Kingston Frontenacs

The Kingston Frontenacs are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario. The Frontenacs play home games at Slush Puppie Place, which opened in 2008. The team's history predates the Ontario Hockey League, to a team known as the Kingston Victorias in 1945. This current Frontenacs franchise was founded in the Ontario Hockey Association in 1973–74, then known as the Kingston Canadians until 1987–88. The team was briefly known as the Kingston Raiders in 1988–89, and as the Frontenacs since.

History


The original Kingston Frontenacs were founded in 1897, named after Louis de Buade de Frontenac, governor of New France, who established Fort Frontenac on the site of present-day Kingston. The original Frontenacs were coached by James T. Sutherland, played in the intermediate division of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), and won the inaugural J. Ross Robertson Cup during the 1898–99 season.

The Kingston Frontenacs had a junior ice hockey team in the OHA prior to World War I. This version of the Frontenacs won the J. Ross Robertson Cup in the 1910–11 season. National Hockey League alumni from this team are Alec Connell, Bill Cook, Allan Davidson, and Flat Walsh.

An Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) Sr. League team also existed from the 1910s to 1940s. National Hockey League alumni from this team are Mickey Blake, Glen Brydson, Bill Cook, Gus Giesebrecht, Doug Stevenson, Charles Stewart, Carl Voss and Flat Walsh. Some members of this team then formed an entry in the Ontario Veteran's Hockey League during World War II. National Hockey League alumni from this team are Hub Macey, Gus Marker, Walt McCartney and Ed Nicholson.

1952–1973


In 1952, the Kingston Victoria were renamed the Kingston Frontenacs. This team played at the Junior B level, then later at the Junior A level. This Frontenacs team lost in the 1963 Sutherland Cup final to the St. Marys Lincolns, 4 games to 1.

From 1959 to 1963, there was also a Kingston Frontenacs team in the Eastern Professional Hockey League.

Kingston Canadians (1973–1988)
The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) for the 1973–74 season was a result of the Montreal Junior Canadiens move to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 1972. During the summer of 1972, the QMJHL had threatened a lawsuit against the OHA to force the Junior Canadiens to return to the Quebec-based league. To solve the problem, the OHA granted the Junior Canadiens franchise a "one-year suspension" of operations, while team ownership transferred the team and players into the QMJHL, renaming themselves the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge in the process.

After a one-year hiatus, the OHA then reactivated the suspended franchise under new ownership and with new players, calling the team the Kingston Canadians. The new Kingston team was essentially an expansion franchise promoted from the OHA's Tier II league, that had only common name to share with the old Junior Canadiens. The Tier II Frontenacs originated in the Eastern Junior B Hockey League and date back to at least the early 1940s as the Kingston Victorias. However, in some OHA histories (such as the annual Media Guide) the Kingston team is still shown as the legitimate successors of the Junior Canadiens' legacy.

Kingston Raiders (1988–89)
Following a change in ownership the club was renamed Kingston Raiders for one season in 1988–89. Due to ownership problems, the team was sold again following that season.

Kingston Frontenacs (1989–present)
In 1989, the new ownership, including Wren Blair, Don Anderson and Bob Attersley, renamed the team Kingston Frontenacs after the Eastern Professional Hockey League team. The Boston Bruins-style uniforms and logos were revived from the old franchise. The city embraced and welcomed the new ownership. Wren Blair and Bob Attersley were both hockey legends in their own right. In 1997 Wren Blair would be honoured with the Bill Long Award for distinguished service in the OHL. The club was sold to the Springer family of Kingston in June 1998, with Doug Springer becoming the owner and governor.

The Frontenacs franchise has the second-longest championship drought in the OHL (to the Sudbury Wolves by one year), and the fourth-longest in the Canadian Hockey League. The Frontenacs won the Leyden Trophy as the OHL's East Division champions in the 1994–95 and 2015–16. In the 1992–93 season, the Frontenacs reached the Eastern Conference Final but lost to the Peterborough Petes. In 2017-18, Kingston reached the Eastern Conference final for the second time in club history, however, they lost to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Coaches


During the inaugural season of the Kingston Canadians in 1973–74, Jack Bownass was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHA Coach of the Year. Former NHL defenceman Jim Morrison coached the team from 1975 to 1982, which was the longest stint a coach had when the club was known as the Canadians.

Larry Mavety coached the Frontenacs for much of the team's history. He originally coached the team in 1988–89, when they were still known as the Kingston Raiders. In 1989–90, the first season the franchise was known as the Frontenacs, he won the Matt Leyden Trophy as the OHL Coach of the Year. Mavety returned to Kingston in 1997 to become the head coach once again, and stayed in that position until midway through the 2002–03 season when he stepped down to focus on his general manager duties. After a slow start in the 2007–08 season, Mavety once again found himself coaching the Frontenacs until November 2008. Mavety remained as the general manager until the end of the 2010–11 season.

A number of Frontenacs coaches have gone on to coach in the National Hockey League; while Gary Agnew and Dave Allison had short spells as NHL head coaches, Bruce Cassidy is the only Frontenacs coach to become a full-time NHL head coach.

List of coaches
(Multiple years in parentheses, totals include all incarnations of the Kingston franchise)

Players
Paul Coffey is the only former member of the Kingston franchise to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, getting the honour in 2004. In 1977–78, Coffey played for the Kingston Canadians, as a late season addition from the North York Rangers. He played eight games with the Canadians.

Honoured numbers
Several numbers have been honoured by the Kingston Canadians/Frontenacs. In 2019, Chris Clifford had his number 29 retired, joining Mike O'Connell, Brad Rhiness, Tony McKegney, and Ken Linesman in receiving the honour. In 2023, brothers Anthony Stewart and Chris Stewart had their numbers raised to the rafters.

Larry Mavety is the only builder to be honoured by the organization for his work as a coach and general manager. The coach and manager holds the Kingston Frontenacs all-time wins record with 246.

First round draft picks
The Kingston franchise has had several players selected in the first round of the NHL draft.
 * Alex Forsyth – 18th overall, Washington Capitals, 1975 Draft
 * Mark Suzor – 17th overall, Philadelphia Flyers, 1976 Draft
 * Mike Crombeen – 5th overall, Cleveland Barons, 1977 Draft
 * Mike Gillis – 5th overall, Colorado Rockies, 1978 Draft
 * Behn Wilson – 6th overall, Philadelphia Flyers, 1978 Draft
 * Ken Linseman – 7th overall, Philadelphia Flyers, 1978 Draft
 * Jay Wells – 16th overall, Los Angeles Kings, 1979 Draft
 * Rik Wilson – 12th overall, St. Louis Blues, 1980 Draft
 * Mike Stothers – 21st overall, Philadelphia Flyers, 1980 Draft
 * Kirk Muller – 2nd overall, New Jersey Devils, 1984 Draft
 * Roger Belanger – 16th overall, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1984 Draft
 * Scott Metcalfe – 20th overall, Edmonton Oilers, 1985 Draft
 * Bryan Fogarty – 9th overall, Quebec Nordiques, 1987 Draft
 * Scott Pearson – 6th overall, Toronto Maple Leafs, 1988 Draft
 * Drake Berehowsky – 10th overall, Toronto Maple Leafs, 1990 Draft
 * Chris Gratton – 3rd overall, Tampa Bay Lightning, 1993 Draft
 * Brett Lindros – 9th overall, New York Islanders, 1994 Draft
 * Chad Kilger – 4th overall, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 1995 Draft
 * Kevin Grimes – 26th overall, Colorado Avalanche, 1997 Draft
 * Anthony Stewart – 25th overall, Florida Panthers, 2003 Draft
 * Chris Stewart – 18th overall, Colorado Avalanche, 2006 Draft
 * Erik Gudbranson - 3rd overall, Florida Panthers, 2010 Draft
 * Sam Bennett - 4th overall, Calgary Flames, 2014 Draft
 * Lawson Crouse - 11th overall, Florida Panthers, 2015 Draft
 * Shane Wright - 4th overall, Seattle Kraken, 2022 Draft

NHL alumni

 * Kingston Canadians


 * Perry Anderson
 * Scott Arniel
 * Roger Belanger
 * Neil Belland
 * Phil Bourque
 * Gord Buynak
 * Jeff Chychrun
 * Chris Clifford
 * Paul Coffey
 * Mike Crombeen
 * Peter Dineen
 * Brian Dobbin
 * Peter Driscoll
 * Richie Dunn
 * Todd Elik
 * Bryan Fogarty
 * Mike Forbes
 * Alex Forsyth
 * Mike Gillis
 * Ron Handy
 * Greg Holst
 * Greg Hotham
 * Scott Howson
 * Tim Kerr
 * Marc Laforge
 * Ken Linseman
 * Darren Lowe
 * Tom McCarthy
 * Tony McKegney
 * Scott Metcalfe
 * Mike Moffat
 * Kirk Muller
 * Craig Muni
 * Bernie Nicholls
 * Mike O'Connell
 * Scott Pearson
 * Rob Plumb
 * Walt Poddubny
 * Paul Pooley
 * Herb Raglan
 * Moe Robinson
 * Howard Scruton
 * Steve Seftel
 * Steve Seguin
 * Mike Siltala
 * Dennis Smith
 * Mike Stothers
 * Mark Suzor
 * Jay Wells
 * Behn Wilson
 * Rik Wilson


 * Kingston Raiders


 * Drake Berehowsky
 * Tony Cimellaro
 * Sean Gauthier
 * Mark Major
 * Scott Pearson
 * Jason Simon


 * Kingston Frontenacs


 * Chris Allen
 * Sean Avery
 * Sam Bennett
 * Chris Beckford-Tseu
 * Drake Berehowsky
 * Matt Bradley
 * Jan Bulis
 * Tony Cimellaro
 * Matt Cooke
 * Lawson Crouse
 * Michael Dal Colle
 * Sean Day
 * Patrick DesRochers
 * Matt Elich
 * Cory Emmerton
 * Drew Fata
 * Warren Foegele
 * Sean Gauthier
 * Chris Gratton
 * Josh Gratton
 * Philipp Grubauer
 * Erik Gudbranson
 * Max Jones
 * Chad Kilger
 * Nathan LaFayette
 * Juho Lammikko
 * Marc Lamothe
 * Brian Lashoff
 * Brett Lindros
 * David Ling
 * Mark Major
 * Evan McEneny
 * Roland McKeown
 * Sean McMorrow
 * Leevi Merilainen
 * Jason Morgan
 * Marc Moro
 * Tyler Moss
 * Shane O'Brien
 * Alan Quine
 * Andrew Raycroft
 * Craig Rivet
 * Jason Robertson
 * Bryan Rodney
 * Radek Smolenak
 * Mike Smith
 * Ryan Spooner
 * Anthony Stewart
 * Chris Stewart
 * Daniel Taylor
 * Gabriel Vilardi
 * Shane Wright
 * Michael Zigomanis

Regular season

 * Kingston Frontenacs 1960–73 (EJBHL & OPJHL)
 * Kingston Canadians 1973–88
 * Kingston Raiders 1988–89
 * Kingston Frontenacs 1989–present

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shoot Out Loss

Playoffs
Junior B Era OPJHL Era OHL Era
 * 1953–54 Won Eastern Jr. B championship Lost Sutherland Cup semi-final round robin
 * 1955–56 Won Eastern Jr. B championship Lost Sutherland Cup semi-final round robin
 * 1962–63 Won Eastern Jr. B championship Defeated Lakeshore Bruins in Sutherland Cup quarter-final 3-games-to-2 Defeated Burlington Cougars in Sutherland Cup semi-final 3-games-to-none Lost Sutherland Cup final to St. Marys Lincolns 4-games-to-1
 * 1963–64 Won Eastern Jr. B championship Defeated Burlington Cougars in Sutherland Cup quarter-final 4-games-to-1 Lost Sutherland Cup semi-final to Weston Dukes 4-games-to-none
 * 1964–65 Won Eastern Jr. B championship Lost Sutherland Cup quarter-final to Hamilton Mountain Bees 4-games-to-2
 * 1969–70 Won Eastern Jr. B championship Lost Sutherland Cup semi-final to Hamilton Mountain Bees 4-games-to-3
 * 1972–73 Did not qualify.
 * 1973–74 Out of playoffs.
 * 1974–75 Lost to Toronto Marlboros in quarter-finals 9 points to 7.
 * 1975–76 Lost to Ottawa 67's in quarter-finals 9 points to 5.
 * 1976–77 Defeated Sudbury Wolves in quarter-finals 9 points to 3. Lost to Ottawa 67's in semi-finals 9 points to 7.
 * 1977–78 Lost to S.S.Marie Greyhounds in first round 6 points to 4.
 * 1978–79 Defeated Ottawa 67's in first round 6 points to 2. Lost to Peterborough Petes in quarter-finals 9 points to 5.
 * 1979–80 Lost to Sudbury Wolves in first round 3 games to 0.
 * 1980–81 Defeated Ottawa 67's in division semi-finals 9 points to 5. Lost to S.S. Marie Greyhounds in division finals 9 points to 5.
 * 1981–82 Lost to Peterborough Petes in first round 6 points to 2.
 * 1982–83 Out of playoffs.
 * 1983–84 Out of playoffs.
 * 1984–85 Out of playoffs.
 * 1985–86 Defeated Oshawa Generals in first round 8 points to 4. Finished 3rd place in round-robin versus Peterborough Petes and Belleville Bulls, and are eliminated.
 * 1986–87 Defeated Belleville Bulls in first round 4 games to 2. Lost to Oshawa Generals in quarter-finals 4 games to 2.
 * 1987–88 Out of playoffs.
 * 1988–89 Out of playoffs.
 * 1989–90 Lost to Belleville Bulls 4 games to 3 in first round.
 * 1990–91 Out of playoffs.
 * 1991–92 Out of playoffs.
 * 1992–93 Defeated North Bay Centennials 4 games to 1 in first round. Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals. Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 1 in semi-finals.
 * 1993–94 Lost to Belleville Bulls 4 games to 2 in division quarter-finals.
 * 1994–95 Lost to Belleville Bulls 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 1995–96 Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals.
 * 1996–97 Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals.
 * 1997–98 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 3 in division quarter-finals. Lost to London Knights 4 games to 1 in quarter-finals.
 * 1998–99 Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 1999–2000 Lost to Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2000–01 Lost to Belleville Bulls 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2001–02 Out of playoffs. (Lost to North Bay Centennials 6 to 2 in 8th place tie-breaker game.)
 * 2002–03 Out of playoffs.
 * 2003–04 Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2004–05 Out of playoffs.
 * 2005–06 Lost to Sudbury Wolves 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2006–07 Lost to Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2007–08 Out of playoffs.
 * 2008–09 Out of playoffs.
 * 2009–10 Lost to Brampton Battalion 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2010–11 Lost to Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2011–12 Out of playoffs.
 * 2012–13 Lost to Barrie Colts 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2013–14 Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2014–15 Lost to North Bay Battalion 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
 * 2015-16 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Niagara IceDogs 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
 * 2016-17 Defeated Hamilton Bulldogs 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to Peterborough Petes 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
 * 2017-18 Defeated North Bay Battalion 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals. Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals. Lost to Hamilton Bulldogs 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
 * 2018–19 Out of playoffs.
 * 2019–20 Cancelled.
 * 2020–21 Cancelled.
 * 2021-22 Defeated Oshawa Generals 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals. Lost to North Bay Battalion 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
 * 2022–23 Out of playoffs.
 * 2023-24 Lost to North Bay Battalion 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.

Team uniforms and logos
The original uniforms and logos of the OHL Frontenacs were revived from the EPHL franchise, which was affiliated with the Boston Bruins. The logo featured a yellow letter 'K' with a black outline, surrounded by black spokes leading to a yellow circle border with the name Kingston Frontenacs in black.

In 2002, the team adopted a new logo with a stylized Count Frontenac.

In 2007, the Frontenacs unveiled a 3rd jersey, which was black, yellow, and white, and similar to the Boston Bruins jerseys from the early 1970s. The "K" logo was used on the front of the jersey. The Frontenacs began wearing these jerseys on February 22, 2008, which was the same night that they opened their new arena.

In 2009, the Frontenacs, along with all CHL teams unveiled new uniforms using RBK EDGE templates. In 2012, the Frontenacs began wearing a newly designed set of uniforms featuring a large K as a logo.

Arenas
The original home arena of the Frontenacs was the Kingston Memorial Centre, with a seating capacity of 3,079 seated, and 3,300 including standing room. Built in 1950, its ice size has unique dimensions of 200' x 92'.

The Kingston Frontenacs began play at their new downtown arena, Slush Puppie Place (then K-Rock Centre), in 2008.