Featuring classic junior hockey clubs such as the St. Mike's Buzzers, Dixie Beehives, Weston Dukes, Wexford Raiders and the Belleville Bobcats, many of its players moved on to the OHA, and in the 1980s and 1990s the league became a key route to college hockey, producing more than 200 future NCAA players.

Since 1919, the Memorial Cup has been the ultimate prize in Canadian junior hockey. Created to honour the young men who served in the First World War, it has grown into a national tradition, bringing together the champions of the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL to battle for the right to be called the best in the country.