Don Shepherdson

who have advanced to NHL: 

 

Bob Blackburn

Gary Holt

Randy Holt

Lonnie Loach

Rosaire Paiement

Wilf Paiement

 

who have participated in the Olympic Winter Games: 

 

Tiger Chitaroni

 

The New Liskeard Cubs Hockey Club was founded in 1953. Initially a member of the Gold Belt Junior League, the Cubs moved to the Kirkland Lake and District Juvenile Hockey League for the 1955-56 season.  A season later, under the guidance of visionary and head coach Chuck Jemmett, the Cubs claimed the organization's first All-Ontario Championship, defeating the Toronto Marlboros in four consecutive games and sending the small northern Ontario community into a frenzy.

 

Six years later, in 1963, the Cubs would once again earn the province's top honours.  After dominating Sault Ste. Marie in the northern Ontario playoffs, the Cubs met Toronto St. Michael's College in the All-Ontario Championship. The Cubs secured the All-Ontario crown with a win in the final game of the four point series.

 

New Liskeard hockey fans enjoyed twenty-two more years of intense and often bitter rivalries between the Cubs and their juvenile foes. In 1985, following Hockey Canada's changes to minor hockey age categories and the pursuant demise of juvenile hockey, the Cubs made the switch to Midget AAA, becoming charter members of the Great North Midget League.  

 

It took a decade for the Cubs to reign supreme at the midget level.  In 1995-1996, the Cubs marched through the Great North Midget League before dominating the field at the Central Canadian Championship.  With a convincing 5-2 win over North York in the championship game, the Cubs secured a birth in the Air Canada Cup.  Although the Cubs were not able to advance to the semi-finals in the national championships, the team's appearance in Kamploops, B.C. set a benchmark for what can be achieved by a small town team supported by the tireless effort of its volunteers and reliant on the products of its local minor hockey systems.  

 

In 1996-1997, New Liskeard hosted the Central Ontario Championships.  A penalty shot save in the last minute of the championship game allowed the Cubs to hold on for a 3-2 win over Brampton and send the club to its second consecutive national tournament.   A more confident Cubs team reached the finals of the Air Canada Cup, claiming the silver medal in the nationally televised game from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. 

 

One constant through the bulk of Cubs history was Don Shepherdson, who will always be remembered as the keeper of the Cubs and the draftsman of the club's rich local tradition.  For more than fifty years, Shepherdson devoted himself to elite level hockey in New Liskeard.  He was posthumously recognized when the City of Temiskaming Shores renamed the arena in his honour in 2009.

 

Since 1953, more than seven hundred teenagers have proudly worn the black and gold as a Cubs hockey player.  There have been many great hockey teams during this outstanding time span.

     

Many graduates of the Cubs have continued with a hockey career in junior, various pro leagues, and the NHL.  The Cubs are also proud of many individual players who have, through their hockey ability, graduated from universities and colleges and gone on to great careers.

 

The Cubs organization has charted a course to once again become one of Ontario's premier Midget AAA hockey programs.   The executive and staff are committed to bringing New Liskeard its fifth provincial championship. Regardless of on-ice goals, the organization continues to be anchored to a commitment to provide young men not only experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives but also skills that will serve as a foundation for their future.  

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