See also: North American Hockey League (1973–1977) and North American Hockey League (US Tier-II Junior league). The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (North American Hockey League)[ 1] [ 2] LNAH ) was founded in 2004 and is a low-level professional league based in the Canadian province of Quebec . It was called the Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League from 1996 until it turned pro in 2004. It has no connection with the similarly named North American Hockey League (NAHL), an American junior league for players under twenty. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Futura Cup , which has been awarded annually since 1997.
Unlike higher-level professional leagues, such as the American Hockey League or the ECHL , the LNAH is not known for its skill level. Its teams employ many enforcers and has a rather infamous reputation for on-ice antics that mostly include fisticuffs . The LNAH has the unofficial reputation as the world's toughest hockey league; a New York Times article stated that the league averaged 3.2 fights a game during the 2010-2011 season, compared with 0.6 fights in the National Hockey League .[ 3]
Despite this reputation, many of the players are ex-NHL or ex-AHL players; Patrick Cote , Michel Picard , Stephane Richer , Bobby Dollas , Guillaume Lefebvre , Garrett Burnett , Daniel Shank , Francois Leroux , Jeremy Stevenson , Eric Fichaud , Mario Roberge , David Gosselin , Jesse Belanger , Donald Brashear and Yves Racine . During the 2004–2005 NHL lockout, some NHL players played the entire season in the league, such as Sylvain Blouin , Sebastien Caron , Mathieu Biron , Marc-André Bergeron and Sebastien Charpentier . The league has a rule that stipulates that all players must either have come from Quebec, or played junior hockey in Quebec.[ 3]
Another unique aspect, compared to other minor pro leagues of North America, is the absence of a veteran limit rule, which allows teams to stock up on experienced players. The league is slowly trying to clean itself up (for 2005–2006, the roster limit went from 20 to 19 players, which for most teams meant one less enforcer), but this is no easy task for a league that has always been popular with the fans for its reputation of being the toughest league in the world.
The LNAH Draft is held during the summer, including 15 rounds. Players too old for junior ice hockey may be drafted even if they were already drafted by an NHL team. Drafted players come from many leagues, including the Canadian Hockey League , American Hockey League , lower-level professional league, and the USport .
Current teams (2023-2024 season) [ ] Notes
An asterisk (*) denotes a franchise move/rename. See the respective team articles for more information. The second date is when the team took their present name.
Champions [ ] Team Timeline [ ] Present teams in bold
Team
Centre
Arena
Seasons
Fate
Acton Vale Nova Acton Vale, Quebec Centre Sportif d'Acton Vale 1996–2000
renamed Acton Vale Beaulieu
Haut-Richelieu Dragons Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec Arena Richmond 1996–1997
renamed Iberville Dragons
Lachute Rapides Lachute, Quebec Arena Kevin Lowe & Pierre Page 1996–1999
became LaSalle Rapides
Saint-Lin-Laurentides Gladiateurs Saint-Lin-Laurentides, Quebec Arena de Saint-Lin 1996–1997
became Sainte-Thérèse Chiefs
Louiseville Jets Louiseville, Quebec Arena de Louiseville 1996–1997
folded
Pont-Rouge Grand Portneuf Pont Rouge, Quebec Arena Joé Juneau 1996–2001
renamed Pont-Rouge Caron et Guay
Rive-Sud Chacals Levis, Quebec Aréna André Lacroix 1996–1998
became Saint-Georges Garaga
Saint-Gabriel Blizzard Saint-Gabriel, Quebec Arena de Saint-Gabriel de Brandon 1996–1998
became Joliette Blizzard
Sorel Dinosaures Sorel-Tracy, Quebec Colisée Cardin 1996–1999
renamed Sorel Royaux
Thetford Mines Coyotes Thetford Mines, Quebec Centre Mario Gosselin 1996–2000
renamed Thetford Mines Prolab
Vanier Voyageurs Val-Bélair (now Quebec City ), Quebec Aréna des Deux Glaces 1996–1997
became Québec As and played at Val-Bélair
Waterloo 94 Waterloo, Quebec Arena Jacques Chagnon 1996–1997
became Granby Blitz
Windsor Papetiers Windsor, Quebec Centre J A Lemay 1996–2001
renamed Windsor Lacroix
Asbestos Aztèques Asbestos, Quebec Aréna Connie-Dion 1997–2000
renamed Asbestos Dubé
Granby Blitz Granby, Quebec Arena Leonard Grondin 1997–2002
renamed Granby Prédateurs
Iberville Dragons Iberville, Quebec Iberville Palladium 1997–1998
became Saint-Laurent Dragons
Jonquière Condors Saguenay, Quebec Palais des Sports de Saguenay 1997–2002
renamed Saguenay Paramédic
Québec As Val-Bélair (now Quebec City ), Quebec Aréna des Deux Glaces 1997–1998
dormant in 1998–1999Côte-de-Beaupré Caron et Guay
Sainte-Thérèse Chiefs Ste. Therese Arena de Sainte-Therese 1997–1998
became Laval Chiefs
Joliette Blizzard Joliette, Quebec Centre recreatif Marcel-Bonin 1998–2000
renamed Joliette Mission
Laval Chiefs Laval, Quebec Colisée de Laval 1998–2005
renamed Laval Summum-Chiefs
Saint-Georges Garaga Saint-Georges-Beauce, Quebec Centre Sportif Lacroix-Dutil 1998–2005
renamed Saint-Georges CRS Express
Saint-Laurent Dragons Saint-Laurent, Quebec Raymond Bourque Arena 1998–2001
became Verdun Dragons
Côte-de-Beaupré Caron et Guay Beaupré, Quebec Aréna de Beaupré 1999–2000
became Côte-de-Beaupré As
LaSalle Rapides LaSalle, Quebec Arena Jacques Lemaire 1999–2003
folded
Sorel Royaux Sorel-Tracy, Quebec Colisée Cardin 1999–2004
folded
Acton Vale Beaulieu Acton Vale, Quebec Centre Sportif d'Acton Vale 2000–2001
became Saint-Hyacinthe Cousin
Asbestos Dubé Asbestos, Quebec Aréna Connie-Dion 2000–2002
renamed Asbestos Aztèques
Côte-de-Beaupré As Beaupré, Quebec Aréna de Beaupré 2000–2001
became Québec As
Joliette Mission Joliette, Quebec Centre recreatif Marcel-Bonin 2000–2002
became Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Mission
Thetford Mines Prolab Thetford Mines, Quebec Centre Mario Gosselin 2000–2007
renamed Thetford Mines Isothermic
Pont-Rouge Caron et Guay Pont Rouge, Quebec Arena Joé Juneau 2001–2004
became Trois-Rivières Caron et Guay
Québec As Charlesbourg, Quebec (2001-2002), Beauport, Quebec (2002-2003)Arpidrome (2001-2002), Aréna Marcel Bédard (2002-2003)2001–2003
renamed Québec Radio X
Rivière-du-Loup Promutuel Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec Centre Premier Tech 2001–2004
folded
Saint-Hyacinthe Cousin Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Stade L.P. Gaucher 2001–2005
renamed Saint-Hyacinthe Cristal
Verdun Dragons Verdun, Quebec Verdun Auditorium 2001–2005
renamed Verdun-Montréal Dragons
Windsor Lacroix Windsor, Quebec Centre J A Lemay 2001–2003
became Sherbrooke Saint-François
Asbestos Aztèques Asbestos, Quebec Aréna Connie-Dion 2002–2003
folded
Granby Prédateurs Granby, Quebec Arena Leonard Grondin 2002–2004
folded
Saguenay Paramédic Saguenay, Quebec Palais des Sports de Saguenay 2002–2004
renamed Saguenay Fjord
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Mission Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec Colisée Isabelle-Brasseur 2002–2004
became Sorel Mission
Quebec Radio X Quebec City, Quebec Pavillon de la Jeunesse 2003-2008
renamed Pont Rouge Lois Jeans
Sherbrooke Saint-François Sherbrooke, Quebec Palais des Sports (Sherbrooke) 2003-2011
became Windsor Wild
Trois-Rivières Viking Trois-Rivières, Quebec Colisée de Trois-Rivières 2003–2004
folded
Saguenay Fjord Saguenay, Quebec Palais des Sports de Saguenay 2004–2005
folded after 24 games
Sorel Mission Sorel-Tracy, Quebec Colisée Cardin 2004–2008
suspend operations; return 2010 as Sorel-Tracy GCI
Trois-Rivières Caron & Guay Trois-Rivières, Quebec Colisée de Trois-Rivières 2004-2013
renamed Trois-Rivières Viking
Laval Summum-Chiefs Laval, Quebec Colisée de Laval 2005–2006
became Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Summum-Chiefs
Saint-Georges CRS Express Saint-Georges-Beauce, Quebec Centre Sportif Lacroix-Dutil 2005-2010
became Saint-Georges Cool FM 103.5
Saint-Hyacinthe Cristal Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Stade L.P. Gaucher 2005–2006
renamed Saint-Hyacinthe Top Design
Verdun-Montréal Dragons Verdun, Quebec Verdun Auditorium 2005–2006
folded
Saint-Hyacinthe Top Design Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Stade L.P. Gaucher 2006–2008
renamed Saint-Hyacinthe Chiefs
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Summum-Chiefs Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec Colisée Isabelle-Brasseur 2006–2008
became Saguenay 98,3
Thetford Mines Isothermic Thetford Mines, Quebec Centre Mario Gosselin 2007-2015
renamed Thetford Mines Assurancia
Pont Rouge Lois Jeans Pont Rouge, Quebec Arena Joé Juneau 2008-2010
Folded
Saguenay 98,3 Saguenay, Quebec Palais des Sports de Saguenay 2008-2009
renamed Saguenay Marquis
Rivière-du-Loup CIMT Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec Centre Premier Tech 2008-2010
renamed Rivière-du-Loup 3L
Ste-Marie Poutrelles Delta Sainte-Marie, Quebec Arena Paul-Henri Drouin 2008-2008
folded during the season
Saint-Hyacinthe Chiefs Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Stade L.P. Gaucher 2008-2009
folded
Saguenay Marquis Jonquière, Quebec Palais des Sports de Saguenay 2009-2012
renamed Jonquiere Marquis
Rivière-du-Loup 3L Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec Centre Premier Tech 2010-Present Current Team
Saint-Georges Cool FM 103.5 Saint-Georges-Beauce, Quebec Centre Sportif Lacroix-Dutil 2010-Present Current Team
Sorel-Tracy GCI Sorel-Tracy, Quebec Colisée Cardin 2010-2011
renamed Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena
Windsor Wild Windsor, Quebec Centre J A Lemay 2011-2012
become Cornwall River Kings
Sorel-Tracy HC Carvena Sorel-Tracy, Quebec Colisée Cardin 2011-2013
become Sorel-Tracy Éperviers
Cornwall River Kings Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall Civic Complex 2012-2016
folded in August 2016
Jonquiere Marquis Saguenay, Quebec Palais des Sports de Saguenay 2012-Present Current Team
Sorel-Tracy Éperviers Sorel-Tracy, Quebec Colisée Cardin 2013-Present Current Team
Valleyfield Braves Valleyfield, Quebec Arena Salaberry 2013-2013
relocated to Laval in November 2013
Trois-Rivières Viking Trois-Rivières, Quebec Colisée de Trois-Rivières 2013-2014
renamed Trois-Rivières Blizzard
Laval Prédateurs Laval, Quebec Colisée de Laval 2013-2017
folded when unable to relocate or find new owner
Trois-Rivières Blizzard Trois-Rivières, Quebec Colisée de Trois-Rivières 2014-2017
Renamed Trois-Rivières Draveurs
Thetford Mines Assurancia Thetford Mines, Quebec Centre Mario Gosselin 2015-Present Current Team
Trois-Rivières Draveurs Trois-Rivières, Quebec Colisée de Trois-Rivières 2017-2018
folded
Berlin BlackJacks Berlin, New Hampshire Notre Dame Arena 2018-2018
relcoated to Saint-Jerome, Quebec December 4, 2018; renamed Les Pétroliers du Nord
Les Pétroliers du Nord Saint-Jerome, Quebec (2018-2019)Laval, Quebec Regional Arena Rivière-du-Nord Colisée de Laval 2018-Present relocated to Laval without a change in name
Bâtisseurs de Montcalm Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan , Quebec Complexe JC Perreault 2021-2023
Folded June 29, 2023
References [ ] External links [ ]
Canada Canada