Memories of Oshawa Generals
Think of the Oshawa Generals and a venerable history comes to the mind of a writer who has been covering the Ontario Hockey League for more than 40 years.
But those 40 years represent just half of how long the Generals have been a part of the OHL. In fact, the Generals will this season celebrate their 80th anniversary as flagship members of the OHL.
During that time, the Generals have won the Memorial Cup a record five times and hoisted the OHL championship trophy on 13 occasions.
Boys who became men while proudly wearing the Oshawa Generals jersey are not limited to the 184 who graduated to the National Hockey League.
What a history this franchise is, from Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr through so many exceptional players, coaches and teams.
Multiple names come to mind when I think of the Oshawa Generals, beginning with erstwhile championship coach Paul Theriault.
A Sault Ste. Marie native, Theriault had his greatest success as an OHL coach over eight seasons in Oshawa — both in victories and the number of top players and good people that he helped develop.
The list of impressive players who played for Theriault in Oshawa is overwhelming.
A few of the ones who I got to meet during their Oshawa playing days who stood out then and still do now because of their character and ability include defensemen Norm Schmidt and Jim Paek, forwards Scott McCrory and Derek King, just to name a few.
Look around the OHL today and the coaches who honed their bench skills in Oshawa is impressive, a list that includes George Burnett, now general manager of the Flint Firebirds and Stan Butler, coach-GM of the North Bay Battalion.
Being from Sault Ste. Marie, it strikes me that like Theriault, current Oshawa coach Bobby Jones is also from the Soo.
These are just 300 or so words of tens of thousands that could be written about the fabled Oshawa Generals.
Happy 80th, Gennies.
The Regina Pats are the oldest team in the Canadian Hockey League. It will be 100 years in 2024. The Oshawa Generals have been around since 1937, and they are one of the most-storied Canadian Hockey League teams. I’m sure both teams will make the short list for the 100th Memorial Cup.
My greatest memories of the Oshawa Generals, are the 1997 OHL Finals against the top-ranked Ottawa 67’s. It was an April night where the Generals clinched their first OHL title since 1990. Marc Savard shot the puck and it found its way past either Tim Keyes or Craig Hillier – can’t remember the goaltenders name, but it ended Ottawa’s anticipated winning season. It even almost set up a remarkable appearance in the Memorial Cup, which was hosted by the Hull Olympiques, but even the Generals couldn’t match up with Hull, who beat them 8-0 in the round-robin.
Saying goodbye to the Oshawa Civic Auditorium, which became an under-sized OHL arena in 2005, and moved into the brand-new-start-of-the-art General Motors Centre. The Auditorium was soon demolished.