The PHL was entering a new era in the summer of 1969. The merger with the now-defunct GHL would bring six expansion clubs to the league to begin play in the fall. On June 4, 1969, it was announced that the Calgary Wranglers, Vancouver Bighorns, Los Angeles Wizards, St. Louis Spirits, San Francisco Nuggets, and Pittsburgh Stingers would be included in the merger. Some question marks still surrounded the Nuggets' Arena situation just prior to the announcement. However, the day before the announcement, a deal was struck with the city of San Jose to build a new 17,000 seat arena for the Nuggets. Among the conditions, the Nuggets would be required to share the arena with the PBA's California Cruisers, and would be required to change their name to the California Nuggets.
Seeing an opportunity to overhaul the league's aging image, Alan Garcia also announced several cosmetic changes to the league that would take effect immediately. The biggest change would be a league-wide realignment that had originally been planned for the following season. Garcia decided toward the end of the 1968-69 season that it would be in the league's best interest to go through with the realignment right away. The league would now be divided into two conferences, East and West, with two divisions of five teams in each. Gone would be the traditional Canadian/American alignment. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Buffalo situation and the now very strong possibility of a move to Denver, the Bulls would play the '69-70 season in the East. The Pittsburgh Stingers would play in the West along with the rest of the former GHL clubs. if Buffalo moved in 1970, they would trade places with Pittsburgh. If not, the Stingers would move east at the first opportunity. Here is the alignment for the 1969-70 season.
Western Conference
Pacific Division
Vancouver Bighorns
California Nuggets
Los Angeles Wizards
Calgary Wranglers
Winnipeg Pioneers
Central Division
Chicago Shamrocks
Detroit Mustangs
St. Louis Spirits
Pittsburgh Stingers
Minnesota Lumberjacks
Eastern Conference
Northeast Division
Ottawa Beavers
Toronto Racers
Hamilton Kings
Montreal Royale
Quebec Nationale
Atlantic Division
Boston Bulldogs
New York Civics
Philadelphia Redshirts
Nova Scotia Claymores
Buffalo Bulls
There would be some fairly big changes to the look of the league as well, as Garcia wanted to use the merger as an opportunity to "bring the league into the future". Among these changes, the league would introduce a brand new logo, and all 20 teams would be required to put players' names on the back of their sweaters above the numbers. In order to allow fans to adjust to all the changes, teams were asked to wait a year before introducing new logos and uniforms. The New York Civics and Toronto Racers had planned to make changes to their uniforms, while the Nova Scotia Claymores had planned on a full rebrand. All three would put those plans on hold until 1970. The league introduced it's new logo on July 1, 1969.
Draft Results:
The 1969 Entry Draft began with some controversy when Alan Garcia made the decision to place the former GHL teams at the end of the draft. Garcia did not want to cheat the established PHL clubs by bumping them lower in the draft. This infuriated the new teams, who already felt they were at a severe disadvantage. Nevertheless, Garcia maintained that the new clubs had to "pay their dues", especially in their first season. On draft day, the Hamilton Kings finally addressed their need on the blueline, selecting star defenseman Donald Cox first overall. Buffalo selected winger Brad Oliver second, while the Winnipeg Pioneers added some much-needed toughness up front, selecting power forward Greg Philips. Later in the draft, Detroit traded defenseman Earl Sherman to Ottawa for the Beavers 7th overall pick. The Mustangs took Center Bobby Vail, then replaced Sherman with their 12th pick, selecting defenseman Cliff Lyle.
Boston was able to replace Goaltender Glen Stevenson, who had retired, by selecting Ricky Spooner 13th.
- Donald Cox, D, Hamilton
- Brad Oliver, F, Buffalo
- Greg Philips, F, Winnipeg
- William Baxter, F, Quebec
- Ronald Crane, D, Chicago
- Dave Tobin, F, New York
- Bobby Vail, F, Detroit (from Ottawa)
- Steve Talbot, F, Philadelphia
- Ted Beattie, F, Toronto
- Todd Winslow, D, Minnesota
- Bruce Ricketts, F, Nova Scotia
- Cliff Lyle, D, Detroit
- Ricky Spooner, G, Boston
- Bobby Raines, F, Montreal
- Dennis Carter, G, Los Angeles
- Bobby Hudson, D, Pittsburgh
- Joe Wolfe, D, California
- David Stickland, F, Vancouver
- Gary Mendoza, F, Calgary
- Dave Hughes, F, St. Louis
Retirements:
Sam West, D, Detroit, Winnipeg 1952-1969
Sam West patrolled the Detroit blueline alongside his brother, Doug, from 1952 to 1966, leading them to their first Lewis Cup in 1963. In 1966, the West brothers were both selected in the expansion draft by the Winnipeg Pioneers. Although Sam West's production declined in Winnipeg, his leadership skills and veteran experience proved to be very valuable to the new club.
Glen Stevenson, G, Boston, 1954-1969
Stevenson had huge skates to fill from day one, replacing the legendary Max Marchand, who had backstopped the Bulldogs to 5 Lewis Cups. Although Stevenson would never enjoy quite the same success as Marchand, he would manage to carve out quite a successful career of his own, winning the Lewis Cup in 1959.
Ritchie Moore, Philadelphia, Winnipeg, 1951-1969
Moore was a star and a fan-favorite on the Philadelphia wing for 15 years. He was selected by the Pioneers in the 1966 expansion draft, where he would play his final three seasons.
Transactions:
Detroit trades defenseman Earl Sherman to Ottawa for 1st round draft pick
Quebec trades defenseman Sandy Brayden, and winger Doug Willow to California for Goaltender David Zimmer.
No Uniform or Logo Updates in 1969.
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