# 1995–96 OHL season

The 1995–96 OHL season was the 16th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The league expanded as the Barrie Colts entered into the central division. The Detroit Junior Red Wings become the Detroit Whalers. Seventeen teams each played 66 games. The Peterborough Petes won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Guelph Storm.

## Expansion
### Barrie Colts

On May 6, 1994, The Barrie Colts were approved as an expansion team in the Ontario Hockey League beginning in the 1995-96 season. The Colts began their inaugural season playing in the Barrie Arena, however, on December 31, 1995, the Colts moved into their new home, the Barrie Molson Centre. The Colts joined the Central Division.

## Rebranding
### Detroit Junior Red Wings to Detroit Whalers

At the conclusion of the 1994-95, the Detroit Junior Red Wings severed all ties with the National Hockey League Detroit Red Wings, as Peter Karmanos renamed the franchise the Detroit Whalers.
The Whalers moved out of Joe Louis Arena and into the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association and the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League. The Whalers would play 21 of their 33 home games in the regular season at the Palace of Auburn Hills while playing their remaining 12 home games at Oak Park Ice Arena. The Whalers played all of their home playoff games at the Oak Park Ice Arena.
The club remained in the West Division.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Note: DIV = Division; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = earned first round bye

### East Division

| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
| 1 | z-Ottawa 67's | 66 | 39 | 22 | 5 | 83 | 258 | 200 |
| 2 | x-Peterborough Petes | 66 | 35 | 22 | 9 | 79 | 289 | 235 |
| 3 | x-Belleville Bulls | 66 | 35 | 26 | 5 | 75 | 300 | 250 |
| 4 | x-Oshawa Generals | 66 | 30 | 28 | 8 | 68 | 248 | 238 |
| 5 | x-Kingston Frontenacs | 66 | 29 | 31 | 6 | 64 | 266 | 267 |
| 6 | North Bay Centennials | 66 | 14 | 45 | 7 | 35 | 242 | 360 |

### Central Division

| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
| 1 | z-Guelph Storm | 66 | 45 | 16 | 5 | 95 | 297 | 186 |
| 2 | x-Kitchener Rangers | 66 | 35 | 28 | 3 | 73 | 253 | 230 |
| 3 | x-Niagara Falls Thunder | 66 | 29 | 30 | 7 | 65 | 248 | 238 |
| 4 | x-Owen Sound Platers | 66 | 29 | 32 | 5 | 63 | 274 | 313 |
| 5 | x-Barrie Colts | 66 | 28 | 31 | 7 | 63 | 258 | 266 |
| 6 | Sudbury Wolves | 66 | 27 | 36 | 3 | 59 | 262 | 288 |

### West Division

| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
| 1 | y-Detroit Whalers | 66 | 40 | 22 | 4 | 84 | 319 | 243 |
| 2 | x-Sarnia Sting | 66 | 39 | 23 | 4 | 82 | 330 | 276 |
| 3 | x-Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 66 | 38 | 23 | 5 | 81 | 312 | 254 |
| 4 | x-Windsor Spitfires | 66 | 21 | 41 | 4 | 46 | 256 | 312 |
| 5 | London Knights | 66 | 3 | 60 | 3 | 9 | 179 | 435 |

### Scoring leaders

| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Aaron Brand | Sarnia Sting | 66 | 46 | 73 | 119 | 110 |
| Daniel Cleary | Belleville Bulls | 64 | 53 | 62 | 115 | 74 |
| Sean Haggerty | Detroit Whalers | 66 | 60 | 51 | 111 | 78 |
| Trevor Gallant | North Bay Centennials | 63 | 47 | 58 | 105 | 36 |
| Richard Uniacke | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 66 | 48 | 54 | 102 | 38 |
| Cameron Mann | Peterborough Petes | 66 | 42 | 60 | 102 | 108 |
| Jonathan Sim | Sarnia Sting | 63 | 56 | 45 | 101 | 130 |
| Trevor Letowski | Sarnia Sting | 66 | 36 | 63 | 99 | 66 |
| Lee Jinman | North Bay Centennials//Detroit Whalers | 64 | 29 | 68 | 97 | 49 |
| Rob Shearer | Windsor Spitfires | 63 | 40 | 53 | 93 | 74 |

## Playoffs

| Division quarterfinals | Division quarterfinals | Division quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| C1 | Guelph | bye | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | C1 | Guelph | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | C3 | Niagara Falls | 0 | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Niagara Falls | 4 | C3 | Niagara Falls | 0 | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Owen Sound | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Owen Sound | 2 | | | | C1 | Guelph | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | E3 | Belleville | 1 | | | | |
| E1 | Ottawa | bye | | | | | | | E3 | Belleville | 1 | | | | |
| | | | E1 | Ottawa | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | E3 | Belleville | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Belleville | 4 | E3 | Belleville | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Oshawa | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Oshawa | 1 | | | | | | | | C1 | Guelph | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Peterborough | 4 |
| E2 | Peterborough | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Peterborough | 4 |
| E5 | Kingston | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Kingston | 1 | E2 | Peterborough | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | W2 | Sarnia | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Sarnia | 4 | W2 | Sarnia | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W3 | S.S. Marie | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| W3 | S.S. Marie | 0 | | | | E2 | Peterborough | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | W1 | Detroit | 1 | | | | |
| C2 | Kitchener | 4 | | | | | | | W1 | Detroit | 1 | | | | |
| C5 | Barrie | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| C5 | Barrie | 3 | C2 | Kitchener | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | W1 | Detroit | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Windsor | 3 | W1 | Detroit | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W1 | Detroit | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Division quarter-finals
#### East Division
##### (2) Peterborough Petes vs. (5) Kingston Frontenacs

* Peterborough wins series 4 – 2

##### (3) Belleville Bulls vs. (4) Oshawa Generals

* Belleville wins series 4 – 1

#### Central Division
##### (2) Kitchener Rangers vs. (5) Barrie Colts

* Kitchener wins series 4 – 3

##### (3) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (4) Owen Sound Platers

* Niagara Falls wins series 4 – 2

#### West Division
##### (1) Detroit Whalers vs. (4) Windsor Spitfires

* Detroit wins series 4 – 3

##### (2) Sarnia Sting vs. (3) Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

* Sarnia wins series 4 – 0

### OHL quarter-finals
#### (C1) Guelph Storm vs. (C3) Niagara Falls Thunder

* Guelph wins series 4 – 0

#### (W1) Detroit Whalers vs. (C2) Kitchener Rangers

* Detroit wins series 4 – 1

#### (E1) Ottawa 67's vs. (E3) Belleville Bulls

* Belleville wins series 4 – 0

#### (W2) Sarnia Sting vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

* Peterborough wins series 4 – 2

### OHL semi-finals
#### (C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E3) Belleville Bulls

* Guelph wins series 4 – 1

#### (W1) Detroit Whalers vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

* Peterborough wins series 4 – 1

### J. Ross Robertson Cup
#### (C1) Guelph Storm vs. (E2) Peterborough Petes

* Peterborough wins series 4 – 3

## All-Star teams
### First team

* Alyn McCauley, Centre, Ottawa 67's
* Daniel Cleary, Left Wing, Belleville Bulls
* Cameron Mann, Right Wing, Peterborough Petes
* Bryan Berard, Defence, Detroit Whalers
* Kevin Bolibruck, Defence, Peterborough Petes
* Craig Hillier, Goaltender, Ottawa 67's
* Brian Kilrea, Coach, Ottawa 67's

### Second team

* Aaron Brand, Centre, Sarnia Sting
* Sean Haggerty, Left Wing, Detroit Whalers
* Jeff Johnstone, Right Wing, Niagara Falls Thunder
* Sean Brown, Defence, Sarnia Sting
* Jay McKee, Defence, Niagara Falls Thunder
* Dan Cloutier, Goaltender, Guelph Storm
* Bert Templeton, Coach, Barrie Colts

### Third team

* Sean Venedam, Centre, Sudbury Wolves
* Jamie Wright, Left Wing, Guelph Storm
* David Nemirovski, Right Wing, Sarnia Sting
* Marc Moro, Defence, Kingston Frontenacs
* Ryan Risidore, Defence, Guelph Storm
* David Belitski, Goaltender, Kitchener Rangers
* Travis Scott, Goaltender, Oshawa Generals
* Mark Hunter, Coach, Sarnia Sting

## Awards

| J. Ross Robertson Cup: | Peterborough Petes |
| Hamilton Spectator Trophy: | Guelph Storm |
| Leyden Trophy: | Ottawa 67's |
| Emms Trophy: | Guelph Storm |
| Bumbacco Trophy: | Detroit Whalers |
| Red Tilson Trophy: | Alyn McCauley, Ottawa 67's |
| Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy: | Aaron Brand, Sarnia Sting |
| Matt Leyden Trophy: | Brian Kilrea, Ottawa 67's |
| Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy: | Cameron Mann, Peterborough Petes |
| Max Kaminsky Trophy: | Bryan Berard, Detroit Whalers |
| OHL Goaltender of the Year: | Craig Hillier, Ottawa 67's |
| Jack Ferguson Award: | Rico Fata, London Knights |
| Dave Pinkney Trophy: | Dan Cloutier and Brett Thompson, Guelph Storm |
| OHL Executive of the Year: | Bert Templeton, Barrie Colts |
| Emms Family Award: | Joe Thornton, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds |
| F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy: | Brett Thompson, Guelph Storm |
| OHL Humanitarian of the Year: | Craig Mills, Belleville Bulls |
| William Hanley Trophy: | Jeff Williams, Guelph Storm |
| Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy: | Aaron Brand, Sarnia Sting |
| Bobby Smith Trophy: | Boyd Devereaux, Kitchener Rangers |

## 1996 OHL Priority Selection

On June 1, 1996, the OHL conducted the 1996 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener, Ontario. The London Knights held the first overall pick in the draft and selected Rico Fata from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Fata was awarded the Jack Ferguson Award, awarded to the top pick in the draft.
Below are the players who were selected in the first round of the 1996 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
| # | Player | Nationality | OHL Team | Hometown | Minor Team |
| 1 | Rico Fata (C) | Canada | London Knights | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds |
| 2 | Tyler Rennette (C) | Canada | North Bay Centennials | Powassan, Ontario | Waterloo Siskins |
| 3 | Norm Milley (RW) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves | North York, Ontario | Toronto Red Wings |
| 4 | Kip Brennan (D) | Canada | Windsor Spitfires | Toronto, Ontario | St. Michael's Buzzers |
| 5 | Mike Henrich (RW) | Canada | Barrie Colts | Thornhill, Ontario | Wexford Midgets |
| 6 | Wes Goldie (RW) | Canada | Owen Sound Platers | London, Ontario | St. Thomas Stars |
| 7 | Kevin Grimes (D) | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs | Metcalfe, Ontario | Cumberland Grads |
| 8 | Brett Gibson (C) | Canada | Erie Otters | Gananoque, Ontario | Kingston Voyageurs |
| 9 | Bryan Allen (D) | Canada | Oshawa Generals | Glenburnie, Ontario | Ernestown Jets |
| 10 | Wes Jarvis (D) | Canada | Kitchener Rangers | Ottawa, Ontario | Gloucester Rangers |
| 11 | Justin Papineau (C) | Canada | Belleville Bulls | Ottawa, Ontario | Ottawa Jr. Senators |
| 12 | Pat Kavanagh (RW) | Canada | Peterborough Petes | Richmond, Ontario | Kanata Valley Lasers |
| 13 | Nick Robinson (D) | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | Cavan, Ontario | Lindsay Muskies |
| 14 | Abe Herbst (D) | Canada | Sarnia Sting | Harriston, Ontario | Listowel Cyclones |
| 15 | Mark Bell (C) | Canada | Ottawa 67's | St. Paul's, Ontario | Stratford Cullitons |
| 16 | Harold Druken (LW) | Canada | Detroit Whalers | St. John's, Newfoundland | Noble & Greenough Bulldogs |
| 17 | Manny Malhotra (C) | Canada | Guelph Storm | Mississauga, Ontario | Mississauga Reps |