Walkerton Capitals (PJHL)

Walkerton Capitals
CityWalkerton, Ontario[1]
LeagueProvincial Junior Hockey League
ConferenceNorth
DivisionPollock
Founded1973[2]
Home arenaWalkerton Community Centre[3]
ColoursBlack, Red, and White[4]
General managerJordan Lang (2024)
Head coachKevin Wallace (2024)
Franchise history
1973–2000[2]Walkerton Blackhawks[2]
2000–2022[1]Walkerton Hawks[1]
2022–PresentWalkerton Capitals

The Walkerton Capitals are a Junior ice hockey team based in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada.[1] They played in the Western Junior C Hockey League.[5] until the 2016-17 season when the league became a division became the Pollock Division of the Provincial Junior Hockey League.

History

The Walkerton Blackhawks entered the Central Ontario Junior C Hockey League in 1976, jumping up from Junior D.[2] The Hawks finished that season with a moderate 11-24-1 record as an expansion franchise and had their first playoff berth.[6]

In 1980, the Central League became the Grey-Bruce Junior C Hockey League as many of the further reaching teams like the Listowel Cyclones and New Hamburg Hahns left the league to pursue Junior B hockey.[2]

In 1987, the league accepted the expansion of the Mount Forest Patriots and in 1988 renamed itself the Western Ontario Junior C Hockey League.[2] The Walkerton Hawks have been a long running mainstay in this league. They sat out the 2004-05 season to reorganize their franchise, but have come back strong since.[7] During their time off, ownership considered a move to Saugeen Shores, Ontario.[7]

In the 2005-06 season, their first after their short hiatus, the Walkerton Hawks finished in fifth place. They challenged the fourth-seeded Goderich Sailors in the league quarter-final and defeated them 2-games-to-none. In the league semi-final, they competed against the league's top seeded Wingham Ironmen. The Ironmen swept the series 4-games-to-none.[8]

The 2006-07 season saw the Walkerton Hawks step into high gear at the end of the season and push into the third seed over the Hanover Barons. In the league quarter-final, the Hawks played against the sixth seeded Goderich Sailors. Walkerton won the series 3-games-to-1. In the semi-final, the Hawks drew the second seeded Wingham Ironmen. To the dismay of the Ironmen, the Hawks swept them 4-games-to-none. This resulted in Western league final between the Walkerton Hawks and the first seeded Kincardine Bulldogs. This was the end of the road for the Hawks as the Bulldogs came out on top 4-games-to-1.[8]

The playoffs for the 2019-20 season were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the team not being able to play a single game.

May 20, 2022 the team announced that they were re-branding the club to the Walkerton Capitals [9]

Season-by-season standings

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
1973-74 27 15 10 2 - 148 111 34 2nd of 6 NJDHL Lost semi-final (Eagles)
1974-75 27 3 23 1 - 101 223 7 7th of 7 NJDHL DNQ
1975-76 28 5 23 0 - 68 156 10 7th of 7 NJDHL DNQ
1976-77 36 11 24 1 - 165 232 23 6th CJCHL West
1977-78 35 18 12 5 - 176 154 41 3rd CJCHL West
1978-79 30 9 17 4 - 109 143 22 6th CJCHL West
1979-80 30 17 10 3 - 169 130 37 3rd CJCHL West
1980-81 30 18 7 5 - 165 122 41 1st GBJCHL
1981-82 30 22 5 3 - 195 109 47 2nd GBJCHL Won league
1982-83 30 20 8 2 - 144 114 42 2nd GBJCHL
1983-84 30 6 20 4 - 142 206 16 5th GBJCHL
1984-85 30 11 15 4 - 152 196 26 3rd GBJCHL
1985-86 30 14 13 3 - 181 159 31 3rd GBJCHL
1986-87 26 8 14 4 - 125 154 20 4th GBJCHL
1987-88 30 11 15 4 - 126 150 26 5th GBJCHL
1988-89 30 8 18 4 - 125 204 20 5th WJCHL
1989-90 30 9 14 7 - 174 197 25 5th WJCHL
1990-91 30 4 25 1 - 127 258 9 7th WJCHL
1991-92 30 14 13 3 - 169 171 31 4th WJCHL
1992-93 29 7 18 4 - 109 188 18 6th WJCHL
1993-94 31 5 21 5 - -- -- 15 5th WJCHL
1994-95 30 12 10 8 - 140 137 32 4th WJCHL
1995-96 30 12 15 3 - 153 135 27 5th WJCHL
1996-97 30 11 14 5 - 143 139 27 5th WJCHL
1997-98 36 15 14 7 - 141 142 37 4th WJCHL
1998-99 36 14 21 1 - 138 162 29 4th WJCHL
1999-00* 35 12 16 7 - 132 160 31 4th WJCHL
2000-01 38 13 21 4 - 140 174 30 4th WJCHL
2001-02 35 7 24 4 - 106 208 18 5th WJCHL
2002-03 35 23 9 - 3 160 125 49 2nd WJCHL
2003-04 34 14 14 3 3 120 123 34 4th WJCHL Lost quarter-final
2004-05 Did not participate
2005-06 39 11 25 2 1 131 190 25 5th WJCHL Lost semi-final
2006-07 40 29 10 0 1 196 135 59 3rd WJCHL Lost final
2007-08 40 28 9 - 3 205 122 59 2nd WJCHL Won league, lost CSC QF
2008-09 36 32 3 - 1 206 73 65 1st WJCHL Won league, lost CSC QF
2009-10 36 31 2 - 3 178 98 65 1st WJCHL Won league, lost CSC QF
2010-11 35 31 3 - 1 238 99 63 1st WJCHL Won league, lost CSC QF
2011-12 36 28 6 - 2 212 122 58 1st WJCHL Won league, lost CSC QF
2012-13 36 28 5 - 3 206 93 59 1st WJCHL Won league, lost CSC QF
2013-14 35 23 6 - 6 177 121 52 2nd WJCHL Lost final
2014-15 36 27 9 0 - 178 90 54 2nd WJCHL Won quarters, 4-1 (Hawks)
Won semi's, 4-1 (Barons)
Won league finals, 4-3 (Ironmen)
Lost CSC Quarters, 3-4 (Alliston)
2015-16 36 27 8 1 - 176 112 55 1st of 7 WJCHL Quarters - BYE
Won semifinals, 4-3 (Hawks)
Lost League Finals,3-4 (Bulldogs)
2016-17 36 29 6 1 - 188 89 59 1st of 7
Pollock Div-PJHL		 Div Quarters - BYE
Won Div Semifinals, 4-0 (Barons)
Lost Div. Finals, 3-4 (Patriots)
2017-18 40 25 12 2 1 173 126 53 2nd of 7
Pollock Div-PJHL		 Won Div Quarters, 4-0 (Barons)
Won Div Semifinal, 4-2 (Bulldogs)
Lost Div. Finals, 0-0 (Patriots)
2018-19 42 13 22 3 4 136 179 33 5th of 7
Pollock Div-PJHL		 Won Div Quarters, 4-2 (Barons)
Lost div semi-final, 0-4 (Patriots)
2019-20 42 6 33 1 2 90 219 15 7th of 7
Pollock Div-PJHL		 Lost Div Quarters, 0-4 (Ironmen)
2020-21 Season Lost due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22 32 5 21 2 4 77 160 16 6th of 7
Pollock Div-PJHL		 Lost Div Quarters, 0-4 (Patriots)
WALKERTON CAPITALS
2022-23 42 8 32 1 1 129 205 18 6th of 7
Pollock Div-PJHL		 Lost Div Quarters, 0-4 (Barons)
2023-24 42 18 20 2 2 122 133 40 5th of 8
Pollock Div-PJHL		 Lost Div Quarters, 0-4 (Whalers)

(*) The 1999-00 Season was altered drastically due to the folding of the Lakeshore Pirates. As a disproportionate number of games had been played by each team against Lakeshore, all history of these games was erased.[10]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c d Walkerton Hawks
  2. ^ a b c d e f Walkerton Blackhawks
  3. ^ Walkerton Hawks – Western Jr C Hockey Club
  4. ^ Walkerton Hawks – Western Jr C Hockey Club
  5. ^ Western C Teams | Western Junior C Hockey League | Junior C | Leagues | Ontario Hockey Association
  6. ^ Owen Sound Sun Times Sports section, final standings
  7. ^ a b Owen Sound Sun Times - Ontario, CA
  8. ^ a b c Home | Ontario Hockey Association
  9. ^ "Hawks Rebrand as Walkerton Capitals".
  10. ^ Owen Sound Sun Times Sports Section, November 1999.
  11. ^ Owen Sound Sun Times Sports Section final standings
  12. ^ London Free Press Sports Section final standings
  13. ^ Mount Forest Confederate Sports Section final standings
  14. ^ Owen Sound Sun Times Sports Section for Goal totals
  15. ^ "Kevin Czuczman". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  16. ^ "NLL Teams Submit Final Roster Moves | National Lacrosse League". www.pointstreaksites.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-10.
  17. ^ Legends of Hockey – NHL Player Search – Player – Nathan Perrott