Kingston Canadians

K-Rock Centre Kingston

The "Frontenacs" name has been long associated with hockey in the Kingston area. Several teams have been known as the Frontenacs. The origin of the name "Frontenacs" comes from Louis de Buade de Frontenac, governor of New France, who established Fort Frontenac on the site of present-day Kingston. The area surrounding Kingston is Frontenac County.

From 1959 to 1963, there was also a Kingston Frontenacs team in the Eastern Professional Hockey League.

Before 1945

The city had a team in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) Jr. league in the 1910s. NHL Alumni from this team are Alec Connell, Bill Cook, Allan Davidson and Flat Walsh.

There was also an Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) Sr. League team from the 1910s to 1940s. NHL Alumni from this team are Mickey Blake, Glen Brydson, Bill Cook, Gus Giesebrecht, Doug Stevenson, Charles Stewart, Carl Voss and Flat Walsh.

Some members of this team then formed an entry in the Ontario Veteran's Hockey League (OVHL) during World War II. NHL Alumni from this team are Hub Macey, Gus Marker, Walt McCartney and Ed Nicholson.

1952-1973

In 1952, the Kingston Victoria were renamed the Kingston Frontenacs. This team played at the Junior B level, then later at the Junior A level. This Frontenacs team lost in the 1963 Sutherland Cup final to the St. Marys Lincolns, 4 games to 1.

Kingston Canadians

The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) for the 1973-74 season, was a result of the Montreal Junior Canadiens switch to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 1972. During the summer of 1972, the QMJHL had threatened a lawsuit against the OHA to force the Junior Canadiens to return to the Quebec-based league. To solve the problem, the OHA granted the Junior Canadiens franchise a "one-year suspension" of operations, while team ownership transferred the team and players into the QMJHL, renaming themselves the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge in the process.

After a one-year hiatus, the OHA then reactivated the suspended franchise under new ownership and with new players, calling the team the Kingston Canadians. The new Kingston team was essentially an expansion franchise promoted from the OHA's Tier II league, that had only common name to share with the old Junior Canadiens. The Tier II Frontenacs originated in the Eastern Junior B Hockey League and date back to at least the early 1940s as the Kingston Victorias. However, in some OHA histories (such as the annual Media Guide) the Kingston team is still shown as the legitimate successors of the Junior Canadiens' legacy.

Kingston Raiders

Following a change in ownership the club was renamed Kingston Raiders for one season in 1988-89. Due to ownership problems, the team was sold again following that season.

Kingston Frontenacs

In 1989, the new ownership, including Wren Blair and Bob Attersley, renamed the team Kingston Frontenacs after the Eastern Professional Hockey League team of which they had both been members. The uniforms and logos were revived from the old franchise. The city embraced and welcolmed the new ownership. Wren Blair and Bob Attersley were both hockey legends in their own right. In 1997 Wren Blair would be honoured with the Bill Long Award for distinguished service in the OHL. The club was sold to the Springer family of Kingston in June 1998, with Doug Springer becoming the Owner and Governor.
The Kingston franchise has the second-longest championship drought in the OHL (second to the Sudbury Wolves by one year), and the fourth-longest in the Canadian Hockey League. The lone division title won by the Frontenacs was in the 1994-95 season where the team won the OHL East Division, represented by the Leyden Trophy. In the 1992-93 OHL season, the Frontenacs lost the conference final to Peterborough.

Honoured numbers

Six numbers have been "honoured" from the Kingston Canadians/Frontenacs. They are not retired and remain in use. (#5 Mike O'Connell, #7 Tony McKegney, #10 Brad Rhiness, #14 Ken Linseman, #17 David Ling, #7 Mike Zigomanis, #88 Keli Corpse)

• Chris Allen
• Drake Berehowsky
• Keli Corpse
• Bryan Fogarty
• Sean Gauthier
• Erik Gudbranson
• Chad Kilger
• David Ling
• Tyler Moss
• Andrew Raycroft
• Mike Zigomanis

• from 1945 to 1952: Kingston Victorias
• from 1952 to 1973: Kingston Frontenacs
• from 1973 to 1988: Kingston Canadians
• from 1988 to 1989: Kingston Raiders
• from 1989 to present: Kingston Frontenacs

• 1962-1963: EPHL (1959-63)

• Kingston Frontenacs (official)
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