Peterborough Petes < hr > " For other teams named Peterborough Petes , please see Peterborough Petes ( disambiguation ) . " < hr > The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League . The team has played in Peterborough , Ontario , Canada , since 1956 , and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league . History . The Petes were born when the Kitchener Canucks relocated to Peterborough after the 1955 – 56 season . They would also become a sponsored junior team for the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL . The Petes played their first game on October 1 , 1956 , and won their first game on November 6 , 1956 . The Petes have produced a record number of National Hockey League players , including Hall of Famers Steve Yzerman , Bob Gainey , Larry Murphy , Scotty Bowman , Wayne Gretzky and Roger Neilson . The Petes have graduated the most players to the NHL of all current OHL teams ( 248 as of the 2014 - 15 season ) . The Petes have won the OHL Championship nine times , second - most in OHL history and the most in the postwar period . They won the Memorial Cup once , in 1979 . TPT Petes . The team was sponsored by Toronto - Peterborough Transport ( TPT ) from 1956 to 1966 . The legendary Scotty Bowman was brought in to coach by the Montreal Canadiens organization from the Ottawa Junior Canadiens , and led the team to a second place finish in 1959 . Peterborough defeated the Barrie Flyers , Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters and Toronto St . Michael ' s Majors in the playoffs to win their first OHA championship . Bowman and the TPT Petes went on to reach the Memorial Cup for the first time that year but fell to the Winnipeg Braves . The TPT Petes claimed their first Hamilton Spectator Trophy during the 1965 - 66 season , but were eliminated from the playoffs . Roger Neilson era ( 1966 – 1976 ) . The team became known as the Peterborough Petes Hockey Club in 1966 – 67 , which was also the beginning of Roger Neilson ' s tenure as coach . The Petes would continue to wear the TPT logo on their sweaters until 1974 – 75 , when their colours were changed to maroon and white and a new " Petes " logo was adopted . Neilson led his team to seven consecutive winning seasons from 1968 to 1975 , also finishing first overall in 1970 – 71 , winning the J . Ross Robertson Cup in 1972 , and were runners - up in 1973 and 1974 . In the 1972 Memorial Cup , the Petes lost a close 2 – 1 game in the finals to the Cornwall Royals . Neilson left behind a winning legacy in Peterborough and set the standard for coaches to come . Neilson was the first coach to use videotape analysis as a teaching method , leading to the nickname " Captain Video , " and also the first to use microphone headsets to communicate with his assistant coaches . Neilson also pushed the envelope causing several rules to be rewritten . During one Petes game , his team was up one goal , but was down two men in a five on three situation for the last minute of the game . Realizing that more penalties could not be called under the existing rules , Neilson put too many men on the ice every ten seconds . The referees stopped the play and a faceoff was held relieving pressure on the defence . After this display the rule was changed so that a call for too many men on the ice in a 5 on 3 situation now leads to a penalty shot . Neilson also discovered that if he put a defenceman in net instead of a goalie during a penalty shot , the defenceman could rush the attacker and greatly reduce the chances of a goal . Today the rule states that a team must use a goalie in net for a penalty shot , and that the goalie may not leave the crease until the attacking player touches the puck . Neilson was promoted for the 1976 – 77 season , coaching the Dallas Black Hawks in the former Central Hockey League . Three seasons , three titles . The Peterborough Petes won three consecutive OHL championships in 1978 , 1979 and 1980 . Gary Green coached the first two championships followed up by Mike Keenan in 1980 . The Petes won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy two consecutive times in 1979 and 1980 . Peterborough ' s success also continued into the Memorial Cup , reaching the championship game all three years , and winning the national junior title in 1979 . Many future NHL stars played for Petes in these three years . Those of note are : Keith Acton , Bob Atwell , Keith Crowder , Ken Ellacott , Doug Evans , Dave Fenyves , Tom Fergus , Larry Floyd , Mark Kirton , Rick LaFerriere , Steve Larmer , Larry Murphy , Mark Reeds , Stuart Smith , Steve Smith , Bill Gardner , Tim Trimper and Jim Wiemer . Dick Todd era ( 1982 – 1993 ) . Dick Todd started with the Petes as a trainer in the 1970s and was there through their three Memorial Cups . As a coach he would lead the team to two more Memorial Cup tournaments in 1989 in Saskatoon , and 1993 in Sault Ste . Marie . During Todd ' s time coaching , the Petes won 6 division titles and had the best overall winning percentage in the OHL . Todd was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year in 1987 – 88 . Memorial Cup 1996 . The Peterborough Petes celebrated their 40th anniversary in 1996 . The Petes won the J . Ross Robertson Cup defeating the Guelph Storm in the finals , then and also played at home while hosting the Memorial Cup tournament in 1996 . The club achieved a 100 % sellout each tournament game , and lost in the final that year to the Granby Prédateurs . 50th Anniversary . Todd returned as head coach of the Petes in 2004 . Todd ' s second season back behind the Petes bench , was the 50th anniversary of the Peterborough Petes founding . They are the oldest continuously operating franchise in the Ontario Hockey League ( the rival Oshawa Generals date to 1937 but were inactive from 1953 – 62 ) . The Petes celebrated their 50th anniversary in grand style , winning the J . Ross Robertson Cup on May 11 , 2006 , in a four game sweep of the London Knights . Peterborough travelled to Moncton , New Brunswick to play in the 2006 Memorial Cup , losing the third place tiebreaker game to the Vancouver Giants . Todd retired for good a few weeks after the Petes returned from Moncton . Coaches . Three coaches of the Peterborough Petes are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame . Scotty Bowman won 9 Stanley Cups in his career , and let the Petes to the Memorial Cup finals in 1959 . Roger Neilson coached 1 , 000 regular season games in the NHL , and led the Petes to the 1972 Memorial Cup finals . Ted " Teeder " Kennedy played 14 years for the Toronto Maple Leafs . Gary Green was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year in 1978 – 79 , leading the Petes to their only Memorial Cup championship . Dick Todd recorded 500 career victories faster than any other coach in Major Junior A hockey history , accomplishing the milestone in just 813 games . Todd was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year in 1987 – 88 . " List of coaches with multiple seasons in parentheses . " Players . The Peterborough Petes have 152 alumni who have played in the National Hockey League . Four Hockey Hall of Fame inductees played junior hockey for the Petes : Bob Gainey , Wayne Gretzky , Larry Murphy and Steve Yzerman . The Petes have not retired any numbers , but they have banners hanging from the ceiling honouring past Petes including Bob Gainey , Steve Yzerman , Mickey Redmond , Larry Murphy , Dick Todd , Roger Neilson and Scotty Bowman . Team records . < br clear = " all " > Season - by - season results . Regular season . Legend : OL = Overtime loss , SL = Shootout loss Uniforms and logos . From 1956 to 1974 , the Petes wore the red , white & blue colours of the Montreal Canadiens . In 1974 – 75 , the club changed to the maroon & white colours they wear today . In January 2000 , a new ' 3rd ' jersey was introduced , that used the maroon background , with white , black & gold trim . For the 2005 – 06 season , the Petes unveiled a 50th anniversary jersey that has a black background with maroon & gold trim . During January in the 2006 – 07 season , the Petes wore throwback jerseys for the TPT Petes . Arena . The Peterborough Memorial Centre was constructed in 1956 , and named in honour of the many war veterans who came from the region . It was built at the east of the fairground and horse track at the corner of Landsdowne and George streets . The original design included a large stage at the south end of the arena , with an oversized portrait of Queen Elizabeth II above . The seats were all wooden and painted yellow , green and mauve . The Memorial Centre hosted the Memorial Cup tournament in 1996 . In 2003 , the Memorial Centre was renovated adding 24 luxury box suites , improved concessions , a licensed restaurant , new seats , boards , scoreboard and the addition of air conditioning . The renovated arena hosted the 2004 OHL All - Star Classic .