The Guelph Storm are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario. They have played in the Ontario Hockey League since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre.
History The franchise started as the Toronto Marlboros, who moved to Hamilton to become the Dukes of Hamilton in 1989. Following the 1990–91 season, the franchise was relocated to Guelph and a contest was held to name the team. Tom Douglas submitted the winning entry "Storm" and the team was renamed the Guelph Storm.
The first year in Guelph was dismal, but the building process for Guelph was soon successful. The Storm finished first place in the 1994–95 season. General Manager Mike Kelly was voted the OHL Executive of the Year and Craig Hartsburg voted the Coach of the Year for the Canadian Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League. Draft picks from the early years in Guelph include Jeff O'Neill and Todd Bertuzzi.
Guelph reached the OHL finals in 1995 and 1996. The team qualified for the 1996 Memorial Cup by playing against the Memorial Cup host Peterborough Petes in the OHL final.
The Storm won their first J. Ross Robertson Cup in 1998. This success continued into the Memorial Cup Tournament as the Storm rallied to the Championship Game where they lost to the Portland Winter Hawks in overtime in the final game.
In the year 2000, the team moved from the historic but aging Guelph Memorial Gardens into the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre (since renamed the Sleeman Centre). The Storm were selected to host the 2002 Memorial Cup tournament. It marked the team's third appearance in the national junior championship, their first as host team.
Two years later, the Storm won their second OHL Championship, and returned to the 2004 Memorial Cup hosted in Kelowna, British Columbia.
In the 2008 NHL entry draft, defenceman Drew Doughty was selected 2nd overall by the Los Angeles Kings, the highest ever selection of a Guelph Storm player.
In 2014, the Storm captured their third OHL Championship, and subsequently advanced to the 2014 Memorial Cup final, hosted in London, Ontario. The Edmonton Oil Kings won Cup championship on 25 May 2014 with a 6-3 win over the Storm.
In late April 2019, the team captured the Wayne Gretzky Trophy as 2019 OHL Western Conference Champions again winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup. On 12 May 2019, in the sixth game of the finals, the Storm defeated the Ottawa 67's to win the OHL championship and were again headed to the Memorial Cup, their sixth appearance, to start on 17 May in Halifax. Nick Suzuki (a Montreal Canadiens prospect) earned the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as OHL Playoff MVP. He was the third Storm player in the team's history to win this award.
In 2021, the team agreed to stop using the song Cotton Eye Joe by the group Rednex during games after consultation with local groups alleging the song has racist origins.
Championships The Guelph Storm have appeared in the Memorial Cup tournament six times, won the J. Ross Robertson Cup four times, won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy four times, and have won five division titles.
Memorial Cup 1996 – Finished in 4th place 1998 – Lost to Portland Winter Hawks 2002 – Finished in 4th place 2004 – Finished in 4th place 2014 – Lost to Edmonton Oil Kings 2019 – Lost to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 2027 –
J. Ross Robertson Cup 1995 – Lost to Detroit Jr. Red Wings 1996 – Lost to Peterborough Petes 1998 – OHL Champions vs. Ottawa 67's 2004 – OHL Champions vs. Mississauga IceDogs 2014 – OHL Champions vs. North Bay Battalion 2019 – OHL Champions vs. Ottawa 67's
Wayne Gretzky Trophy 2003–04 – Western Conference Champions 2013–14 – Western Conference Champions 2018–19 – Western Conference Champions
Hamilton Spectator Trophy 1994–95 – 47 W, 14 L, 5 T, 99 points 1995–96 – 45 W, 16 L, 5 T, 95 points 1997–98 – 42 W, 17 L, 6 T, 1 OTL, 91 points 2013–14 – 52 W, 12 L, 4 OTL, 108 points
Division Trophies 1994–95 – Emms Trophy, Central Division 1995–96 – Emms Trophy, Central Division 1997–98 – Emms Trophy, Central Division 1998–99 – Holody Trophy, Midwest Division 2013–14 – Holody Trophy, Midwest Division
Head coaches Guelph Storm head coaches have been awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as the OHL coach-of-the-year twice in team history. Craig Hartsburg was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy for the 1994–95 season, and was also voted the Canadian Hockey League coach-of-the-year the same year. Dave Barr won the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2005–06.
List of coaches with multiple seasons in parentheses.
General managers A Guelph Storm executive has won the OHL Executive of the Year on two occasions while the honour was awarded from 1990 to 2013. General manager Mike Kelly won the award in 1994–95 and team governor Rick Gaetz won the award in 2009–10.
List of General Managers with multiple seasons in parentheses. 1991–1997 – Mike Kelly (12) 1997–2003 – Alan Millar (6) 2003–2008 – Dave Barr (5) 2009–2010 – Jason Brooks 2010–2016 – Mike Kelly 2017–present – George Burnett (6)
Players
Award winners 1991–92 – Jeff O'Neill, Jack Ferguson Award (First Overall draft pick) 1992–93 – Jeff O'Neill, Emms Family Award (Rookie of the Year) 1993–94 – Jeff O'Neill, CHL Top Draft Prospect Award 1994–95 – Jamie Wright, Bobby Smith Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year) 1994–95 – Mark McArthur and Andy Adams, Dave Pinkney Trophy (Lowest team GAA) 1994–95 – Mike Kelly, OHL Executive of the Year 1995–96 – Dan Cloutier and Brett Thompson, Dave Pinkney Trophy (Lowest team GAA) 1995–96 – Brett Thompson, F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy (Best rookie GAA) 1995–96 – Jeff Williams, William Hanley Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player) 1997–98 – Manny Malhotra, Bobby Smith Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year) 2000–01 – Craig Anderson, OHL Goaltender of the Year 2000–01 – Dustin Brown, Bobby Smith Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year) 2001–02 – Dustin Brown, Bobby Smith Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year) 2002–03 – Dustin Brown, Canadian Hockey League Scholastic Player of the Year and Bobby Smith Trophy (Scholastic Player of the Year) 2003–04 – Martin St. Pierre, Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy (Overage Player of the Year) 2003–04 – Martin St. Pierre, Wayne Gretzky 99 Award (Playoffs MVP) 2005–06 – Ryan Callahan, Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy (Overage Player of the Year) 2007–08 – Drew Doughty, Max Kaminsky Trophy (Most Outstanding Defenceman) 2008–09 – Tim Priamo, Roger Neilson Memorial Award (Top Academic College/University Player) 2009–10 – Taylor Beck, Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy (Top Scoring Right Winger) 2009–10 – Rick Gaetz, OHL Executive of the Year 2010–11 – Matej Machovsky, F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy (Best rookie GAA) 2013–14 – Robby Fabbri, Wayne Gretzky 99 Award (Playoffs MVP) 2013–14 – Adam Craievich, Ivan Tennant Memorial Award (Top Academic High School Student) 2013–14 – Matt Finn, Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy (Leadership Award) 2014–15 – Justin Nichols, Roger Neilson Memorial Award (Top Academic College/University Player) 2015-16 – Ryan Merkley, Jack Ferguson Award (First overall draft pick) 2016–17 – Quinn Hanna, Ivan Tennant Memorial Award (Top Academic High School Student) 2016–17 – Garrett McFadden, Dan Snyder Memorial Award (OHL Humanitarian of the Year) 2016–17 – Ryan Merkley, Emms Family Award (Rookie of the Year) 2017–18 – Garrett McFadden, Dan Snyder Memorial Award (OHL Humanitarian of the Year) 2018–19 – Isaac Ratcliffe, Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy (Leadership Award) 2018–19 – Nick Suzuki, Wayne Gretzky 99 Award (Playoffs MVP) 2018–19 – Nick Suzuki, William Hanley Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player) 2018–19 – Zack Terry, Ivan Tennant Memorial Award (Top Academic High School Student) 2019–20 – Nico Daws, OHL Goaltender of the Year 2021–22 – Cameron Allen, Emms Family Award (Rookie of the Year) 2023–24 – Jett Luchanko, William Hanley Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player)
NHL alumni
Honoured numbers List of numbers retired/honoured by the Guelph Storm. 18 – Paul Fendley (retired) 24 – Ryan Callahan 32 – Dustin Brown 44 – Todd Bertuzzi 92 – Jeff O'Neill
Hall of Famers No former Guelph Storm members are currently in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Season-by-season results Regular season and playoffs results:
Legend: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SL = Shoot-out losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Memorial Cup championsOHL championsOHL finalists