Owner(s) John and Beth Dyer 2010–2011 Vaughan Wild Location Wiarton, Canada | 2006–2010 King Wild Head coach Pete MacDougall Founded 2006 | |
City Wiarton, Ontario, Canada Home arena Wiarton Arena & Community Centre | ||
The Wiarton Schooners are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Wiarton, Ontario, and a member of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL).
Contents
- Franchise under the ownership of Joe and Tina Zeil
- Franchise under the ownership of John and Beth Dyer
- References
The current ownership, the Dyer family, has no affiliation with the previous ownership groups of the franchise.
The franchise has relocated multiple times, spending time in King, Nobleton, Lefroy, Markdale, and one previous stop in Wiarton under a different ownership group.
Franchise under the ownership of Joe and Tina Zeil
The King Wild's first game was the first game in the GMHL's history taking place on September 8, 2006, against the Richmond Hill Rams in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The Wild lost 6-0 to the Rams despite outshooting them. The Wild's first victory was a 5-1 decision over the Toronto Canada Moose on September 9, 2006. The team's first home game was against the Nipissing Alouettes on September 10, 2006. The Wild were victorious, winning by a 5-3 score.
The 2006–07 finalists started the 2007–08 season off rather slow. After playing poorly for most of the season, the Wild surged in the last quarter with a long winning streak to pull to a .500 record by the final regular season game. In the bye round of the playoffs, all byes had been picked and the final two teams remaining were the Wild and the Douro Dukes who would play in the first round by default. Although the Dukes played well, the Wild swept the series 4-0. The Wild continued to play well against the Temiscaming Royals in the league quarter-finals, but were still defeated by the second-seeded team in six games.
In March 2008, the Wild and the Richmond Hill Rams challenged the Mexico national ice hockey team to a set of four exhibition games. The first of two games for the Wild happened on March 22, as the Wild defeated the Mexican Senior team 7-6 in overtime. On March 25, the Wild beat them again 7-6, this time in regulation.
At the 2010 Summer Annual Governor's Meeting, it was announced that the Wild would relocate to the Vaughan Ice Plex in Vaughan, Ontario, after two seasons in Nobleton and two previous in King City.
In the summer of 2011, the Vaughan Wild moved to Lefroy, Ontario, and became the Lefroy Wave. In the spring of 2014, the Wave moved to Markdale, Ontario, and became the Grey Highlands Bravehearts. The Bravehearts were the first junior team to call home since the Junior D Markdale Mohawks played their final season in 1984–85.
After two seasons in Markdale, the Bravehearts moved again to Wiarton, Ontario, for the 2016–17 season where they became the Wiarton Rock. However, the team would not last one season in Wiarton and folded on 14 December 2016 after difficultly icing a full team and earning a 1-24-1 record.
Franchise under the ownership of John and Beth Dyer
On 20 March 2017, the GMHL announced that the Wiarton team had been sold to new ownership and would be named the Wiarton Schooners before they take to the ice in the 2017–18 season. The new team is primarily owned by John and Beth Dyer, a couple who had formerly been trainers and a billet family for the Rock, and 10% stake by another unannounced owner.