Buchans was among the towns on the island to compete for the Herder Memorial Trophy, fielding senior teams from the 1930s through to 1969. The Buchans Miners senior hockey team won the Herder in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, and 1963. A Buchans team of one name or another also was runner-up for the trophy in 1937, 1940, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1968 and 1969. In addition to exceptional local talent, the Buchans Miners hockey dynasty attracted marquis "import" players from various parts of Newfoundland as well as from as far away as Kirkland Lake Ontario and parts of industrial Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.