# 1988–89 OHL season

The 1988–89 OHL season was the ninth season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Hamilton Steelhawks move to Niagara Falls becoming the Niagara Falls Thunder. The Kingston Canadians rename themselves to the Kingston Raiders. The OHL awards the inaugural Bill Long Award for distinguished service to the OHL. Fifteen teams each played 66 games. The Peterborough Petes won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Niagara Falls Thunder.

## Relocation/Team Name Change
### Hamilton Steelhawks to Niagara Falls Thunder

The Hamilton Steelhawks relocated their franchise to the city of Niagara Falls after four seasons in Hamilton. The club was renamed as the Niagara Falls Thunder and would play out of the Niagara Falls Memorial Arena. The Thunder would remain in the Emms Division.
This would be the first club since the Niagara Falls Flyers, who relocated to North Bay in 1982, to be based out of the city.

### Kingston Canadians to Kingston Raiders

The Kingston Canadians were rebranded as the Kingston Raiders for the 1988-89 season. Kingston had used the Canadians name since they were announced as an expansion club in 1973. The club changed their colour scheme from red, blue and white to black, silver and white, effectively stealing the NFL's Los Angeles Raiders' name and color scheme.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title

### Leyden Division

| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
| 1 | y-Peterborough Petes | 66 | 42 | 22 | 2 | 86 | 302 | 235 |
| 2 | x-Oshawa Generals | 66 | 36 | 24 | 6 | 78 | 337 | 286 |
| 3 | x-Toronto Marlboros | 66 | 32 | 31 | 3 | 67 | 319 | 332 |
| 4 | x-Cornwall Royals | 66 | 31 | 30 | 5 | 67 | 350 | 308 |
| 5 | x-Ottawa 67's | 66 | 30 | 32 | 4 | 64 | 295 | 301 |
| 6 | x-Belleville Bulls | 66 | 27 | 35 | 4 | 58 | 292 | 322 |
| 7 | Kingston Raiders | 66 | 25 | 36 | 5 | 55 | 278 | 313 |

### Emms Division

| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA |
| 1 | y-Kitchener Rangers | 66 | 41 | 19 | 6 | 88 | 318 | 251 |
| 2 | x-Niagara Falls Thunder | 66 | 41 | 23 | 2 | 84 | 410 | 319 |
| 3 | x-London Knights | 66 | 37 | 25 | 4 | 78 | 311 | 264 |
| 4 | x-Guelph Platers | 66 | 26 | 32 | 8 | 60 | 257 | 288 |
| 5 | x-Windsor Compuware Spitfires | 66 | 25 | 37 | 4 | 54 | 272 | 321 |
| 6 | x-North Bay Centennials | 66 | 24 | 36 | 6 | 54 | 282 | 334 |
| 7 | Sudbury Wolves | 66 | 23 | 36 | 7 | 53 | 262 | 334 |
| 8 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 66 | 21 | 43 | 2 | 44 | 227 | 304 |

### Scoring leaders

| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Bryan Fogarty | Niagara Falls Thunder | 60 | 47 | 108 | 155 | 88 |
| Stan Drulia | Niagara Falls Thunder | 47 | 52 | 93 | 145 | 59 |
| Andrew Cassels | Ottawa 67's | 56 | 37 | 97 | 134 | 66 |
| Steve Maltais | Cornwall Royals | 58 | 53 | 70 | 123 | 67 |
| Kevin Miehm | Oshawa Generals | 63 | 43 | 79 | 122 | 19 |
| Tim Taylor | London Knights | 61 | 34 | 80 | 114 | 93 |
| Rob Zamuner | Guelph Platers | 66 | 46 | 65 | 111 | 38 |
| Keith Osborne | North Bay Centennials//Niagara Falls Thunder | 65 | 45 | 64 | 109 | 57 |
| Jamie Leach | Niagara Falls Thunder | 58 | 45 | 62 | 107 | 47 |
| Mike Ricci | Peterborough Petes | 60 | 54 | 52 | 106 | 43 |

## Playoffs

| Division quarterfinals | Division quarterfinals | Division quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| L1 | Peterborough | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| L6 | Belleville | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| L6 | Belleville | 1 | L1 | Peterborough | bye | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | L1 | Peterborough | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | L4 | Cornwall | 2 | | | | |
| L3 | Toronto | 2 | | | | | | | L4 | Cornwall | 2 | | | | |
| L4 | Cornwall | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| L4 | Cornwall | 4 | L4 | Cornwall | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | L5 | Ottawa | 2 | | | | | | | |
| L2 | Oshawa | 2 | L5 | Ottawa | 2 | | | | | | | |
| L5 | Ottawa | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| L5 | Ottawa | 4 | | | | | | | | L1 | Peterborough | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Niagara Falls | 2 |
| E2 | Niagara Falls | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Niagara Falls | 2 |
| E5 | Windsor | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Windsor | 0 | E2 | Niagara Falls | bye | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | E2 | Niagara Falls | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | E3 | London | 3 | | | | |
| E3 | London | 4 | | | | | | | E3 | London | 3 | | | | |
| E4 | Guelph | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Guelph | 3 | E3 | London | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | E6 | North Bay | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E1 | Kitchener | 1 | E6 | North Bay | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E6 | North Bay | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Division quarter-finals
#### Leyden Division
##### (1) Peterborough Petes vs. (6) Belleville Bulls

* Peterborough wins series 4 – 1

##### (2) Oshawa Generals vs. (5) Ottawa 67's

* Ottawa wins series 4 – 2

##### (3) Toronto Marlboros vs. (4) Cornwall Royals

* Cornwall wins series 4 – 2

#### Emms Division
##### (1) Kitchener Rangers vs. (6) North Bay Centennials

* North Bay wins series 4 – 1

##### (2) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (5) Windsor Compuware Spitfires

* Niagara Falls wins series 4 – 0

##### (3) London Knights vs. (4) Guelph Platers

* London wins series 4 – 3

### Division semi-finals
#### Leyden Division
##### (4) Cornwall Royals vs. (5) Ottawa 67's

* Cornwall wins series 4 – 2

#### Emms Division
##### (3) London Knights vs. (6) North Bay Centennials

* London wins series 4 – 3

### Division finals
#### Leyden Division
##### (1) Peterborough Petes vs. (4) Cornwall Royals

* Peterborough wins series 4 – 2

#### Emms Division
##### (2) Niagara Falls Thunder vs. (3) London Knights

* Niagara Falls wins series 4 – 3

### J. Ross Robertson Cup
#### (L1) Peterborough Petes vs. (E2) Niagara Falls Thunder

* Peterborough wins series 4 – 2

## Awards

| J. Ross Robertson Cup: | Peterborough Petes |
| Hamilton Spectator Trophy: | Kitchener Rangers |
| Leyden Trophy: | Peterborough Petes |
| Emms Trophy: | Kitchener Rangers |
| Red Tilson Trophy: | Bryan Fogarty, Niagara Falls Thunder |
| Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy: | Bryan Fogarty, Niagara Falls Thunder |
| Matt Leyden Trophy: | Joe McDonell, Kitchener Rangers |
| Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy: | Stan Drulia, Niagara Falls Thunder |
| Max Kaminsky Trophy: | Bryan Fogarty, Niagara Falls Thunder |
| OHL Goaltender of the Year: | Gus Morschauser, Kitchener Rangers |
| Jack Ferguson Award: | Eric Lindros, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds |
| Dave Pinkney Trophy: | John Tanner and Todd Bojcun, Peterborough Petes |
| Emms Family Award: | Owen Nolan, Cornwall Royals |
| F.W. 'Dinty' Moore Trophy: | Jeff Wilson, Kingston Raiders |
| William Hanley Trophy: | Kevin Miehm, Oshawa Generals |
| Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy: | Stan Drulia, Niagara Falls Thunder |
| Bobby Smith Trophy: | Brian Collinson, Toronto Marlboros |
| Bill Long Award: | Alec Campagnaro, Guelph Platers & Earl Montagano, Ottawa 67's |

## 1989 OHL Priority Selection

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds held the first overall pick in the 1989 Ontario Priority Selection and selected Eric Lindros from the St. Michael's Buzzers. Lindros 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 1989 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.
| # | Player | Nationality | OHL Team | Hometown | Minor Team |
| 1 | Eric Lindros (C) | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | London, Ontario | St. Michael's Buzzers |
| 2 | Jamie Matthews (C) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves | Amherst, Nova Scotia | Amherst Ramblers |
| 3 | Dave Stewart (D) | Canada | Kingston Frontenacs | Norwood, Ontario | Waterloo Siskins |
| 4 | Jamie Caruso (RW) | Canada | North Bay Centennials | Bramalea, Ontario | Bramalea Blues |
| 5 | Ryan Merritt (LW) | Canada | Windsor Spitfires | Cottam, Ontario | Waterloo Siskins |
| 6 | Brent Gretzky (C) | Canada | Belleville Bulls | Brantford, Ontario | Brantford Classics |
| 7 | Trent Cull (D) | Canada | Guelph Platers | Georgetown, Ontario | Georgetown Gemini |
| 8 | Ryan Kuwabara (RW) | Canada | Ottawa 67's | Hamilton, Ontario | Hamilton Kilty B's |
| 9 | Rod Pasma (D) | Canada | Cornwall Royals | Georgetown, Ontario | Georgetown Gemini |
| 10 | Alek Stojanov (RW) | Canada | Hamilton Dukes | Windsor, Ontario | Windsor Midgets |
| 11 | Wade Simpson (D) | Canada | Oshawa Generals | Navan, Ontario | Nepean Raiders |
| 12 | Greg Ryan (D) | Canada | London Knights | Burlington, Ontario | Burlington Cougars |
| 13 | Ken Ruddick (RW) | Canada | Niagara Falls Thunder | Hamilton, Ontario | Hamilton Huskies |
| 14 | Dale McTavish (C) | Canada | Peterborough Petes | Eganville, Ontario | Pembroke Lumber Kings |
| 15 | Jack Williams (RW) | United States | Kitchener Rangers | Greensburg, Pennsylvania | Chicago Young Americans |