Defunct American Hockey League team
The
St. John's Maple Leafs
were a minor ice hockey team in the
American Hockey League
. They played in
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
, Canada, at
Memorial Stadium
from 1991 to 2001, and at
Mile One Stadium
from 2001 to 2005. The team was also colloquially known as the "Baby Leafs" after their parent NHL team, the
Toronto Maple Leafs
.
While the AHL had a strong presence in Atlantic Canada in the 1980s and 1990s, largely due to the desire of several
National Hockey League
Canadian franchises to continue to pay players sent down to the minors in Canadian dollars, by 2004, St. John's was the last remaining team in the region prior to its relocation to Ontario.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
The Leafs' AHL franchise was established in
Moncton
,
New Brunswick
, in 1978 as the
New Brunswick Hawks
, where they played until 1982. The franchise had stops in
St. Catharines, Ontario
, as the
St. Catharines Saints
(1982?1986) and
Newmarket, Ontario
, as the
Newmarket Saints
(1986?1991).
[2]
The St. John's Maple Leafs were established in 1991 when the
Toronto Maple Leafs
moved its AHL farm team to St. John's, becoming the first professional ice hockey team in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The team initially played their home games at
Memorial Stadium
. The St. John's Maple Leafs played their inaugural game on May 8, 1991, in front of a sold-out crowd, where they defeated the
Fredericton Canadiens
5?3.
[3]
The team made it to the
Calder Cup
finals in their inaugural season, losing a seven game series to the
Adirondack Red Wings
four-games-to-three. The Leafs were crowned division champions for the 1992?93 and 1996?97 seasons, and won the regular season title during the 1993?94 AHL season.
In 1993, municipal workers for the City of St. John's voted to strike including the city staff operating the St. John's Memorial Stadium. Prior a game in February, the Maple Leafs team arrived at the stadium on a bus, where they were met by a picket line of strikers who then surrounded the bus and began rocking it with the team and personnel on board. Local police were able to intervene, allowing the bus and Maple Leafs to escape unharmed. Following the incident, the Leafs took an extended road trip and the Toronto Maple Leafs threatened to pull the team out of the province.
[4]
They remained at Memorial Stadium for ten seasons until moving to the newly built
Mile One Centre
in downtown St. John's in 2001.
The Maple Leafs were a successful team throughout their time in St. John's and made multiple appearances in the AHL
Calder Cup
playoffs (missing the playoffs in 2000, 2003, and 2004). On April 29, 2005, the Maple Leafs played their final game, losing 4?0 to the
Manitoba Moose
in game five of the division semifinal round of the
playoffs
at the
MTS Centre
in
Winnipeg
, Manitoba. The Leafs' final home game was a 6?1 victory in game two of the semifinals.
Their 2005 playoff loss marked the end of 34 consecutive seasons of the AHL's presence in Atlantic Canada, which began in 1971 with the
Nova Scotia Voyageurs
in
Halifax
, Nova Scotia. By 2005, the nearest opponent of the St. John's Maple Leafs were the
Portland Pirates
at a distance of 1,781 km (1,107 mi). In an effort to reduce travel costs, the parent club, ultimately decided to relocate the team to Toronto for the 2005?06 season, where it became known as the
Toronto Marlies
.
[5]
[6]
Equipment manager
[
edit
]
Shannon (Shaq) Coady was the original stick boy for the St. John's Maple Leafs, after winning a local contest at the age of 14.
[7]
Coady became the team's equipment manager, and he remained in that role until the team's relocation to Toronto. Coady went on to work for the
St. John's Fog Devils
of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
, and the American Hockey League's
St. John's IceCaps
. Coady was a well-known figure in NL, due to his work with the province's professional sports teams. Coady died on March 24, 2021, prompting tributes from NHL players and personnel, who had worked with Coady.
[8]
Mascot
[
edit
]
The St. John's Maple Leafs' team mascot was a puffin named "Buddy." Buddy wore a Maple Leafs home jersey with the number 92 to commemorate the year he was introduced. The puffin design was selected from a fan contest to create a mascot for the Leafs' second season. Buddy remained the mascot until the team's departure in 2005. Buddy was reintroduced as the mascot for the
St. John's IceCaps
wearing an IceCaps home jersey with his familiar number of 92. Buddy also served as the mascot for the
Newfoundland Growlers
of the
ECHL
.
[9]
Chris Abbott, the man in the costume, died in St. John's on February 1, 2022.
[10]
Media
[
edit
]
St. John's Maple Leafs games were broadcast by
VOCM
news radio, (and by
CJYQ
in later seasons) and on local television by
Cable Atlantic
, which was acquired by
Rogers Communications
in 2001. Brian Rogers was the long-time voice of the St. John's Maple Leafs,
[11]
after taking over the role from George MacClaren
[12]
in 1994.
Affiliates
[
edit
]
Coaches
[
edit
]
Notable alumni
[
edit
]
Season-by-season results
[
edit
]
Regular season
[
edit
]
Season
|
Games
|
Won
|
Lost
|
Tied
|
OTL
|
SOL
|
Points
|
Goals
for
|
Goals
against
|
Standing
|
1991?92
|
80
|
39
|
29
|
12
|
?
|
?
|
90
|
325
|
285
|
2nd, Atlantic
|
1992?93
|
80
|
41
|
26
|
13
|
?
|
?
|
95
|
351
|
308
|
1st, Atlantic
|
1993?94
|
80
|
45
|
23
|
12
|
?
|
?
|
102
|
360
|
287
|
1st, Atlantic
|
1994?95
|
80
|
33
|
37
|
10
|
?
|
?
|
76
|
263
|
263
|
2nd, Atlantic
|
1995?96
|
80
|
31
|
31
|
14
|
4
|
?
|
80
|
248
|
274
|
3rd, Atlantic
|
1996?97
|
80
|
36
|
28
|
10
|
6
|
?
|
88
|
265
|
264
|
1st, Canadian
|
1997?98
|
80
|
25
|
32
|
18
|
5
|
?
|
73
|
233
|
254
|
4th, Atlantic
|
1998?99
|
80
|
34
|
35
|
7
|
4
|
?
|
79
|
246
|
270
|
2nd, Atlantic
|
1999?00
|
80
|
23
|
45
|
8
|
4
|
?
|
58
|
202
|
277
|
5th, Atlantic
|
2000?01
|
80
|
35
|
35
|
8
|
2
|
?
|
80
|
247
|
244
|
3rd, Canadian
|
2001?02
|
80
|
34
|
27
|
17
|
2
|
?
|
87
|
256
|
240
|
3rd, Canadian
|
2002?03
|
80
|
32
|
40
|
6
|
2
|
?
|
72
|
236
|
285
|
3rd, Canadian
|
2003?04
|
80
|
32
|
36
|
8
|
4
|
?
|
76
|
225
|
265
|
7th, North
|
2004?05
|
80
|
46
|
28
|
5
|
1
|
?
|
98
|
244
|
232
|
2nd, North
|
Playoffs
[
edit
]
Season
|
Prelim
|
1st round
|
2nd round
|
3rd round
|
Finals
|
1991?92
|
?
|
W, 4?1,
CB
|
W, 4?0,
MON
|
bye
|
L, 3?4,
ADK
|
1992?93
|
?
|
W, 4?1,
MON
|
L, 0?4,
CB
|
?
|
?
|
1993?94
|
?
|
W, 4?1,
CB
|
L, 2?4,
MON
|
?
|
?
|
1994?95
|
?
|
L, 1?4,
FRE
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
1995?96
|
?
|
L, 1?3,
SJNB
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
1996?97
|
?
|
W, 3?1,
BNG
|
L, 3?4,
HAM
|
?
|
?
|
1997?98
|
?
|
L, 1?3,
SJNB
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
1998?99
|
?
|
L, 2?4,
FRE
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
1999?00
|
Did not qualify
|
2000?01
|
?
|
L, 1?3,
QUE
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
2001?02
|
W, 2?0,
PRO
|
W, 3?2,
LOW
|
L, 0?4,
BRI
|
?
|
?
|
2002?03
|
Did not qualify
|
2003?04
|
Did not qualify
|
2004?05
|
?
|
L, 1?4,
MTB
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
Team Records
[
edit
]
Single Season
[
edit
]
- Goals: 53 -
Patrik Augusta
(1993?94)
- Assists: 74 -
Chris Snell
(1993?94)
- Points: 110 -
Rich Chernomaz
(1993?94)
- Penalty minutes: 354 -
Shawn Thornton
(1998?99)
- GAA (min 25 games): 2.42 -
Mike Minard
(2000?01)
- SV% (min 25 games): .926 -
Sebastien Centomo
(2001?02)
- Shutouts: 6 -
Jimmy Waite
(1999?2000)
Career
[
edit
]
- Games: 508 -
Nathan Dempsey
- Goals: 132 -
Yanic Perreault
- Assists: 196 - Nathan Dempsey
- Points: 276 - Yanic Perreault
- Penalty minutes: 1215 - Shawn Thornton
- Goaltending wins: 80 -
Marcel Cousineau
- Shutouts: 7 - Jimmy Waite
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Baby Leafs to leave St. John's after 14 seasons"
.
CBC
. August 9, 2004
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
Ballou, Bill (April 4, 2013).
"AHL: Bracken Kearns easy Worcester Sharks MVP choice"
.
Telegram & Gazette
. Retrieved
January 26,
2014
.
- ^
McCarthy, Brendan (May 7, 2021).
"St. John's entered the AHL three decades ago, in a much different time and a much different league"
.
Saltwire
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
Richer, Shawna (October 26, 2004).
"
'Go Leafs Go' develops a hollow ring"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
McCarthy, Brendan (October 15, 2011).
"Former St. John's Maple Leafs GM says ego, not logistics, was reason behind moving Baby Buds to Toronto"
.
The Telegram
. Archived from
the original
on January 22, 2015
. Retrieved
June 19,
2012
.
- ^
CBC News, NL (August 9, 2004).
"It's official: Baby Leafs are leaving"
.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
Robin, Short (March 25, 2021).
"Former St. John's Maple Leafs, IceCaps equipment manager dies"
.
Saltwire
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
CBC News, NL (March 26, 2021).
"St. John's hockey community remembers longtime Maple Leafs, IceCaps equipment manager"
.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
O'Leary, Ken (July 7, 2020).
"New Buddy Merch"
.
Newfoundland Growlers
. Retrieved
October 18,
2021
.
- ^
"Chris Abbott, beloved by St. John's sports fans as Buddy the Puffin, dead at 51"
.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
. February 1, 2022
. Retrieved
February 1,
2022
.
- ^
"Faces of the AHL ? Brian Rogers"
. Saltwire News. April 21, 2017
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
- ^
Government, NL (July 7, 2012).
"Premier expresses sympathy on passing of George MacLaren"
.
Government of NL
. Retrieved
January 11,
2022
.
See also
[
edit
]
|
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|
Franchise
| |
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Arenas
| |
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Ownership
| |
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Coaches
| |
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Rivalries
| |
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Affiliates
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