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Cornwall Mayor Justin Towndale was nine years old the last time the city had its own team to root for in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). That was in 1992.
Three-time memorial cup winners the Cornwall Royals later moved to Newmarket, Ont.
“Doing the math, we can see it’s been a long time since we’ve had regular season games from the OHL here in Cornwall,” Towndale said.
More than 20 years later, that’s about to change.
On Thursday, the league announced a special two-game event dubbed “the Seaway Shootout” will be hosted in the city this fall.
The weekend of Oct. 16-17 will see the Brampton Steelheads playing regular season games against the Ottawa 67’s and the Kingston Frontenacs, with Brampton serving as the home team for both games.
OHL commissioner Bryan Crawford told reporters the league had been exploring the possibility of hosting some neutral site games in its next season to expand the league’s reach.
“I love the idea of being able to bring our league to other communities in the province that don’t necessarily have the opportunity to interact with our league maybe on a daily basis,” he said.
He added “there wasn’t a community that made more sense” than Cornwall, given its history with the OHL and its strong hockey culture which has produced several NHL stars.
Event a ‘step in the right direction’
The games will take place at the Ed Lumley Arena, located within the Cornwall Civic Complex.
Crawford told reporters the league was “pleasantly surprised” by just how much the city has invested in the facility, naming the floorboards, glass and roof as some of the things that have been renovated.
Towndale said renovations are not yet complete but are “very close” to being done, adding that the city has been investing in the arena over the past few years to ensure it meets the OHL’s standards.
That includes replacing its seats and the installation of a new scoreboard.
The Ed Lumley Arena in Cornwall, Ont., in December 2024. The city was hosting World Junior Hockey Championship pre-tournament camps and games. (Félix Desroches/Radio-Canada)
“The civic complex is truly a jewel in our community … and we’ve been ensuring that that jewel doesn’t tarnish or crumble in the interim years,” Towndale said.
“There’s always been a desire to see this level of hockey return to Cornwall for good. And I think this is a step in the right direction,” he added.
The question of whether or not the city will ever get its own team again hasn’t been ruled out.
“This is of course going to obviously be an interesting test that … will tell us a lot about the community and about the viability of the league [in Cornwall],” Crawford said.
“It’s certainly not being run with the intent to do that exclusively, but it is kind of an obvious outcome of doing this together.”