London Knights
About | Roster | Schedule & Scores | Standings | Statistics | Story Archive
About the Knights
Founded in 1965, and adopting their current name in 1968, the London Knights are a junior hockey team that competes in the Ontario Hockey League. First playing out of the London Gardens (later renamed the London Ice House), the franchise reached its first OHL final in 1977 and returned in 1999 (under its fourth ownership group), falling short both times.
The Knights began a new era in 2000 when former NHL players Dale Hunter, Mark Hunter and Basil McRae purchased the team. In 2002, the team moved into a brand new 9,900-seat arena, the John Labatt Centre (renamed Budweiser Gardens in 2012), and the Knights soon embarked on a remarkable dynasty.
The 2004-05 Knights team, which featured future NHL star Corey Perry, set a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) record with a 31-game unbeaten streak en route to winning the franchise’s first OHL championship – and Memorial Cup title (on home ice). Since then, the Knights have been a contender nearly every year, including winning OHL titles in 2012, 2013 and 2016 and capturing their second Memorial Cup in 2016.
Just since 2000, the Knights have produced 20 first-round picks in the NHL Entry Draft, including Rick Nash, Perry, Patrick Kane, John Tavares, Nazem Kadri, Bo Horvat, Max Domi, Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Bouchard, Liam Foudy and Connor McMichael.
The London Knights (1) and Saginaw Spirit (2) are the two teams still standing in the West. They’ll play for a chance to advance to the OHL Final. What should we expect? Our hockey columnist, Jake Jeffrey, breaks it down …