A pioneer in the Ontario Junior Hockey League has died.

Former Newmarket 87s/Hurricanes team owner Charlie Macoun of Newmarket, Ont. passed away Monday.  

Mr. Macoun was part of the group that founded the Newmarket 87s (Hurricanes) team in the 1987-88 season. Together, Mr. Macoun and the group built a model franchise that would go onto much success. The franchise was moved to Milton in 2019 and renamed the Menace.

He held several other positions within the parent Ontario Hockey Association through the years, including time as an OHA Director and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the OHA Provincial Junior League, before it was rebranded as the OJHL.

Mr. Macoun was born in Campbellford, Ont. and later attended St. Michael’s school in Toronto. Upon graduation, Mr. Macoun worked as a teller with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in Lions Head, Ont., and he would remain with RBC for more than 40 years.

Over the years, Mr. Macoun represented the OHA on numerous committees. He played a significant role in the merger of the Metro Junior League with the Provincial League and served on the Ontario Hockey Federation’s (OHF) Junior Council.

Mr. Macoun and his late wife, Marge, raised three sons, Jeff, Jamie and Michael.

Jamie Macoun played for the Newmarket and Aurora franchises in the OJHL. He’d go on to play 1,128 games in the NHL with Calgary, Toronto and Detroit.

UPDATED

Visitation at Roadhouse and Rose Funeral Home, 157 Main Street, Newmarket on Feb. 5 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Funeral mass for Mr. Macoun will be held Feb. 6  at 11 a.m. at St. John Chrysostom Parish, 432 Ontario St., Newmarket. Reception to follow at Redcrest Golf Course, 17700 Keele St., King.

Donations can be made to the charity of your choice or the Canadian Cancer Society.

-With files from the OHA