Entering its 50th Season, the Dunnville Mudcats Reflect on its History, and Look Forward to the Future

On June 12^th, the Dunnville Jr. Mudcats took to social media to announce a new look for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. The logo had a similar look, except branding a fresh “50” on the puck, and stars circling the top of the logo, referencing their original look as the Dunnville Terriers. Halfway through the season, the Dunnville Mudcats have been celebrating their 50 years of history and looking towards growing even stronger for years to come.

During the summer, Director of Hockey Operations Tyler Springer, started on creating a fresh look for the team, giving a fresh look to the locker room with some historical pieces.

“It’s something I’ve always been passionate about, passed on from my father playing on the team as well as my younger brother,” says Tyler. “I was almost born into being a Mudcat. To be in the position I’m in now to try and bring these memories back to Dunnville, and championship back to Dunnville, it’s really special.”

Around the locker room held multiple pieces of history, from numbers pasted onto the walls to alumni banners, including the likes of Ray Emery and Pete Deboer, and historical jerseys hanging above the stalls. Jerseys, hats, and pucks were all part of the process to celebrate a special year in Mudcats history.

“Photo of alumni wall, respecting multiple retired players and numbers”

“Alumni banners of Pete DeBoer and Ray Emery”

“Photo of alumni Dave Fenyves”

“Photo of the new jersey look”

While preparing for the future, Tyler and his team also made sure that the team and the fans had a chance to pay their homage to their past, and what made the Mudcats such a special place from it’s creation.

“We want to pay homage to these guys, the players of the past. It helps players buy into the program here, and I think we have those steps in place. Dunnville has always been a hockey town.”

The team invited multiple alumni to join the home opener as part of the pre-game ceremony. The Mudcats are planning on hosting a special alumni game on Friday, December 27^th, bringing back as many Mudcats alumni to play against each other, and against local firefighters in a chance to celebrate the team with the community.

“We’re hoping to bring out as many guys as possible from that inaugural 1974-75 team,” said Tyler. “Some our young guys don’t have a clue about our 70’s teams. It helps bring the culture back, and we don’t want our history to go unnoticed.”

“The leagues grown so much. We’ve had a lot of good kids from Dunnville come through the team, and we think it’s important to teach that history.

The PJHL sat with a few of the Dunnville Mudcats/Terrier alumni, both players and coaches, Doug Siddall, and Dave Green, as they had a chance to relish in some of the special memories they had when they were on the team. These individuals reflected on their time with Dunnville from day one, to where the team is now.

In that space, there held multiple historical items from the team past, including their 1976 championship banner, some old photos, and newspaper clipping surrounding major events around the team.

“Photo of Dunnville Terriers championship banner for the 1975 – 1976 season”

“Team photo of the 1974-1975 Dunnville Terriers team, Niagara district champions”

“Photo of news paper clippings and signatures of a “Hockey Day in Dunnville” news segment”

The three of them went over everything, from their championship year in 1976, to what it was like to play on a line together in their junior playing time.

“That old rink was packed (in that championship year). The year before we lost in the finals, so the place was packed. We held festivals through towns bringing everyone in town to the game.”

“We got on a roll that year. Everyone came back hungry, and it snowballed into a championship. That club was so tight, and that’s why we won.”

The alumni mentioned that the team has kept close contact, as a majority of their teammate’s played in the local senior leagues as a team.

“This town is a sports town. Whether it’s hockey or soccer. It makes me really glad to see the kids play and the town rally around it.”

“It’ll be interesting to see how we remember what it was like when we were there, stepping onto the ice again,” said Doug. “We’ve kept in close contact, but it’ll probably be pretty emotional.”

As the team continues through it’s 50 years celebration, the team looks forward to creating a buzz around town about their local team for years to come.

“I want the kids in our area to want to play for the Mudcats,” says Tyler. “That’s my goal, reach another 50 years and building that culture here. I’ve always joked the area is hard to get (players) there, but once they’re here, they love it here in Dunnville. Everyone feels like they’re a local.”

The Dunnville Mudcats are hosting their alumni games on Friday December 27^th. Ticketing information and more are available through the Mudcats website and social media pages.

The Provincial Junior Hockey League season is well underway as 63 teams will compete for the Schmalz Cup. You can watch the PJHL live on the new streaming platform SportsEngine play through the link here.

Please direct questions and inquiries to:

Mitchell Giamou

Social Media & Marketing Manager

Marketing@thepj.ca

289-681-2448

About the Provincial Junior Hockey League

The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) is made up of 63 franchises across Ontario and is the largest junior hockey league in the world. We are proud to provide opportunities for more than 1,500 players to play competitive hockey while continuing to pursue their post-secondary education and career ambitions.