Shortly after the Jr. Red Wings were finished playing in the Memorial Cup, general manager & head coach Paul Maurice was promoted to the Hartford Whalers.

The tiny Oak Park Arena favored a hard checking team while the spacious Palace (25 miles away) was an NHL size ice surface.

In spite of the difference between Oak Park and the Palace, the Whalers had the OHL's best home-ice record in 1995–96 (25-6-2), and won their second consecutive Western Division title and the Bumbacco Trophy.

Detroit finished 38 points ahead of Windsor during the regular season, but the series took seven games to decide.

On March 1, 1996, Whalers owner Peter Karmanos finalized plans to build a 4,000 seat arena in Plymouth Township for his team.

The Whalers had arrived in Plymouth in 1996–97, and began to build a new fan base, and rebuild the team on the ice.

DeBoer and newly appointed assistant coach Steve Spott chose a team full of rookies, and a handful of veterans.

Bryan Berard won his second consecutive Max Kaminsky Trophy in 1995–96 as the most outstanding defenceman in the OHL.