QMJHL to move Acadie-Bathurst to St. John’s

Newfoundland Regiment (Wikimedia Commons)

According to TSN on Thursday, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League will be moving the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to St. John’s, Newfoundland for the 2025-26 junior hockey league season. The new franchise will be known as the Newfoundland Regiment, as the league is honouring Newfoundland’s military history.

For six seasons, St. John’s was home to the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL. However, on April 2, the Growlers and Trois-Rivieres Lions folded due to financial issues and being unable to fulfill league bylaws.

Prior to the Growlers, St. John’s were part of the American Hockey League as the St. John’s Maple Leafs were an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1991 to 2005, and the St. John’s IceCaps were an affiliate for the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens from 2011 to 2017. This is the second time St. John’s has been part of the QMJHL. The St. John’s Fog Devils were part of the league from 2005 to 2008 before moving to Montreal.

The Titan have been based in Acadie-Bathurst since 1998. Prior to that the franchise was based in Rosemont, Quebec (known as the National) from 1969 to 1971, and in Laval, Quebec (known as the National, Voisins, and Titan) from 1971 to 1998. In 2018, the Titan won their only Memorial Cup. They defeated the host Regina Pats 3-0 in the final.

Written by