In 1893, the teams that formerly made up the main circuit for the Montreal Winter Carnival played a season-long stand-alone hockey league that was a successor to the popular winter festival. In fact, the MWC Hockey Tournament was cancelled as the teams decided to focus on their own league play. The Montreal Hockey Club, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Quebec Hockey Club, and the Ottawa Hockey Club participated in a balanced, round-robin format which was going to be an ongoing practice.
The seventh season played in 1893 (played from January 8 to March 7) saw The Montreal Hockey Club win the Championship. 1893 was the first year that the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup was awarded. The Montreal Hockey Club also was awarded the Cup by virtue of its first place finish with the AHAC.
| Championships to 1893 Season for Amateur Hockey Association of Canada | ||
| Team | # of Championships | Premier Championship Points |
| Montreal Hockey Club | 8 (1885-86, 88-93) | 26 (+4) |
| Montreal Crystals | 1 (1887) | 4 |
| Montreal Victorias | 1 (1884) | 4 |
| McGill University | 1 (1883) | 2 |
The AHAC was the first ever organized Ice Hockey league formed by four Montreal-based teams plus Ottawa. These five teams all played in the MWC Tournament so that tournament is considered to be the direct predecessor to the AHAC for historical and statistical purposes. From this humble beginning ice hockey and its leagues established their beginning.
- Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, 1905 - December 17, 2017
- Canadian Amateur Hockey League, 1905 - December 16, 2017
- Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, 1904 - December 10, 2017
