Halifax Junior Canadiens: 1965-1968

By admin | February 19, 2025
  • Type: Team
  • Sport(s): Hockey
  • Year: 2024

In 1965, Fred MacGillivary, Sr. and Mike Kelly had a meeting with Sam Pollock of the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL where an agreement was made whereby Montreal would sponsor a Junior “A” team out of Halifax. The team held tryouts in Truro, N.S. where over 60 players from across Canada and the United Sates arrived to attempt to ‘make’ the team. Thus, the new Halifax Junior Canadienswere formed, playing out of the Halifax Forum. It was an independent team as there were only six “Junior A” teams still operating within the entire Maritimes, so there was no league in which to play.

Added Note: In the early to mid-1950s there were six Junior “A” leagues within the Maritimes, but by the late-50s/early sixties (with more difficult economic times) only six individual teams remained,with only a short respite in the early sixties with the Twin Cities Junior League. After that it was left to the remaining independent teams to maintain quality Junior hockey within the Maritimes. It was the Halifax Junior Canadiens turn to shine and maintain the interest in the Junior ‘A’ game regionally.

The Canadiens played teams from leagues in Quebec, Ontario, as well as Maritime University teams and regional senior teams throughout the week, as well as on many weekends. It was exciting hockey at a time when junior hockey regionally was at a low ebb; the Halifax Junior Canadiens certainly did a lot to maintain interest in Junior hockey locally and in the wider Maritimes. In 1966, they even played a game against the visiting Russian Soviet Selects team which was touring Canada playing professional and HQ amateur teams at all levels.

Many players from those teams have/had played in the NHL, on pro-farm clubs of the NHL, as well as on many university and senior teams in Canada; some even played for many of those teams in subsequent years. They certainly had proven their hockey talents throughout time.

From 1965 to 1968 the Halifax Junior Canadiens won the Nova Scotia and Maritime Championships 3 years in a row. They had to defeat the other independent teams within the Maritimes first, before proceeding to the Eastern Canada Memorial Cup (quarter and semi-finals in successive years) demonstrating they were a strong team, winning and losing many close games in those series … they represented N.S. and the Maritimes well. The Halifax Junior Canadiens left a legacy for regional hockey fans for many years to come, as an out-standing team still talked about today.

One final comment: is contained in an article written by staff reporter Debbie Wiles of the Halifax Mail-Star on September 20, 1990. She wrote, “The Halifax Junior Canadiens, one of the most loved hockey teams ever to take the ice within Metro, will thrill fans once again when the club stages its 25th Anniversary Reunion here in Halifax. During their first year (1965) … 166,000 plus fans came to watch them play.” At that time … the population of Halifax was only 195,000 … “Wow!”