Kenora Islanders

The Kenora Islanders were a junior ice hockey team in the Superior International Junior Hockey League based in Kenora, Ontario. The team debuted as an expansion team in the 2023–24 SIJHL season. The team suspended operations after the 32nd game of the 2024-25 SIJHL season leaving them to unable to complete the 49 game schedule.

Team identity

The name Kenora Islanders refers to the city's proximity to the Lake of the Woods and its many islands. The club also considered calling itself the Kenora Thistles after the 1907 Stanley Cup championship team that hailed from Kenora, and the present-day minor hockey club of the same name.

Arena

Where the team played its home games was a point of contention in the local community. The two public arenas in Kenora had been in high demand since before the Islanders existed. Prior to the team's inaugural season, the City of Kenora announced that the team could not be accommodated at either of its arenas due to competing demands and concerns raised by community groups and other users of the facilities. Despite this, the Islanders played 15 of their 25 regular season home games at the city-owned Moncrief Construction Sports Centre, 8 games at the Woodland Arena in the community of Vermilion Bay, Ontario — approximately 94 kilometres (58 mi) east of Kenora — one game at the Chi Key Wis Arena in Naotkamegwanning First Nation — approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Kenora — and one game was forfeit.

The city issued a ice allocation bylaw in December 2023 that prioritised minor hockey, public skating, and special events ahead of the Islanders. In the 2024–25 SIJHL season, the Islanders were scheduled to play 16 regular season games at the Moncrief Construction Sports Centre and 8 games at the Woodland Arena.

Inaugural season

The team finished the regular 2023–24 SIJHL season in last place with 2 wins and 47 losses. In one of those games, the Kam River Fighting Walleye set an all-time league record with 104 shots on goal during a single match. It may have also been a record for the Kenora Islanders goaltender, Kaden King, who made 93 saves.

Suspension of operations

In January 2025, it was reported that the team was suspending operations and seeking a new owner to take over the franchise, citing a conflict with the SIJHL board of governors.