I like Mario Cecchini. He is a nice guy. But I wonder if he's proposing the Maritimes' inclusion in the hallmark of what was, for 55 years, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Was it really necessary?
The news came out of nowhere. Nobody expected this. It happened like a fly in the ointment.
Was there pressure from the owners of the six Maritime teams?
As far as I know, none of them ever complained.
When they arrived in Quebec, they were happy to join a well-structured junior league that was producing great players for the National League.
What would Lafleur think?
I wonder what Guy Lafleur would think of this.
The QMJHL has a lot to thank him for.
It was he who put Quebec County on the map when he won the Memorial Cup in 1971 with the Quebec Remparts. The league was only in its second year of existence and was suffering from the ridicule of Canada's other two major junior leagues, the Ontario League and the Western League.
Lafleur was proud that Quebec had beaten Ontario in the final of the Canadian Junior Championships. The Saint Catharines Black Hawks included Marcel Dionne in their ranks, whose departure from Drummondville caused an uproar in the world of Quebec hockey.
Great post
The point is not to criticize the six Maritime teams that are part of what is now the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League. They bring a lot to their city, their region and the Quebec region.
The Saint John Sea Dogs with two, the Halifax Mooseheads and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan with one each brought four Memorial Cup championships to the QMJHL. The six teams from the Atlantic provinces play in front of a considerable audience.
The youngest generation player to play in the QMJHL is Sidney Crosby, who made the effort to learn French during his time with the Rimouski Océanic.
Nathan MacKinnon is also from Nova Scotia.
They say you have to move with the times and adapt to changes. I want to, but not to the point where we lose our identity and change our institutions that we should be proud of.