London Knights

The London Knights are a professional Canadian ice hockey team from London, Ontario, which currently plays in the junior league Ontario Hockey League.

7.1 First-round draft picks
7.2 Locked back numbers
7.3 Hall of Famer
7.4 300 -point club

History

The team was founded in 1965 as the London Nationals in the Ontario Hockey Association in 1969 was bought by businessman Howard Darwin the rights to the Nationals. Darwin wanted to breathe new life into the franchise and so we ran a competition to create a new team name. The epithet " Knights " prevailed, the team colors were green, white and gold changed. In the 1976/77 season the team with the subsequent NHL players Rob Ramage, Brad Marsh and Dino Ciccarelli reached the final of the J. Ross Robertson Cup, the championship of the OHL for the first time. However, this was lost to the Ottawa 67 's. The early 1980s represent the low point of the former franchise history with poor attendances and results dar. This changed when the future NHL star Brendan Shanahan gained prominence in the league and was partly responsible for the better in the following results.

1986 Howard Darwin sold the Knights and their home stadium, the London Gardens, Jack Robillard, Al Martin and Bob Wilson, three businessmen from Paris, Ontario. The new owners modernized the team and the London Gardens, which initially was also reflected in the better and better results. Between 1987 and 1993, the Knights no season finished worse than third place of the Emms Division, including a division title in 1990. Nevertheless, the team was not able to in the playoffs these successes, the finals of the OHL could not be reached to date.

In 1994, the Knights continued to be sold again, this time to the real estate agent Doug Tarry senior. Unfortunately, the team completed no game under its new owner, as Tarry died previously. The Knights were eventually inherited by his son Doug Tarry Jr., which the London Gardens renovated again and also renamed " London Ice House ". Nevertheless, the OHL season 1995/96 went as far worst in the history of the entire Canadian Hockey League, as the Knights were able to win only three of the 66 season games and the season with only nine points finished in last place of the OHL. In the following years, the franchise recovered only with difficulty, also ended the Tarry family commitment to the " Ice House " for permission to build a new arena in the city of London to get. With coach Gary Agnew and future NHL players Rico Fata and Tom Kostopoulos to improved results in 1999 were even surprisingly reached the playoffs, there you failed only in the OHL final to the Belleville Bulls.

2000 bought the former NHL player Dale and Mark Hunter franchise and launched in the period following a rebuild. In 2002, the Knights moved to the newly built, 9,090 -seat John Labatt Centre, also the players wore again their traditional green and gold jerseys, which had been changed in the era Tarry. With the 2003/ 04 season began a new, successful time in the franchise history. Since 2004, the Knights won four consecutive Hamilton Spectator Trophy as point- best team in the regular season, the team also twice reached the final of the championship of the OHL. 2005 gained the Knights the final series with 4-1 games against the Ottawa 67 's and were thus for the first time champion of the League, the coronation in the most successful season in club history was followed by winning the Memorial Cup, the championship of the Canadian Hockey League, the Every year between the masters of the three top junior leagues OHL, WHL and QMJHL is played.

The OHL Finals 2005/ 06 lost the Knights against the Peterborough Petes in the season 2006/ 07 they reached the finals again after all of the Western Conference.