The current junior franchise came into existence in 1972 when local businessman Mervin "Bud" Burke purchased the Niagara Falls Flyers and relocated the team to Sudbury.

Despite this lack of championships, the team has been one of the top development franchises in major junior over its history,[4] with over 120 players drafted in to the National Hockey League (NHL) since 1973.

The Wolves have been a central part of Sudbury's history for decades, and the team is among the most iconic junior hockey franchises in all of North America.

Under the management of Max Silverman, and coached by Sam Rothschild, the Cub Wolves won the Memorial Cup in 1932 with a roster that featured future NHL players such as Hector "Toe" Blake, Nakina Smith, and Adélard Lafrance.

In 1979, Burke sold the team to a large ownership group headed by future Hockey Canada board of directors chair Joe Drago.

[5] The Wolves were the worst performing team in the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in the 1980s, making the playoffs only once and not winning a single postseason game in the process.

A turning point in franchise history came in 1986 when local businessman Ken Burgess purchased the struggling club and initiated a major organizational turnaround.

A string of disappointing seasons came to an end in 2006–07 - the Wolves' 35th anniversary - when the team advanced to the OHL Finals, but ultimately lost to the Plymouth Whalers in six games.

Since Zulich's takeover, the team has been moving in a positive direction, drafting players such as Quinton Byfield and Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, and winning a regular season division title in 2019-20.

Jerry Toppazzini was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as the league's coach of the year in 1976, leading his team to a first-place finish in the regular season.

[16] Every time the Wolves score a goal, a taxidermic wolf rolls out on a pulley system from the rafters of the Sudbury Arena in the direction of the opposing team's bench.