The Northeast Jr. Eagles are a Canadian Junior ice hockey club from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. They are members of the St. John's Junior Hockey League, are a former Junior A team, and were the first ever Don Johnson Cup Maritime Junior B champions in 1982.

Northeast Eagles
CityTorbay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
LeagueSt. John's Junior Hockey League
DivisionCity Division
Founded1980
Home arenaChicken Coop
ColoursBlack, yellow and white
     
General managerDoug Tibbo
Head coachGreg Ryerson (2017-2018)
Franchise history
1980–2014St. John's Jr. Celtics
2013–2016Northeast Celtics
2016–currentNortheast Eagles

History

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Prior to 1980, junior hockey in St. John's was for the most part a juvenile-level recreation league. Every year, an all-star team was drafted from the city and named the St. John's Jr. Capitals, after their senior team the St. John's Capitals, to compete against teams from across the province for the Veitch Memorial Trophy at either the Junior A or B level.

In 1980, the St. John's Junior Hockey League was organized and a legitimate Junior B league was formed. The winner of this league, not an all-star team, would represent the city in provincial and inter-provincial events. One of the founding members of this league was the St. John's "Brothers Rice" Jr. Celtics. In 1982, the Celtics would win their first league championship. They would win the Veitch Memorial Trophy and move on to the first ever Don Johnson Cup—an inter-provincial Junior Championship featuring the best Junior B clubs from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. In the final game, the Jr. Celtics defeated PEI's Kensington Bombers, 4–3, to win the first ever championship. Newfoundland's own Don Johnson had the honour of awarding the trophy bearing his name to his own son, Celtics' Michael Johnson, at the first event.

Nine games into the 1982–83 season, the Celtics had to pull out of the league. They were mothballed in 1983–84, but returned after that year off.

In 1989, the league retracted by half and was promoted to Junior A to compete for the Manitoba Centennial Cup at a National level. The Celtics were a part of this Junior A experiment for its two seasons, but the winners of the two seasons (St. John's Jr. 50's and Avalon Jr. Capitals) did not fare well in national playdowns, and the entire league returned to Junior B in 1991.

The Jr. Celtics won the St. John's League championship in 1982, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2008, and 2011. They won the Provincial Veitch Memorial Trophy in 1982, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2008, and 2011. 1982 remains the Celtics' only Don Johnson Cup.

In May 2016 all levels of hockey playing in the Jack Bryne Arena were re-branded as the Northeast Eagles.[1]

Season-by-season record

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Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
1980–81 32 15 11 6 164 145 36 3rd SJJHL
1981–82 32 25 4 3 - 250 104 53 1st SJJHL Won league, won VMT, won DJC
1982–83 9 2 6 1 - 36 65 5 5th SJJHL Suspended
1983–84 Did not participate
1984–85 33 3 28 2 - 73 256 8 7th SJJHL
1985–86 28 4 23 1 - 112 280 9 7th SJJHL
1986–87 30 8 20 2 - 150 226 18 6th SJJHL
1987–88 31 6 23 2 - 177 274 14 5th SJJHL
1988–89 42 31 11 0 - 335 214 62 1st SJJHL
1989–90 36 16 15 5 - 213 193 37 2nd SJJHL
1990–91 33 11 22 0 - 178 206 22 4th SJJHL
1991–92 27 9 15 3 - 129 159 21 3rd SJJHL
1992–93 38 15 23 0 - 192 214 30 3rd SJJHL
1993–94 24 19 5 0 - 191 98 38 1st SJJHL Won league
1994–95 34 24 9 1 - 218 135 49 1st SJJHL Won league, won VMT
1995–96 32 22 7 3 - 232 155 47 1st SJJHL
1996–97 32 17 12 3 - 155 143 37 2nd SJJHL
1997–98 34 18 16 0 - 187 187 36 2nd SJJHL
1998–99 33 20 11 2 - 176 140 42 3rd SJJHL
1999-00 37 29 5 3 - 199 125 61 1st SJJHL Won League
2000–01 31 17 8 3 3 163 124 40 4th SJJHL Won League, won VMT
2001–02 32 22 8 2 - 155 105 46 1st SJJHL
2002–03 29 10 18 0 1 130 144 21 6th SJJHL Won VMT
2003–04 29 10 16 1 2 146 166 23 7th SJJHL
2004–05 28 4 22 1 1 124 184 10 8th SJJHL
2005–06 29 13 12 1 3 171 167 30 5th SJJHL
2006–07 29 16 11 2 0 146 149 34 4th SJJHL
2007–08 28 16 10 1 1 130 102 34 3rd SJJHL Won League, won VMT
2008–09 28 17 9 1 1 146 124 36 3rd SJJHL
2009–10 28 21 5 2 0 163 93 44 2nd SJJHL
2010–11 28 17 10 - 1 144 102 35 4th SJJHL Won League, won VMT
2011–12 28 12 14 - 2 121 127 26 5th SJJHL
2012–13 28 15 12 - 1 123 137 31 3rd SJJHL Lost semi-final
2013–14 28 8 18 - 2 103 134 18 7th SJJHL Lost quarter-final, 1–4 (Caps)
Northeast Celtics
2014–15 28 11 16 - 1 87 104 23 7th SJJHL Lost quarter-final, 2–3 (Renegades)
2015–16 28 7 20 - 1 82 152 15 7th SJJHL Lost quarter-final, 0–3 (Blades)
Northeast Eagles
2016–17 28 3 21 - 4 75 152 11 8th of 8 SJJHL Lost quarter-final, 1-3 (Breakers)
2017–18 27 4 21 - 2 88 162 10 8th of 8 SJJHL Lost quarter-final, 0-3 (Blades)
2018–19 28 10 14 0 4 102 134 24 6th of 8 SJJHL Lost quarter-final, 0-3 (Jr. Stars)
2021–22 21 0 21 0 0 33 135 0 8th of 8 SJJHL Did not qualify
2022–23 28 10 14 0 4 93 127 24 6th of 8 SJJHL Lost quarterfinals, 0-3 (Jr. Caps)
2023–24 28 18 9 1 0 93 127 37 3rd of 8 SJJHL Won quarterfinals, 3-0 (Jr. Warriors)
Lost Semifinals, 1-4 (Jr. Caps)

References

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  1. ^ "Northeast Associations join forces to form one group – St. John's Junior Hockey League". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
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Preceded by
Don Johnson Cup Champions
1982
Succeeded by