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The last Minto MVP goaltender, Nick Patterson. (Photo: Dave Sanders)

With the ‘09 Jr. A season in the books after the conclusion of last night’s Minto Cup, the Orangeville Northmen garnering back-to-back Minto titles after a Game 3 win over the Brampton Excelsiors, a few more names and numbers got dropped in the CLA record books over the past couple weeks.

How many Minto wins does that make for Ontario now? Did the Northmen’s win move them up in the overall Cup haul? And where’s the love for Minto winning tenders lately? Find out the answer to those questions are more, after the jump.

The Northmen’s win now marks the 47^thMinto Cup the province of Ontario has won (since the award became a junior based trophy in 1937). BC has 19 Minto wins of the 67 that have been competed for since 1937.

Ontario’s best defensive player nod, which was won by Brampton’s Kyle Rubisch this summer, is actually named after John ‘Gus’ McCauley, who coincidentally played for the last Excels team to win a Minto, the ‘59 Brampton Excelsiors.

The last team to win back-to-back Minto Cups, the ‘04 & ‘05 Burnaby Lakers, is not only the last double winner of the Cup, but they’re the last non-Ontario team to hoist Canada’s top Jr. A prize too. The OLA’s four-year win streak includes the Northmen’s recent double and then Six Nations winning it in ‘07 and Peterborough in ‘06. You have to go back to the ‘94 season for a BC Minto Cup winner that wasn’t from Burnaby, the New Westminster Salmonbellies. The only NLLer from that Bellies team still active in the pro game is Curtis Palidwor, who was also the tourney’s MVP.

With keepers in both lacrosse and hockey usually getting MVP nods in final playoff series at just about every level, Adam Jones winning this year’s MVP award marks the seventh consecutive summer that a goalie has been shutout of the MVP honour. Previous to the past seven years, keepers were named the Minto’s best four summers straight with Nick Patterson (’02 Lakers), Matt Vinc (’01 Athletics), Matt Roik (’00 Lakers) and Gee Nash (’99 Warriors) landing the title.

Considered the toughest trophy to win in the Canadian summer loop (or lacrosse period), few of today’s top NLL players (or past MILL players) have ever won a Minto Cup. John Tavares, Jim Veltman, Troy Cordingley, Colin Doyle, John Grant, Brodie Merrill, Dan Dawson, Shawn Williams and Tracey Kelusky have never won a Minto during their junior careers, in most cases, never even coming close. All players listed above have however won at least one Mann Cup over their careers.

There have only been 12 cities/teams that have won consecutive Minto’s, the seven-time consecutive winning Oshawa Green Gaels obviously the most prestigious dynasty in the sport’s history. Below, check out the other consecutive winners…

Back-to-backs
‘08 – ‘09 Orangeville
‘04 – ‘05 Burnaby
‘95 – ‘96 Orangeville
‘90 – ‘91 St. Catharines
‘86 – ‘87 Peterborough
‘84 – ‘85 Whitby
‘48 – ‘49 Vancouver
‘39 – ‘40 Orillia

Three-peats
‘81 – ‘83 Peterborough
‘77 – ‘79 Burnaby
‘57 – ‘59 Brampton

True dynasty
‘72 – ‘75 Peterborough

And the likely never to be duplicated
‘63 – ‘69 Oshawa

The only player to be rostered on all those Oshawa Green Gaels Minto teams in the 60’s, owning a Canadian record seven Minto Cup rings… Dan Stinson, who would have been 15-years old when he won his first Minto in 1963. This year’s youngest Minto winners? Cody McMahon and Blair Goss, both 17.

And where does the Northmen’s fifth Minto title rank them versus past winning cities/teams? Check it out below, again, since 1937 when the silver cup was handed out to junior level teams only…

12 – Peterborough (Hastings)
8 – Burnaby
7 – Oshawa
6 – St. Catharines
5 – Orangeville
5 – Whitby
4 – Vancouver
4 – Brampton
3 – New Westminster
3 – Victoria (Esquimalt)
3 – Orillia
2 – Mimico
2 – Six Nations
1 – Lakeshore
1 – Long Branch
1 – Richmond

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