Ottawa 67's

Brian Kilrea joins the 67's

Darwin announced in May 1972 that he would resign as team president in June 1972^[6] and this was quickly followed by Bill Long's departure as general manager and head coach in June as well. Howard Henry was announced as the team's new president.^[7] Leo Boivin was named as Long's successor as head coach of the 67's and Ross Tyrell as general manager on June 18.^[8] After a rebuilding season in 1973–74, after which both Boivin and Tyrell were let go by the team after a surprise loss to the Peterborough Petes in the playoffs^[9] the 67's hired a young up-and-coming coach named Brian Kilrea as both coach and general manager.^[10] Kilrea coached the team to three successive improved winning records, culminating in a victory in the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals in 1977, versus the London Knights, who were coached by former 67's bench boss Bill Long. During the late 1970s, Ottawa was led by scoring champions Peter Lee, Bobby Smith and Jim Fox and future Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman Doug Wilson.^[4][11][12]

The 67's moved on to compete for the 1977 Memorial Cup versus the champions of the other Canadian major junior leagues, the New Westminster Bruins of the Western Canada Hockey League, and the Sherbrooke Castors of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The 1977 Memorial Cup tournament was the first to be held in British Columbia and the first to use a double round-robin format. Ottawa lost the first game 7–6 to the Bruins, then won three in a row, 6–1 over the Castors, 4–3 in overtime versus the Bruins, and then 5–2 against Sherbrooke. However, Ottawa lost to the host Bruins 6–5 in the championship game. Bobby Smith and goaltender Pat Riggin were named to the tournament's all-star team.^[13]

Ottawa finished first in their division the following season, and were tipped to go all the way to the Memorial Cup tournament again, but struggled to finish off the Wayne Gretzky-led Soo Greyhounds in the first round^[12] and lost to the rival Peterborough Petes in the semi-finals.^[14] The 67's rebuilt during the 1978–79 season,^[15] and returned to play for a second J. Ross Robertson Cup versus the Kitchener Rangers at the end of the 1981–82 season. They were swept by the Rangers, but that season marked the first of three consecutive division titles from 1982 to 1984.^[16]

First Memorial Cup victory

In 1984, the 67's reached the OHL championship series in a rematch from the 1982 OHL finals, against the Kitchener Rangers. As the team with the most points in the league, Kitchener had been chosen to host the 1984 Memorial Cup tournament. In the OHL itself, however, Ottawa had unfinished business, having lost to Kitchener two years earlier. The 67's, who finished second overall to Kitchener in the OHL, defeated the Rangers and won their second J. Ross Robertson Cup and earned a place in the Memorial Cup tournament.^[16][17]

At the Memorial Cup in Kitchener, Ottawa faced the Laval Voisins, featuring Mario Lemieux, of the QMJHL and the Kamloops Jr. Oilers of the now renamed Western Hockey League (WHL).^[16] The 67's were led by Gary Roberts, Brad Shaw, and Bruce Cassidy.^[17] The 67's won against Laval and Kamloops before losing to Kitchener in the round-robin series. In the semi-final game, Ottawa beat Kamloops again and in the finals versus Kitchener, Ottawa scored a victory, winning their first Memorial Cup.^[18] Adam Creighton was named the tournament's most valuable player and goaltender Darren Pang was named the tournament's top goalie.^[16] Creighton, Pang, Shaw, Cassidy, Jim Camazzola and Don McLaren of the 67's were all named to the tournament's all-star team.^[19] After the season ended, Kilrea left Ottawa to become an assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders.^[12]

Kilrea returns from the NHL

Cliff Stewart was hired to replace Kilrea in August 1984 as the 67's graduated many of their star players following their cup win.^[20][21] Stewart lasted until November, replacing him with Bob Ellett.^[22] The rebuilding team suffered through two dismal seasons after winning the cup, finishing third-last in the OHL in 1985 and second-last in 1986.^[16] Ellett resigned at the end of the season and Brian Kilrea, out of contract with the Islanders, returned for the 1986–87 season.^[23][24] The second Kilrea era was not as superb as his first coaching stint. The 67's finished as high as second place in their division two times, and reached the league's playoff semi-finals three times.^[25] The highlight of this era was Andrew Cassels, the rookie of the year in 1986–87, and scoring champion in 1987–88.^[26] Kilrea went into coaching retirement after the 1993–94 season, remaining as the general manager. For the 1994–95 season, the 67's were coached by former scoring champion Peter Lee.^[27]

The third Kilrea era

Brian Kilrea came out of coaching retirement in 1995 and replaced Lee.^[28] On June 10, 1998, Jeff Hunt purchased the team from Howard Darwin and Earl Montagano.^[29] Kilrea was asked by Hunt to remain as coach for three more years, but would remain as coach until the end of the 2008–09 season,^[28] retaining his duties as general manager until 2011. He was replaced by Chris Byrne, first as coach, then as general manager.^[30] The Kilrea-coached 67's resurged to the top of the OHL, winning five consecutive east division titles from 1996 to 2000.^[31] In 1996–97, Ottawa finished with the most points in the league with 104, however, lost in the finals 4–2 to their division rivals, the Oshawa Generals.^[1][25] The 67's reached the finals again in 1998, losing to the Guelph Storm in five games.^[31]

Memorial Cup hosts, 1999

In 1999, 67's owner Jeff Hunt led the team's bid to host the 1999 Memorial Cup tournament. Despite the fact that in 1997 the tournament had been hosted across the river in Hull, he was able to convince the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) to host the event in Ottawa and guarantee his team a berth in the tournament. The 67's did not disappoint, as every game of the series was sold out. In the 1998–99 season, the 67's lost to the eventual OHL champion Belleville Bulls in the second round of the playoffs. As hosts, they still took part in the Memorial Cup tournament and faced the Bulls, the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL and the Acadie–Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL. The 67's beat the Belleville Bulls in the Memorial Cup semi-finals and went on to defeat the Calgary Hitmen in the final in a thrilling over-time game that saw Matt Zultek score the winning goal. Nick Boynton was named the tournament most valuable player.^[31][32]

Memorial Cup, 2001

After winning their fifth division title, the 67's were bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Belleville Bulls in 2000. However, it was not long before the 67's went to the Memorial Cup again. Ottawa defeated the Plymouth Whalers in the league championship capturing their second J. Ross Robertson Cup. The 2001 Memorial Cup was played in Regina, Saskatchewan. Ottawa had tougher luck in this tournament, winning just one game in the round robin versus the hometown Regina Pats, then ultimately losing to Regina 5–0 in the tie-breaker game. In the 2002–03 season, the 67's reached the OHL finals again, but fell to the eventual Memorial Cup champions Kitchener Rangers in five games. Ottawa, which won the division in 2003–04, suffered a surprise first round defeat in the playoffs to the Brampton Battalion.^[31]

Memorial Cup, 2005

The 67's finished in sixth place in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05, but had a veteran-laden team that managed an impressive playoff run. Ottawa upset the Barrie Colts, Sudbury Wolves and Peterborough Petes to reach the finals versus the London Knights. The 67's lost the OHL championship to the Knights, but qualified for the 2005 Memorial Cup by virtue of being the league finalists versus the Knights, who were also hosting the event. In the tournament, Ottawa faced the Knights, the Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL, featuring Sidney Crosby, and the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. The 67's won the longest ever game played in the Memorial Cup tournament, when they beat the Rockets in double overtime. Ottawa finished in third place in the round-robin, and then lost to the Océanic in the semi-finals.^[31]

Award winners

Retired numbers

NHL alumni

The following players have played at least one game in the National Hockey League;