Sport Indoor lacrosse Inaugural season 2012 No. of teams 5 | Founded 2011 Commissioner Jim Veltman Country Canada | |
The Canadian Lacrosse League (CLax) was a men's professional indoor lacrosse league based in Canada that ceased operations August 31, 2016 after league ownership and management deemed it to be no longer viable.
Founded by Paul St. John. Similar to the National Lacrosse League (and unlike other Canadian box lacrosse leagues that play in the summer) the CLax played its games in the winter and spring.
Similar to Major League Soccer, CLax operated as a single-entity ownership. Charlesway Corporation Limited, along with Rodney 'Demon' Hill owned and operated all aspects of the league.
In the inaugural season, the league had six teams in three cities: Brampton Inferno and Peel Avengers in Brampton, Ontario; the Iroquois Ironmen and Ohsweken Demons in Hagersville, Ontario; and the Durham TurfDogs and Oshawa Machine in Oshawa, Ontario.
History
The league's original intentions were to feature eastern and western leagues. This plan was modified to have multiple Ontario teams and one Quebec location in the first year.
The first three teams announced were franchises in Ohsweken, Peterborough, and Montreal. A Brampton Guardian article listed a team in London. Of the original three, only Oshweken wound up with an actual team in the 2012 season. With only three teams, the league decided two teams should operate in each announced location, leading to the creation of the Iroquois Ironmen, Peel Avengers, and Durham TurfDogs. Rodney Hill operated the two Oshweken teams, but the league owned the other clubs initially.
The inaugural games took place January 7, 2012 starting in Ohsweken. The first game was an 18-11 win for the Brampton Inferno over the hometown Iroquois Ironmen. In the second game, the Peel Avengers defeated the Durham TurfDogs 16-9. To conclude the opening day of league play, the Oshawa Machine played the Ohsweken Demons, losing 13-9.
It was announced on October 3, 2012 that the league would be expanding to three new markets: Barrie, Toronto, and St. Catharines. The Oshawa Machine would be moving to Toronto to become the Toronto Shooting Stars; the Peel Avengers would relocate to St. Catharines and the city of Barrie would be awarded an expansion team. It was also announced that the Durham Turf Dogs would be changing their name to the Oshawa Turf Dogs.
In November 2013, the defending champion Iroquois Ironmen announced that they were ceasing operations and would no longer compete in CLax. That was followed in December with the news of 2013 finalists, Toronto Shooting Stars also folding. The Brampton Inferno would become a touring team based out of Southwestern Ontario called the SouthWest Cyclops for 2014.