Once upon a time, before the Halifax Mooseheads took metro by storm and before the American Hockey League came to town, there was a team.

Not just any team. This was a team that captivated Halifax hockey fans almost from the moment of its birth in the fall of 1965 and one which would leave a lasting legacy despite a lifespan of barely four years. The team was the Halifax Junior Canadiens and the architect behind the team was Fred MacGillivray Sr., an organizer without peer who dared think the unthinkable – that an independent major junior team stocked primarily with Maritime-based talent could compete on equal terms with its counterparts across the country and challenge for the coveted Memorial Cup.

It couldn’t be done, scoffed the skeptics.

MacGillivray, however, had other ideas. He negotiated an arrangement with Montreal Canadiens general manager Sam Pollock which landed the fledgling Halifax team a few junior prospects with Quebec league experience. He was also able to hire the fiery Leo Bossy of Montreal as coach.

Training camp attracted more than 60 players, from which Bossy was able to mold a rock-solid line-up. Some of the mainstays included Brian O’Byrne, Roddy Bossy (Leo’ s nephew), Mike Hornby, Norm Guimond, Camille Caissie, Errol Thompson and Bobby Whitlock.

With no league to play in, MacGillivray put together an old-fashioned barnstorming schedule, the most memorable of which brought Quebec and Ontario team into the Halifax Forum for Saturday night and Sunday afternoon matchups.

Metro area fans – who had lost interest in senior hockey, which had dominated the provincial scene through the early 1960’s – were immediately attracted to the junior matchups. Crowds at the Forum consistently topped 3,000 and on many occasions reached 4,000 and 5,000.

By the time the Junior Canadiens embarked on the Memorial Cup trail, tickets became one of the most sought-after commodities in town and crowds would line up several hours before a game to ensure themselves a standing-room-only spot in the building.

In 1966-67, the swashbuckling Halifax side continued its barnstorming ways, complete with importing teams from Ontario, Quebec and even, on one occasion, Edmonton.

And the love affair with metro fans continued – in large part thanks to one important on-ice addition, the incomparable Bobby Sheehan from Weymouth, Mass., who thrilled on-lookers with his speed and flash. MacGillivray’s promotional side also showed itself when he matched the Junior Canadiens against the Soviet Union national team and, of course, filled the Forum. Little matter that the Soviets won by a couple of converted touchdowns. The only play most people at the game remember was Sheehan skating past a couple of defenders for Halifax’s only goal.

But despite high hopes, the Junior Canadiens lost to Thetford Mines in Memorial Cup play.

The 1967 – 68 season offered more of the same. Following another early Memorial Cup setback, MacGillivray pursued the only course of action that promised long-term success for the Junior Canadiens – entry into the prestigious Ontario Hockey League. His overtures were rebuffed. By now other major junior teams in the Maritimes, specifically Moncton, Fredericton and Charlottetown, started to siphon off some of the available talent that had previously been available exclusively to the Junior Canadiens.

This led to the formation of a Maritime Junior Hockey League in 1968-69 but fans stayed away in droves. Within a year, the Junior Canadiens would be sold and renamed the Halifax Atlantics, ending a glorious era.

That it ever happened can be traced directly to Fred MacGillivray – a little guy with big dreams.

Bio Courtesy of Carl Flemming