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Deep Dive #2 - They Really Made an Impact
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BluesRegistered S24, S26 Challenge Cup Champion
04-24-2025, 10:00 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-25-2025, 07:25 AM by Blues. Edited 1 time in total.)
When I returned from inactivity recently, I was sad to see that the Montreal Impact were no longer around. Sure, there’s an SHL team in Montreal, but it’s not the same. A true S1 SMJHL franchise that was relocated south of the Canadian border – hell, they don’t even speak French in Carolina. I was thinking about what my second deep dive was going to be about and figured that the history of the Impact – at least while I was around – would be super worthwhile!
The franchise was founded in S1, like I mentioned, by leafs4stanley, originally as the Brandon Blazers. Early on in league history, the team was moved across Canada to the beautiful city of Montreal. There were a whole bunch of GM changes throughout the first 15ish seasons, but JNH and Byrdeman were mainstays for almost 10 seasons as GMs. They were my first GMs on the site and helped me learn to love the league. A few seasons later, I actually had a chance to be co-GM, and then later head GM. The impact were super successful, amassing a very positive record before being rebranded to the Montreal Militia. I’m still a bigger fan of the OG Impact branding, but at least the Militia were still based in Montreal. There are many greats that donned the Impact jersey. The S11 version of the team featured a few greats in Jrue Harden, Nathan Wong, and Joel Westbrook. These players led the offence to a stellar season and nearly came home with a Four Star Cup, losing in game seven to the Kelowna Knights in a heartbreaker. Yuri Boyka was another big name for the Impact, putting up 27 goals in a 40 game season, as we had back when Simon T Hockey Simulator was our simulator of choice. Bojo Biscuit was a huge contributor, not only to the fantasy teams of people who valued hits, but also to the development of the site. We all know about the Bojo Box, which was created by our resident Bojo. I also remember playing a computer hockey game that he developed and tested with the SHL community. Jakob Tanner is a name that sticks out as a goaltender. While his name is not often found in the record books, he was a goaltender that went on to lead the Hamilton Steelhawks to a couple of Challenge Cup championships in S24 and S26. He was also a fantastic GM. With back to back Four Star Cup vitories in S12 and S13, the Impact were forming a little bit of a dynasty. Sadly, it didn’t last very long, as they faded back into playoff obscurity until an S17 championship put them right back on the map. There was a lot of hope and potential around the S19 and S20 teams, but not much to show for the top seeded team in the east, as the St. Louis Scarecrows took them down in back to back years. The Impact would never see another championship in their original branding, but the season after they rebranded, the Four Star Cup returned to the Bell Centre. There wasn’t as much success as the Militia, with only one more cup championship being earned. The Montreal Impact were a long time mainstay in this league and I miss them dearly. I hope that this deep dive gave you some insight into an important piece of SHL history. Code: 552 words![[Image: fields.png]](https://i.ibb.co/sJDFnNQQ/fields.png)
HabsFanFromOntarioSHL GM Professor of Baldeconomics
04-24-2025, 11:47 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-24-2025, 11:48 PM by HabsFanFromOntario. Edited 1 time in total.)
Impact were not an s1 smjhl franchise, or founded by leafs4ever, I also don't believe jnh or byrde ever gm'd them. Abdeezy relocated the Brandon blazers there in season I want to say 7. Also the OG impact branding is just an MLS team.
“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. ... There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.”
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BluesRegistered S24, S26 Challenge Cup Champion 04-24-2025, 11:47 PMHabsFanFromOntario Wrote: Impact were not an s1 smjhl franchise, or founded by leafs4ever, I also don't believe jnh or byrde ever gm'd them. Abdeezy relocated the Brandon blazers there in season I want to say 7. Also the OG impact branding is just an MLS team.Thanks, I was using the history pages for the team and it says founded by "leafs4stanley". I just thought those must've been the same people lol. Fixed that part up. Pretty sure JNH and Byrde were GMs when I was there, and it has them listed on the team history page in the Carolina Forum. If that's wrong, my memory and the history keepers are serving us wrong. I know that, but it's still nostalgic branding in my eyes as the first SMJHL team that I was a part of.
AraDeep Dives Head Deep Dives CO
Approved for 5 tpe.
Wander my friends, wander with me. Like the mist on the green mountain, moving eternally.
Despite our weariness, we'll follow the road over hill and valleys, to the end of the journey Le monde n'est qu'une scène. Il vaut mieux rire que pleurer, car le rire est le propre de l'homme. Riez de tout cela, ne vous inquiétez pas. Profitons d'aujourd'hui ![[Image: pdqRV3G.png]](https://i.imgur.com/pdqRV3G.png) ![[Image: yRQ5DtN.png]](https://i.imgur.com/yRQ5DtN.png) |
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