Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League Information & Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League Links at HealthHaven.com

For the ACHA Division 2 hockey league, see the Great Midwest Hockey League.

Greater Metro Junior "A" Hockey League

Head Office	Cookstown, Ontario
Official Website	GMHL
President	Bob Russell
Commissioner	Ken Girard
Founded	2006
2008-09 Champion	South Muskoka Shield

The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL) is a Canadian Developmental Junior "A" ice hockey league. The GMHL is not affiliated with the Canadian Junior Hockey League or a member by Hockey Canada. The league has teams in the Greater Toronto Area, Central Ontario, and Northeastern Ontario.

[edit] History

The league, founded by Bob Russell and Hockeyworks International Ltd., opened its doors in early 2006, with a unique concept and approach to improving the standard of developing young hockey players within a Junior 'A' league format setting.

A Draft Showcase took place from May 5 until May 7, 2006 with players from Canada, United States, and Europe taking up residence at the Hockeyworks' World Hockey Centre near Shelburne, Ontario to take part in the league's first tryout camp.

Deseronto Thunder versus King Wild (circa 2006)

As of the September 2006, it became clear that the league would operate its first season with seven teams. The original seven were the Bradford Rattlers, Deseronto Thunder, King Wild, Nipissing Alouettes, Richmond Hill Rams, South Muskoka Shield, and Toronto Canada Moose.

The league's first ever game took place on September 8, 2006 between the King Wild and the Richmond Hill Rams at 7:30 PM EST. The final result was a 6-0 victory for the Rams, despite being badly outshot by the Wild. The first goal in the league's history was scored by the Rams' Darren Archebald on the powerplay during the first period. Rams' goaltender Daniel Jones picked up the historical first victory, as well as the league's first shutout in history.

On November 15, 2006, the GMJHL announced its affiliation with the World Hockey Association [1] and creation of the National Junior Hockey Alliance. The affiliation resulted in a national championship between the GMJHL playoff champion and the winner of the WHA Junior West Hockey League after the 2006-07 season.[2] This agreement seems to have only managed to last one season, as the WHAJHL became apparently more erratic.

The first ever regular season of the GMJHL concluded on February 25, 2007 with the Bradford Rattlers leading the way as regular season champs with a record of 37 wins, 1 regulation loss, and 4 overtime losses. In the playoffs, the Rattlers beat the Deseronto Thunder in 6 games, and then the King Wild in 5 games to win the first ever Russell Cup as playoff champions.

In September 2007, the GMJHL started its second season with six new teams, the Douro Dukes, Elliot Lake Bobcats, Espanola Kings, Innisfil Lakers, Tamworth Cyclones, and Temiscaming Royals. The Deseronto Thunder ran into financial trouble after their first season and ownership of the team was transferred to the town. The team is now known as the Deseronto Storm.

On December 11, 2007, the GMJHL announced a seven game challenge series versus a Russian team known as the Moscow Selects. In late December and early January, the top seven teams of the GMJHL will compete against the Moscow Selects—a mixture of top Top Junior talent from the City of Moscow. The Selects played seven games, against Bradford, Innisfil, Temiscaming, Elliot Lake, Richmond Hill, Deseronto, and South Muskoka, winning each game. In March 2008, the King Wild and Richmond Hill Rams played two games each against the Mexico national ice hockey team. The Wild won both their games, while the Rams lost both of theirs.

For the 2008-09 season, the GMJHL will adopt much of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's ice hockey rulebook. The GMJHL added the Minden Riverkings and the Oro-Medonte 77's to the mix, and the Dukes relocated to become the Brock Bucks. At the same time, the Quebec-based Temiscaming Royals walked away from the league to join the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, but were replaced within weeks by the Ville-Marie Dragons.

In December 2008 and January 2009, eight teams of the GMHL hosted Kazakhstan's Under-18 Torpedo UST-Kamenogorsk squad. Victorious were the Elliot Lake Bobcats (twice), South Muskoka Shield, King Wild, Bradford Rattlers, Innisfil Lakers, and a Nipissing/Ville-Marie Combine squad. The only loss for a GMHL team happened to the Toronto Canada Moose.

[edit] Changes for 2009-10

Expansion granted to Algoma Avalanche.
Ville-Marie Dragons move and become Powassan Dragons.
Nipissing Alouettes, Richmond Hill Rams, and Espanola Kings granted leave of absence.
Ville-Marie Voyageurs are announced, but fail to get off the ground.
Minden Riverkings fold mid-season on November 11, 2009.

[edit] Teams

2009-10 GMHL Team Locations

Teams
Team	Centre	2009-10 Record	GF	GA	Points	FWM
Bradford Rattlers	Bradford	23-3-0-2	185	106	48	1
Elliot Lake Bobcats	Elliot Lake	22-4-0-3	185	116	47	0
South Muskoka Shield	Gravenhurst	18-2-0-2	127	70	38	0
Deseronto Storm	Deseronto	15-7-0-2	120	92	32	2
Brock Bucks	Beaverton	15-10-0-2	129	128	32	3
Innisfil Lakers	Innisfil	15-10-0-1	128	121	31	0
King Wild	Nobleton	12-11-0-1	119	104	25	2
Oro-Medonte 77's	Guthrie	8-13-0-4	97	154	20	1
Algoma Avalanche	Thessalon	9-12-0-1	87	108	19	0
Toronto Canada Moose	Thornhill	5-15-0-0	80	118	10	1
Powassan Dragons	Powassan	4-19-0-0	71	147	8	0
Minden Riverkings	Minden Hills	2-13-0-0	56	87	4	--

Minden Riverkings ceased operation November 11, 2009. Remaining games are treated as 3-0 forfeits. FWM column stands for "Forfeit Wins over Minden".

The league's standings can be found on their official website [3].

[edit] 2010 Russell Cup Playoffs

[edit] Championship Round

Qualifier is Best-of-3, QF, SF, and Final are Best-of-7

Qualifier

Quarter-final

Semi-final

Russell Cup Final

1

1st Seed

?

Qualifier Winner

8

8th Seed

Q

Last Minute Qualifier

4

4th Seed

5

5th Seed

2

2nd Seed

7

7th Seed

3

3rd Seed

4

4th Seed

[edit] Last Minute Qualifier

Single Game, Sudden Death

Semi-final	Final

	9
10	?	10/11 Winner
11

[edit] Russell Cup Playoff Champions

In 2009, the GMJHL used a North and South Division. Overall champions are bolded.

Year	Champion	Finalist
2007	Bradford Rattlers	King Wild
2008	Bradford Rattlers	Innisfil Lakers
	North	South
2009	South Muskoka Shield	Deseronto Storm
	Champion	Finalist
2010

[edit] League records

[edit] Team records

Best record:

2006-07 Bradford Rattlers (37-1-0-4)

Worst record:

2007-08 Douro Dukes (2-40-0-0)

Most goals for by team, one season:

2007-08 Bradford Rattlers (314)

Least goals for by team, one season:

2007-08 Douro Dukes (108)

Least goals against by team, one season:

2007-08 Bradford Rattlers (110)

Most goals against by team, one season:

2007-08 Douro Dukes (392)

Largest margin of victory:

Elliot Lake Bobcats 29 - Ville-Marie Dragons 1 on December 6, 2008

[edit] Individual records

Most goals, one season:

Dylan Sontag (53) -- 2008-09 South Muskoka Shield

Most assists, one season:

Adam Palm (68) -- 2007-08 Bradford Rattlers

Most points, one season:

Andre Leclair (110) -- 2008-09 Nipissing Alouettes

Lowest goals against average, one season:

Andreas Goetz (2.05) -- 2006-07 Bradford Rattlers

[edit] Former teams

Former Teams
Team	Centre	Joined	Exited	Status
Espanola Kings	Espanola, Ontario	2007	2009	Leave of Absence
Minden Riverkings	Minden Hills, Ontario	2008	2009	Folded
Nipissing Alouettes	Sturgeon Falls, Ontario	2006	2009	Leave of Absence
Richmond Hill Rams	Richmond Hill, Ontario	2006	2009	Leave of Absence
Tamworth Cyclones	Tamworth, Ontario	2007	2009	Folded
Temiscaming Royals	Temiscaming, Quebec	2007	2008	Joined NOJHL

[edit] External links

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