Sherwood Park Crusaders

The Sherwood Park Crusaders are a Junior ice hockey team in the BCHL. They play in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Sherwood Park Arena Sports Centre. The team was part of the AJHL, until 2024 when it switched mid-season to the BCHL.

History

The Edmonton Crusaders joined the AJHL in 1976 playing out of the Jasper Place Arena. The AJHL franchise was revived from a dormant entry controlled by Jim McCaddie. The Edmonton Crusaders played two seasons in the AJHL.

In 1978, a group of Sherwood Park businessmen, headed by John Fisher, Frank Chase, and Al Bishop, moved the franchise to Sherwood Park. John Fisher, a Sherwood Park resident and former Alberta Oilers' player, became the first coach of the Crusaders.

During a game on February 21, 1980, twenty-year-old captain Trevor Elton was hit cleanly along the boards by a player on the St. Albert Saints in St. Albert, Alberta. Elton landed and went into convulsions and died later that night while in hospital. The 1980–81 team was coached by Gregg Pilling, and finished first place in the South Division.

During the 1985–86 season, Brett Pearce suffered a major injury which left him paralyzed. During the same season, the Crusaders capture the AJHL North Division championship. In 1986–87, the Crusaders won their first regular season championship, followed by another division title in 1989–90. The Crusaders made it the league playoff finals in 1985, 1986, and 1990, but never won the playoff championship. On July 2, 1996, Crusaders' general manager and part owner, Al McDonald died from cancer.

At the conclusion of the 1998 season, the team was purchased from Art Cox by a group of local businessmen headed by Tom Maxwell. The group has since turned the club into a non-profit society. The 1998–99 season had the team finish in last place in the North Division with a 13–44–3–2 record. In 1999, the entire team was rebuilt with mostly younger players and finished with a 7–52–3–2 record, the worst Junior A record in the 1999–2000 Canadian Junior Hockey League season.

The 2000–01 season had a new head coach in Doug Schum and qualified for the playoffs with a 20–29–6–2 record before losing to St. Albert Saints in three games. The Crusaders lost only five players going into the 2001–02 season and replaced Schum with head coach Dan Auchenberg. The team started slow in the season and then went on a 15-game winning streak to finish third in the North Division. Head coach Dan Auchenberg won the AJHL's Coach of the Year for the team's turnaround. They then swept their first round playoff series against the Lloydminster Blazers before a losing to the Drayton Valley Thunder in six games.

The team continued its improvement winning their four of their first five games before returning goaltender, Chris Denman, was injured and the team began trading for and rotating many goaltenders, including female goaltender Shannon Szabados for eight games. Szabados, who would later play for the Canadian women's national team for over a decade, earned two shutouts and a 7–1 record. The Crusaders finished the season with 43 wins, earning a first place finish in the North Division and the regular season title. In the first round of the playoffs, the Bonnyville Pontiacs were swept in four games. The playoff format for that season gave the team a second round bye and a 19-day layoff. The team then lost to the St. Albert Saints in five games in the division finals.

In the 2003–04 season, the team lost several of their veteran players, but head coach Auchenberg and goaltender Szabados returned. The team finished the season in fourth place in the North Division and were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Drayton Valley.

On January 20, 2024, it was announced that the team, along with four other AJHL teams, would join the BCHL in the 2024-2025 season. The AJHL responded to the announcement by cancelling most of the five teams' remaining scheduled matches except those between each other. It was then decided that the five Alberta-based teams would play out the rest of the 2023-24 season as a separate division under the aegis of the BCHL.

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 GP W L T/OTL SOL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs 1976–77 60 5 55 0 — 10 182 376 7th Overall did not qualify 1977–78 60 30 29 1 — 61 276 260 4th Overall Lost quarterfinals, 3–4 vs. Fort Saskatchewan Traders 1978–79 60 12 48 0 — 24 230 350 7th Overall did not qualify 1979–80 58 19 39 0 — 38 253 330 7th Overall Lost quarterfinals, 0–3 vs. Red Deer Rustlers 1980–81 60 36 23 1 — 73 294 284 1st North Won quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Fort Saskatchewan TradersLost semifinals, 2–4 vs. St. Albert Saints 1981–82 60 23 37 0 — 46 254 306 5th North did not qualify 1982–83 60 25 34 1 — 51 296 356 4th North Lost quarterfinals, 0–4 vs. St. Albert Saints 1983–84 60 28 31 1 — 57 287 302 3rd North Lost quarterfinals, 3–4 vs. St. Albert Saints 1984–85 60 37 20 3 — 77 319 243 1st North Won quarterfinals, 4–1 vs. Hobbema HawksWon semifinals, 4–0 vs. Fort Saskatchewan TradersLost finals, 2–4 vs. Red Deer Rustlers 1985–86 52 30 19 3 — 69 261 206 2nd North Won quarterfinals, 4–1 vs. Fort Saskatchewan TradersWon semifinals, 4–1 vs. Fort McMurray Oil BaronsLost finals, 3–4 vs. Calgary Canucks 1986–87 60 43 13 4 — 90 274 192 1st North Won quarterfinals, 4–1 vs. Fort Saskatchewan TradersLost semifinals, 3–4 vs. St. Albert Saints 1987–88 60 18 41 1 — 37 205 301 5th North did not qualify 1988–89 60 39 19 3 — 81 322 243 1st North Won quarterfinals, 4–2 vs. St. Albert SaintsLost semifinals, 0–4 vs. Fort Saskatchewan Traders 1989–90 60 26 33 1 — 53 293 304 4th North Won quarterfinals, 4–0 vs. Fort McMurray Oil BaronsWon semifinals, 4–3 vs. Lloydminster BlazersLost finals, 2–4 vs. Calgary Canucks 1990–91 56 16 39 1 — 33 204 287 8th Overall Lost quarterfinals, 0–4 vs. Fort Saskatchewan Traders 1991–92 60 16 40 — 4 36 303 397 8th Overall Lost quarterfinals, 0–4 vs. Olds Grizzlys 1992–93 56 17 38 — 1 35 211 293 8th Overall Lost quarterfinals, 4–5 vs. Fort Saskatchewan Traders 1993–94 56 35 20 — 1 71 247 208 2nd Overall Won quarterfinals, 4–0 vs. Lloydminster BlazersLost semifinals, 2–4 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 1994–95 56 29 26 — 1 59 253 234 5th Overall Won quarterfinals, 4–1 vs. St. Albert SaintsLost semifinals, 0–4 vs. Olds Grizzlys 1995–96 60 27 30 — 3 57 229 250 6th Overall Lost quarterfinals, 3–4 vs. St. Albert Saints 1996–97 60 31 26 — 3 64 223 227 6th Overall Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 vs. St. Albert Saints 1997–98 60 23 35 — 2 48 199 256 10th Overall did not qualify 1998–99 62 16 44 — 2 34 198 323 7th North did not qualify 1999–00 64 10 52 — 2 22 186 323 7th North did not qualify 2000–01 64 27 29 8 — 62 235 245 6th North Lost preliminary series, 0–3 vs. St. Albert Saints 2001–02 64 38 21 5 — 81 260 193 3rd North Won Preliminary series, 3–0 vs. Lloydminster BlazersLost quarterfinals, 2–4 vs. Drayton Valley Thunder 2002–03 64 43 13 8 — 94 259 165 1st North Won Div. Quarterfinals, 4–0 vs. Bonnyville PontiacsByeLost Div. Finals, 1–4 vs. St. Albert Saints 2003–04 60 30 25 5 — 65 184 189 4th North Lost preliminary series, 0–3 vs. Drayton Valley Thunder 2004–05 64 14 43 7 — 35 159 275 8th North did not qualify 2005–06 60 15 35 10 — 40 142 215 8th North did not qualify 2006–07 60 22 28 10 — 54 150 199 7th North Lost preliminary series, 0–3 vs. Grande Prairie Storm 2007–08 62 28 25 9 — 65 191 206 5th North Lost preliminary series, 2–3 vs. Bonnyville Pontiacs 2008–09 62 41 20 1 — 83 223 169 3rd North Won Div. Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. St. Albert SteelLost div. semi-finals, 2–4 vs. Grande Prairie Storm 2009–10 60 33 18 9 — 75 206 181 4th North Lost div. quarter-finals, 0–3 vs. Bonnyville Pontiacs 2010–11 60 29 25 6 — 64 175 198 6th North Lost div. quarter-finals, 0–3 vs. Bonnyville Pontiacs 2011–12 60 37 19 4 — 78 231 199 4th North Won Div. Quarterfinals, 3–2 vs. Bonnyville PontiacsLost div. semi-finals, 1–4 vs. Fort McMurray Oil Barons 2012–13 60 28 25 7 — 63 184 183 7th North Won Div. Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Grande Prairie StormLost div. semi-finals, 2–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2013–14 60 29 28 3 — 61 192 208 4th North Won Div. Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. Bonnyville PontiacsLost div. semi-finals, 3–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2014–15 60 28 25 7 — 63 173 176 5th North Won Div. Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Fort McMurray Oil BaronsLost div. semi-finals, 2–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2015–16 60 39 19 2 — 80 240 194 5th North Won Div. Quarterfinals, 3–1 vs. Bonnyville PontiacsLost div. semi-finals, 0–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2016–17 60 32 25 3 1 67 233 235 5th of 8, North11th of 16, AJHL Lost div. quarter-finals, 1–3 vs. Bonnyville Pontiacs 2017–18 60 27 31 2 — 56 209 241 5th of 8, North9th of 16, AJHL Lost div. quarter-finals, 2–3 vs. Grande Prairie Storm 2018–19 60 44 14 2 — 90 254 159 1st of 8, North2nd of 16, AJHL Won Div. Semifinals, 4–2 vs. Fort McMurray Oil BaronsLost Div. Finals, 2–4 vs. Spruce Grove Saints 2019–20 58 49 9 9 — 98 271 128 1st of 8, North1st of 15, AJHL Postseason cancelled 2024–25 54 33 20 1 — 67 252 199 5th of 11, Interior6th of 21, BCHL Won Div. Quarterfinals, 4–0 vs. Salmon Arm SilverbacksLost Div. Semifinals, 0–4 vs. Brooks Bandits

NHL alumni

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

Matt Berlin Steve Dykstra Jim Ennis Scott Ferguson Ron Fischer Chris Forbes Nick Holden Matt Kassian Stu Kulak Greg Pankewicz Paxton Schulte Sam Steel Garry Valk Ed Ward

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

Retired numbers and honored personnel

Al McDonald: General manager and part owner died from cancer on July 2, 1996. The Sherwood Park Crusaders have placed a banner in his memory in the Sherwood Park Arena and dedicated a trophy for a Crusaders' player that best combines academic and athletic excellence each season. #10 Trevor Elton: Captain of the Crusaders during the 1979–80 season. In February 1980 during a game against the St. Albert Saints, he was on the receiving end of a body check. Trevor collapsed and later died as a result of the hit. Elton's number was retired and a banner was placed in the arena to honour him. The Crusaders named the team's most valuable player trophy after him. #11 Brett Pearce: In 1985, Pearce won the Crusaders' Most Improved Player award and an accident during a game the following season paralyzed him. Pearce's number was retired and a banner was placed in the arena to honour him. The Crusaders renamed the team's Most Improved Player trophy after him.

Sherwood Park Crusaders

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