Wheatley Sharks and their 25 years of Junior C hockey

by C. Scott Holland

It seems like just yesterday when it all started, but the calendar tells us that 25 seasons have elapsed in Wheatley Sharks history.

On May 11, 1995, the Ontario Hockey Association announced that the Great Lakes Jr. C loop would expand with the addition of a 12th team.

The new franchise was Wheatley and as original co-owner Max Raffoul explained at the time, “We are not really a ‘new’ entity because our group bought a former club.”

That club was Tilbury, whose franchise was suspended after court action stemming from a player’s complaint.

A group consisting of Joe Moracci, Vic Gabriele, Max Raffoul, John Omstead and Richard Paliani joined forces to buy the Tilbury team and got the OHA approval to move it to Wheatley for the 1995-96 campaign.

The league opted to go with two divisions, putting Wheatley in the south along with Essex, Amherstburg, Belle River, Kingsville and Blenheim.

By mid-June, the club had its logo and was initially known as the Wheatley- Southpoint Sharks.

Former Leamington Flyers assistant coach John Hoy was hired as the team’s first coach, with Larry Gibbons, Richard Paliani and Max Raffoul as assistants.

The reaction to the new franchise was very positive by fans and local businesses, and they were overwhelmed by the instant respect given by other league teams.

The Sharks’ first training camp was held on September 2, 1995, with their home opener on September 25 against the Blenheim Blades.

Looking at some of the names on that first season’s roster, there was Aaron Setterington, Matt Coulter, Drew Harvey, Terry Symons, Jay Pickle, Mike Raffoul, Tony Youssef, Troy Zeray, Richard Morris, Ryan Rivest, Jason Cornies, Jamie Maksoud, Joel Julien, Scott Cronheimer, Kyle Gabriele, Kris Barnard, Greg Liebrock and Joe Diemer.

Their mandate of having 12-14 local players certainly held true. From that first game to the most recent contests a quarter of a century later – under the current leadership of Thomas Grubb and now known as the Wheatley Omstead Sharks – the team has given local hockey fans something extra to cheer about.

It was a gala night on September 25, 1995 as the Wheatley Southpoint Sharks played their very first Jr. C game at home. The official puck dropping was between Blenheim captain Bob McNear (front left) and Wheatley captain Tony Youssef (right). At the back are the Sharks owners, left to right, Joe Moracci,Richard Paliani, Max Raffoul (dropping puck), Vic Gabriele and John Omstead. Scott Holland photo collection