| 2024–25 BCHL season | |
| Color: |
|
| League: | BCHL |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| No Of Games: | 54 |
| No Of Teams: | 21 |
| Conf1: | Coastal |
| Conf2: | Interior |
| Seasonslist: | List of BCHL seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | BCHL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2023–24 BCHL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2023–24 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2025–26 BCHL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2025–26 |
The 2024–25 BCHL season is the 63rd season of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and its second season as an independent league.[1]
The Merritt Centennials left the BCHL to join the KIJHL.[2]
The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) announced that it would withdraw from the Hockey Canada framework and operate as an independent farm league for the BCHL.[3] [4]
The league introduced "universal affiliate" players. Teams will be allowed to supplement their rosters with affiliate players from the VIJHL and the Junior Prospects Hockey League (JPHL).
The league's 21 teams will be organized into two conferences — Coastal and Interior — with each conference divided into West and East divisions. The five Alberta-based teams, which left the AJHL part-way through the 2023–24 season, will play in the East division of the Interior conference, as will the Cranbrook Bucks. The Prince George Spruce Kings, who had been in the Interior Conference, has been moved into the Coastal Conference's East division.
The teams will play a 54-game regular season with top 8 teams from each conference advancing to the playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the first seed in each conference will play the eighth seed, the second seed will play the seventh seed, the third seed will play the sixth seed, and the fourth seed will play the fifth seed. Each round will be a best-of-seven series with the winner advancing to the next round.[5]
The annual showcase event will take place from 13 - 17 October 2024 in the Fraser Valley cities of Abbotsford and Chilliwack, co-hosted by the Vancouver Canucks. The event is an opportunity for NCAA coaches and NHL scouts to observe all 21 teams playing two regular season games each. The games will played in the Abbotsford Centre and the Chilliwack Coliseum. The 2024 event will also include a JPHL under-18 showcase.[6] [7]
During the event, the league will also pilot an initiative allowing coaches to lodge a challenge when they believe that a double-minor, major or match penalty should have been assessed. If the challenge is unsuccessful, the challenging team will be assessed a minor penalty for delay of game and will not be permitted another challenge for the rest of the match.[5] [8]
The first seed in each conference will play the eighth seed in the first round, the second seed will play the seventh seed and so on. The two last-place teams from the Coastal Conference, and the three last-place teams from the Interior Conference are excluded from the post-season.[9]