Former Cullitons gather for 40th anniversary reunion

Members of the 1985-86 Stratford Cullitons pose for a group photo with the Sutherland Cup trophy at the Stratford Country Club on July 24.

By: Michael Willoughby

Several members of the 1985-1986 Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) Sutherland Cup champion Stratford Cullitons gathered for a special weekend. On July 24, the team participated in a golf tournament at the Stratford Country Club, and on July 25, they toured the William Allman Memorial Arena, then known as the Stratford Arena during that historic season.

During the ‘85-‘86 regular season, the Cullitons finished atop the Midwestern Junior B Hockey League (MWJHL) with a 36-3-1 record. Meanwhile, Stratford went 8-0 in the MWJHL playoffs against the Elmira Sugar Kings and Waterloo Siskins, claiming the Cherrey Cup for the seventh time in 10 seasons.

From a historical perspective, the 1985-86 team established franchise records with a .912 winning percentage and a 25-game winning streak. Both records still hold today.

Stratford advanced to the OHA Sutherland Cup playoffs, beating the St. Catharines Falcons in the quarterfinals, St. Thomas Stars in the semifinals and sweeping the Streetsville Derbys to win the franchise’s third-ever Sutherland Cup.

Denis Flanagan Jr., head coach of the 1986 Cullitons, praised the dedication and teamwork of the players he coached, highlighting their commitment during the championship run and how it shaped their future careers.

“Well, it's a wonderful experience to get back with all these fellas that I coached 40 years ago, and I haven't seen many of them in, some of them, 40 years really since the season ended,” Flanagan said. “… It's nice to see them find out where they're at now in life and rehash the good old stories that we created 40 years ago.

“But speaking of that team, you know that it was a pleasure to coach that team, and it's always easy to remember the teams that have success. There are some years where maybe the team didn't go as far as you'd like, but I think anytime you coach a group of players this age, and you know, trying to help them advance their hockey and enjoy the game of hockey – it's always special. But that year was unique, and I was blessed with having just a good group of guys.”

Don “General” MacArthur, currently entering his 46th year with the organization and now a life director and broadcaster for the Stratford Hockey Club, served as one of the Cullitons’ directors during the 1985-86 campaign. Speaking to the Times, MacArthur was very appreciative of the opportunity to take part in the reunion and reflected on the memorable campaign.

“I'm just thrilled that the boys still remember me and asked me to be included,” MacArthur said.

“Very exciting for me, and I became a director of the hockey club in 1982, and then we won this championship 40 years ago, and that was my first experience of being on a championship team in in any sort of way, and that was very thrilling and great that the boys decided to have this get together and probably even a little more exciting and had a bit more meaning to it because two of the players on that team also billed at our house. So very good memories and very fond memories.”

Nelson Emerson, the Cullitons’ leading goal scorer in the 85-86 season with 54 goals, was ecstatic about joining the reunion and getting back in touch with the team.

“Ah, it's incredible. I'm glad they put this together. The guys deserve it. It's just an incredible feeling to get to see everybody again,” Emerson said.

Having played in 771 NHL games in 12 seasons with six different teams and won two Stanley Cups as an executive with the Los Angeles Kings, Emerson credited his time in Stratford as a valuable experience for his professional career and his Cullitons’ teammates.

“I think what we learned here, what we did here, it was a foundation of not only me but everybody and what they've gone on to do in their lives and what everyone's done, whether it's sports or whatever. The foundation put in place by the Flanagans, the board and the team helps everybody do what they're doing now.”

Alongside Emerson, Warren Bullock led the MWJHL with 112 points in 1985-86. Like his teammates, Bullock was joyful about the reunion and the turnout of former teammates from across the continent who attended the special event.

“The effort they made to come from California, Florida, Boston, Indiana, just speaks to how special it is for everyone to be together and what that team meant even 40 years later,” Bullock said.

The third member of the 50-goal club with the Cullitons in the season, Shawn Heaphy, along with Scott Rex and Bryn Gladding, echoed the same positive sentiment about the reunion.

“It's awesome. I haven't seen some of these guys since I was 17 years old. So, the real neat thing is when you get back, it's like we never left. So, it's a lot of fun. We're looking forward to the golf and the weekend, Heaphy said.

“I think the ultimate goal is the Stanley Cup. But when you get to be part of such a great group here, where you have all the pieces and the success we had, that's something where you have a really strong bond and remember forever. So very lucky and fortunate to be part of it.”

“Oh, it's an honour, and it was an honour 40 years ago to put the equipment on with these same guys,” Rex said. “So it's the tightest group I've ever been a part of. Like everybody, it was incredible in the dressing room and what everybody brought, and no egos, and we just went out and won. It was incredible. It's so good. So many of these guys, a lot of these guys, I haven't seen in 40 years. They're such an important part of selfishly my own life. Just great human beings,” Rex said.

“Well, it's a great feeling to think that all of these guys have come back to meet and spend time together on this weekend, and we've got great weather here, and just a great group of guys. And you don't win a championship unless you have a real cohesive team, and we had a great team that year, and we played the way we played together better than anyone else, and it's probably one of the best teams I've ever played on,” Gladding said.

The goaltending tandem of Matt Merten and rookie Gary Wray manned the crease for the Cullitons in the regular season and playoffs, with Merten leading the way with a regular-season record of 23-2-0 with a 3.44 goals-against-average in 27 games. Wray went 13-1-0 with a goals-against-average of 3.10 in 18 games.

Originally from Uxbridge, Mass., Merten was a ninth-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in the 1986 NHL Draft. Merten cherished his time in Stratford, particularly the friendships he developed with Wray and Emerson.

“Oh, I mean, Razor (Wray) and I got along great. He's a tremendous, tremendous kid. I was a little bit older than he was, but we were really close, and he was so helpful in getting to know the community and getting to know everyone who was going on, as were some of my other teammates,” Merten said.

“I had the absolute pleasure of rooming with Nelson Emerson, who was that man. He was incredible to me as well, because I know that there were other imports that had tough, tough times here, and that was not the case. I got really close with a lot of the boys, and that was really what made it such a special experience.”

Wray, a hometown native who joined the Cullitons at age 16 in 1985, says playing with Merten was a beneficial experience.

“Matt was an unbelievable goalie. I learned a lot from him. Vancouver Canucks draft pick, he had a full scholarship to Providence College, and he was a couple years older than me. But I watched him in practice, and he was just a consummate professional, and I learned a ton from him.”

Every Culliton who spoke to the Times said that playing in the Allman was a special experience.

“It was remarkable. It just made it. It was a special feeling. You know that everyone cared about you. The city did. The town did. They're behind you, and with that, you had the pressure of, you know, performing for them,” Emerson said.

“Super special for us. I think the town kind of knew very early that they were watching a pretty special team, and by the time we reached the playoffs, I'd often come in an hour and a half before game time and barely get my own parking spot because the fans were like they wanted to be part of warm-up. Friday nights were incredible,” Bullock said.

“It's interesting. My kid plays junior hockey now, and I still tell stories from 1986 about how you get 2,000 fans in a game for a junior hockey game,” Heaphy said. “So, again, very fortunate to be involved and get to play in Stratford. Completely awesome.”

“The fans in Stratford were second to none. We had the best booster club. We had the best organization, the fans' commitment to the team. You know, they really showed their pride,” Gladding said.

“Oh, it was fantastic. I mean, coming from America … hockey is a is a sport, and the high school I played at had tremendous following, but here it's the sport, and as an American it was awesome to come to a hotbed, a wonderful town with all kinds of rich culture, and the rink was packed all the time, and all the people were tremendous to me while I was here, incredible experience,” Merten said.

“It was incredible … I'm from Brantford, and I wish every Brantford kid could play for the Cullitons and now for the Warriors. Everybody in southern Ontario should have the opportunity to play a Friday night home game in Stratford, especially in the playoffs. Incredible. That run was magical,” Rex said.

“It was a different time back in the mid-'80s. There wasn't Netflix or the NHL Centre Ice Package, so people would come to the Allman for entertainment on Friday nights, and I remember lineups for advance ticket sales all the way up Morenz Drive up to New Orleans Pizza. It was just crazy and packed to the rafters. It was nice to see something similar like that with St. Marys and Stratford this year in the playoffs, and we were just very blessed and fortunate that we caught lightning in a bottle that year,” Wray said.