The Bonnyville Pontiacs are a Junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. They play in Bonnyville, Alberta, Canada at the R. J. Lalonde Arena.

History The Pontiacs entered the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) as the league's ninth team for the 1991–92 season, adopting the Pontiacs name and logo originally used by the Senior A team of the same name in the 1950s.

The franchise was awarded, along with the 1991–92 all-star game, on June 1, 1991, leaving just two months for the new organization to find staff and players before the start of the season. The short off-season hampered the team on the ice, as it finished a distant last place in the standings and missed the playoffs. The Pontiacs remained in last for two more seasons before qualifying for the postseason for the first time in 1995. The team continued to finish in the bottom half of the standings for most of the next two decades.

The Pontiacs were coached by Mario Pouliot for the 2022–23 season, and the team reached the third round of the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T/OTL = Ties/Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season <abbr title="Games played">GP</abbr title> <abbr title="Wins">W</abbr title> <abbr title="Losses">L</abbr title> <abbr title="Ties/Overtime losses">T/OTL</abbr title> <abbr title="Shootout losses">SOL</abbr title> <abbr title="Points">Pts</abbr title> <abbr title="Goals For">GF</abbr title> <abbr title="Goals against">GA</abbr title> Standing Playoffs 1991–92 60 8 51 — 1 17 186 399 9th AJHL Did not qualify 1992–93 56 13 42 — 1 27 192 324 9th AJHL Did not qualify 1993–94 56 15 37 — 4 34 209 368 9th AJHL Did not qualify 1994–95 56 24 29 — 3 51 219 278 7th AJHL Lost quarterfinals, 1–4 vs. Calgary Canucks 1995–96 60 27 30 — 3 57 243 257 7th AJHL Lost quarterfinals, 1–4 vs. Olds Grizzlys 1996–97 60 27 30 — 3 57 242 270 8th AJHL Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 vs. Calgary Canucks 1997–98 60 20 36 — 4 44 204 266 11th AJHL Did not qualify 1998–99 62 33 29 — 0 66 282 261 5th North Lost preliminary series, 0–2 vs. Grande Prairie Storm 1999–00 64 34 26 — 4 72 251 230 5th North Won preliminary series, 3–0 vs. Grande Prairie StormLost quarterfinals, 1–4 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2000–01 64 17 38 9 — 43 194 307 8th North Did not qualify 2001–02 64 20 43 1 — 41 176 284 8th North Did not qualify 2002–03 64 27 29 8 — 62 207 243 6th North Lost preliminary series, 0–4 vs. Sherwood Park Crusaders 2003–04 60 27 25 8 — 62 189 172 6th North Lost preliminary series, 2–3 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2004–05 64 36 17 11 — 83 218 189 4th North Lost preliminary series, 1–3 vs. Grande Prairie Storm 2005–06 60 38 19 3 — 79 240 185 5th North Won preliminary series, 3–1 vs. Grande Prairie StormLost quarterfinals, 0–4 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2006–07 60 24 29 7 — 55 173 208 6th North Lost preliminary series, 2–3 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2007–08 62 34 21 7 — 75 211 166 4th North Won preliminary series, 3–2 vs. Sherwood Park CrusadersLost quarterfinals, 2–4 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2008–09 62 35 22 5 — 75 215 187 4th North Lost preliminary series, 1–3 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2009–10 60 27 29 4 — 58 175 190 5th North Won preliminary series, 3–0 vs. Sherwood Park CrusadersLost quarterfinals, 0–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2010–11 60 35 16 9 — 79 198 150 3rd North Won preliminary series, 3–0 vs. Sherwood Park CrusadersLost quarterfinals, 2–4 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2011–12 60 34 20 6 — 74 187 158 5th North Lost division quarterfinals, 2–3 vs. Sherwood Park Crusaders 2012–13 60 32 19 — 9 73 177 170 3rd North Won division quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Drayton Valley ThunderLost division semifinals, 1–4 vs. Whitecourt Wolverines 2013–14 60 26 28 — 6 58 182 212 5th North Lost division quarterfinals, 0–3 vs. Sherwood Park Crusaders 2014–15 60 30 19 — 11 71 197 184 3rd North Won division quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Drayton Valley ThunderWon division semifinals, 4–2 vs. Lloydminster BobcatsLost division finals, 2–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2015–16 60 40 11 — 9 89 245 163 3rd of 8, North5th of 16, AJHL Lost division quarterfinals, 1–3 vs. Sherwood Park Crusaders 2016–17 60 37 19 — 4 78 228 159 4th of 8, North5th of 16, AJHL Won division quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Sherwood Park CrusadersLost division semifinals, 1–4 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2017–18 60 20 32 — 8 48 179 216 7th of 8, North13th of 16, AJHL Lost division quarterfinals, 0–3 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2018–19 60 41 15 4 — 86 241 145 2nd of 8, North3rd of 16, AJHL Won division quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Whitecourt WolverinesLost division semifinals, 0–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2019–20 58 33 21 4 — 70 213 186 4th of 8, North7th of 15, AJHL Lost division quarterfinals, 2–4 vs. Drayton Valley Thunder 2020–21 16 8 6 1 1 18 46 42 Season cancelled due to covid-19 pandemic 2021–22 60 36 16 8 — 80 221 177 3rd of 8, North4th of 16, AJHL Lost division quarterfinals, 2–4 vs. Whitecourt Wolverines 2022–23 60 36 21 2 1 75 248 206 3rd of 8, North5th of 16, AJHL Won division quarterfinals, 4-2 vs. Lloydminster BobcatsWon division quarterfinals, 4-1 vs. Whitecourt WolverinesLost division finals 1-4 Spruce Grove Saints 2023–24 57 30 23 4 - 64 202 73 4th of 11, AJHL Lost quarterfinals, 0-4 vs. Drumheller Dragons 2024–25 57 20 30 1 3 44 153 209 5th of 6, North10th of 12, AJHL Did not qualify2025–2655272431581921855th of 6, North8th of 12, AJHLDid not qualify

NHL alumni The following former Pontiacs have gone on to play in the NHL:

Matt Climie Justin Fontaine Jon Kalinski Mark Letestu Bobby McMann Brinson Pasichnuk Nolan Pratt Spencer Foo Grant Stevenson Harry York

The following former Pontiacs have gone on to play for the Canada national women's ice hockey team:

Shannon Szabados

See also List of ice hockey teams in Alberta

References

External links Bonnyville Pontiacs website Alberta Junior Hockey League website