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.[3]
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,[4] 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.[5][6]
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."[7]
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.
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.[9] From 1973 to 1979, a young Joe Bowen began his broadcasting career covering the Wolves on local Sudbury radio.[5]
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 did manage 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.[5]
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.[5]
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.[10] 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 Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, and winning a regular season division title in 2019-20.[11]
Championships
Sudbury Wolves make an entrance on home ice
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.
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.
1972–73 Lost to Ottawa 67's 8 points to 0 in first round.
1973–74 Lost to Kitchener Rangers 8 points to 0 in first round.
1974–75 Defeated Ottawa 67's 8 points to 6 in first round. Lost to Toronto Marlboros 9 points to 7 in second round.
1975–76 Defeated S.S. Marie Greyhounds 9 points to 5 in quarter-finals. Defeated Ottawa 67's 8 points to 2 in semi-finals. Lost to Hamilton Fincups 8 points to 2 in finals.
1976–77 Lost to Kingston Canadians 4 games to 1 with 1 tie in quarter-finals.
1977–78 Out of playoffs.
1978–79 Defeated Oshawa Generals 8 points to 2 in quarter-finals. Lost to Peterborough Petes 8 points to 2 in semi-finals.
1979–80 Defeated Kingston Canadians 3 games to 0 in first round. Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 3 in quarter-finals.
1980–81 Out of playoffs.
1981–82 Out of playoffs.
1982–83 Out of playoffs.
1983–84 Out of playoffs.
1984–85 Out of playoffs.
1985–86 Lost to Guelph Platers 8 points to 0 in first round.
1986–87 Out of playoffs.
1987–88 Out of playoffs.
1988–89 Out of playoffs.
1989–90 Lost to Owen Sound Platers 4 games to 3 in first round.
1990–91 Lost to Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 in first round.
1991–92 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 3 in first round. Lost to North Bay Centennials 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
1992–93 Defeated Newmarket Royals 4 games to 3 in first round. Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 3 in quarter-finals.
1993–94 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals. Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in division semi-finals.
1994–95 Defeated Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals. Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals. Lost to Detroit Jr. Red Wings 4 games to 3 in semi-finals.
1995–96 Out of playoffs.
1996–97 Out of playoffs.
1997–98 Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 2 in division quarter-finals. Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals.
1998–99 Lost to Belleville Bulls 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
1999–2000 Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
2000–01 Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Toronto St. Michael's Majors 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
2001–02 Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
2002–03 Out of playoffs.
2003–04 Lost to Toronto St. Michael's Majors 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
2004–05 Defeated Brampton Battalion 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.
2005–06 Defeated Kingston Frontenacs 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
2006–07 Defeated Mississauga Ice Dogs 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals. Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals. Defeated Belleville Bulls 4 games to 2 in conference finals. Lost to Plymouth Whalers 4 games to 2 in finals.
2007–08 Out of playoffs.
2008–09 Lost to Belleville Bulls 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
2009–10 Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
2010–11 Defeated Ottawa 67's 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
2011–12 Lost to Brampton Battalion 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
2012–13 Defeated Brampton Battalion 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Belleville Bulls 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
2013–14 Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
2014–15 Out of playoffs.
2015–16 Out of playoffs.
2016–17 Lost to Oshawa Generals 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
2017–18 Out of playoffs.
2018–19 Defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Ottawa 67's 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
2019–20 Cancelled.
2020–21 Cancelled.
2021–22 Out of playoffs.
2022–23 Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
2023-24 Defeated Mississauga Steelheads 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to North Bay Battalion 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
Uniforms and logos
From 1972 to 1988, the Sudbury Wolves' colours were green, white and gold. The tradition of Sudbury teams wearing green jerseys dates back to the mid-1910s. In 1988–89, Ken Burgess - who famously asked "Who ever heard of a green wolf?" - changed the team's colours to blue, white and grey, which happened to be the corporate colours of the business that bore his name. These have been the Wolves' colours ever since, though the team has occasionally donned throwback green jerseys. The iconic blood-toothed, wily wolf-head logo has subtly evolved since the current franchise's inception, but overall has remained relatively unchanged and today is one of the most recognizable logos in the CHL.[5]
There have been various alterations and versions of the team's primary jersey design over the years, as well as the introduction of third alternate jerseys, such as black and grey ones that were introduced in the mid-1990s and again in the early-2010s.[13] The team unveiled several special edition jerseys during the 2022-23 season, including a fiftieth anniversary jersey,[14] as well as a limited edition Shoresy Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs themed jersey.[15]
Jake Cardwell of the Wolves wearing the 2009 version of the away jersey
Arena
The Sudbury Wolves play their home games at the downtown Sudbury Community Arena, which was constructed in 1951. The City of Greater Sudbury and the Wolves have upgraded the facility over the years, but since the mid-2010s there have been intensified debates about the building of a new arena.[16]
Every time the Wolves score a goal, a taxidermic wolf rolls out on a pulley system from the rafters of the Sudbury Arena in the direction of the opposing team's bench. This tradition began in the 1950s when The Sudbury Star donated a stuffed wolf to the local Wolves team as a token of appreciation.[5]
Media
In the 2009-10 hockey season, Wolves games were broadcast on CJTK-FM in Sudbury.[17] As of 2018, Wolves games are broadcast on CKLU-FM.[18]
