Winnipeg Rangers (1956-1967)

The Winnipeg Rangers were a Canadian Junior A hockey team from St. Boniface, Manitoba. They were members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for 11 seasons. The Rangers entered the MJHL in 1956 as an expansion team. They were owned and operated by Dennis Ball, and affiliated with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Team colors were blue, red, and white, same as the NHL Rangers.
In the beginning, the Team was based out of west end Winnipeg. They were the only junior team in 56-57 to play out of the Winnipeg Arena. Because of ice availability the Rangers were forced to play out of Brandon at the Wheat City Arena for first half of the 57-58 season, and were called the Brandon Rangers. They moved back to the Winnipeg area with the opening of the Transcona Arena at the first of January, and were renamed the Transcona Rangers. After the 59 season, the Team returned to Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Arena, with their name reverting back to the Winnipeg Rangers. In 64, the Rangers were assigned the east area (mainly, St. Boniface and St. Vital), however, continued to play in the Winnipeg Arena because of its artificial ice.
During the fall of 1967, Ball would sell the club to Ben Hatskin. With the NHL mandating the end of professional teams sponsoring junior teams, the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association did not want the newly created major junior to do so either. Before granting Hatskin’s Winnipeg Jets permission to play in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, demanded he sell his three MJHL teams to community-minded sports groups. The new owners renamed the franchise the St. Boniface Saints. This ended an era of junior hockey in Manitoba.
The Rangers were crowned MJHL champions in 1961 and 1966, winning the Turnbull Cup.
In Memorial Cup play, they advanced to the Western Canada Final for the Abbott Cup in 1961.
=Season-by-Season Record=
Note: click on season for team rosters or on league for direct link to that season.
Season 	League 	GP	W 	L 	T	GF 	GA 	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1956-57	MJHL 	29	7 	21	1	95 	203	15 	3rd 	Lost Semi Final
1957-58	MJHL 	30	10	20	0	128	190	20 	4th 	DNQ
1958-59	MJHL 	32	10	19	3	110	166	23 	4th 	Lost Semi Final
1959-60	MJHL 	31	10	20	1	100	144	21 	4th 	Lost Final
1960-61	MJHL 	32	21	11	0	157	120	42 	2nd 	Won League
1960-61	Memorial Cup	12	5 	7 	-	47 	47 	- 	- 	Lost West Final
1961-62	MJHL 	40	16	20	4	128	150	36 	4th 	Lost Semi Final
1962-63	MJHL 	40	11	25	4	141	196	26 	5th 	DNQ
1963-64	MJHL 	30	15	12	3	124	95 	33 	3rd 	Lost Semi Final
1964-65	MJHL 	46	21	19	6	202	170	48 	2nd 	Lost Semi Final
1965-66	MJHL 	48	27	16	5	219	186	59 	1st 	Won League
1965-66	Memorial Cup	4 	0 	4 	-	9 	24 	- 	- 	Lost W Qtr Final
1966-67	MJHL 	57	34	19	4	263	201	74 	3rd 	Lost Semi Final
=Award Winners, League Leaders, & All-Stars=
Season 	Player 	Achievement
1957-58	Gord Labossiere	MVP
1957-58	Gord Labossiere	Scoring Champion
1957-58	Gord Labossiere	Most Goals
1957-58	Gord Labossiere	First All-Star Team
1957-58	Connie Neil 	First All-Star Team
1959-60	Bob Woytowich 	First All-Star Team
1960-61	Dave Richardson	First All-Star Team
1960-61	Bob Woytowich 	First All-Star Team
1960-61	Harry Buechart 	Second All-Star Team
1960-61	Bob Lindsay 	Second All-Star Team
1960-61	Keith Micklash 	Second All-Star Team
1961-62	Bob Woytowich 	First All-Star Team
1961-62	Dennis Toyne 	Second All-Star Team (tied)
1961-62	Gord Pennell 	All-Star Team Coach
1962-63	Jim Irving 	Second All-Star Team
1963-64	Jim Irving 	Hockey Ability and Sportsmanship Award
1963-64	Jim Irving 	Second All-Star Team
1963-64	Terry Ball 	Second All-Star Team (tied)
1963-64	Bob Howard 	Second All-Star Team (tied)
1964-65	Terry Jones 	Most Goals
1964-65	Jim Lane 	First All-Star Team
1964-65	Mike Kolody 	Second All-Star Team
1965-66	Terry Jones 	MVP
1965-66	Terry Jones 	Scoring Champion
1965-66	Terry Jones 	Most Goals
1965-66	Terry Jones 	Most Assists
1965-66	Terry Jones 	First All-Star Team
1965-66	George Surmay 	Top Goaltender Award
1965-66	George Surmay 	Top Goals Against Average
1965-66	George Surmay 	First All-Star Team
1965-66	Chuck Lefley 	Rookie of the Year
1965-66	Bob Anderson 	First All-Star Team
1965-66	Glen Beckett 	Second All-Star Team
1965-66	Tom Freeman 	Second All-Star Team
1965-66	Jack Bownass 	All-Star Team Coach
1966-67	Butch Goring 	Hockey Ability and Sportsmanship Award
1966-67	George Surmay 	Second All-Star Team
1966-67	Murray Klein 	Second All-Star Team
=NHL Alumni=
Dennis Ball 	Terry Ball 	Jack Bownass 	Butch Goring
Bryan Hextall	Jim Johnson	Gord Labossiere	Bryan Lefley
Chuck Lefley 	Rick Newell	Dave Richardson	Bob Woytowich
=NHL Draft Picks=
Draft Year	Player 	Drafted by 	Round	Overall
1963 	Terry Jones 	New York Rangers 	2 	10
1965 	George Surmay	New York Rangers 	2 	6
1969 	Butch Goring 	Los Angeles Kings 	5 	51
1970 	Chuck Lefley 	Montreal Canadiens	1 	6
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams