Team: Hockey
Year to be Inducted: 2026

The Rockland Nationals will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Centennial Cup national Junior A hockey championship as they’re inducted into the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame.

In just their third season since the club was moved from Hull (when the Olympiques arrived), the Nationals enjoyed a miraculous 1975-76 season under the direction of head coach Bryan Murray, an Ottawa Sport Hall of Famer.

One of the toughest rivals on the Nationals’ road to the national crown came in the CJHL championship against the Gloucester Rangers, which featured many close games and was decided in overtime before more than 1,400 fans in Rockland – a town of 4,000 at the time.

The Nationals then defeated the Lac Megantic Royals 4-1 in the next series to advance to face the Ontario league-champion Guelph Platers. The Nationals fell behind 3-0, but roared back to win 4-3.

Rockland then swept the Charlottetown Islanders 4-0 to advance to the Centennial Cup final against Alberta’s Spruce Grove Mets. Extra seats were built into the arena to allow 1,700 fans in for the championship series, which Rockland won 4-1 as 17-year-old rookie Gerry Leroux was named MVP. The Nationals remain one of only two clubs from the Central league to win the national title.