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The Pontiac’s hockey blood

The Pontiac’s hockey blood

Stuart Graham runs Epiq Hockey AAA, a summer league for high-level players from Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. They host the Bryan Murray Memorial Cup, named in honour of the legendary coach. His inspiration behind the league’s creation was to help dedicated players further excel. “If you come out of Shawville, Quebec and you’re in the wintertime, because of borders, we’re only allowed to play within our area,” said Graham. “You are available to which levels they have based on the population. If you’re very good and you want to continue to develop and play against the best, this gives you an opportunity because it’s not sanctioned.” In his formative years, Graham played defense for the Frontaliers Outaouais during their first season and eventually joined the Central Junior Hockey League with the Nepean Raiders, then the Brockville Braves. At 20, Graham started working full-time in Ottawa at the Skyline hotel after completing Algonquin College’s hospitality program, while playing a few games with Shawville’s Junior B team. “I’d work graveyard shifts,” said Graham. “Some games, I had to leave at the end of the second period to go to work. I didn’t even know what the end result of the score was on a couple of games.” For Graham, hockey is more than a sport. With his strong familial ties to the Pontiac’s hockey history, it is a part of his heritage. In 1981, his father, John ‘Jack’ Graham, became the president of the Pontiac National Midget Tournament. “It used to be the big event in Shawville,” said Graham. With 54 teams, this tournament became the largest in Canada at the time. “You grew up in Shawville wanting to play in the Shawville Pontiac Midget tournament,” said Graham. His father would become Bristol’s mayor in the following year and maintain his position until 2004. In that time, he was the president for both Quyon and Shawville fairs. “He loved where he was from,” said Graham. In 1939, Graham’s great uncle, Ludger Diotte from Quyon, played for the Ottawa Senators during their time in the Quebec Senior Hockey League. In 1941, Diotte won the Allan Cup, a success arguably more prestigious than the Stanley Cup at the time, with the RCFA Flyers. He then signed with the Eastern Hockey League’s Atlantic City Seagulls. Inspired by Ludger, Graham’s uncle, Archie ‘Mulligan’ Diotte, pursued the sport and eventually joined the Pontiac Men’s Senior League before becoming a minor league coach for the Nepean Raiders. In 1988, he became the head coach and general manager for the new Central Junior Hockey League’s Kanata Valley Lasers. Diotte would maintain that position for 30 years and become the second most successful coach in the league’s history. Graham began his researching his family’s history about four years ago. “I was trying to go find the Graham genealogy, which ended with me talking to my cousin on my mom’s side,” said Graham. “I ended up not even on the Grahams at all anymore, I ended up on the Mulligans side.” Although distant, he reached out to Layton Coleman III, the grandson of David Mulligan to learn more about his lineage. “I looked them up,” said Graham. “Next thing I know, I ended up talking to him and then he started giving me the stories [about] his grandfather.” In the Richcraft Sensplex facility in Ottawa, David Mulligan is among the Senators as the director in 1909 when they won their final Stanley Cup. Graham no longer lives in the Pontiac, but remains connected to the region through his family’s heritage. “It’s interesting to find out where all of these people ended up going.” Graham fears that the interest in the Pontiac’s history has started to fade. “Those stories are getting lost,” he said. “Our history from the Pontiac is eroding at times and there’s not enough younger people to pick up the torch.” By sharing his research, Graham hopes to preserve his family’s history for future generations.
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