The OHL's Plymouth Whalers at the Robertson Cup

Since joining the Ontario Hockey League in 1990-91 as the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, the Plymouth Whalers franchise has enjoyed more than their fair share of playoff success. Twice when they were known as the Detroit Junior Red Wings and three times as the Plymouth Whalers, the franchise has made it through to the Robertson Cup finals. On two occasions, the team won it all to earn a berth at the Memorial Cup tournament.

In 1993-94, just their fourth year in the league, the Junior Red Wings made it to the finals and valiantly took the North Bay Centennials to the seventh game before bowing out. During the regular season, Detroit finished first in the Emms Division and second overall in the OHL, behind North Bay. Kevin Brown finished second in scoring with 135 points, behind only Jason Allison of the London Knights.

The following year, the Junior Red Wings got it right, taking out the Guelph Storm in six games for their first Robertson Cup championship. In fact, the team marched right to the Memorial Cup final game before losing to the Kamloops Blazers. Detroit finished first in the West Division and second overall, behind Guelph. Bryan Berard took the league by storm from the blue line, winning the Emms Family Award as rookie of the year and Max Kaminsky Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.

In 1999-00, the franchise made it to their first Robertson Cup finals as the Plymouth Whalers. The team bowed out to the Barrie Colts in seven games. The Whalers finished first overall during the regular season, earning the Hamilton Spectator. The team was led by current NHL players Justin Williams of the Los Angeles Kings and Stephen Weiss of the Florida Panthers.

The next year, the Whalers found themselves in the finals again, this time losing to the Ottawa 67’s in six games. On their journey to the finals, the team lost just one game in three series. Plymouth finished the regular season first in the West Division and second overall, behind the Erie Otters. Stephen Weiss finished eighth in scoring with 87 points.

2006-07 was the last time the Whalers made the Robertson Cup finals. Plymouth met the Sudbury Wolves and won in six games, going 16-4 in their playoff run. At the Memorial Cup tournament, the Whalers lost to the host and eventual champion Vancouver Giants 8-1. Once again, they were first in the West Division but were second overall to the London Knights. Evan Brophy finished tied for sixth in scoring with Barrie’s Bryan Little, both with 107 points. Current Washington Capitals netminder Michal Neuvirth was a standout for the Whalers.