Quebec Senior Hockey League
Encyclopedia
The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey
league
that operated between 1941 and 1959 in Québec, Canada. From 1941, it operated on an amateur basis, before becoming the semi-professional Quebec Hockey League (QHL) in 1953. Most notable of the QSHL's players was Jean Beliveau
, who played for the Quebec Aces
in 1951-52 and 1952-53.
which began play in Quebec from 1908. The bulk of the teams that formed the QSHL were part of the "Montreal Senior Group" of the QAHA. The QAHA re-organized its senior league for 1941 and the QSHL was formed. In 1950, the league was reclassified as a "major" league and became ineligible for the Allan Cup
. QSHL championship teams would play in the Alexander Cup
championship tournament. The 1951 Valleyfield Braves and the 1952 Quebec Aces won the Alexander Cup.
Most notable of the QSHL's players was Jean Beliveau
, who played for the Quebec Aces
in 1951-52 and 1952-53. The Montreal Canadiens
of the National Hockey League
held Béliveau's professional
rights, yet the young phenom refused to play for the club, preferring to stay with Quebec. He received a high salary, already twice the NHL average. Beliveau joined Montreal in 1953. That year, the league had become a professional league and Beliveau would have been obligated to play for Montreal as he had signed a 'B' form as a junior. An often-repeated story is Frank J. Selke
, the Canadiens' general manager, eventually became fed up, and in 1953 bought the rights to the entire QSHL, and turned it into the professional Quebec Hockey League, forcing Béliveau to play for the Canadiens. However, the QSHL became a professional league after it left the CAHA due to a dispute. It was not bought by the Canadiens.
In May 1953, the league decided to leave the CAHA by resigning from the QAHA, which was itself under suspension from the CAHA. After leaving the CAHA, the team owners voted to become professional to protect their player contracts. However, QSHL players who had signed forms with NHL clubs to play professionally, could not sign with the new QHL teams. The players who signed QHL contracts became QHL team property and their contracts could be sold or traded to NHL or other professional leagues.
The QHL disbanded following their 1958-59 season, with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
, Montreal Royals and Trois-Rivières Lions going to the Eastern Professional Hockey League and the Quebec Aces
heading to the American Hockey League
.
QSHL:
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
league
Sports league
League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...
that operated between 1941 and 1959 in Québec, Canada. From 1941, it operated on an amateur basis, before becoming the semi-professional Quebec Hockey League (QHL) in 1953. Most notable of the QSHL's players was Jean Beliveau
Jean Béliveau
Jean Arthur "Le Gros Bill" Béliveau, is a former professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. As a player, he won the Stanley Cup 10 times, and as an executive he was part of another seven championship teams, the most Stanley...
, who played for the Quebec Aces
Quebec Aces
The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup...
in 1951-52 and 1952-53.
History
The origins of the Quebec Senior Hockey League rest with the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association(QAHA) which grew out of the Inter-Provincial Amateur Hockey UnionInter-Provincial Amateur Hockey Union
The Interprovincial Amateur Hockey Union was the premier amateur ice hockey league in Canada after the split between the amateur and professional ice hockey teams of the Eastern Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1908.-History:...
which began play in Quebec from 1908. The bulk of the teams that formed the QSHL were part of the "Montreal Senior Group" of the QAHA. The QAHA re-organized its senior league for 1941 and the QSHL was formed. In 1950, the league was reclassified as a "major" league and became ineligible for the Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...
. QSHL championship teams would play in the Alexander Cup
Alexander Cup
The Alexander Cup was the Canadian national Major senior ice hockey championship trophy from 1950 until 1954.-History:Introduced in 1950, the Alexander Cup was created to bridge the gap between amateur and professional ice hockey and to create a new "open" level for both pros and amateurs alike...
championship tournament. The 1951 Valleyfield Braves and the 1952 Quebec Aces won the Alexander Cup.
Most notable of the QSHL's players was Jean Beliveau
Jean Béliveau
Jean Arthur "Le Gros Bill" Béliveau, is a former professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. As a player, he won the Stanley Cup 10 times, and as an executive he was part of another seven championship teams, the most Stanley...
, who played for the Quebec Aces
Quebec Aces
The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup...
in 1951-52 and 1952-53. The Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
held Béliveau's professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
rights, yet the young phenom refused to play for the club, preferring to stay with Quebec. He received a high salary, already twice the NHL average. Beliveau joined Montreal in 1953. That year, the league had become a professional league and Beliveau would have been obligated to play for Montreal as he had signed a 'B' form as a junior. An often-repeated story is Frank J. Selke
Frank J. Selke
Francis Joseph Aloysius Selke was a Canadian hockey manager in the National Hockey League. He was a nine-time Stanley Cup champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens and a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee....
, the Canadiens' general manager, eventually became fed up, and in 1953 bought the rights to the entire QSHL, and turned it into the professional Quebec Hockey League, forcing Béliveau to play for the Canadiens. However, the QSHL became a professional league after it left the CAHA due to a dispute. It was not bought by the Canadiens.
In May 1953, the league decided to leave the CAHA by resigning from the QAHA, which was itself under suspension from the CAHA. After leaving the CAHA, the team owners voted to become professional to protect their player contracts. However, QSHL players who had signed forms with NHL clubs to play professionally, could not sign with the new QHL teams. The players who signed QHL contracts became QHL team property and their contracts could be sold or traded to NHL or other professional leagues.
The QHL disbanded following their 1958-59 season, with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens were a team in the Ontario Hockey Association Senior "A" league for 3 seasons from 1956-59. The team played an interlocking schedule in 1956-57 with the Quebec Senior Hockey League. The Canadiens then played in the Eastern Professional Hockey League from 1959-63...
, Montreal Royals and Trois-Rivières Lions going to the Eastern Professional Hockey League and the Quebec Aces
Quebec Aces
The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup...
heading to the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
.
List of all QSHL/QHL teams
Montreal Senior Group:- Lafontaine
- McGill UniversityMcGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
- Montreal Canadiens (Jr.)
- Montreal Royals (1933–41)
- Montreal VictoriasMontreal VictoriasThe Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating...
(1908–1939) - Ottawa SenatorsOttawa Senators (senior hockey)The Ottawa Senators, also known as the Ottawa Commandos and Senior Senators, was an amateur, later semi-professional, senior-level men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada...
(1934–41) - Quebec AcesQuebec AcesThe Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup...
(1936–41) - Verdun
QSHL:
- Boston OlympicsBoston OlympicsThe Boston Olympics are a defunct farm team for the Boston Bruins. They began play during the 1940–41 Eastern Amateur Hockey League season. The Olympics were often referred to by the shortened name the ‘Pics and the franchise remained active until the 1951–52 season.- Franchise History :Founded by...
(1947–49) †Played a split schedule between the QSHL and the EAHLEastern Hockey League-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972... - Chicoutimi Sagueneens (1949–59)
- Cornwall, OntarioCornwall, OntarioCornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
Flyers (1941–?) - Hull Volants (1944–46)
- Hull-Ottawa CanadiensHull-Ottawa CanadiensThe Hull-Ottawa Canadiens were a team in the Ontario Hockey Association Senior "A" league for 3 seasons from 1956-59. The team played an interlocking schedule in 1956-57 with the Quebec Senior Hockey League. The Canadiens then played in the Eastern Professional Hockey League from 1959-63...
(1956–57) †Played a split schedule between the QSHL and the OHA Senior A league. - Chicoutimi Sagueneens (1949–59)
- Montreal Royals (1941–59)
- Montreal Canadiens (Jr.) (1941–?)
- Montreal Pats (1941–?)
- New York Rovers (1947–49) †Played a split schedule between the QSHL and the EAHLEastern Hockey League-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972...
- Ottawa RCAF Flyers - (1942–1943)
- Ottawa SenatorsOttawa Senators (senior hockey)The Ottawa Senators, also known as the Ottawa Commandos and Senior Senators, was an amateur, later semi-professional, senior-level men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada...
/Ottawa Commandos (1941–54) - Quebec AcesQuebec AcesThe Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup...
(1941–59) - Shawinigan Falls Cataracts (1945–53)
- Shawinigan Cataracts (1954–58)
- Sherbrooke St. Francis (1948–49)
- Sherbrooke Saints (1949–54)
- Springfield IndiansSpringfield IndiansThe Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with...
(1953–54) - Trois-Rivières Lions (1955–59)
- University of Montreal (1943–44)
- Valleyfield Braves (1945–55)
List of QSHL/QHL league winners
| Season | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1941–42 | Cornwall Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Pats, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces | Ottawa Senators Ottawa Senators (senior hockey) The Ottawa Senators, also known as the Ottawa Commandos and Senior Senators, was an amateur, later semi-professional, senior-level men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada... (Season), Quebec Aces Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup... (Playoffs) |
| 1942–43 | Cornwall Flyers, Montreal Army, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Commandos, Ottawa RCAF Flyers, Quebec Aces | Ottawa Commandos |
| 1943–44 | Cornwall Army(withdrew), Montreal RCAF(withdrew), Montreal Royals, Ottawa Commandos, Quebec Aces, University of Montreal | Quebec Aces Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup... |
| 1944-45 | Hull Volants, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Commandos, Quebec Aces | Quebec Aces Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup... |
| 1945-46 | Hull Volants, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Valleyfield Braves | Montreal Royals |
| 1946-47 | Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Valleyfield Braves | Montreal Royals |
| 1947-48 | Boston Olympics, Montreal Royals, New York Rovers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Valleyfield Braves | Ottawa Senators Ottawa Senators (senior hockey) The Ottawa Senators, also known as the Ottawa Commandos and Senior Senators, was an amateur, later semi-professional, senior-level men's ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada... |
| 1948-49 | Boston Olympics, Montreal Royals, New York Rovers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Sherbrooke St. Francis, Valleyfield Braves | Ottawa Senators |
| 1949-50 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Sherbrooke Saints, Valleyfield Braves | Sherbrooke Saints |
| 1950-51 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Sherbrooke Saints, Valleyfield Braves | Valleyfield Braves |
| 1951-52 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Sherbrooke Saints, Valleyfield Braves | Quebec Aces Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup... |
| 1952-53 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Sherbrooke Saints, Valleyfield Braves | Chicoutimi Sagueneens |
| 1953-54 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Aces, Sherbrooke Saints, Springfield Indians, Valleyfield Braves | Chicoutimi Sagueneens (Season), Quebec Aces Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup... (Playoffs) |
| 1954-55 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa Senators(withdrew), Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Valleyfield Braves | Shawinigan Cataracts (Season and Playoffs) |
| 1955-56 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Trois-Rivieres Lions | Shawinigan Cataracts (Season), Montreal Royals (Playoffs) |
| 1956-57 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Ottawa-Hull Jr. Canadiens, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Trois-Rivieres Lions | Quebec Aces Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. The Aces were founded in 1928, and played until 1971. The team played home games at the Quebec Coliseum from 1930 to 1971.The Aces were Allan Cup... (Seasons and Playoffs) |
| 1957-58 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Quebec Aces, Shawinigan Cataracts, Trois-Rivieres Lions | Chicoutimi Sagueneens (Season), Shawinigan Cataracts (Playoffs) |
| 1958-59 | Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Montreal Royals, Quebec Aces, Trois-Rivieres Lions | Montreal Royals (Season and Playoffs) |