The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game known as the "Wolves" (or "Cub Wolves") nearly every year since around the time of World War I. The current junior franchise came into existence in 1972 when local businessman Mervin "Bud" Burke purchased the Niagara Falls Flyers and relocated the team to Sudbury.
The current franchise has never won the Memorial Cup, nor has it captured the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Despite this lack of championships, the team has been one of the top development franchises in major junior over its history, with over 120 players drafted in to the National Hockey League (NHL) since 1973. The Wolves have been a central part of Sudbury's history for decades, and the team is among the most iconic junior hockey franchises in all of North America.
History Sudbury has had a hockey team known as the Wolves or Cub Wolves nearly every year since around WWI. This team name was informally adopted around 1920 as the "Wolves of the North", likely a reference to the "voracity and tenacity that typified the play of these men from Sudbury."
The Sudbury Cub Wolves junior team began play in the 1920s as a member of the Nickel Belt Hockey League. Under the management of Max Silverman, and coached by Sam Rothschild, the Cub Wolves won the Memorial Cup in 1932 with a roster that featured future NHL players such as Hector "Toe" Blake, Nakina Smith, and Adélard Lafrance. In 1935, the Cub Wolves lost in the Memorial Cup finals to the Winnipeg Monarchs.
A senior team competing under the banner of the Sudbury Wolves, again coached by Silverman, have twice been chosen to be Canada's representatives at the Ice Hockey World Championships, winning the title for Canada in 1938 and the silver medal in 1949. An iteration of the Wolves competed as the Eastern Canada entry at the 1954 Allan Cup senior national championship, falling to the Penticton Vees from Western Canada.
A professional Sudbury Wolves team competed in the Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL) from 1959 until the league folded in 1963. Players such as Don Cherry, Dave Keon, and Gerry Cheevers suited up for the club during its brief existence.
A junior version of the Wolves emerged in the early 1960s as a member of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association, winning the league championship in 1969 and 1971.
The OHL - then known as the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League - arrived in Sudbury in 1972 when local businessman Bud Burke, who was a shareholder in the NOJHL Wolves, purchased the Niagara Falls Flyers from Leighton "Hap" Emms and moved the team to Northern Ontario. In 1975-76, the Wolves, coached by Jerry Toppazzini, who won the Matt Leyden Trophy that season, won Hamilton Spectator Trophy for having the best regular season record in the league with a roster of future NHL players such as Randy Carlyle, Ron Duguay, Rod Schutt, and Mike Foligno. Sudbury advanced to the 1975-76 OHL finals, but lost to the Hamilton Fincups in five games. In 1979, Burke sold the team to a large ownership group headed by future Hockey Canada board of directors chair Joe Drago. From 1973 to 1979, a young Joe Bowen began his broadcasting career covering the Wolves on local Sudbury radio.
The Wolves were the worst performing team in the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in the 1980s, making the playoffs only once and not winning a single postseason game in the process. The club managed to develop some notable players in this era, such as Pat Verbeek and Jeff Brown. A turning point in franchise history came in 1986 when local businessman Ken Burgess purchased the struggling club and initiated a major organizational turnaround. Sam McMaster was hired as general manager in 1988, and under his direction the team experienced renewed success, winning its first playoff series since 1979-80 when they defeated the Oshawa Generals in the first round of 1991-92 OHL playoffs. McMaster was named OHL Executive of the Year in 1989–90.
From the early 1990s to the mid-2000s, the Wolves experienced mixed success. The club lost in Game 7 of the 1994-95 OHL semi-finals to the Detroit Junior Red Wings. A string of disappointing seasons came to an end in 2006–07 - the Wolves' 35th anniversary - when the team advanced to the OHL Finals, but ultimately lost to the Plymouth Whalers in six games. Coached by Mike Foligno, the Wolves roster that season featured several future NHL players, namely Marc Staal, Nick Foligno, Adam McQuaid, and Akim Aliu.
From 2007 to 2016, the team generally struggled, including posting the worst season in franchise history in 2014-2015. In August 2012, the Wolves were sent to represent Canada at the 2012 Junior Club World Cup. Sudbury defeated the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League in the championship finals by a score of 2-0. In 2016, the Burgess family, at the time the longest-serving ownership group in the OHL, sold the team to Sudbury businessman Dario Zulich. Since Zulich's takeover, the team has been moving in a positive direction, drafting players such as Quinton Byfield and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and winning a regular season division title in 2019-20.
Championships
The current Sudbury Wolves have never won the OHL championship, and have never participated in the Memorial Cup tournament. The team currently holds the third-longest Memorial Cup championship drought in the CHL, and the longest in the OHL.
The team has twice lost in the OHL finals, once in 1976 and again in 2007, winning the 1976 Leyden Trophy and the 2007 Bobby Orr Trophy in the process. The Wolves have twice won the Emms Trophy as the regular season Central Division champions, first in 2000-01 and then in 2019-20.
J. Ross Robertson Cup 1976 Lost to Hamilton Fincups 2007 Lost to Plymouth Whalers
Bobby Orr Trophy 2006–2007 Eastern Conference Champions
NOJHA McNamara Trophy 1969 Defeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 1971 Defeated Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
NOJHA Regular Season Champions 1970–1971 80 pts.
Hamilton Spectator Trophy 1975–1976 102 points
Leyden Trophy 1975–1976 Leyden division
Emms Trophy 2000–2001 Central division 2019–2020 Central division
Junior Club World Cup 2012 Defeated Waterloo Black Hawks
Coaches Jerry Toppazzini was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as the league's coach of the year in 1976, leading his team to a first-place finish in the regular season.
List of Sudbury Wolves coaches with multiple years in parentheses.
1972–1973 - B.MacKenzie, L.Rubic, T.Boyce 1973–1974 - Mac MacLean 1974–1975 - Stu Duncan 1975–1977 - Jerry Toppazzini (2) 1977–1978 - Marcel Clements, Andy Laing 1978–1981 - Andy Laing (4) 1981–1982 - Joe Drago 1982–1983 - Ken Gratton, M.Clements, B.Harris 1983–1984 - Billy Harris (2), Andy Spruce 1984–1985 - Andy Spruce (2) 1985–1986 - Bob Strumm, Wayne Maxner 1986–1987 - Guy Blanchard 1987–1988 - John Wallin, Ken MacKenzie 1988–1992 - Ken MacKenzie (5) 1992–1995 - Glenn Merkosky (4) 1995–1996 - Glenn Merkosky, Todd Lalonde 1996–1997 - Todd Lalonde (3) 1997–1998 - Todd Lalonde, Tom Watt 1998–1999 - Reg Higgs 1999–2003 - Bert Templeton (4) 2003–2009 - Mike Foligno (5) 2009-2010 - Bryan Verreault 2009-2010 - Mike Foligno 2010–2013 - Trent Cull 2013–2015 - Paul Fixter 2015–2017 - David Matsos (2) 2017–2020 - Cory Stillman (3) 2021–2022 - Craig Duncanson 2022–2023 - Derek MacKenzie 2023-2024 - Ken MacKenzie 2024–present - Scott Barney
Players
The Sudbury Wolves have retired six players' numbers, and have had over 120 players drafted to the NHL.
Retired numbers 6 Randy Carlyle 8 Rod Schutt 10 Ron Duguay 14 Marc Staal 15 Dale Hunter 17 Mike Foligno
Award winners 1975–76 - Jim Bedard, Dave Pinkney Trophy 1978–79 - Mike Foligno, Red Tilson Trophy, Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy, Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy 1981–82 - Pat Verbeek, Emms Family Award 1984 - Dave Moylan, Jack Ferguson Award 1985–86 - Jeff Brown, Max Kaminsky Trophy 1987 - John Uniac, Jack Ferguson Award 1993–94 - Jamie Rivers, Max Kaminsky Trophy 1994–95 - David MacDonald, F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy 1998–99 - Norm Milley, Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy 1998–99 - Ryan McKie, Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy 2000–01 - Alexei Semenov, Max Kaminsky Trophy 2004–05 - Benoit Pouliot, CHL Rookie of the Year, Emms Family Award 2006–07 - Marc Staal, Max Kaminsky Trophy, Wayne Gretzky 99 Award 2008 - John McFarland, Jack Ferguson Award 2009-10 - John Kurtz, Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy 2011–12 - Michael Sgarbossa, Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy 2012-13 - Connor Burgess, Ivan Tennant Memorial Award 2015 - David Levin, Jack Ferguson Award 2018 - Quinton Byfield, Jack Ferguson Award 2018–19 - Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Red Tilson Trophy, OHL Goaltender of the Year 2018–19 - Quinton Byfield, Emms Family Award, CHL Rookie of the Year 2021 - Quentin Musty, Jack Ferguson Award 2023-24 - David Goyette, Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy, Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy
NHL alumni
Akim Aliu Mike Allison Derek Armstrong John Baby Ryan Barnes Don Beaupre Jim Bedard Adam Bennett Jason Bonsignore Kip Brennan Jeff Brown Quinton Byfield Kyle Capobianco Randy Carlyle Tom Colley Brandon Convery Frank Corrado Dean De Fazio Paul DiPietro Ron Duguay Craig Duncanson Ben Dunn Dave Farrish Fedor Fedorov Mike Fisher Rory Fitzpatrick Marcus Foligno Mike Foligno Nick Foligno Jim Fox Dan Frawley Sean Gagnon David Goverde Josh Gratton Scott Gruhl Richie Hansen Randy Hillier Randy Holt Dale Hunter Dave Hunter Mike Hudson Dan Jancevski Wes Jarvis Jason Jaspers Chris Kelly Chris Kontos Marc Laforge Josh Leivo Mike Lenarduzzi Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Kevin MacDonald Derek MacKenzie Paul Mara Hector Marini Mike Marson Dan McCarthy Dale McCourt John McFarland Brian McGrattan Jay McKee Alex McKendry Don McLean Adam McQuaid Ken McRae Max Middendorf Norm Milley Mike Moher Barrie Moore Ethan Moreau Glen Murray Zdenek Nedved Sean O'Donnell Michael Peca Michael Pezzetta Isaak Phillips Randy Pierce Benoit Pouliot Taylor Pyatt Andrew Raycroft Jamie Rivers Shawn Rivers Adam Ruzicka Warren Rychel Mike Sands Rod Schutt Alexei Semenov Jason Simon Brad Smith Mike Smith Marc Staal Steve Staios Zack Stortini John Tanner Eric Vail Steve Valiquette Pat Verbeek Dave Watson Dennis Wideman Mike Wilson
Season-by-season results Regular season and playoffs results: 1962–1972: Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association 1972–1974: Ontario Hockey Association Major Junior A Series 1974–1980: Ontario Major Junior Hockey League 1980–present: Ontario Hockey League
Legend: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SL = Shoot-out losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Memorial Cup championsLeague championsLeague finalists