History

The 2019-2020 season marks the 73rd Anniversary of the Mississauga Hockey League which began as the Toronto Township Hockey League and was formed in 1946 with Cooksville, Streetsville, Erindale, Clarkson, Lorne Park, Lakeview, Cloverleaf, Malton and Burnhamthorpe. Five divisions including Intermediate, Juvenile, Minor Midget, PeeWee and Tadpole were featured. Games were played on outdoor ice in Erindale, Burnhamthorpe, Forsters Rink in Cooksville, Dixie, Malton, Port Credit, and at Lester’s Arena south of Brampton.

The first President of the League was Alf McCallum.

By 1950, there were 45 teams (46 in 1947-1948) and the League entered a Junior “B” team in the Ontario Hockey League, the Dixie Beehives.

The Toronto Township Hockey League affiliated with the Toronto Hockey League (now the Greater Toronto Hockey League) in 1956 and by 1967 boundaries were established and 155 teams from Applewood, Burnhamthorpe, Clarkson, Cloverleaf, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale, Lakeview, Lyndwood, Malton and Port Credit were using four covered arenas – Port Credit, Dixie, Huron Park and Streetsville.

In 1968, the Toronto Township Hockey League became known as the Mississauga Hockey League. By 1972, 400 teams were registered and parents were travelling to Acton, Bolton, Milton, Nobleton, Burlington, Woodbridge and Oakville for practices usually in the early hours of the morning.

In 1983, the New Concept ‘A’ level was formed. This was a separate level of ‘A’ hockey from that offered by the MHL Associations and was more akin to ‘AA’ calibre. New Concept teams were not permitted to enter ‘A’ tournaments and could only enter ‘AA’ or higher.  New Concept teams (with sponsoring organizations in brackets) were known as the Mississauga Algonquins (Clarkson), Mississauga Cree (Cawthra Park and Dixie), Mississauga Navajo (Cooksville), Mississauga Iroquois (Erindale), Mississauga Hurons (Port Credit), Mississauga Mohawks (Malton and Meadowvale) and Mississauga Ojibwa (Lorne Park). The New Concept level merged back with the regular MHL in 1988.

As Mississauga has grown and changed, so too has the MHL. Today, parents no longer have to travel outside the City for practices and games. The league offers hockey on six different levels of skill – ‘A’, Red, White, Blue, Green and Gold (U8 & U9 only) thus ensuring that hockey is available to every youngster in the City of Mississauga.

Since 1965, through induction to our Hall of Fame Honour Roll, the League has honoured a number of residents for their contribution to minor hockey in Mississauga. Their names are inscribed on a plaque in the Erin Mills Arena (upstairs) and can be found by clicking here.