Stadium Journey's OJLL Rankings 2026
- Dave Cottenie
- 10 hours ago
- 9 min read
The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, or OJLL, is the top junior lacrosse league in Ontario, and some would argue, Canada. The “Junior A” league acts as a feeder system for NCAA lacrosse programs and the professional National Lacrosse League. Filling the void left by the absence of hockey in Ontario in the summer months, the OJLL offers some of the most affordable experiences anywhere and provides fans with an up close and personal look at indoor lacrosse.
There was plenty of change in the 2026 season. The league welcomed its 12th franchise, the Elora Hawks, to the fold. After a drawn-out local political battle, the Toronto Beaches found themselves out at Ted Reeve Community Arena and in their new home at Scarborough Arena Gardens. The Kitchener Kodiaks also brought their brand-new branding to the league, abandoning the Kitchener-Waterloo Lacrosse Club moniker.
Stadium Journey completed new or updated reviews at Burlington, Kitchener, Elora and Toronto in 2026.
The 2026 OJLL season saw the Whitby Warriors complete the regular season with the best record in the league with 12 wins in 18 games. Justin Tavares of the Oakville Buzz led the league with 106 points, while Jameson Bucktooth of the St. Catharines Athletics tallied 56 goals for tops in the league. Ty Wilson of the St. Catharines Athletics had the best goals-against average in the league at 7.82 goals per game (min 500 minutes). In a hard-fought series, the St. Catharines Athletics defeated the Whitby Warriors in six games to claim their 11th Iroquois Cup and earn a berth in the Minto Cup, held in Calgary, Alberta.
The OJLL rankings at Stadium Journey are based on the FANFARE metric used on the website, where writers assess the lacrosse experience based on the categories of Food, Atmosphere, Neighbourhood, Fans, Access, Return on Investment, and any extras that the writers experienced. The stakes are high, with an average grading of 3.32 being earned out of a possible perfect 5.0.
This list is an opinion and may not agree with all. Please let Stadium Journey know your opinions on our various Social Media outlets. How is your list different from ours? What do we have right? What do we have wrong?
Without further ado, Stadium Journey is proud to present the 2026 Rankings of the OJLL Experiences.
Dave Cottenie - In 2023, the Burlington Chiefs rebranded to the Burlington Blaze, jettisoning their Aboriginal name. They ended up winning the Iroquois Cup as OJLL Champions and then went on to defeat the Coquitlam Adanacs to take home the Minto Cup as National Champions. The Blaze are a not-for-profit organization under the auspices of the Burlington Minor Lacrosse Association. Home for the Blaze is the Central Recreation Centre, commonly referred to as Central Arena. Built in 1968, Central Arena is nicknamed The Oven, which seems to be an apt home for a team referred to as the Blaze. Alumni for the Blaze and Chiefs include Andrew Kew, Brent Noseworthy, Ryan Smith, and Ed Comeau.
Dave Cottenie - In 2026, a re-energizing of junior lacrosse in Kitchener took place. Founded in 1967, the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves were the local representation of lacrosse at the Junior B level. The Braves won the Founders Cup in 1974 and 1988 as Junior B Champions in Ontario. The Braves had a short stint in Junior A from 1976 to 1981 and returned permanently to Junior A in 1991.
With a shift away from indigenous names across all sports, the Braves rebranded to the hideous Kitchener-Waterloo Junior A Lacrosse Club in 2020. There was very little success in KW during this period, disappointing considering the legendary lacrosse talent that went through the program over the years. With the 2026 season, a significant influx in talent has happened in Kitchener to go along with a significant rebrand.
Dave Cottenie - The Elora Mohawks were a very successful Junior B franchise, although they bounced back and forth from A to B and back over the years. The Mohawks earned the Founders Cup as Canada’s Junior B National Champion in 2005 and 2018 and were Silver Medalists in 2004. For the 2025 season, in keeping with the trend of dropping Indigenous nicknames, Elora rebranded as the Hawks, and the very next season made the jump up to Junior A. Elora is part of Centre Wellington Township, and the home for the Hawks is the Jefferson Elora Community Centre. Built in 1976, the community hub has undergone a couple of renovations; the latest included the naming rights to the facility, now owned by the Jefferson Elora Corporation.
Dave Cottenie - The Excelsiors have enjoyed some success earning the Iroquois Trophy as league champions eight times, and the Minto Cup as the National Champions four times. The Excelsiors played as the Brampton ABCs from 1962 to 1967, the Bramalea Excelsiors from 1968 to 1976, and returned to the Brampton Excelsiors from 1977 to the present. Home for the Excelsiors is the Brampton Memorial Arena.
Built in 1950, the Memorial Arena has been retired as a hockey arena and serves the various levels of the Excelsiors as their home base. It has been converted to a true lacrosse venue and is definitely from a time gone by. It was named in honour of the soldiers of World War II who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Due to the age and importance of the arena, it is in the process of attaining a Heritage Designation.
Dave Cottenie - One of the lacrosse hotbeds in Canada can be found in Whitby, Ontario. Colloquially known as the ‘Town’ of Whitby, with a population of over 135,000 and located along Highway 401, Whitby lives in the shadow of the giant metropolis of Toronto to the west and the automotive hub of Oshawa to the east. Organized lacrosse dates back to the sixties, and Whitby currently fields teams at the Junior A (OJLL), Junior C, and Senior A (MSL) levels.
The Junior A Whitby Warriors were established in 1968 as the Whitby B&R Transporters at the Junior B level. In 1975, they advanced to the Junior A level as the Whitby Consolidated Builders and were renamed the Whitby Warriors in 1984. The Warriors boast the third most Minto Cup Championships as Junior A lacrosse National Champions, with eight and ten Iroquois Trophy Championships as Ontario Champions. Some of the Warrior alumni include NLL players Mark Matthews, Chris Corbeil, Zach Greer, Dan Ladoceur and Gavin Prout. Former NHL players Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk also suited up for the Warriors.
Dave Cottenie - In 2025, Toronto lacrosse was dealt a significant body blow. The board of the Ted Reeve Community Arena, in a controversial act, voted to keep the ice in the facility all year round. This displaced the programming for the Toronto Beaches Lacrosse Club and left the Toronto Beaches team of the OJLL homeless. The solution for the homeless Beaches is Scarborough Arena Gardens. Built in 1951, Scarborough Gardens just completed a massive two-year renovation, which saw the old building torn down completely due to structural and asbestos concerns. It is owned by the City of Toronto, but is further east than the Beaches community where Ted Reeve was found. The 2026 season was the first for the not-for-profit Toronto Beaches at the Gardens, their new Sandbox.
Dave Cottenie - Under the ownership of Jamie Dawick, in 2012, the Toronto Rock opened a training centre for the team to house its offices and provide space for the Rock to practice. Going beyond the practicality of providing for the team, the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre, in the nearby city of Oakville, has become a hub for lacrosse activity in the area. With two indoor box lacrosse fields and an outdoor turf field, the TRAC has become a centre for lacrosse at all levels.
The Toronto Rock Athletic Centre is the home for the Oakville Buzz of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League. The top junior lacrosse league is viewed as one of the top providers of lacrosse talent to the professional National Lacrosse League. The Buzz moved up to the OJLL, which is Junior A level, from Junior B in 2019, after winning a Junior B, Founders Cup National Championship in 2006. Taking advantage of one of the top lacrosse facilities in the province, the Buzz provides a good lacrosse experience for Ontario fans.
Dave Cottenie - It is a little-known fact that Peterborough is a hotbed of lacrosse. The Senior ‘A’ Peterborough Lakers are both wildly popular and have been wildly successful. Peterborough also puts a Junior C team on the floor. However, the focus of this review is the Peterborough Jr Lakers that play at the Junior A level in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League.
Founded in 1950, the Lakers have found themselves under a vast number of monikers, most of them sponsor-driven, including the Filter Queens, Pat’s, Pete’s, UEWs, Hastings Legionnaires, Petes, Tee-Pees, Gray-Munros, Century 21, James Gang, Maulers, Traders, Javelins and finally, in 1999, the Lakers. Earning a staggering 12 Minto Cups as junior lacrosse National Champions, the Lakers have also been wildly successful. The home for the Jr Lakers is the Peterborough Memorial Centre.
It is best known as a hockey rink and the home of the Peterborough Petes in the winter, but in the summer months it is home for lacrosse, both at the Senior A and Junior A levels. The PMC opened its doors in 1956 and is one of the most unique venues. It gives the Jr Lakers a bit of a boost as they are the only team in the OJLL that plays in such a large, professional-type venue.
Dave Cottenie - Orangeville is essentially a lacrosse town. Orangeville offers among the most in-depth lacrosse programs in Ontario and fields three teams at the junior level, with the Orangeville Northmen of the OJLL at the top of the chain. Those who play Junior A lacrosse for the Northmen hope to translate their success on the floor to opportunities in the NCAA or the professional National Lacrosse League.
Orangeville Northmen alumni include Pat Coyle, Josh and Phil Sanderson, Brodie Merrill, Mike Poulin, and current General Manager Nick Rose. All have played or are currently playing in the NLL. Home for the Northmen is the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre. Named after the father of GM and Toronto Rock goaltender Nick Rose, the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre offers seating for 1,050 in the main arena and a classic lacrosse environment. Tony Rose was a member of the Northmen in the eighties and was a member of Senior B championship teams. He was a promoter of local lacrosse and died in a car accident in 1990.
Dave Cottenie - The deep history of lacrosse in Ontario stretches into the Niagara Region with the St. Catharines Athletics. Playing at the “Junior A” level in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, the Athletics were founded as a lacrosse organization in 1877. They played under different monikers over time. They have been known as the Athletics intermittently throughout their history and in the latest iteration, which began in 1982.
The Athletics have enjoyed tremendous success, earning six Minto Cups as Junior A lacrosse National Champions. The Athletics have also earned the Iroquois Trophy as Ontario Champions 10 times. With the Niagara Region hosting the Canada Games in 2022, the Athletics took advantage of a significant investment in the community and found a new home at Canada Games Park.
Dave Cottenie - South of Brantford, through the farmland of Southern Ontario, lives one of the many hearts of lacrosse. Six Nations Indian Reserve No. 40, more commonly known as Six Nations, contains the town of Ohsweken and is just north of Hagersville. At the southern corner stands an inconspicuous, warehouse-looking building that houses the hopes and dreams of countless Indigenous children. The Iroquois Lacrosse Arena was built in 2004 by lacrosse legends Curt Styres and Delby Powless and is a lacrosse-only facility, one of the only ones built in Canada specifically for lacrosse.
Several lacrosse teams call Iroquois Lacrosse Arena home, and possibly the most popular is the Six Nations Arrows of the Junior A Ontario Junior Lacrosse League. The Arrows have been around since 1974 and began as a Junior C team. Originally known as the Six Nations Braves, the Arrows moniker was adopted in 1979. The Arrows would bring home the Iroquois Cup as Ontario Champions nine times and the ultimate prize, the Minto Cup as National Champions in 1992, 2007, 2014, 2015, and 2017.
The list of players who have gone from the Arrows to the National Lacrosse League is a who’s who of lacrosse royalty, including Cody Jamieson, Doug Jamieson, Craig Point, Shawn Evans, Cam Bomberry, Johnny Powless, Delby Powless, Randy Staats, Leo Stouros, Brett Bucktooth and Warren Hill.
Dave Cottenie - The Mimico Lacrosse Club was established in 1890. The name “Mimico” translates from Ojibwa to “Home of the Wild Pigeon.” Lacrosse was so significant in Mimico that they built the Drummond Street Bowl in 1931, an outdoor box lacrosse facility, which would eventually become the Mimico Arena. Mimico competed in lacrosse at various levels over more than a century and continues today. The lacrosse achievements would culminate in Mann Cup Championships in 1932 and 1942 as Senior Lacrosse National Champions and Minto Cup Championships in 1938 and 1951 as Junior National Champions.
The Lakeshore Maple Leafs, which would be folded into the Mimico Mountaineers program, claim a 1970 Minto Cup also. Mimico even boasts the legendary Conn Smythe as part of their history as a resident and lacrosse player. In 1978, Junior lacrosse would cease to exist in Mimico, only to be resurrected as a Junior B program in 1993. The Mountaineers would move up to the current Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, a Junior A league, in 2013, and is still going strong today.
