CITY FACTS:

• New Liskeard was first settled by the native clan of the Wabikigic family who were a member of the local Algonkian tribe. They camped at the mouth of the Wabi River, which flows through New Liskeard, and into Lake Temiskaming.
  New Liskeard was given its name after the English city of Liskeard. It was the home of one of our early settlers - George Paget. Liskeard was then later named New Liskeard.
• Lake Temiskaming, which is one of the deepest lakes in Ontario, flows into the Ottawa River. As far back as 1608, the natives and early fur traders used this waterway to transport their furs all the way to Montreal.
• Lumbering and mining were, and continue to be, important factors in the local economy, but it was agriculture that attracted the early settlers to Temiskaming and sustained the community of New Liskeard during the ensuing 110 years.
  
  

HOCKEY FACTS:

• Nearby Kirkland Lake is developing the Northern Ontario Hockey Hall of Fame
• Professional sports in the New Liskeard area reached its zenith in the early 1900s.
• In 1909, the Colbalt Silver Kings and Haileybury Comets were bitter rivals. In an effort to win the highly-coveted M.J. O'Brien trophy as champions of the Temiskaming Hockey League, each team signed some big names at a pretty hefty salary.
• Colbalt shocked the hockey world when it signed star Walter Smail of the Montreal Wanderers for $500 a game and his teammate, Art Ross.
• Colbalt went on to win the championship.
• Art Ross returned to the Temiskaming area the following season, playing for Haileybury.
• In late 1909, the National Hockey Association was founded. Both Haileybury and Colbalt had teams in the start-up league.
• Colbalt played in an arena that was about 15 feet narrower and 35 feet shorter than a regulation-sized professional rink.
• The high-cost of professional sport was too much for both teams to handle and they folded after just one season. Both ended the 12-game season with identical 4-8 win-loss records.
• Haileybury goaltender Paddy Moran and Colbalt's Tommy Smith went on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• While the area did enjoy professional hockey for one season, the most famous team in the area these days is the New Liskeard Cubs
• The Cubs, a triple A midget team, are celebrating their 50th anniversary this season. Since 1954, they've won 10 league championships, four all-Ontario championships and earned two trips to the Air Canada AAA midget championships, where they earned a silver medal in 1997.
• Don Shepherdson is the driving force behind the Cubs. Since the Cubs first started operations, Shepherdson has been part of the organization. He's now the manager and team president of the Cubs.
• In the NHL's pre-expansion days, Shepherdson was Northern Ontario's scout for the Boston Bruins. Bobby Orr was part of the Cubs organization for three days.
  
  

Notable NHL alumni from New Liskeard:

• Seven players from New Liskeard made it to the NHL.
• Former Leafs defenceman Gus Mortson was born in New Liskeard. Mortson was a defenceman with the Leaf Stanley Cup teams in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951. He also played in the NHL All-Star game in 1947, '48, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, and '56. In 797 NHL games with Toronto, Chicago and Detroit he recorded 198 points (46 goals, 152 assists).
• Former NHLers also from New Liskeard include Hal Cooper, Jack Dyte, Marc Lamothe, Lonnie Loach and Rod Willard