Dudley Hewitt Cup

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Wikipedia

Dudley Hewitt Cup
SportIce hockey
League
Awarded forRegional championship
CountryCanada
History
First award1971
Final award2019
Most wins
Most recentOakville Blades (2019)

The Dudley Hewitt Cup (also known as the Dudley Hewitt Memorial Trophy) was awarded annually from 1971–2019 to the championship Junior 'A' ice hockey team for the Central/East region of Canada. That region initially extended east from Ontario to The Maritimes. Later, the scope was limited to teams from the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL). The winners of the Dudley Hewitt Cup went on to compete for the national championship Centennial Cup.

It was named after George Dudley and W. A. Hewitt, who served as administrators for the Ontario Hockey Association and are inductees of the Hockey Hall of Fame.[1]

History

The Dudley Hewitt Memorial Trophy was first awarded in 1971 to the Charlottetown Islanders of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League (1968–1971) after they defeated the Detroit Jr. Red Wings (SOJHL) 4 games to 2.[2] The Pembroke Lumber Kings of the CJHL and the Thunder Bay Flyers of the United States Hockey League tied for the most wins with four each.[3]

The 2002 Dudley-Hewitt Cup marked a new chapter in Ontario hockey history. Since the mid-1990s, the OPJHL and NOJHL had squared off in a head-to-head series to determine the Central Canadian seed in the Royal Bank Cup. In 2001, a new Thunder Bay-area league, called the Superior International Junior Hockey League, was founded. Late in the 2001–02 season the CJAHL informed all three leagues that instead of a series, the Dudley would be contested through a round-robin format. Initially, both the OPJHL and NOJHL threatened to boycott the DHC. The CJAHL announced that if the OPJHL and NOJHL did not send a champion, the SIJHL champion would move on by default to the national championship. The OPJHL did not budge, but the NOJHL gave in and in January announced that their champion would play the SIJHL champion for the DHC in a best-of-three series.[3]

In 2013 the Minnesota Wilderness of the SIJHL became the first US-based champions after defeating the St. Michael's Buzzers of the OJHL 4:3 in overtime.[2]

The 2014 Dudley Hewitt Cup saw its fourth all-OJHL Dudley-Hewitt Cup final between the Wellington Dukes and the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots. Toronto won 2–1 advancing to the 2014 Royal Bank Cup in Vernon, British Columbia.

The 2015 Dudley Hewitt Cup was won by the Soo Thunderbirds of the NOJHL.

The Trenton Golden Hawks of the OJHL won their first Dudley Hewitt championship in 2016 and their second in 2017 while hosting.[4][5]

Dryden, Ontario, and the Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Junior Hockey League were hosts of the 2018 Dudley Hewitt Cup.[6]

The 2019 Dudley Hewitt Cup was hosted in Cochrane, Ontario, of the NOJHL, after the Cochrane Crunch and the Timmins Rock were the only teams to submit bids.[7]

In early January 2019, the Wellington Dukes were awarded the 2020 Dudley-Hewitt Cup tournament, but shortly afterwards, Hockey Canada levied sanctions against the OJHL for trades made after the January 10 deadline.[8][9][10] The OJHL was fined $50,000 and were banned from hosting the Dudley-Hewitt Cup and Royal Bank Cup tournaments for a period of five years. The 2020 tournament was then awarded to Fort Frances, Ontario, before it was cancelled entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Format

The competition included the championship teams from the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL), and a preselected host team.[1][2] The first phase of the tournament was a round-robin to determine seeding, followed by a semifinal elimination round played between the second and third seeds, followed by a final best-of-3 elimination round played between the first-place team and the winner of the semifinal.[3] The winners of the Dudley Hewitt Cup went on to compete for the national championship Centennial Cup.[2][3]

Champions

Dudley Hewitt Cup logo.
Dudley-Hewitt Cup champions
YearChampionsRunners-upResult Host
Eastern Canadian champions
1971Charlottetown Islanders (MJAHL)Detroit Jr. Red Wings (SOJHL)4-2 (best-of 7)
1972Guelph CMC's (SOJHL)Charlottetown Islanders (Independent)4-0 (best-of 7)
1973Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL)St. Jerome Alouettes (QJAHL)4-1 (best-of 7)
1974Smiths Falls Bears (CJHL)Thunder Bay Hurricanes (TBJHL)4-3 (best-of 7)
1975Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (SOJHL)Smiths Falls Bears (CJHL)4-2 (best-of 7)
1976Rockland Nationals (CJHL)Charlottetown Colonels (IJHL)4-0 (best-of 7)
1977Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL)Charlottetown Generals (IJHL)4-0 (best-of 7)
1978Guelph Platers (OPJHL)Charlottetown Eagles (IJHL)4-2 (best-of 7)
Central region champions
1979 Guelph Platers (OPJHL) Hawkesbury Hawks (CJHL) 4-2 (best-of 7)
1980 North York Rangers (OPJHL) Joliette Cyclones (QJAHL) 4-2 (best-of 7)
1981 Belleville Bulls (OPJHL) Gloucester Rangers (CJHL) 4-3 (best-of 7)
1982 Guelph Platers (OJHL) Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL) 4-0 (best-of 7)
1983 North York Rangers (OJHL) Thunder Bay Kings (TBHL) 4-0 (best-of 7)
1984 Orillia Travelways (OJHL) Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL) 4-0 (best-of 7)
1985 Orillia Travelways (OJHL) Aurora Tigers (OJHL) 11-3
1986 Orillia Travelways (OJHL) Brockville Braves (CJHL) 4-3 (best-of 7)
1987 Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL) Nickel Centre Power Trains (NOJHL) 4-1 (best-of 7)
1988 Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL) Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL) 4-0 (best-of 7)
1989 Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL) Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL) 4-0 (best-of 7)
1990 Longueuil Collège Français (QPJHL) Sudbury Cubs (NOJHL) 4-3 (best-of 7)
1991 Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL) Sudbury Cubs (NOJHL) 5-1 Hawkesbury, Ontario
1992 Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL) Kanata Valley Lasers (CJHL) 5-1 Thunder Bay, Ontario
1993 Chateauguay Elites (QPJHL) Ottawa Senators (CJHL) 9-2 St. Hubert, Quebec
1994 Chateauguay Elites (QPJHL) Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL) 9-5 Timmins, Ontario
1995 Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL) Brampton Capitals (OPJHL) 6-4 Thunder Bay, Ontario
1996 Newmarket 87's (OPJHL) Brampton Capitals (OPJHL) 8-2 Cobourg, Ontario
1997 Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) Milton Merchants (OPJHL) 4-1 (best-of 7)
1998 Milton Merchants (OPJHL) Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) 4-2 (best-of 7)
1999 Bramalea Blues (OPJHL) Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) 4-0 (best-of 7)
2000 Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) Brampton Capitals (OPJHL) 4-1 (best-of 7)
2001 Thornhill Rattlers (OPJHL) Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) 4-3 (best-of 7)
2002 Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (NOJHL) Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL) 2-0 (best-of 3)
2003 Wellington Dukes (OPJHL) North Bay Skyhawks (NOJHL) 4-0 Fort Frances, Ontario
2004 Aurora Tigers (OPJHL) North Bay Skyhawks (NOJHL) 5-1 North Bay, Ontario
2005 Georgetown Raiders (OPJHL) St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL) 3-1 Georgetown, Ontario
2006 Fort William North Stars (SIJHL) Sudbury Jr. Wolves (NOJHL) 7-6 (OT) Thunder Bay, Ontario
2007 Aurora Tigers (OPJHL) Schreiber Diesels (SIJHL) 10-0 Iroquois Falls, Ontario
2008 Oakville Blades (OPJHL) Newmarket Hurricanes (OPJHL) 6-3 Newmarket, Ontario
2009 Kingston Voyageurs (OJHL) Fort William North Stars (SIJHL) 4-1 Schreiber, Ontario
2010 Oakville Blades (OJAHL) Fort William North Stars (SIJHL) 2-1 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
2011 Wellington Dukes (OJHL) Huntsville Otters (OJHL) 5-3 Huntsville, Ontario
2012 Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL) Stouffville Spirit (OJHL) 5-3 Thunder Bay, Ontario
2013 Minnesota Wilderness (SIJHL) St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL) 4-3 (OT) North Bay, Ontario
2014 Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL) Wellington Dukes (OJHL) 2-1 Wellington, Ontario
2015 Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL) Fort Frances Lakers (SIJHL) 3-2 Fort Frances, Ontario
2016 Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL) 4-0 Kirkland Lake, Ontario
2017 Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) Georgetown Raiders (OJHL) 2-1 Trenton, Ontario
2018 Wellington Dukes (OJHL) Dryden Ice Dogs (SIJHL) 7-4 Dryden, Ontario
2019 Oakville Blades (OJHL) Hearst Lumberjacks (NOJHL) 2-0 Cochrane, Ontario

References

  1. 1 2 Aalto, Sherry (2012). "The Dudley Hewitt Cup and the Business of Hockey". Thunder Bay Business. North Superior Publishing Inc. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "2025 Centennial Cup Guide & Record Book" (PDF). hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "About the cup". Dudley Hewitt Cup. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "Road to the 2017 RBC Cup". hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Hawks repeat as DHC champs". The Belleville Intelligencer. Postmedia. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "Dudley-Hewitt Cup 2018". Dryden GM Ice Dogs. August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24.
  7. ↑ "Cochrane awarded 2019 Dudley-Hewitt Cup". Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. March 1, 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26.
  8. ↑ "Ontario Jr. A deadline fiasco exposes the ugly side of trading junior hockey players". The Hockey News. January 31, 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08.
  9. ↑ "Wellington stripped of Dudley Hewitt Cup". Belleville Intelligencer. February 4, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-02-05.
  10. ↑ "Wellington's 2020 Dudley-Hewitt bid dropped after sanctions levied". Picton Gazette. February 4, 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28.

Further reading