Tradition, success and excellence are three words that are synonymous with Varsity Blues hockey. The hockey Blues, one of the University of Toronto’s oldest and most successful teams, were formed on January 15, 1891. In 1902-03, Toronto joined Queen’s and McGill to form Canada's first intercollegiate hockey league.
The late Conn Smythe, founder of the Toronto Maple Leafs, was a Blues coach from 1923 to 1926, the first in a number of well-known personalities to stand behind the Varsity bench. Smythe was also a player and Blues captain while studying engineering in 1915. When Smythe founded the Maple Leafs, he ‘borrowed’ the familiar Varsity Blues sweater design for his new team. Other well-known Blues coaches include former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson (1926-28), Ace Bailey (1935-40 and 1945-49), Justice Joseph Kane (1962-65) and Mike Keenan (1983-84).
Tom Watt, a major influence in Canadian hockey, led the Blues to nine of their 10 national titles during his coaching career at U of T, which spanned from 1965 to 1979, and again in 1984-85. Watt was a member of the Canadian Olympic team coaching staff in 1980 and 1988 and has been head coach of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Blues have played a prominent role on the international hockey scene. The Varsity Grads, a team of former Blues players, captured the gold medal at the 1928 Olympic Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
In 1968, the Blues earned the bronze medal for Canada at the World University Games. In February 1972, the Blues thrilled a capacity crowd at Varsity Arena with a dramatic 5-1 victory over the USSR student national team.
The Varsity presence in Olympic hockey continued during the 1980s. At Lake Placid in 1980, Tom Watt was a co-coach of Team Canada with a roster that included no fewer than six Blues players: Warren Anderson, Dan D’Alvise, Cary Farelli, Joe Grant, Shane Pearsall and Stelio Zupancich. Anderson and Darren Lowe were Olympians in 1984 at Sarajevo.
In 1992-93, after capturing the Queen’s Cup, the Blues lost to Acadia in the national final. U of T’s most recent national title was won in 1983-84, when coach Mike Keenan led the Blues to a 9-1 victory over the Concordia Stingers. The Blues have won 10 national, 21 Ontario league and 10 additional titles for a total of 41 championships in the team’s history.
“During my years in hockey I have been fortunate to have been part of many great traditions. However, the tradition of excellence at the University of Toronto is unsurpassed by any I have seen. It’s great people who have created this great program. Being a part of Blues Hockey is something I hold very close to my heart.” - Mike Keenan, former GM of NHL’s Florida Panthers.
Thomas Arthur Reed, The Blue and White: A Record of Fifty Years of Athletic Endeavour at the University of Toronto, Toronto: The University of Toronto Press, 1944, pp. 187-210.
VARSITY BLUES COACHES
| 2017-present |
Ryan Medel |
| 1995-2017 |
Darren Lowe |
| 1985-95 |
Paul Titanic |
| 1984-85 |
Tom Watt |
| 1983-84 |
Mike Keenan |
| 1982-83 |
Gord Davies |
| 1981-82 |
Bill Purcell |
| 1979-81 |
Gord Davies |
| 1965-79 |
Tom Watt |
| 1962-65 |
Joe Kane |
| 1953-62 |
Jack Kennedy |
| 1951-53 |
Bill Wade |
| 1949-51 |
Wally Halder |
| 1945-49 |
Ace Bailey |
| 1940-45 |
War Years |
| 1935-40 |
Ace Bailey |
| 1933-35 |
Warren Stevens |
| 1931-33 |
F.G. Sullivan |
| 1928-31 |
J.C. (Red) Porter |
| 1926-28 |
Lester B. Pearson |
| 1923-26 |
Conn Smythe |
| 1922-23 |
Beattie Ramsay |
| 1920-22 |
Dr. W.A. Dafoe |
| 1919-20 |
Frank Carroll |
| 1915-19 |
War Years |
| 1913-15 |
Dr. Roy Thomas |
| 1909-13 |
Dr. W.E. Gallie |
VARSITY BLUES CAPTAINS
| 2023-24 |
Cole Purboo |
| 2022-23 |
Colin Paradis |
| 2021-22 |
Riley Bruce |
| 2020-21 |
No Season |
| 2019-20 |
Willy Paul |
| 2018-19 |
Aidan Wallace |
| 2017-18 |
Charlie Connell |
| 2016-17 |
Charlie Connell |
| 2015-16 |
Andrew Doyle |
| 2014-15 |
Andrew Doyle |
| 2013-14 |
Blake Boddy |
| 2012-13 |
Matt Walters |
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-09
2007-08 |
Andrew Kizito
Andrew Kizito
Brendan Sherrard
Brendan Sherrard
Brendan Sherrard |
| 2006-07 |
Simon Barg |
| 2005-06 |
Simon Barg |
| 2004-05 |
Ian Malcolm |
| 2003-04 |
Mark Hynes |
| 2002-03 |
Steve Murphy |
| 2001-02 |
Steve Murphy |
| 2000-01 |
Steve Murphy |
| 1999-00 |
Steve Richmond |
| 1998-99 |
Joel Zinn |
| 1997-98 |
Paul Handley |
| 1996-97 |
Jamie Coon |
| 1995-96 |
Scott McKinley |
| 1994-95 |
Scott McKinley |
| 1993-94 |
John Andersen |
| 1992-93 |
Tom Diceman |
| 1991-92 |
Mark Haarmann |
| 1990-91 |
Chris Vickers |
| 1989-90 |
Tom Warden |
| 1988-89 |
Ben Shepherd |
| 1987-88 |
Chris Callaghan |
| 1986-87 |
Jim Byrne |
| 1985-86 |
Darren Lowe |
| 1984-85 |
Darren Boyko |
| 1983-84 |
Mike Todd |
| 1982-83 |
Stelio Zupancich |
| 1981-82 |
Stelio Zupancich |
|
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| 1947-48 |
Ed Kryznowski |
| 1946-47 |
Ed Kryznowski |
