On July 6, 1980, the
Degagne Buccaneers and
Thunder Bay North Stars were informed by the TBAHA that they would not be permitted to field teams in the 1980–81 City League. On July 10, 1980, the executive of the Thunder Bay Kings was formed and gave life to the city's premier junior squad for the next twenty years. From 1980 until 1982, the Kings played in the Thunder Bay Hockey League with the
Allan Cup-contending Senior "A"
Thunder Bay Twins, the
Hardy Cup-contending Intermediate "A"
Thunder Bay Blazers, and the
Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union's
Lakehead University Nor'westers. Their first season saw them finish in second and meet the Intermediate Blazers in the league semi-final, which the Kings won 3-games-to-2. In the finals, they were swept by the Senior Twins 4-games-to-none. In the second year, the Flyers finished in third and drew the Blazers again. They defeated the Intermediates 3-games-to-1, to meet Lakehead University in the final. Lakehead upset the Twins 3-games-to-1 in the other semi-final. The Kings won the final in seven games to win the City Championship. In 1982, the Thunder Bay Hockey League was disbanded. The Blazers folded into the Twins, who joined
Manitoba's Central Senior A Hockey League. The Kings, the newly formed
Thunder Bay Hornets and the Schreiber North Stars Junior "B" hockey teams, formed the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League. The Kings won the league in 1983. In the 1983-84 season, the North Stars were replaced by the Jr. B Thunder Bay Maple Leafs. The Kings celebrated an 18-game perfect season before winning the city championship for the third straight year. In 1984, the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League folded. The Kings changed their name to the Thunder Bay Flyers and jumped to the
United States Hockey League (USHL). The Hornets and Maple Leafs merged under the Thunder Bay Hornets banner and jumped to the
Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The
Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League folded in 1984. Many former players made the jump to the
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League; some went to the then existing version of the
Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League; and others to the
Manitoba Junior Hockey League. However, due to Thunder Bay's location, the league was closer to
Minnesota than the closest franchises in the other Ontario
Junior "A" Leagues, and the Thunder Bay Flyers of the defunct Thunder Bay League survived by jumping the border to play in the top tier of American junior hockey, the
United States Hockey League, and with some success.
1986 to 1995 Dave Siciliano served as head coach of the Flyers from 1986 to 1993. He led the team to 35 wins and a second-place finish during the 1986–87 season. After defeating the
Sioux City Musketeers in the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers lost three games to two versus the
Madison Capitols in the second round. The Flyers won 40 games and placed first overall in the 1987–88 season, which gave Siciliano his first
Anderson Cup as the USHL's regular season champion. Despite that his team had 13
rookies, the Flyers had the highest scoring offence in the league and the second best
goals against average. The
Ottawa Citizen credited the team's success to its skating ability, puck control and aggressive
forechecking. The Flyers defeated the Madison Capitols by three games to one in the first round of the playoffs, then defeated the
Rochester Mustangs by three games to one in the finals to win the
Clark Cup as USHL playoffs champions. The Flyers then participated in the
Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs to determine the Central Canada "Junior A" champion, and lost to the
Pembroke Lumber Kings in four consecutive games in the final series. Since the Lumber Kings hosted the
1988 Centennial Cup tournament to determine the Canadian Junior A champion and received an automatic berth, the Flyers advanced to the Centennial Cup tournament as the Dudley Hewitt Cup finalists. The tournament was the first appearance for the Flyers at the Centennial Cup, Siciliano led the Flyers to 40 wins and placed first overall in the 1988–89 season, to win his second Anderson Cup. In the USHL playoffs, the Flyers defeated the
Omaha Lancers in three games in the first round, then defeated the
North Iowa Huskies in four games in the second round, then defeated the
St. Paul Vulcans in five games to give Siciliano his second Clark Cup championship. Siciliano recalled that the Flyers were not given respect in advance of the
1989 Centennial Cup, and said that "the host
Summerside team commented at the coaches press conference that Thunder Bay couldn't be very strong since they played in an American-based league". They defeated the St. Paul Vulcans in three games in the first round of the playoffs then were defeated three games to two by the Rochester Mustangs in the semifinals. In the Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs, the Flyers lost 4 games to 2 versus the Sudbury Cubs in the semifinals. Siciliano won his third Anderson Cup when the Flyers placed first overall in the 1990–91 season with 36 wins. In the playoffs, the Flyers defeated the North Iowa Huskies in three games in the quarterfinals, defeated the
Dubuque Fighting Saints in three games in the semifinals, then lost by three games to one versus the Omaha Lancers in the Clark Cup finals. The Flyers reached the finals of the Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs versus the Sudbury Cubs, which guaranteed them a berth in the
1991 Centennial Cup tournament since Sudbury was scheduled to host the upcoming national finals. Despite missing four players including their goaltender due to suspensions, In his third appearance at the Centennial Cup tournament, the Flyers placed fifth with one win in four games. The Flyers won 36 games and placed first overall in the 1991–92 season to give Siciliano his fourth Anderson Cup. In the playoffs, the Flyers defeated the Rochester Mustangs in three consecutive games, then lost by three games to one versus the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the semifinals. The Flyers placed fourth overall in the 1992–93 season, defeated the St. Paul Vulcans by three games to two in the first round of the playoffs, then were defeated three games to one by the Omaha Lancers in the second round. In the Dudley Hewitt Cup playoffs, the Flyers reached the semifinals but lost to the
Chateauguay Elites. Siciliano resigned as coach of the Flyers after the 1992–93 season, but remained as the team's general manager for the next two seasons. The Flyers placed sixth overall in the 1993–94 season, lost in the first round of the USHL playoffs in six games to the Omaha Lancers, and were runners-up to the Chateauguay Elites in the Dudley Hewitt Cup finals. and lost in six games to the Sioux City Musketeers in the first round of the playoffs. After Siciliano won his fourth Dudley Hewitt Cup when the Flyers defeated the
Brampton Capitals in the championship game,
1996 to 2000 The Flyers played their last game in 2000. The end of the Flyers resulted in the creation of the
Superior International Junior Hockey League in 2001 to continue the tradition of the old Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League as a purely local organization. The league has been successful since its founding with its top team being the
Fort William North Stars. The departure of the Flyers also sparked the creation of the very successful Lakehead University Thunderwolves men's hockey program, playing in the Ontario Universities Athletics Conference of the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport). ==Season-by-season records==