The National Basketball League was a professional basketball league based in Canada that lasted only one and a half seasons in 1993 and 1994. [1] It rose from the ashes of the World Basketball League which folded after the 1992 season, which had teams in various Canadian and American cities; the new league combined several former WBL teams based in Canada and new franchises. [2] The NBL's first game was played on May 1, 1993 when the Cape Breton Breakers visited the Halifax Windjammers. The Breakers won the regular season championship with a 30-16 record, but they lost the championship finals to Saskatoon three games to one.
During the 1994 season there were rumours that the Cape Breton team was going to move to Saint John in mid-season, which never happened before the league folded on July 9, 1994. Halifax, which finished last in 1993, was in first place at the time the league had folded.
The league's president was Sam Katz and the commissioner was Tom Nissalke. [3]
Team | City | Arena | Seasons | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Calgary Outlaws | Calgary, Alberta | Jack Simpson Gymnasium (University of Calgary) Olympic Saddledome | 1994 | Expansion team |
Cape Breton Breakers | Sydney, Nova Scotia | Centre 200 | 1993-94 | Expansion team |
Halifax Windjammers | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Halifax Metro Centre | 1993-94 | Holdover from the WBL |
Edmonton Skyhawks | Edmonton, Alberta | Northlands Coliseum | 1993 (playoffs)-94 | Moved from Hamilton |
Hamilton Skyhawks | Hamilton, Ontario | Copps Coliseum | 1993 | Holdover from the WBL, moved to Edmonton |
Montreal Dragons | Montreal, Quebec | Verdun Auditorium | 1993 | Expansion team |
Saskatoon Slam | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan Place | 1993-94 | Holdover from WBL. Ownership changed the name of the franchise in the new league. Originally known as the “Saskatchewan Storm” in the WBL. |
Winnipeg Thunder | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Winnipeg Arena | 1993-94 | Holdover from the WBL |
1993 NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE | |||||||||||
TEAM | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cape Breton Breakers | 46 | 30 | 16 | .652 | - | ||||||
Winnipeg Thunder | 46 | 29 | 17 | .630 | 1 | ||||||
Saskatoon Slam | 46 | 25 | 21 | .543 | 5 | ||||||
Hamilton Skyhawks | 46 | 24 | 22 | .522 | 6 | ||||||
Halifax Windjammers | 46 | 20 | 26 | .435 | 10 | ||||||
Montreal Dragons | 17 | 6 | 11 | .353 | |||||||
Canadian National Team | 24 | 9 | 13 | .409 | |||||||
ACC All-Stars | 6 | 1 | 5 | .167 | |||||||
Big East All-Stars | 6 | 0 | 6 | .000 | |||||||
Athletes in Action | 7 | 0 | 7 | .000 |
PLAYOFFS - SEMI-FINALS
FINALS
In 1993, league teams also played games against some touring teams which counted in the league standings. These teams were:
1994 NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE | |||||||||||
TEAM | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Halifax Windjammers | 21 | 15 | 6 | .714 | - | ||||||
Calgary Outlaws | 24 | 13 | 11 | .542 | 3½ | ||||||
Cape Breton Breakers | 21 | 11 | 10 | .524 | 4 | ||||||
Saskatoon Slam | 23 | 10 | 13 | .435 | 6 | ||||||
Edmonton Skyhawks | 24 | 10 | 14 | .417 | 6½ | ||||||
Winnipeg Thunder | 25 | 10 | 15 | .400 | 7 |
Year | Winner | Runner Up | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | Saskatoon Slam | Cape Breton Breakers | 3-1 |
1994 | Halifax Windjammers | Calgary Outlaws | Declared champions due to folding mid-season |
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). As of the 2023–24 AHL season, 31 of the 32 AHL teams had an official affiliation with an NHL team; immediately following season's end, the Chicago Wolves and Carolina Hurricanes finalized an affiliation agreement, resulting in all AHL teams having an NHL affiliation for the upcoming 2024–25 season. Historically, when an NHL team does not have an AHL affiliate, its players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada, alongside the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times. The WHL is composed of 22 teams divided into two conferences of two divisions. The Eastern Conference comprises 11 teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, while the Western Conference comprises eleven teams from British Columbia and the American states of Washington and Oregon.
The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.
Centre 200 is Cape Breton's primary sports and entertainment facility, located in Sydney, Nova Scotia. It is home to the QMJHL's Cape Breton Eagles. Besides ice hockey, the arena hosts many other events, such as rock concerts, figure skating, and antique/custom car shows. The facility features an obstruction-free sports arena that seats 5,000 people, expandable seating to 6,500 for concert hall purposes, and exhibit space of 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m2) with the possibility of another 3,000 sq ft (280 m2) upon removal of telescopic seating.
The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba–Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, and play home games at the Whitney Forum on the Manitoba side of the city.
The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division.
The Saskatoon Blades are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1964, the Blades were a charter team of the then-Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966, and are the only club that has played every season in the league in its original location. Today, the team plays in the East Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, and hosts games at the SaskTel Centre. Despite five regular season titles and five appearances in the championship series, the Blades have never won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league playoff champions.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
The 1982–83 NHL season was the 66th season of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row with their second consecutive finals sweep by beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to none. No team in any major professional North American sport has won four consecutive playoff championships since as of 2024.
The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1988 and renamed it for Cape Breton Island. Home games were played at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Oilers' organization relocated the team to Ontario in 1996 to become the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Thomas Edward Nissalke was an American professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association. He coached several teams in both leagues, and had an overall coaching record of 371–508.
The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It consists of six teams from New Brunswick, which make up the EastLink North Division, five teams from Nova Scotia, and one team from Prince Edward Island which make up the Eastlink South Division. The winner of the MHL playoffs competes for the Centennial Cup against the winners of the 8 other tier 2 junior A leagues across Canada. Prior to the pandemic the MHL champions would participate in the Fred Page Cup. This tournament involved the Bogart Cup champions from the CCHL(Ontario), the Kent Cup champions from the MHL(Maritimes) and the winner of the La Coupe Napa of the QJHL(Québec) as well as a pre determined host. The winner would move on to compete for the Canadian National Junior A Championship. However with the departure of the BCHL whom ended affiliation with the CJHL in March 2021 as well as Hockey Canada in June 2023 becoming an independent league. No Centennial Cup qualifying tournaments such as the Kent Cup have been played since 2022 and instead all the league champions have directly advanced to the Centennial Cup.
This is a timeline of events throughout the five decade-plus history of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
The Saskatoon Hilltops are a junior Canadian football team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Hilltops play in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, which is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. The team was founded in 1921 as a senior team in the Saskatchewan Rugby Football Union, which it played in until 1936. Two years after WWII the team reorganized in 1947. Beginning in 1953, the Hilltops have won 23 Canadian Bowl championships. The Hilltops won six consecutive Canadian Bowls between 2014 and 2019.
The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League or CMISL was a professional indoor soccer league that began full league play in January 2008. The league's president was Mel Kowalchuk.
The Cape Breton Breakers were a franchise in the National Basketball League that began play in 1993, the league's first season. The team played their home games at Centre 200, in Sydney, which was also home of the Cape Breton Oilers.
There are professional teams based in Canada in several professional sports leagues. The National Hockey League currently has seven Canadian franchises and is the most popular professional sports league in Canada. The Canadian Football League is the only all-Canadian major professional sports league. Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, and the Professional Women's Hockey League also have Canadian teams.
The Saskatoon Slam were a Canadian professional basketball franchise based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that played in the National Basketball League in 1993 and 1994.
The National Basketball League of Canada was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchises for the league's inaugural season. The league changed in size multiple times and had four active teams in its final season, all in Ontario, but historically the NBLC had several located in the Atlantic provinces. The league's season typically ran from November to April of the following year. The final league champions were the London Lightning, who defeated the Windsor Express 3–2 in the 2023 NBL Finals.
The Cape Breton Highlanders were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Sydney, Nova Scotia. They were granted a hiatus from the National Basketball League of Canada for the 2019–20 season, but have no schedule to return.