Editing Sudbury Wolves (section)

==History==
Sudbury has had a hockey team known as the Wolves or Cub Wolves nearly every year since around WWI. This team name was informally adopted around 1920 as the "Wolves of the North," likely a reference to the "voracity and tenacity that typified the play of these men from Sudbury."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pagnucco |first=Frank |title=Home-Grown Heroes: A Sports History of Sudbury |publisher=Miller Publishing |year=1982}}</ref>

The Sudbury Cub Wolves junior team began play in the 1920s as a member of the Nickel Belt Hockey League. Under the management of [[Max Silverman]], and coached by [[Samuel Rothschild|Sam Rothschild]], the Cub Wolves won the [[Memorial Cup]] in 1932 with a roster that featured future NHL players such as [[Toe Blake|Hector "Toe" Blake]], [[Nakina Smith]], and [[Adélard Lafrance]]. In 1935, the Cub Wolves lost in the Memorial Cup finals to the Winnipeg Monarchs.

A senior team competing under the banner of the Sudbury Wolves, again coached by Silverman, have twice been chosen to be [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Canada's representatives]] at the [[Ice Hockey World Championships]], winning the title for Canada in 1938 and the silver medal in 1949.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holland |first=Dave |title=Canada on Ice; The World Hockey Championships, 1920–2008 |publisher=Canada On Ice productions |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-9808936-0-1 |pages=46–47, 56–57}}</ref> An iteration of the Wolves competed as the [[Eastern Canada]] entry at the [[1954 Allan Cup]] senior national championship, falling to the [[Penticton Vees (senior)|Penticton Vees]] from [[Western Canada]].

A professional Sudbury Wolves team competed in the [[Eastern Professional Hockey League (1959–1963)|Eastern Professional Hockey League]] (EPHL) from 1959 until the league folded in 1963. Players such as [[Don Cherry]], [[Dave Keon]], and [[Gerry Cheevers]] suited up for the club during its brief existence.

A junior version of the Wolves emerged in the early 1960s as a member of the [[Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association]], winning the league championship in 1969 and 1971.<ref name=":0" />

The OHL - then known as the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League - arrived in Sudbury in 1972 when local businessman Bud Burke, who was a shareholder in the NOJHL Wolves, purchased the Niagara Falls Flyers from [[Hap Emms|Leighton "Hap" Emms]] and moved the team to [[Northern Ontario]]. In [[1975-76 OHL season|1975-76]], the Wolves, coached by [[Jerry Toppazzini]], who won the [[Matt Leyden Trophy]] that season, won [[Hamilton Spectator Trophy]] for having the best regular season record in the league with a roster of future NHL players such as [[Randy Carlyle]], [[Ron Duguay]], [[Rod Schutt]], and [[Mike Foligno]]. Sudbury advanced to the 1975-76 OHL finals, but lost to the [[Hamilton Fincups]] in five games. In 1979, Burke sold the team to a large ownership group headed by future Hockey Canada board of directors chair Joe Drago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joe Drago honoured by Hockey Canada |url=https://thesudburystar.com/sports/local-sports/joe-drago-honoured-by-hockey-canada |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=thesudburystar |language=en-CA}}</ref> From 1973 to 1979, a young [[Joe Bowen]] began his broadcasting career covering the Wolves on local Sudbury radio.<ref name=":0" />

The Wolves were the worst performing team in the entire [[Canadian Hockey League]] (CHL) in the 1980s, making the playoffs only once and not winning a single postseason game in the process. The club did manage to develop some notable players in this era, such as [[Pat Verbeek]] and [[Jeff Brown (ice hockey, born 1966)|Jeff Brown]]. A turning point in franchise history came in 1986 when local businessman Ken Burgess purchased the struggling club and initiated a major organizational turnaround. [[Sam McMaster]] was hired as general manager in 1988, and under his direction the team experienced renewed success, winning its first playoff series since [[1979–80 OMJHL season|1979-80]] when they defeated the [[Oshawa Generals]] in the first round of [[1991–92 OHL season|1991-92 OHL]] playoffs. McMaster was named [[OHL Executive of the Year]] in [[1989–90 OHL season|1989–90]].<ref name=":0" />

From the early 1990s to the mid-2000s, the Wolves experienced mixed success. The club lost in Game 7 of the [[1994–95 OHL season|1994-95 OHL]] semi-finals to the [[Detroit Junior Red Wings]]. A string of disappointing seasons came to an end in [[2006–07 OHL season|2006–07]] - the Wolves' 35th anniversary - when the team advanced to the OHL Finals, but ultimately lost to the [[Plymouth Whalers]] in six games. Coached by [[Mike Foligno]], the Wolves roster that season featured several future NHL players, namely [[Marc Staal]], [[Nick Foligno]], [[Adam McQuaid]], and [[Akim Aliu]].<ref name=":0" />

From 2007 to 2016, the team generally struggled, including posting the worst season in franchise history in [[2014–15 OHL season|2014-2015]]. In August 2012, the Wolves were sent to represent Canada at the 2012 [[Junior Club World Cup]]. Sudbury defeated the [[Waterloo Black Hawks]] of the [[United States Hockey League]] in the championship finals by a score of 2-0.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/article/wolves-win-2012-world-junior-club-cup|title = Wolves Win 2012 World Junior Club Cup – Ontario Hockey League}}</ref> In 2016, the Burgess family, at the time the longest-serving ownership group in the OHL, sold the team to Sudbury businessman Dario Zulich. Since Zulich's takeover, the team has been moving in a positive direction, drafting players such as [[Quinton Byfield]] and [[Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen|Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen]], and winning a regular season division title in [[2019–20 OHL season|2019-20]].<ref>{{cite web |date=July 29, 2016 |title=Update: Zulich issues statement regarding purchase of Sudbury Wolves |url=https://www.sudbury.com/sports/sudbury-wolves-sold-to-dario-zulich-346883 |publisher=Sudbury.com}}</ref>