The Navan Grads (officially the Navan Grads Hockey Club) are a Junior A ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Grads compete in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) as a member of the Yzerman Division. The club is owned by the family of former owner Steve Barban, who died in October 2024, while the team's broadcasting partners is FloSports.
The club was founded as the Rockland Boomers for the 1973–74 season, and rebranded to the Navan Grads after one season. The residents of Navan renamed the franchise to the Grads after buying it in 1974. The team played home games at the Navan Memorial Centre for its first 15 seasons before moving to the R.J. Kennedy Community Centre. Since 2017, the Grads play at the Navan Memorial Centre.
Several individuals who hold an association with the club have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Nineteen players have had their numbers retired by the Grads, including the first in Junior A history.
History In the summer of 1974, the residents of Navan banded together and purchased the rights of the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League's Rockland Boomers. They moved them to Navan, and the Grads were born. In 1989, the board of directors for the Navan Grads felt that the region of Cumberland would be better suited with a team that reflected the region. The team's name from then on was the Cumberland Grads from 1989 to 2017.
In the summer of 1991, the Grads became the 10th team in the Central Canada Hockey League. The Grads best season came in 2002–03 when the team finished 1st overall and were major contenders to qualify for the Fred Page Cup. The Grads won their first-ever playoff series against the Kanata Stallions defeating them 4 games to 0. The Ottawa Jr. Senators upset the Grads 4 games to 2 in the semi-finals, when game 6 went to triple overtime and Ottawa scored the game-winning goal on a penalty shot in the third overtime period. Craig Nooyan, Christian Boucher, Jason Murfitt, Jonathon Matsumoto, Brent Patry, Brendan MacIntyre, and Craig Baxter were among several returning players for 2003–04. The Grads wound up finishing second overall, and suffered a first-round upset to the Kanata Stallions in seven games, in spite of having led the series 3 games to 1.
Assistant coach Mark Grady took over Bruce Johnson's duties as head coach in 2004–05. Claude Giroux made his rookie debut with the Grads in 2005, and he was selected by the QMJHL's Gatineau Olympiques after having been passed over at the Ontario Hockey League 2005's draft.
The Grads missed the playoffs multiple times since then or have failed to make it past the first round in the CJHL playoffs.
In 2024, the Navan Grads made it to the playoffs, and have won their first Bogart Cup in history against the Smiths Falls Bears in five games.
On March 14, 2025, a franchise record crowd of 1,214 fans attended the game against the Carleton Place Canadians in the honor of the team's long time owner Steve Barban's passing in October 2024. It was also the largest crowd in the arena's history.
Rivalries
Rockland Nationals The rivalry between the Navan Grads and the Rockland Nationals is the oldest in the CCHL, featuring two clubs that first played against each other back in 1974 (when the Nationals were known as the Gloucester Rangers). Since the arrival of the current Rockland Nationals in 2017, the rivalry remains symbolic due to the 26-kilometre drive from Navan Memorial Centre to the Clarence-Rockland Arena. Since 2017, the Grads have won 14 games against Rockland, while the Nationals have won 25 games against Navan, respectively.
The Grads and the Nats have faced each other once in the playoffs, when Navan have defeated Rockland in the 2024 Bogart Cup semi-finals 4 games to 1. Due in part to the number of Grads fans living close to Rockland, Grads–Nationals games at the Clarence-Rockland Arena typically hold a significant amount of Grads fans.
Ottawa Jr. Senators The Ottawa Jr. Senators entered the CCHL in 1979, and the rivalry is due to the 24-kilometre distance between their home arenas (Jim Durrell Recreation Centre and the Navan Memorial Centre respectively). The teams compete in the same division and meet frequently during regular season games. Due in part to Ottawa's relative proximity to Navan, Grads–Senators games at the Jim Durrell typically bring a lot of Grads fans.
Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs1981-82 35 16 17 2 - 228 221 34 4th EO-NWest1982-83 36 16 16 4 - 197 201 36 3rd EO-AEng1983-85 Statistics Not Available1985-86 35 27 8 0 - 251 149 54 2nd EO-AEng1986-87 40 18 17 5 - 212 201 41 2nd EO-Metro1987-91 Statistics Not Available1991-92 57 15 39 1 2 217 344 33 8th CJHL1992-93 57 10 43 2 2 223 370 24 9th CJHL1993-94 57 10 45 1 1 235 419 22 10th CJHL1994-95 54 13 29 6 6 219 302 38 9th CJHL1995-96 54 22 30 2 - 234 272 46 8th CJHL1996-97 54 16 31 7 - 197 278 39 9th CJHL1997-98 56 19 20 13 4 203 239 55 8th CJHL1998-99 54 18 33 3 - 194 270 39 9th CJHL1999-00 56 22 27 7 - 214 261 51 9th CJHL2000-01 55 12 35 8 - 177 273 32 9th CJHL2001-02 55 23 26 5 1 230 242 52 6th CJHL2002-03 55 36 13 5 1 298 179 78 1st CJHL Lost semi-final2003-04 55 35 14 5 1 250 173 76 2nd CJHL Lost quarter-final2004-05 57 23 30 2 2 178 222 50 7th CJHL 2005-06 57 23 29 5 0 183 214 51 4th in Yzerman Lost quarter-final 2006-07 55 11 37 5 2 158 247 29 5th in Yzerman DNQ2007-08 60 34 20 3 3 221 182 74 4th CJHL 2008-09 60 38 16 - 6 244 187 82 3rd CJHLLost quarter-final2009-10 62 29 26 - 7 205 204 65 7th CJHL Lost quarter-final2010-11 62 21 34 - 7 179 252 49 11th CCHL DNQ2011-12 62 21 35 - 6 190 258 48 10th CCHL DNQ2012-13 62 18 38 - 6 189 275 42 11th CCHL DNQ2013-14 62 21 31 - 10 170 217 52 10th CCHL DNQ2014-15 62 15 43 2 2 139 271 34 5th of 6 Yzerman11th of 12 CCHL DNQ2015-16 62 36 19 5 2 258 185 79 2nd of 6 Yzerman5th of 10 CCHL Lost quarterfinals, 0-4 (Braves)2016-17 62 24 34 2 2 194 216 52 3rd of 6 Yzerman9thof 10 CCHL Did not qualify for playoffs2017-18 62 9 52 1 0 130 272 19 6th of 6 Yzerman12th of 12 CCHL Did not qualify for playoffs2018-19 62 25 28 6 3 168 191 59 4th of 6 Yzerman8th of 12 CCHL Lost quarterfinals, 0-4 (Canadians)2018-19 62 25 28 6 3 168 191 59 4th of 6 Yzerman8th of 12 CCHL Lost quarterfinals, 0-4 (Canadians)2019-20 62 29 32 1 0 168 191 59 4th in division9th overall Did not qualify2020–21 Season cancelled2021–22 55 27 24 2 2 211 196 58 3rd in division7th overall Lost quarterfinal against Hawkesbury (4:2)2022–23 55 38 12 4 1 213 150 81 2nd in division2nd overall Lost quarterfinal against Brockville (4:3)2023–24 55 41 9 3 2 235 144 87 1st in division1st overall Won quarterfinal against Pembroke (4:3)Won semifinal against Rockland (4:1)Won final against Smiths Falls (4:2)2024–25 55 32 16 3 4 230 186 71 2nd in division3rd overall Won quarterfinal against Brockville (4:3)Lost semifinal against Carleton Place (4:3)2025–26 55 26 23 0 5 193 188 58 3rd in division5th overallLost quarterfinal against Kemptville (4:1)
Source:
Centennial Cup Canadian Jr. A National ChampionshipsMaritime Junior Hockey League, Quebec Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League, and Host. The BCHL declared itself an independent league and there is no BC representative.Round-robin play in two 5-team pools with top three in pool advancing to determine a Champion. Year Round-robin Record Standing Quarterfinal Semifinal Championship 2024 W, Longueuil Collège Français (QJHL), 5-1W, Greater Sudbury Cubs (NOJHL), 5-1OTL, Calgary Canucks (AJHL), 3-4L, Collingwood Blues (OJHL), 2-3 2-0-1-1 3rd of 5 Group A Lost 4-8Miramichi Timberwolves did not qualify did not qualify
Championships CCHL Bogart Cup Championships: 2023-2024 Eastern Canadian Fred Page Cup Championships: None CJAHL Royal Bank Cup Championships: None
Notable alumni Matt Bradley Claude Giroux Jon Matsumoto Daniel Taylor Jason Akeson Eric O'Dell
References
External links Navan Grads Webpage CCHL Webpage EOJHL Webpage