Cape Breton Eagles
Cape Breton Eagles | |
---|---|
![]() | |
City | Sydney, Nova Scotia |
League | Quebec Major Junior Hockey League |
Division | Telus Maritimes |
Founded | 1969 |
Home arena | Centre 200 |
Colours | Black, white, gold and grey |
General manager | Jacques Carrière[1] |
Head coach | Jake Grimes[2] |
Website | www.capebretoneagles.com |
Franchise history | |
1969–1977 | Sorel Éperviers |
1977–1979 | Verdun Éperviers |
1979–1980 | Sorel/Verdun Éperviers |
1980–1981 | Sorel Éperviers |
1981–1995 | Granby Bisons |
1995–1997 | Granby Prédateurs |
1997–2019 | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles |
2019–present | Cape Breton Eagles |
The Cape Breton Eagles are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Their home rink is Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Franchise history (1969–1997)[]
The franchise was granted to the Sorel Eperviers (Black Hawks) for the 1969–70 season. They then moved from Sorel to Verdun in 1977 to become the Verdun Eperviers. In 1979, they played in both Sorel and Verdun before moving back to Sorel for the next season. In 1981, they moved to Granby to become the Granby Bisons, and in 1995 changed their names to the Granby Prédateurs. In 1996, the Prédateurs won the Memorial Cup. In 1997, they moved to Sydney to become the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Prior to the Eagles' arrival, Sydney played host to the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Cape Breton Oilers from 1988 to 1996.
Cape Breton (1997–present)[]
Early years (1997–1999)[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/24/Cape_Breton_Screaming_Eagles.svg/120px-Cape_Breton_Screaming_Eagles.svg.png)
The Screaming Eagles' first captain was Daniel Payette under coach Dany Dubé.[citation needed]
The Vincent era (1999–2008)[]
In 1999, Pascal Vincent was hired as the new head coach and general manager.[citation needed] The Screaming Eagles attempted to strengthen the club by drafting future National Hockey League (NHL) star Ilya Kovalchuk tenth overall in the 2000 CHL Import Draft. However, Kovalchuk declined to report to the team. Along with star players Marc-André Fleury, Dominic Noel, Stuart MacRae and Stephen Dixon, the Screaming Eagles reached the QMJHL's conference final in 2002, only to lose in five games to Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Fleury's number 29 jersey went on to be retired by the Screaming Eagles in 2008. Kovalchuk's number 71 was retired in 2014, as an April Fools' Day prank.[3]
Vincent stacked the Screaming Eagles lineup with many NHL prospects for the 2003–04 season in hopes of bringing a league title to Cape Breton.[citation needed] After the Screaming Eagles won 49 games and captured a division title, with Fleury also returning from the Pittsburgh Penguins before the playoffs, but the Screaming Eagles lost in the second round to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens.[citation needed]
At the 2004 QMJHL Draft, the Screaming Eagles chose James Sheppard with the first overall pick. In 2006–07, along with star players Luc Bourdon, Ondrej Pavelec and Oskars Bartulis, Sheppard led the Screaming Eagles to the league semifinals, only to lose in seven games to the Val-d'Or Foreurs.[citation needed]
The 2007–08 season saw 16-year-old goaltender Olivier Roy rise to prominence. The Screaming Eagles finished fourth in their division and won their first round playoff series despite having a roster that normally dressed at least ten rookies. Vincent went on to be named the 2008 QMJHL Coach of the Year. Following the end of the season, Vincent became the head coach and general manager of the Montreal Junior Hockey Club.[citation needed]
Recent history (2008–2019)[]
Following Vincent's departure, assistant coach Mario Durocher took over the role of head coach and general manager. In a bid to host the Memorial Cup in 2012, Durocher added former NHL players Mike McPhee and Guy Chouinard, former NHL coach Pierre Creamer and Michel Boucher to the hockey staff in consulting roles in 2010. Durocher was relieved of his duties on April 12, 2011, after a lackluster season in which the team finished 16th in the league and last in the Atlantic Division with just 41 points.[4][5]
The team's then-head coach Ron Choules replaced Durocher as general manager in April 2011, though the team failed to improve on the ice. After a poor start to the 2012–13 season, Choules himself was fired on December 3, 2012, with former Val-d'Or head coach announced as his replacement.[6] The Screaming Eagles failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in the 2012–13 season.[7] At season's end, assistant coach Jean-François David was fired.[8]
After being eliminated in the second round of the 2019 playoffs, the Screaming Eagles fired their coaching staff. Dumont was replaced with Nova Scotia native, Jake Grimes, along with former Eagles alumni Chris Culligan as assistant coach.[citation needed]
The team mascot is an eagle named Screech.[9]
New team name (2019 to present)[]
On August 14, 2019, the team rebranded itself as the Cape Breton Eagles.[10]
NHL alumni[]
- Luke Adam
- Mark Barberio
- Oskars Bartulis
- Drake Batherson
- Luc Bourdon
- William Carrier
- Jean-Philippe Côté
- Pierre-Luc Dubois
- Marc-André Fleury
- Ryan Flinn
- Martin Houle
- Tomas Kloucek
- Guillaume Lefebvre
- Adam Pardy
- Ondrej Pavelec
- Alexandre R. Picard
- Tim Ramholt
- Logan Shaw
- James Sheppard
- Evgeny Svechnikov
NHL first round draft picks[]
- 2003 – Marc-André Fleury, #1 overall Pittsburgh Penguins
- 2006 – James Sheppard, #9 overall Minnesota Wild
- 2015 – Evgeny Svechnikov, #19 overall Detroit Red Wings
- 2016 – Pierre-Luc Dubois, #3 overall Columbus Blue Jackets
Retired numbers[]
- #7 – [11]
- #29 – Marc-André Fleury
Award winners[]
CHL Scholastic Player of the Year
Humanitarian Award
Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy
Mike Bossy Trophy
|
|
Season-by-season record[]
- Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (1997–Present)[12]
Regular season[]
- OL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss, Pct = Winning percentage
Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | OL | SL | Points | Pct | Goals for |
Goals against |
Standing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997–98 | 70 | 19 | 46 | 5 | – | – | 43 | 0.307 | 211 | 295 | 6th, Dilio |
1998–99 | 70 | 22 | 44 | 4 | – | – | 48 | 0.343 | 226 | 272 | 6th, Dilio |
1999–00 | 72 | 24 | 39 | 3 | 6 | – | 57 | 0.396 | 230 | 302 | 3rd, Maritimes |
2000–01 | 72 | 30 | 37 | 4 | 1 | – | 65 | 0.451 | 270 | 292 | 2nd, Maritimes |
2001–02 | 72 | 38 | 20 | 10 | 4 | – | 90 | 0.625 | 286 | 224 | 3rd, Maritimes |
2002–03 | 72 | 21 | 37 | 9 | 5 | – | 56 | 0.389 | 200 | 268 | 4th, Maritimes |
2003–04 | 70 | 49 | 16 | 2 | 3 | – | 103 | 0.736 | 273 | 164 | 1st, Atlantic |
2004–05 | 70 | 32 | 27 | 8 | 3 | – | 75 | 0.536 | 206 | 195 | 3rd, Atlantic |
2005–06 | 70 | 40 | 23 | – | 3 | 4 | 87 | 0.621 | 236 | 206 | 3rd, Eastern |
2006–07 | 70 | 46 | 22 | – | 2 | 0 | 94 | 0.671 | 308 | 200 | 2nd, Eastern |
2007–08 | 70 | 40 | 24 | – | 3 | 3 | 86 | 0.614 | 242 | 230 | 4th, Eastern |
2008–09 | 68 | 46 | 18 | – | 3 | 1 | 96 | 0.676 | 252 | 201 | 2nd, Atlantic |
2009–10 | 68 | 41 | 22 | – | 2 | 3 | 87 | 0.603 | 238 | 185 | 3rd, Atlantic |
2010–11 | 68 | 18 | 45 | – | 1 | 4 | 41 | 0.301 | 154 | 246 | 5th, Maritimes |
2011–12 | 68 | 23 | 42 | – | 1 | 2 | 49 | 0.360 | 219 | 306 | 5th, Maritimes |
2012–13 | 68 | 14 | 46 | – | 3 | 5 | 36 | 0.265 | 161 | 308 | 6th, Maritimes |
2013–14 | 68 | 37 | 27 | – | 1 | 3 | 78 | 0.574 | 260 | 260 | 2nd, Maritimes |
2014–15 | 68 | 31 | 31 | – | 3 | 3 | 68 | 0.500 | 258 | 246 | 5th, Maritimes |
2015–16 | 68 | 38 | 24 | – | 5 | 1 | 82 | 0.603 | 286 | 237 | 3rd, Maritimes |
2016–17 | 68 | 39 | 25 | – | 2 | 2 | 82 | 0.603 | 270 | 230 | 4th, Maritimes |
2017–18 | 68 | 32 | 28 | – | 6 | 2 | 72 | 0.529 | 235 | 259 | 4th, Maritimes |
2018–19 | 68 | 40 | 22 | – | 1 | 5 | 86 | 0.632 | 267 | 214 | 3rd, Maritimes |
2019–20 | 63 | 40 | 20 | – | 2 | 1 | 83 | 0.659 | 269 | 194 | 2nd, Maritimes |
2020–21 | 38 | 12 | 25 | – | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0.329 | 113 | 186 | 6th, Maritimes |
Playoffs[]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Screaming Eagles Appoint New GM, Hockey Operations and Assistant GM, Hockey Operations". OurSports Central. 17 May 2019.
- ^ "Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Hire New Head Coach". OurSports Central. 4 June 2019.
- ^ http://www.capebretonpost.com/Sports/Hockey/2014-04-01/article-3673374/Screaming-Eagles-pull-April-Fools%26rsquo%3B-joke-by-retiring-Kovalchuk%26rsquo%3Bs-number/1 Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine Screaming Eagles Pull April Fool's Joke
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-08-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-04-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Choules fired as Screaming Eagles head coach, general manager http://www.capebretonpost.com/Sports/Hockey/2012-12-03/article-3132761/Choules-fired-as-Screaming-Eagles-head-coach%2C-general-manager/1 Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Eagles will miss QMJHL playoff for first time in franchise history http://www.capebretonpost.com/Sports/Hockey/2013-03-03/article-3191562/Eagles-will-miss-QMJHL-playoff-for-first-time-in-franchise-history/1 Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Screaming Eagles assistant coach David not returning http://www.capebretonpost.com/Sports/Hockey/2013-03-21/article-3205258/Screaming-Eagles-assistant-coach-David-not-returning/1 Archived 2013-04-10 at archive.today
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/screaming-eagles-on-the-lookout-for-missing-mascot-1.838828#:~:text=March%2020%2C%202009-,Screech%2C%20the%20beloved%20mascot%20of%20the%20Cape%20Breton%20Screaming%20Eagles,the%20mascot%20suit%20was%20gone.
- ^ "New brand and name unveiled for former Cape Breton Screaming Eagles". QMJHL. August 14, 2019.
- ^ "Eagles to Retire Chris Culligan's #7". OurSports Central. September 1, 2021.
- ^ Cape Breton Screaming Eagles season-by-season record on www.hockeydb.com
External links[]
- Sport in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality
- Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams
- Ice hockey teams in Nova Scotia
- 1969 establishments in Nova Scotia
- Ice hockey clubs established in 1969