Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey

Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey

Ligue nord-américaine's logo
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 1996
No. of teams 8
Country Canada
Most recent champion(s) Thetford Mines Isothermic
Official website www.lnah.com

The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (North American Hockey League)[1][2] (LNAH) is a low-level professional league based in the Canadian province of Quebec, with one team in Ontario. Originally founded as the Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League (QSPHL) in 1996, it became fully professional and assumed its current name in 2004. It has no connection with the similarly named North American Hockey League, an American junior league for players under twenty. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Futura Cup, which has been awarded annually since 1997.

Unlike higher-level professional leagues, such as the American Hockey League or the ECHL, the LNAH is not known for its skill level. Its teams employ many enforcers and has a rather infamous reputation for on-ice antics, primarily fisticuffs. The LNAH has the unofficial reputation as the world's toughest hockey league; a New York Times article stated that the league averaged 3.2 fights a game during the 2010–11 season, compared with 0.6 fights in the National Hockey League.[3]

Despite this reputation, many of the players are ex-NHL or ex-AHL players; Patrick Côté, Michel Picard, Stéphane Richer, Bobby Dollas, Guillaume Lefebvre, Garrett Burnett, Daniel Shank, François Leroux, Jeremy Stevenson, Éric Fichaud, Mario Roberge, David Gosselin, Michel Ouellet, Jesse Bélanger, Donald Brashear, Yves Racine, Anthony Stewart and Juraj Kolník. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, some NHL players played the entire season in the league, such as Sylvain Blouin, Donald Brashear, Sébastien Caron, Mathieu Biron, Marc-André Bergeron and Sébastien Charpentier. The league has a rule that stipulates that all players must either have come from Quebec, or played junior hockey in Quebec.[3]

Another unique aspect, compared to other minor pro leagues of North America, is the absence of a veteran limit rule, which allows teams to stock up on experienced players. The league is slowly trying to clean itself up (for 2005–06, the roster limit went from 20 to 19 players, which for most teams meant one less enforcer), but this is no easy task for a league that has always been popular with the fans for its reputation of being the toughest league in the world.

The LNAH Draft is held during the summer, including 15 rounds. Players too old for junior ice hockey may be drafted even if they were already drafted by an NHL team. Drafted players come from many leagues, including the Canadian Hockey League, American Hockey League, lower-level professional leagues, and the Canadian Interuniversity Sport.

Teams

Current

Team City Province Arena Joined
Cornwall River Kings Cornwall Ontario Cornwall Civic Complex 1996*
Jonquière Marquis Saguenay Quebec Palais des Sports 1996*
Rivière-du-Loup 3L Rivière-du-Loup Quebec Centre Premier Tech 2008
Saint-Georges Cool FM 103.5 Saint-Georges Quebec Centre Sportif Lacroix-Dutil 1996*
Sorel-Tracy Éperviers Sorel-Tracy Quebec Colisée Cardin 1996*
Thetford Mines Isothermic Thetford Mines Quebec Centre Mario Gosselin 1996
Trois-Rivières Blizzard Trois-Rivières Quebec Colisée de Trois-Rivières 1996*
Laval Prédateurs Laval Quebec Colisee de Laval 2013
Notes
  1. An asterisk (*) denotes a franchise move. See the respective team articles for more information.

Timeline

Laval Predators Valleyfield Braves Rivière-du-Loup 3L Rivière-du-Loup Promutuel Saguenay Fjord (hockey) Jonquière Condors Asbestos Aztèques Cornwall River Kings Windsor Wild Sherbrooke Saint-François Sherbrooke Saint-François Granby Prédateurs (LNAH) Waterloo 94 Pont-Rouge Lois Jeans Pont Rouge Lois Jeans Pont Rouge Lois Jeans Pont Rouge Lois Jeans Pont Rouge Lois Jeans Thetford Mines Isothermic Sorel Royaux Sorel-Tracy Blackhawks Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena Saint-Georges Cool FM 103.5 Rive-Sud Chacals Trois-Rivières Blizzard Trois-Rivières Blizzard Louiseville Jets Saguenay Marquis St-Jean Chiefs Laval Chiefs Sainte-Thérèse Chiefs Laurentides Gladiateurs Verdun Dragons Saint-Laurent Dragons Iberville Dragons Haut-Richelieu Dragons Saint-Hyacinthe Chiefs Saint-Hyacinthe Chiefs

Defunct

Champions

Season Champion Runner-up
1996–97 Saint-Gabriel Blizzard Acton Vale Nova
1997–98 Lachute Rapides Acton Vale Nova
1998–99 Joliette Blizzard Saint-Georges Garaga
1999–00 LaSalle Rapides Pont-Rouge Grand Portneuf
2000–01 Joliette Mission Saint-Georges Garaga
2001–02 Laval Chiefs Thetford Mines Prolab
2002–03 Laval Chiefs Thetford Mines Prolab
2003–04 Verdun Dragons Saint-Georges Garaga
2004–05 Québec Radio X Thetford Mines Prolab
2005–06 Sherbrooke Saint-François Thetford Mines Prolab
2006–07 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Summum Chiefs Sherbrooke Saint-Francois
2007–08 Trois-Rivières Caron & Guay Thetford Mines Isothermic
2008–09 Pont-Rouge Lois Jeans Thetford Mines Isothermic
2009–10 Saint-Georges CRS Express Sherbrooke Saint-Francois
2010–11 Sherbrooke Saint-François Saint-Georges Cool FM 103.5
2011–12 Thetford Mines Isothermic Windsor Wild
2012–13 Jonquière Marquis Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena
2013–14 Jonquière Marquis Thetford Mines Isothermic
2014–15 Thetford Mines Isothermic Sorel-Tracy Éperviers

LNAH Finals Appearances by City

Note: Cities listed in yellow are currently home to an LNAH franchise.

City Finals Won Lost Years Won Years Lost Team(s) in Finals Years in LNAH
Thetford Mines 9 2 7 2012, 2015 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2014 Prolab, Isothermic 1996-present
Saint-Georges 5 1 4 2010 1999, 2001, 2004, 2011 Garaga, CRS Express, Cool FM 103.5 1998-present
Sherbrooke 4 2 2 2006, 2011 2007, 2010 Saint-Francois 2003-2011
Jonquière 2 2 0 2013, 2014 Marquis 1997-2004, 2008-present
Laval 2 2 0 2002, 2003 Chiefs 1998-2006, 2013-present
Joliette 2 2 0 1999, 2001 Blizzard, Mission 1998-2002
Pont-Rouge 2 1 1 2009 2000 Grand Portneuf, Lois Jeans 1996-2004, 2008-2010
Sorel-Tracy 2 0 2 2013, 2015 HC Carvena, Éperviers 1996-2008, 2010-present
Acton Vale 2 0 2 1997, 1998 Nova 1996-2001
Trois-Rivières 1 1 0 2008 Caron & Guay 2003-present
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 1 1 0 2007 Summum Chiefs 2002-2004, 2006-2008
Québec 1 1 0 2005 Radio X 1997-1998, 2001-2008
Verdun 1 1 0 2004 Dragons 2001-2006
LaSalle 1 1 0 2000 Rapides 1999-2003
Lachute 1 1 0 1998 Rapides 1996-1999
Saint-Gabriel 1 1 0 1997 Blizzard 1996-1998
Windsor 1 0 1 2012 Wild 2011-2012
Rivière-du-Loup 0 0 0 2008-present
Cornwall 0 0 0 2012-present

References

External links

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