One of the best Junior B hockey teams ever assembled is reuniting on July 24-25 in the Festival City.
The 1985-86 Stratford Cullitons featured many of the best players the city had to offer along with big-name recruits. A total of eight players on the roster were drafted into the NHL, while nine earned scholarships to American schools.
Stratford’s Gary Wray was one of the team’s goalies. Stratford won the Sutherland Cup, compiling a record of 56 wins, against four losses and a tie.
Wray said he couldn’t take credit for the reunion, but teammate Mike Pearce can.
“He brought it to my attention about a year ago, and we were texting back and forth. He’s now living with his wife in Florida and he said it’s the 40th anniversary of us winning it all. And I’m like, man, time has flown by so quickly. That got the hamster wheel going.”
Wray said he reached out to Warren Bullock and the pair had lunch – that’s when everything fell into place. Bullock and Nelson Emmerson tied for the league lead in scoring with 122 points. Emmerson went on to a successful professional career and is now the assistant general manager with the Los Angeles Kings.
Wray said every member of the team was tracked down, both on and off the ice.
“We got (coach) Dennis Flanagan Jr. coming back. We’ve got our trainer, Diego Vitello. Unfortunately, Terry Uniac, our assistant coach, can’t make it that weekend. He’s already got a prior family commitment, but it’s going to be so good. Only three players from the team aren’t able to make it.”
Wray said organizers struggled with two different options for the reunion but eventually decided to celebrate on their own.
“We could do something where the public gets involved or we could be selfish and catch up with each other because we have a short window. Some guys can only make it Friday night, so we made the executive decision to keep it private and golf on Friday afternoon at the Stratford Country Club.”
The former teammates will tour the historic William Allman Memorial Arena on Saturday morning.
Wray, who was traded to the St. Thomas Stars the following season, said he hopes other teams will take the idea and run with it whether they are junior A, B or C players.
“It’s one of those situations where if you’re lucky enough to experience something like we did, I highly recommend getting together. I ended up getting traded to the Stars, and I’ve been talking with my captain there. We are going to do the same thing next year over in St. Thomas. Hopefully this is the beginning of something happening with other teams down the road.”
