1995–96 OHL season explained

The 1995–96 OHL season was the 16th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The league expanded as the Barrie Colts entered into the central division. The Detroit Junior Red Wings become the Detroit Whalers. Seventeen teams each played 66 games. The Peterborough Petes won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Guelph Storm.

Expansion

Barrie Colts

On May 6, 1994, The Barrie Colts were approved as an expansion team in the Ontario Hockey League beginning in the 1995-96 season. The Colts began their inaugural season playing in the Barrie Arena, however, on December 31, 1995, the Colts moved into their new home, the Barrie Molson Centre. The Colts joined the Central Division.

Rebranding

Detroit Junior Red Wings to Detroit Whalers

At the conclusion of the 1994-95, the Detroit Junior Red Wings severed all ties with the National Hockey League Detroit Red Wings, as Peter Karmanos renamed the franchise the Detroit Whalers.

The Whalers moved out of Joe Louis Arena and into the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association and the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League. The Whalers would play 21 of their 33 home games in the regular season at the Palace of Auburn Hills while playing their remaining 12 home games at Oak Park Ice Arena. The Whalers played all of their home playoff games at the Oak Park Ice Arena.

The club remained in the West Division.

Teams

1995-96 Ontario Hockey League
Division	Team	City	Arena
East	Belleville Bulls	Belleville, Ontario	Yardmen Arena
	Kingston Frontenacs	Kingston, Ontario	Kingston Memorial Centre
	North Bay Centennials	North Bay, Ontario	North Bay Memorial Gardens
	Oshawa Generals	Oshawa, Ontario	Oshawa Civic Auditorium
	Ottawa 67's	Ottawa, Ontario	Ottawa Civic Centre
	Peterborough Petes	Peterborough, Ontario	Peterborough Memorial Centre
Central	Barrie Colts	Barrie, Ontario	Barrie Arena Barrie Molson Centre
	Guelph Storm	Guelph, Ontario	Guelph Memorial Gardens
	Kitchener Rangers	Kitchener, Ontario	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
	Niagara Falls Thunder	Niagara Falls, Ontario	Niagara Falls Memorial Arena
	Owen Sound Platers	Owen Sound, Ontario	Bayshore Community Centre
	Sudbury Wolves	Sudbury, Ontario	Sudbury Community Arena
West	Detroit Whalers	Detroit, Michigan Auburn Hills, Michigan	Oak Park Ice Arena Palace of Auburn Hills
	London Knights	London, Ontario	London Ice House
	Sarnia Sting	Sarnia, Ontario	Sarnia Arena
	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario	Sault Memorial Gardens
	Windsor Spitfires	Windsor, Ontario	Windsor Arena

Regular season

Final standings

Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = earned first round bye

East Division

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA
1		66	39	22	5	83	258	200
2		66	35	22	9	79	289	235
3		66	35	26	5	75	300	250
4		66	30	28	8	68	248	238
5		66	29	31	6	64	266	267
6		66	14	45	7	35	242	360

Central Division

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA
1		66	45	16	5	95	297	186
2		66	35	28	3	73	253	230
3		66	29	30	7	65	248	238
4		66	29	32	5	63	274	313
5		66	28	31	7	63	258	266
6		66	27	36	3	59	262	288

West Division

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA
1		66	40	22	4	84	319	243
2		66	39	23	4	82	330	276
3		66	38	23	5	81	312	254
4		66	21	41	4	46	256	312
5		66	3	60	3	9	179	435

Scoring leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
		66	46	73	119	110
		64	53	62	115	74
		66	60	51	111	78
Trevor Gallant		63	47	58	105	36
Richard Uniacke		66	48	54	102	38
		66	42	60	102	108
		63	56	45	101	130
		66	36	63	99	66
Lee Jinman		64	29	68	97	49
		63	40	53	93	74

Playoffs

^[1]

Division quarter-finals

East Division

(3) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Oshawa Generals

Central Division

(3) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (4) Owen Sound Platers

West Division

(2) Sarnia Sting vs. (3) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

OHL quarter-finals

(W2) Sarnia Sting vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

OHL semi-finals

(W1) Detroit Whalers vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

J. Ross Robertson Cup

(C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

All-Star teams

First team

• Alyn McCauley, Centre, Ottawa 67's
• Daniel Cleary, Left Wing, Belleville Bulls
• Cameron Mann, Right Wing, Peterborough Petes
• Bryan Berard, Defence, Detroit Whalers
• Kevin Bolibruck, Defence, Peterborough Petes
• Craig Hillier, Goaltender, Ottawa 67's
• Brian Kilrea, Coach, Ottawa 67's

Second team

• Aaron Brand, Centre, Sarnia Sting
• Sean Haggerty, Left Wing, Detroit Whalers
• Jeff Johnstone, Right Wing, Niagara Falls Thunder
• Sean Brown, Defence, Sarnia Sting
• Jay McKee, Defence, Niagara Falls Thunder
• Dan Cloutier, Goaltender, Guelph Storm
• Bert Templeton, Coach, Barrie Colts

Third team

• Sean Venedam, Centre, Sudbury Wolves
• Jamie Wright, Left Wing, Guelph Storm
• David Nemirovski, Right Wing, Sarnia Sting
• Marc Moro, Defence, Kingston Frontenacs
• Ryan Risidore, Defence, Guelph Storm
• David Belitski, Goaltender, Kitchener Rangers
• Travis Scott, Goaltender, Oshawa Generals
• Mark Hunter, Coach, Sarnia Sting

Awards

J. Ross Robertson Cup	Peterborough Petes
Hamilton Spectator Trophy	Guelph Storm
Leyden Trophy	Ottawa 67's
Emms Trophy	Guelph Storm
Bumbacco Trophy	Detroit Whalers
Red Tilson Trophy	Alyn McCauley, Ottawa 67's
Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy
Matt Leyden Trophy	Brian Kilrea, Ottawa 67's
Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy	Cameron Mann, Peterborough Petes
Max Kaminsky Trophy	Bryan Berard, Detroit Whalers
OHL Goaltender of the Year	Craig Hillier, Ottawa 67's
Jack Ferguson Award	Rico Fata, London Knights
Dave Pinkney Trophy
OHL Executive of the Year	Bert Templeton, Barrie Colts
Emms Family Award	Joe Thornton, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy	Brett Thompson, Guelph Storm
OHL Humanitarian of the Year	Craig Mills, Belleville Bulls
William Hanley Trophy
Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy	Aaron Brand, Sarnia Sting
Bobby Smith Trophy	Boyd Devereaux, Kitchener Rangers

1996 OHL Priority Selection

On June 1, 1996, the OHL conducted the 1996 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ontario. The London Knights held the first overall pick in the draft and selected Rico Fata from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Fata was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.

Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1996 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.^[2]

	Player	Nationality	OHL Team	Hometown	Minor Team
1	Rico Fata (C)	Canada	London Knights	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
2	Tyler Rennette (C)	Canada	North Bay Centennials	Powassan, Ontario	Waterloo Siskins
3	Norm Milley (RW)	Canada	Sudbury Wolves	North York, Ontario	Toronto Red Wings
4	Kip Brennan (D)	Canada	Windsor Spitfires	Toronto, Ontario	St. Michael's Buzzers
5	Mike Henrich (RW)	Canada	Barrie Colts	Thornhill, Ontario	Wexford Midgets
6	Wes Goldie (RW)	Canada	Owen Sound Platers	London, Ontario	St. Thomas Stars
7	Kevin Grimes (D)	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs	Metcalfe, Ontario	Cumberland Grads
8	Brett Gibson (C)	Canada	Erie Otters	Gananoque, Ontario	Kingston Voyageurs
9	Bryan Allen (D)	Canada	Oshawa Generals	Glenburnie, Ontario	Ernestown Jets
10	Wes Jarvis (D)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers	Ottawa, Ontario	Gloucester Rangers
11	Justin Papineau (C)	Canada	Belleville Bulls	Ottawa, Ontario	Ottawa Jr. Senators
12	Pat Kavanagh (RW)	Canada	Peterborough Petes	Richmond, Ontario	Kanata Valley Lasers
13	Nick Robinson (D)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	Cavan, Ontario	Lindsay Muskies
14	Abe Herbst (D)	Canada	Sarnia Sting	Harriston, Ontario	Listowel Cyclones
15	Mark Bell (C)	Canada	Ottawa 67's	St. Paul's, Ontario	Stratford Cullitons
16	Harold Druken (LW)	Canada	Detroit Whalers	St. John's, Newfoundland	Noble & Greenough Bulldogs
17	Manny Malhotra (C)	Canada	Guelph Storm	Mississauga, Ontario	Mississauga Reps

See also

• List of OHA Junior A standings
• List of OHL seasons
• 1996 Memorial Cup
• 1996 NHL Entry Draft
• 1995 in sports
• 1996 in sports

References

• HockeyDB

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1995-96 OHL Playoff Results at hockeydb.com . 2022-12-07 . www.hockeydb.com.
2. Web site: 1996 Ontario Hockey League Draft.