| British Columba Hockey League | |
| Upcoming Season: | 2024–25 BCHL season |
| Formerly: |
|
| Association: | Independent |
| Classification: | Junior |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Ceo: | Chris Hebb |
| Teams: | 21 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Headquarters: | Langley, British Columbia |
| Champion: | Surrey Eagles |
| Champions: | --> |
| Champ Season: | 2023–24 |
| Most Champs: | Penticton Vees (14) |
The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independent in 2023. Since becoming independent, the league characterizes itself simply as a Junior ice hockey league.
In 1961, the heads of four Junior "B" hockey teams in the Okanagan region of British Columbia got together and formed the first Junior "A" league in British Columbia's history. The Okanagan-Mainline Junior "A" Hockey League (OMJHL) originally consisted of the Kamloops Jr. Rockets, the Kelowna Buckaroos, the Penticton Jr. Vees, and the Vernon Jr. Canadians.
In 1967, the league expanded out of the Okanagan region, bringing in the New Westminster Royals and the Victoria Cougars of the original (1962–1967) Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League. With the expansion, the league decided that since it was no longer solely in the Okanagan region that it need a new name, becoming the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL). A year later, the Vancouver Centennials joined the league. In the 1970s, the Victoria Cougars jumped to the Western Hockey League and the New Westminster team was forced to fold due to the relocation of the Estevan Bruins into their arena. In 1972, the Bellingham Blazers and the Nanaimo Clippers expanded the league to eight teams.
In the early 1970s, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association separated the two tiers of Junior A hockey. The BCJHL, being a Tier II league, was then disallowed from competing for the Memorial Cup, which had traditionally been the National Junior A Championship trophy. Consequently, the Tier II Junior A leagues across Canada agreed to compete for a new trophy called the Centennial Cup.
The 1970s also saw the rise of a rival league for the BCJHL, the Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League (PCJHL), which briefly existed in the 1960s and was resurrected for the 1971–72 season. The PCJHL was promoted to a Junior "A" league for the 1973–74 season and changed its name to the Pacific Junior A Hockey League. The PJHL champions competed with the BCJHL champions for the provincial championship, the Mowat Cup.
The existence of the two Junior A leagues in British Columbia caused an unusual turn of events in the 1977–78 season postseason. The BCJHL sent their regular season champion, the Merritt Centennials, to play as the BC representative in the Pacific region (BC and Alberta) interprovincial Doyle Cup, excusing them from the BCJHL playoffs. The BCJHL continued their league playoffs without them, crowning Nanaimo as the playoff champion after Penticton Jr. Vees refused to finish the playoff finals due to a series of brawls in the third game of the series. Meanwhile, the Merritt Centennials won the Doyle Cup and advanced to the Abbott Cup (the Western Canada Championship) against the winner of the ANAVET Cup, the Western region champion Prince Albert Raiders of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Centennials lost to the Raiders, four games to one.
The PJHL and the BCJHL merged for the 1979–80 season.
During the 1980–81 season, the Coastal division season was interrupted by a strike at BC Ferries in late January. Since the mainland teams could no longer reach the island teams, the Coastal Division stopped playing, and began extended playoff rounds in place of the regular season.
In 1986, the Penticton Vees became the BCJHL's first Junior A national championship team, defeating the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League's Cole Harbour Colts by a score of 7–4 to win the Centennial Cup. A year later, the BCJHL's Richmond Sockeyes won the league's second consecutive national title.
From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, an association of Junior A leagues across Canada that would play for the National Junior A Championship. The winner of the BCHL Fred Page Cup (not to be confused with the CJHL Fred Page Cup) would continue on to play the Alberta Junior Hockey League champions in the Doyle Cup for the right to compete for the national championship. The BCJHL was renamed the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in 1995.
The Burnaby Bulldogs joined as an expansion team in 1998 and moved to Port Alberni in 2002. The Coquitlam Express and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks joined in 2001. The Williams Lake TimberWolves joined in 2002 and folded in 2010.
The Chilliwack Chiefs moved to Langley in 2006 and were later renamed the Langley Rivermen. That team replaced the Langley Hornets who moved to West Kelowna and were later renamed the West Kelowna Warriors. In 2011, the Quesnel Millionaires moved to Chilliwack and were renamed the Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Wenatchee Wild joined in 2015 and ownership moved operations up to the WHL in 2023, following the BCHL move to go independent. The Cranbrook Bucks joined the league in 2020.
In March 2021, the BCHL withdrew its membership from the Canadian Junior Hockey League.[1] [2] [3]
On May 1, 2023, the BCHL decided not to renew its agreement with governing body Hockey Canada, and thus became an independent league. The reasons for the decision included more control over their scheduling, particularly the timing of the playoffs, and allowing BCHL teams to recruit players under the age of 18 from outside BC Hockey's territorial jurisdiction.[4]
On January 20, 2024, the league announced that five teams from the Alberta Junior Hockey League would join the BCHL in the 2024-25 season, namely, the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders, and Spruce Grove Saints.[5] In the interim, it was decided that the five Alberta-based teams would play out the rest of the 2023-24 season as a separate division under the aegis of the BCHL, and that there would be a year-end competition with the winner of the Alberta-based teams playing the winner of the BC-based teams.[6] [7]
Beginning in 2024–25, the league will have an affiliation agreement with the VIJHL.[8] [9] Following the announcement of the agreement, some BCHL owners acquired an ownership stake in VIJHL clubs.[9] [10] [11] However, sources reported that there will be no club-specific affiliations, and that BCHL teams will be allowed to call players up from, or send players down to, any VIJHL team.[12]
For the 2024–25 BCHL season, the league's 21 teams will be organized into four divisions, and two conferences: with 10 teams making up the Coastal Conference, and 11 teams making up the Interior Conference.[13]
The top eight teams from each conference at the end of the regular season advance to the playoffs to compete for the league championship Fred Page Cup.
| Year | League champion | League runner-up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surrey Eagles | Penticton Vees | ||
| Penticton Vees | Alberni Valley Bulldogs | ||
| Penticton Vees | Nanaimo Clippers | ||
| Not awarded | |||
| Prince George Spruce Kings | Vernon Vipers | ||
| Wenatchee Wild | Prince George Spruce Kings | ||
| Penticton Vees | Chilliwack Chiefs | ||
| West Kelowna Warriors | Chilliwack Chiefs | ||
| Penticton Vees | Nanaimo Clippers | ||
| Coquitlam Express | Vernon Vipers | ||
| Surrey Eagles | Penticton Vees | ||
| Penticton Vees | Powell River Kings | ||
| Vernon Vipers | Powell River Kings | ||
| Vernon Vipers | Powell River Kings | ||
| Vernon Vipers | Powell River Kings | ||
| Penticton Vees | Nanaimo Clippers | ||
| 2007 | Nanaimo Clippers | Vernon Vipers | |
| 2006 | Burnaby Express | Penticton Vees | |
| 2005 | Surrey Eagles | Vernon Vipers | |
| 2004 | Nanaimo Clippers | Salmon Arm Silverbacks | |
| 2003 | Vernon Vipers | Chilliwack Chiefs | |
| 2002 | Chilliwack Chiefs | Vernon Vipers | |
| 2001 | Victoria Salsa | Merritt Centennials | |
| 2000 | Chilliwack Chiefs | Vernon Vipers | |
| 1999 | Vernon Vipers | Chilliwack Chiefs | |
| 1998 | South Surrey Eagles | Penticton Panthers | |
| 1997 | South Surrey Eagles | Vernon Vipers | |
| 1996 | Vernon Vipers | Langley Thunder | |
| BCJHL | |||
| 1995 | Chilliwack Chiefs | Powell River Paper Kings | |
| 1994 | Kelowna Spartans | Cowichan Valley Capitals | |
| 1993 | Kelowna Spartans | Powell River Paper Kings | |
| 1992 | Vernon Lakers | Bellingham Ice Hawks | |
| 1991 | Vernon Lakers | Powell River Paper Kings | |
| 1990 | New Westminster Royals | Vernon Lakers | |
| 1989 | Vernon Lakers | New Westminster Royals | |
| 1988 | Vernon Lakers | Richmond Sockeyes | |
| 1987 | Richmond Sockeyes | Kelowna Packers | |
| 1986 | Penticton Knights | Richmond Sockeyes | |
| 1985 | Penticton Knights | Burnaby Blue Hawks | |
| 1984 | Langley Eagles | Penticton Knights | |
| 1983 | Abbotsford Flyers | Kelowna Buckaroos | |
| 1982 | Penticton Knights | New Westminster Royals | |
| 1981 | Penticton Knights | Abbotsford Flyers | |
| 1980 | Penticton Knights | Nanaimo Clippers | |
| 1979 | Bellingham Blazers | Kamloops Rockets | |
| 1978 | Merritt Centennials | Penticton Vees | |
| 1977 | Nanaimo Clippers | Penticton Vees | |
| 1976 | Nanaimo Clippers | Penticton Vees | |
| 1975 | Bellingham Blazers | Kelowna Buckaroos | |
| 1974 | Kelowna Buckaroos | Langley Lords | |
| 1973 | Penticton Broncos | Chilliwack Bruins | |
| 1972 | Vernon Essos | Penticton Broncos | |
| 1971 | Kamloops Rockets | Vancouver Centennials | |
| 1970 | Vernon Essos | Victoria Cougars | |
| 1969 | Victoria Cougars | Penticton Broncos | |
| 1968 | Penticton Broncos | Kelowna Buckaroos | |
| OJHL | |||
| 1967 | Penticton Broncos | Kelowna Buckaroos | |
| 1966 | Kamloops Kraft Kings | Kelowna Buckaroos | |
| 1965 | Kelowna Buckaroos | Kamloops Kraft Kings | |
| 1964 | Kamloops Rockets | Kelowna Buckaroos | |
| OMJHL | |||
| 1963 | Kamloops Rockets | Kelowna Buckaroos | |
| 1962 | Kamloops Rockets | Kelowna Buckaroos |
The Centennial Cup (known as the Royal Bank Cup from 1996 to 2018) is the Canadian Junior Hockey League championship tournament. It was awarded to BCHL teams 14 times in its history. BCHL teams are no longer eligible to play in the tournament since the league withdrew from the CJHL in 2021.
Individual records
Team records
Brett Hull, a National Hockey League Hall of Famer, played for the Penticton Knights and holds the BCHL record for most goals in a season (105), which he set in 1983–84.[14] Other NHLers who played in the BCHL include Chuck Kobasew of the Penticton Panthers, Scott Gomez of the Surrey Eagles, Carey Price of the Quesnel Millionaires, Willie Mitchell of the Kelowna Spartans, Shawn Horcoff of the Chilliwack Chiefs, and Paul Kariya of the Penticton Panthers.
In March 2021, the league withdrew its membership from the Canadian Junior Hockey League.[1] [2] [3] The league cited a financial dispute as one of the reasons. It said that there was a long-standing practice of the NHL compensating Hockey Canada when their players are drafted by the NHL. If the draft pick comes from a Major Junior club, the team receives compensation from Hockey Canada. However, if the draft pick comes from a Junior A club, compensation is awarded to the CJHL, not the club.[15]
On May 1, 2023, the BCHL made the controversial decision not to renew its agreement with governing body Hockey Canada, and thus became an independent league. The reasons for the decision included the aim of allowing BCHL teams to recruit players under the age of 18 from outside BC Hockey's territorial jurisdiction.[4] Under Hockey Canada regulations: The residential qualification does not apply to CHL Major Junior clubs, therefore they are able to recruit 16- and 17-year-old players from any jurisdiction in Canada. Players who sign with CHL clubs become ineligible to play college hockey in the United States because they are considered to be professionals by the NCAA. Therefore, the BCHL sought to become a viable alternative for elite 16- and 17-year-old players who are capable of playing Major Junior but want to retain their NCAA eligibility.[15] Beginning in the 2023-24 season, BCHL teams are required to have at least three players under the age of 18 on their roster.[16]
As a consequence of becoming an independent, or non-sanctioned, league, anyone—including players, coaches, trainers, managers and referees—involved with the BCHL after the 30 September cut-off date, is barred from participating in any sanctioned games and programs for the remainder of the season under Hockey Canada's Non-Sanctioned Leagues policy.[17] Players who are cut from BCHL rosters after 30 September would have limited options to play elsewhere. Further, BCHL teams would not be able to recruit affiliate players, i.e. players from a lower tier league that may be selected to play a limited number of games at the higher level, from leagues that are within the Hockey Canada framework. Because of this, the BCHL increased the number of players that teams could include in their regular roster.[18] This was intended to reduce the likelihood of players being cut after the deadline, but also resulted in some players getting less playing time.
On 29 April 2024, the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) announced that it would also withdraw from the Hockey Canada framework and operate as an independent farm league for the BCHL beginning in the 2024–25 season.[19] [20]