| Current season or competition: 2011–12 SIJHL season |
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| Region(s) | Eastern Ontario |
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| Commissioner | Ron Whitehead |
| Referee-in-Chief | Gary Nistico |
| Founded | 2001 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Associated Title(s) | Royal Bank Cup (National Championship) Dudley Hewitt Cup (Central Championship) |
| Recent Champions | Wisconsin Wilderness (2010-11) |
| Headquarters | Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| Website | SIJHL |
The Superior International Junior Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league under the supervision of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Hockey Canada. The winner of the SIJHL playoffs competes for the Dudley Hewitt Cup with the winners of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. The winner of the Dudley Hewitt Cup then moves on to compete for the Royal Bank Cup.[1]
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Although founded in 2001, the SIJHL is another chapter in a long history of Thunder Bay Junior "A" Hockey. The Fort William War Veterans were the first representatives of the Thunder Bay region, winning the 1922 Memorial Cup as Canadian National Junior "A" Champions.[2] Although there is not abundant information on the subject, the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League may date back to the War Veterans, and existed until 1980. From 1980 until 2000, the region (Hockey Northwestern Ontario) was represented by a single team at the Junior "A" level—the Thunder Bay Flyers. The Flyers played their regular season games in the United States Hockey League, America's Tier I of Junior Hockey, and returned to Canada for the playoffs. The Flyers won the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Canadian Junior Champions in 1989, 1991, 1992, and 1995.[3] The Flyers were also National Champions in 1989 and 1992, winning the Centennial Cup.[4] The Flyers folded after the 1999-2000 USHL Season.[5]
The Northwestern Ontario region has also been well represented in the past in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. From 1968 until 1982, the city of Kenora, Ontario was represented by the Kenora Muskies/Thistles and in the mid-1980s,[6] Thunder Bay had an entry with the Thunder Bay Hornets.[7]
The folding of the Thunder Bay Flyers opened the way for a rebirth of Junior "A" hockey in the Thunder Bay region. The league came back to life under the "Superior International" label in 2001 with 5 teams, including the Thunder Bay Wolves (now the Fort William North Stars), the Nipigon Featherman Hawks (now the Thunder Bay Bearcats), the Fort Frances Borderland Thunder, Dryden Ice Dogs, and the Thunder Bay Bulldogs.[8]
In 2006, the Fort William North Stars won the Dudley Hewitt Cup with a 7-6 overtime win over the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League's Sudbury Jr. Wolves to earn the team and the league its first regional title and its first shot at the national title at the 2006 Royal Bank Cup.[9] The North Stars would eventually be eliminated in the Royal Bank Cup semi-final in Brampton, Ontario with a 3-2 overtime loss to the British Columbia Hockey League's Kyle Turris and the Burnaby Express.
There are numerous potential markets in Northern Ontario like Kenora, Red Lake, Ignace, Atikokan, Geraldton, and Wawa yet to be explored by the SIJHL. League chairman Ron Whitehead has also spoken about the potential for expansion into the United States,[10] with markets such as nearby Warroad and other towns throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin offering notable potential for growth in the SIJHL.[11]
The presence of the SIJHL in Northwestern Ontario marks the first time since the 1970s that the region has effectively supported a junior hockey league. In the mid-2000s, the SIJHL expanded East of Thunder Bay with the Schreiber Diesels[12] and Marathon Renegades.[13] A Wawa, Ontario franchise was also in the works, but never came to fruition.[14]
On December 17, 2007, it was announced that the Schreiber Diesels folded mid-season, without warning. The organization claimed disappointment in the season's fan support, but also said it was not only reason for the cessation of play.[15] On December 21, the team was bought by a group of local fans in an effort to keep the Diesels alive.[16] But with good came the ugly. The Marathon Renegades at one point were as high as third place in the SIJHL this season, but after 37 games played were forced to resign from the rest of the 2007-08 campaign. Their problems resulted from weeks of playing with just over two lines of players. Injuries and early defections were blamed for this. Al Cresswell, team president, claimed that the shortage of players had become a health risk. The Renegades have not suspended operations, but have pulled out of the season.[17]
Although the 2008-09 season did not see a return to Marathon, the SIJHL did add the Sioux Lookout Flyers.[18] In the 2008 off-season, the Thunder Bay Bulldogs elected to retract to embolden the Thunder Bay Bearcats.[19] Despite a strong year from the Bearcats and the Schreiber Diesels, both teams elected to cease operation in the summer of 2009. The Fort Frances Jr. Sabres claimed that they would be back for 2009-10, but their owners sold the rights to their players to teams across Canada. In a last ditch effort, the town of Fort Frances bought the team and renamed them the Fort Frances Lakers, but were forced to find all new players due to the actions of the previous ownership. The Thunder Bay Wolverines elected to apply for promotion to the SIJHL for 2009-10 fresh off of their silver medal performance at the Keystone Cup Canadian Jr. B Championships.[20][21] Back up to five teams, the SIJHL also made a 20-game interleague setup with the Minnesota Junior Hockey League's Wisconsin Mustangs to diversify the league's competition.[22]
The 2010-11 season will be the tenth season of the SIJHL. Marking its tenth season, the SIJHL received offers for expansion by two American teams: Duluth and Spooner.
In June, the Thunder Bay Wolverines unceremoniously pulled out of the SIJHL.[23] A few days later USA Hockey rejected the transfer bid by the Wisconsin Mustangs to join the SIJHL and the expansion bid of the potential of Duluth, Minnesota despite approval by Hockey Canada and the SIJHL. The league sat at four teams.[24] The two teams appealed the decision and won their appeal, officially giving the league six teams and making the league truly an international league.[25]
The Fort William North Stars were dominant early in 2010-11, but due to a financial hiccup that lead to an ownership and name change (Thunder Bay North Stars), the Wisconsin Wilderness jumped into the lead mid-season and never looked back. The Wilderness won their first season and playoff title in their first season of play in the league.
In the Summer of 2011, the SIJHL was told that would be allowed to expand into Iron Range Township, Minnesota for a third American team by USA Hockey as long as the local hockey branch agreed. With permission from Minnesota Hockey, all that awaited was an "okay" from the USA Hockey Council -- which like 2009-10 was denied. The decision was appealed and on July 12, 2011 expansion was allowed by USA Hockey as well as the continuation of the Duluth and Spooner franchises.
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The winners of the SIJHL Playoffs are awarded the Bill Salonen Cup. Although the Jack Adams Trophy is supposed to be awarded to the branch Junior A champion, Hockey Northwestern Ontario will not bring it out unless there are two leagues vying for the Branch Championship.[26]
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