ritchie should be Coaching one of the GREYHOUNDS Minor Hockey Teams In My Opinion.
I hope you know that that your story made me don boots and a coat and trudge through the snow to my garage, to look in my archives for some more information on the Dukes from back in that 90/91 season! Oh by the way I was perfectly comfortable to stay in th warm confines of my home! So thanks for inspiring me, yet again! Cheers to more stories in 2017!
You are a beauty, my friend.
Thanks for the article on Dukes!! Brought back a lot of memories of old time hockey…from a Northern Ontario guy..
Very interesting article, Randy. I especially note the reference to the 1990 Memorial Cup arrangement. The OHL had learned its bitter lesson from the debacle of the 1987 Cup situation, when they had last hosted the event.
In their infinite wisdom, the OHL power(s) that be decided that the two division champions would play a 7 game series to see who would have the honour of being the host team. So Paul Theriault’s Oshawa Generals and Bert Templeton’s North Bay Centennials battled it out, and ‘battled’ is a terrible understatement. Two dynamic, tough teams knocked the crap out of each other in a series that Oshawa won in 7 hard-fought games. Oshawa would host the Memorial Cup.
And guess who should later be the two divisional playoff champs, to compete for the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL league champs? You guessed it – the same Generals and Centennials. And in another 7 game series, they picked up hammering each other right where they had left off previously. Again, Oshawa prevailed in 7 devastatingly tough games – making 14 in all.
And now the crunch. It seems nobody had the foresight to think far enough ahead that the same team could win both series, leaving the OHL with only one representative in the Mem Cup! And so, Oshawa, a battered collection of walking wounded (just as the Cents would have been had they won) limped into the Cup tournament to play a three-team schedule. They disported themselves very well in the round robin, but were simply no match for the Medicine Hat Tigers, losing the final 6-2.
I think that was the last time the Mem Cup was played with only 3 teams competing. Certainly the OHL learned their lesson, the hard way.
An article on the Niagara Falls Thunder should be a great one. They played in the OHL from 1988 to 1996 and left for Erie over arena issues. I also recall the Thunder losing the OHL finals in their first season in Niagara Falls to Peterborough, and the players rebelled against OHL commissioner David Branch and coach Bill LaForge was fired.