The Detroit Jr. Red Wings are a defunct Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team that was based out of Detroit, Michigan. They played out of the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League and were the feeder team for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings.

History The Jr. Red Wings started out in 1958 as a member of the Border Cities Junior B Hockey League. When the league folded in 1964, the team went back to the United States to play in the Michigan Junior Hockey League. During this time, 1964–1970, the team was known as the Detroit Olympia.

After the last great schism of Canadian junior hockey in 1970, the Detroit Jr. Red Wings became the first team to ever be crowned Tier II Junior "A" Central Canadian Champions, winners of the very first Dudley Hewitt Cup. The Championship allowed them entry into the 1971 Centennial Cup Playdowns. The team was led by league Most Valuable Player and Scoring Leader Mark Howe, son of hockey legend Gordie Howe.

In the 1974-75 season the Junior Wings defeated the Minnesota Junior Stars in the finals to capture the American Junior A National Championship. The Junior Wings were headed up by Tom Wilson (General Manager) who had put together a team that included such notables as Ken Morrow of New York Islander fame (4 Stanley Cups and an Olympic Gold Medal (1980)) and Mark Wells (1980 Olympic Team).

Through the 1976-77 season, the team played out of Olympia Stadium with a facilities next to the Red Wings. They entered the newly formed Great Lakes Junior Hockey League (later known as the North American Hockey League) in 1976 and were called the Detroit Junior Wings. In the 1976-77 season Wilson was GM and ex-IHL referee veteran Skeets Harrison was head coach. Dave Feamster (Chicago Blackhawks) led the 1976 team that later sent the bulk of its roster to D-1 College Hockey. They played at The Olympia until 1983, when they went on hiatus. The team would be resurrected in 1987 for another five seasons of play in the NAHL. In 1992, the Red Wings gave their name to the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors Ontario Hockey League team and ended their affiliation with the NAHL. The NAHL would replace the team in the Detroit market the following season with the Detroit Freeze.

Notable alumni Ken Morrow - 1980 U.S. Olympic Team/New York Islanders Mark Wells - 1980 U.S. Olympic Team Mark Howe - Philadelphia Flyers Gordie Roberts - Hartford Whalers Ron Serafini - Oakland Seals Gordie Buynak - St. Louis Blues Marty Howe - Boston Bruins Dave Feamster - Chicago Blackhawks Tom Wilson - Coach/General Manager Nick Musat - Michigan State Spartans

Season-by-season results Season GP W L T GF GA P Results Playoffs1958-59 12 6 6 0 46 64 18* 3rd BCJBHL1959-60 30 21 6 3 149 93 45 1st BCJBHL1960-61 32 27 5 0 176 85 54 1st BCJBHL1961-62 30 19 11 0 155 111 38 2nd BCJBHL1962-63 35 23 11 1 157 116 47 2nd BCJBHL1963-64 30 14 16 0 148 134 28 4th BCJBHL1964-68 Statistics Not Available1968-69 32 9 21 2 76 105 20 7th BCJHL 1969-70 34 32 2 0 279 55 64 1st MJHL 1970-714426126279197582nd SOJAHLWon League, won DHC1971-725635165333225752nd SOJAHLLost final1972-736019374237318426th SOJAHL1973-746231256293278685th SOJAHL1974-756115379202276396th SOJAHL1975-76 48 34 11 3 234 152 71 2nd GLJHL 1976-77 48 30 12 6 287 197 66 2nd GLJHL 1977-78 49 33 12 4 320 212 70 2nd GLJHL 1978-79 50 27 17 6 317 242 60 2nd GLJHL 1979-80 46 22 21 3 226 229 47 4th GLJHL 1980-81 54 35 16 3 395 244 73 3rd GLJHL 1981-82 46 25 18 3 259 232 53 3rd GLJHL 1982-83 45 15 24 6 212 246 36 4th GLJHL 1987-88 32 16 9 7 182 133 39 2nd NAHL 1988-89 40 20 16 4 232 196 44 3rd Eastern Conference; NAHL 1989-90 44 24 18 2 221 200 50 2nd Eastern Conference; NAHL 1990-91 40 24 11 5 53 2nd Eastern Conference; NAHL 1991-92 44 20 17 7 189 170 47 2nd Eastern Conference; NAHL (*) During the 1958-59 Season, the Jr. Red Wings played three 4-point games.

Playoffs 1971 Won League, lost Dudley Hewitt Cup final Detroit Jr. Red Wings defeated Welland Sabres 3-games-to-none with 2 ties Detroit Jr. Red Wings defeated Guelph CMC's 3-games-to-2 with 2 ties SOJHL CHAMPIONS Detroit Jr. Red Wings defeated Ottawa M&W Rangers (CJHL) 4-games-to-2 Charlottetown Islanders (MJAHL) defeated Detroit Jr. Red Wings 4-games-to-3 1972 Lost final Detroit Jr. Red Wings defeated Welland Sabres 4-games-to-1 Detroit Jr. Red Wings defeated Chatham Maroons 4-games-to-3 Guelph CMC's defeated Detroit Jr. Red Wings 4-games-to-1 1973 Lost quarter-final Guelph CMC's defeated Detroit Jr. Red Wings 4-games-to-none 1974 Lost semi-final Windsor Spitfires defeated Detroit Jr. Red Wings 4-games-to-none 1975 Lost semi-final Windsor Spitfires defeated Detroit Jr. Red Wings 4-games-to-1

References

External links OHA Website