Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired.
Senior hockey leagues operate under the jurisdiction of Hockey Canada or USA Hockey. They are not affiliated in any way with professional hockey leagues. Many former professional players play Senior hockey after their pro careers are over. [1] The top Senior AAA teams in Canada compete annually for the Allan Cup.
From the beginning of the 1900s until the 1970s, Senior hockey was immensely popular across Canada, particularly in rural towns. At a time when most households didn't have a television and few hockey games were broadcast, local arenas were filled to capacity to watch the local team take on a rival.
The popularity of Senior hockey declined in the 1980s and 1990s. A number of long-running leagues and teams vanished. Today, many players choose to play organized recreational hockey, sometimes referred to as "commercial hockey." The popularity of the National Hockey League and Junior hockey has also supplanted Senior hockey in many towns across Canada.
In Canada:
In the United States:
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the Dundas Real McCoys, who captured the 2023 Allan Cup in Dundas, Ontario.
Hockey Canada is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority of organized ice hockey in Canada. There are some notable exceptions, such as the Canadian Hockey League, U Sports, and Canada's professional hockey clubs; the former two are partnered with Hockey Canada but are not member organizations. Hockey Canada is based in Calgary, with a secondary office in Ottawa and regional centres in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal.
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in various sports. They generally have lesser fan bases, much smaller revenues and salaries, and are used to develop players for bigger leagues.
The Whitby Dunlops were a Canadian senior ice hockey team in the Allan Cup Hockey league. The team began play in 2004, and is on a leave of absence as of the 2020–21 season.
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the OHF include the Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Northwestern Ontario. The OHA controls three tiers of junior hockey; the "Tier 2 Junior "A", Junior "B", Junior "C", and one senior hockey league, Allan Cup Hockey.
Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 15- to 20-year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Allan Cup Hockey (ACH), also known as the OHA Senior “AAA” Hockey League, is a senior ice hockey league with three teams in Southern Ontario. The league was founded in 1990 as the Southwestern Senior "A" Hockey League. It is governed by the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The league champions go on to play for the Allan Cup each year. The league came to its latest incarnation when it lost several teams leaving it with two and as a result it merged with the Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League in 2008.
The Durham Huskies were an ice hockey franchise based in the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The team is actually a series of teams that have spanned nine decades and through an uncountable series of leagues. The Huskies have existed under of couple short lived monikers before finding their name by accident in the 1950s. This team has spanned the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior levels of Ontario hockey.
The Ontario Elite Hockey League is a Canadian senior ice hockey league governed by the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The league operates in Southwestern Ontario. As of the 2024-25 season, the champion of the OEHL will be eligible to challenge the champion of Allan Cup Hockey for a spot in the Canadian national Senior AAA championship and a chance to win the Allan Cup.
Hockey Alberta is the governing body of all ice hockey in Alberta, Canada and is affiliated with Hockey Canada. It was founded in 1907 as the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) to be the governing body for Alberta intra-city ice hockey play. As of the 2018–19 hockey season, the Chair of the Board of Directors was Terry Engen, and the Chief Executive Officer for operations management was Rob Litwinski.
The Durham Huskies were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from the town of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The Huskies played in the Metro Junior A Hockey League for two seasons and the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League for three seasons. The Huskies were a continuance of the Traditional Durham Huskies Senior/Intermediate team that existed from 1920 until 1992.
Allan Wilfrid Pickard was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, who served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from 1947 to 1950. When Canada opted out of the 1947 Ice Hockey World Championships and decided not to participate in the 1948 Winter Olympics, Pickard felt that Canada was obliged to send a team due to its place as a top hockey nation, and nominated the Ottawa RCAF Flyers who won the gold medal for Canada and lived up to the requirements of the Olympic Oath as amateurs. Despite disagreement with the International Olympic Committee, he sought for the International Ice Hockey Federation to adopt the CAHA definition of amateur in the face of increasing difficulty in selecting the Canada men's national ice hockey team.
The 2008 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey, and the 100th year that the Allan Cup has been awarded. The 2008 tournament was hosted by the City of Brantford, Ontario, and the Brantford Blast of the Ontario Hockey Association's Major League Hockey. The tournament began on April 14, 2008, and concluded April 19, 2008.
The Clarenville Caribous are a senior ice hockey team based in Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador and a member of the Avalon East Senior Hockey League. The Caribous are three-time winners of the Herder Memorial Trophy as all-Newfoundland and Labrador Senior Hockey Champions and winners of the 2011 Allan Cup as National Senior "AAA" Hockey Champions.
Kenora Thistles is the name of several Canadian ice hockey teams based in Kenora, Ontario and may refer to:
The 2010 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey. This tournament was the 102nd year that the Allan Cup has been awarded. The 2010 tournament was hosted by the City of Fort St. John, British Columbia and the Fort St. John Flyers.
The 2011 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey. This was the 103rd year the Allan Cup was awarded. The 2011 Allan Cup was contended in Kenora, Ontario, hosted by the Kenora Thistles of Hockey Northwestern Ontario from April 11 to April 16, 2011.
Douglas George Grimston was a Canadian ice hockey administrator who served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from 1950 to 1952. He oversaw the establishment of the Major Series for the Alexander Cup and implemented a new deal for player contracts in senior ice hockey, in response to the Allan Cup championship being dominated by a small group of teams who sought to protect themselves from professional leagues recruiting their players. He opposed the National Hockey League wanting its junior ice hockey prospect players on stronger teams, which led to limits on the transfer of players to keep balanced competition for the Memorial Cup. After the 1952 Winter Olympics where the Canada men's national ice hockey team won the gold medal, Grimston recommended withdrawal from Olympic hockey since European nations would never agree to ice hockey rules which allowed physical play. Grimston later accused International Ice Hockey Federation vice-president Bunny Ahearne of financially exploiting of the Edmonton Mercurys on a European tour, which led to a physical altercation between them.