Second group of members to be inducted during May ceremony
March 28, 2025, Mississauga, ON – …. The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) Hall of Fame will induct a five-member class as its second group of inductees this spring, the OJHL announced today.
The inductees include team and league builder Charlie Macoun, ex-NHLer Michael Cammalleri and prolific Jr. A scorers Trent Walford, Steve Novis and Darren Haydar.
Charlie Macoun – Builder
A pioneer in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, Charlie Macoun was part of the group that founded the Newmarket 87s (Hurricanes) team in the 1987-88 season. Together, Mr. Macoun and the group built a model franchise that would go onto much success. The franchise was moved to Milton in 2019 and renamed the Menace. He held several other positions within the parent Ontario Hockey Association through the years, including time as an OHA Director and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the OHA Provincial Junior League, before it was rebranded as the OJHL. Over the years, Mr. Macoun represented the OHA on numerous committees. He played a significant role in the merger of the Metro Junior League with the Provincial League and served on the Ontario Hockey Federation’s (OHF) Junior Council. He was recognized by the OHA back in 2003 with its Gold Stick, which is an order of merit in hockey awarded by the OHA for outstanding service to the game, other than as a player. Mr. Macoun and his late wife, Marge, raised three sons, Jeff, Jamie and Michael. Jamie Macoun played for the Newmarket and Aurora franchises in the OJHL. He’d go on to skate in 1,128 games in the NHL with Calgary, Toronto and Detroit.
Charlie Macoun passed away in 2020.
Steve Novis – Original Era and Other Leagues
Steve Novis was a scoring threat every time he stepped on the ice in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. He played in the league for four seasons (1974-75). Mr. Consistency, he had high-production seasons of 84, 75, 103 and 86 points. He played his first season with the Seneca Flyers and moved north with the team in 1975 to Newmarket where he played his final three seasons. The franchise maintained the Flyers name after the move. Novis’ biggest season was that 103-point campaign when he scored 46 goals and added 57 assists in 44 games. Novis finished his OJHL career as the leading point getter of the Original Era with 348 points.
Michael Cammalleri – Modern Era
The Richmond Hill native had a distinguished 15-year NHL career playing in over 906 games that included 294 goals and 642 points with five teams (Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers). Cammalleri starred for the Bramalea Blues in what’s now the OJHL for two seasons. A year after being named league rookie of the year, he recorded 103 points (31 goals/72 assists) in 41 games for the Blues in 1998-99. Cammalleri then played three seasons at the University of Michigan. A CCHA first team All-Star and NCAA West second team All-America in 2001, he was the team’s assistant captain and was named CCHA first team and NCAA West first team All-America in 2002. He decided to forego his senior season and completed his three-year collegiate career with 131 points in 110 games. He was the leading goal-scorer at least once on three of the first four NHL teams he played for. He led the Kings with 26 goals during the 2005-06 season; led the Flames in goals with 39 goals in 2008-09 and 26 in 2013-14 with 26; and topped the New Jersey Devils with 27 goals in 2014-15. Cammalleri was even traded in the middle of a game. He was pulled off the ice midway through the Canadiens’ game against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 12, 2012, after Montreal and the Calgary Flames worked out a trade. Before he left, Cammalleri tied a franchise playoff scoring record shared by Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Bernie Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Bonin. He did it during the second round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he scored seven goals in a seven-game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins to lead the Canadiens into the Eastern Conference Final. Cammalleri finished the 2010 playoffs leading all scorers with 13 goals. A second-round selection (No. 49) by the Kings in the 2001 NHL Draft, Cammalleri represented Canada internationally, winning gold at the 2007 World Championship and silver at the World Junior Championship in 2001 and 2002. Cammalleri, who retired in 2018, coaches youth hockey in Vaughan. He was inducted into the Richmond Hill Sports Hall of Fame in January
Darren Haydar – Modern Era
Growing up in Milton, Haydar played his minor hockey there and went on to the Milton Merchants of what’s now the OJHL. From 1995 to 1998 he tore the league apart with 240 points over that time span including his stellar 71 goal performance in only 51 games in 1997-1998. He was the league’s player of the year and a first team all-star that season. With no Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team guaranteeing him a spot, he went to the University of New Hampshire. During his freshman year, the Wildcats went to the Frozen Four only to lose in double-overtime. Haydar ended up finishing his NCAA Career with 219 points for third all-time in Wildcats history. Haydar is one of the most prolific hockey players to ever suit up in the American Hockey League (AHL). He joined the Milwaukee Admirals in 2002-03, posting 75 points in 75 games and earning the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie. Inducted into the AHL HAll of Fame in 2019, he is the league’s all-time playoffs scoring leader in goals (63), assists (80) and points (143) and holds the records for longest consecutive point scoring streak with 39 games. During 2006-2007 with the Chicago Wolves he amassed 79 points during that streak. Haydar won Calder Cup Championships with the Milwaukee Admirals (2003-04) and the Wolves (2007-08). A ninth-round (248th-overall) pick of the Nashville Predators in 1999, Haydar played games in the NHL with Nashville, the Atlanta Thrashers and Colorado Avalanche. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012 while playing in the AHL, he has hosted a golf tournament and hockey games in support of MS awareness. Now 45, Haydar is a real estate agent and a mentor to minor hockey players through his 2020 Elite Hockey program. He was on the roster of the Sr. A Dundas Real McCoys from 2018-24, winning back-to-back Allan Cup national championships in 2023 and 2024.
Trent Walford – Modern Era
Trent Walford definitely found a home in what’s now the Ontario Junior Hockey League during the mid-1990s. The Mississauga product had proverbial cups of coffee with the Newmarket Royals (now Sarnia Sting) and Niagara Falls Thunder (now Erie Otters). But Walford blossomed with the Newmarket 87s (now Milton Menace) of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League.
In 124 games over three seasons (1993-96), Walford amassed 291 points (101 goals/190 assists) for an eye-popping average of 2.35 points per game. His final season (1995-96) in Newmarket was his finest by far. Walford scored 52 goals and assisted on 90 others for 142 points in 50 games. No shrinking violet, he was also assessed 156 penalty minutes. Walford’s 142 points remain a Modern Era record in the OJHL. Fellow 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Darren Hayder (Milton Merchants) and Jason Pinizzotto (Couchiching Terriers) are next at 140 points. Walford was selected as player of the year by the Canadian Junior Hockey League that season. Newmarket won the Buckland and Dudley Hewitt cups that year and advanced to the semifinals at the national championships in Melfort, Sask. Walford played three seasons at NCAA Division I Lake Superior State and parts of three more seasons in the ECHL. Now 48, Walford is a real estate agent in Las Vegas.
The Class of 2025 will be officially welcomed during a ceremony in early May.
The Selection Committee was comprised of OJHL Board of Directors Chairman Stuart Hyman; Izak Westgate, Manager of Outreach Exhibits and Assistant Curator, Hockey Hall of Fame; Burlington Cougars Governor and former NHL player Ron Sedlbauer; retired journalist John Cudmore; Rick Morocco, Executive Director, OJHL Foundation and; OJHL Communications Director Jim Mason.
The virtual hall of fame was officially launched in May of 2024 with the induction of Bob Hooper, Josh Soares and former NHLers Paul Coffey, Steve Thomas and Adam Oates at a ceremony during the Centennial Cup tournament in Oakville.
The OJHL Hall of Fame was established to honour and preserve the history of the great athletes and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of the OJHL and who have performed with highest distinction in the OJHL and beyond.
Nominations for each season are open annually from mid-September until the end of November.
The OJHL Hall of Fame website also features information about the inductees and the inductee categories, timelines and selection criteria. The site includes information on the history of Junior A leagues that laid the foundation for the present-day OJHL including statistical records, history of league award winners and a list league and national champions.
To visit the OJHL Hall of Fame virtual website, please go to www.ojhlhalloffame.ca
About the OJHL – “League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 24 member clubs. A proud member of the CJHL and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including U SPORTS, the NCAA, CHL, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL has had more than 100 commitments already this season.
For more information on the Ontario Junior Hockey League, please visit www.ojhl.ca
