Canadian-American Junior Hockey League Explained

Canadian-American Junior Hockey League
Sport:Ice hockey
Founded:2022
Commissioner:Norm Shaw
Teams:5
Champion:Vegreville Vipers
Champ Season:2023–24
Website:https://www.cajhl.com/

The Canadian-American Junior Hockey League (CAJHL) is a junior hockey league with teams based in Canada. The league is independently operated and insured; it is not sanctioned by Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, or the Amateur Athletic Union. The league initially used the title Can-Am Junior Hockey League but their website later changed to Canadian-American Junior Hockey League.

History

The league was founded in January 2022 when six teams that were competing in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) severed ties with the Amateur Athletic Union-sanctioned league to form their own.[1] [2] [3] Five of the teams were based in Alberta, Canada, while one was based in Utah, United States. The founding teams were the Barrhead Bombers, Cold Lake Aeros, Edmonton Eagles, Hinton Timberwolves, Vegreville Vipers, and Vernal Oilers.

On March 22, 2022, the league announced that AMP Hockey Academy from Calgary, Alberta, would be the first expansion team named the AMP Warriors and would play at WinSport Canada Olympic Park. On May 6, 2022, the Vernal Oilers joined the United States Premier Hockey League along with former WSHL teams the Seattle Totems, Bellingham Blazers, and Rogue Valley Royals. In August 2022, the Edmonton Eagles were removed from the teams listing on the league website.

By April 2023, the AMP Warriors started using the name Calgary Warriors on the league website. After the 2022–23 season, the league added the Northern Alberta Lightning in Viking, Alberta, the Southern Alberta Mustangs in Stavely, Alberta, and the Vulcan Rampage in Vulcan, Alberta. The Calgary Warriors left the league. The Northern Alberta Lightning were removed from the league prior to playing a game and joined the National Junior Hockey League (NJHL).[4] The Vulcan Rampage quit the league prior to playing a game and also joined the NJHL.[5]

On July 23, 2024 the league announced suspension of the 2024-2025 season with the intention to continue operations in the future.

Teams

Current teams

Team City Arena Established
Barrhead Bombers Barrhead Agrena 2021
Cold Lake Aeros Cold Lake Energy Centre 2018
Hinton Timberwolves Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre 2019
Southern Alberta Mustangs Stavely Arena2023
Vegreville Vipers Wally Fedun Arena 2021

Former teams

Team City Arena Established Tenure
Calgary WarriorsWinSport Canada Olympic Park 2022 2022–2023
Edmonton Eagles Enoch Community Centre 2021 2021–2022
Northern Alberta Lightning Viking Carena Complex 2023Did not play
Vernal Oilers Western Park Arena 2021 2021–2022
Vulcan Rampage Vulcan Arena2023Did not play

Champions

CAJHL champions!Season !! Regular season !! Playoffs
2021–22 Cold Lake Aeros Cold Lake Aeros
2022–23 Hinton Timberwolves Hinton Timberwolves
2023–24 Hinton Timberwolves Vegreville Vipers

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: January 5, 2022. Teams leave WSHL to form new Can-Am league . JuniorHockey.com.
  2. Web site: January 9, 2022. Vegreville Vipers Among Can-Am Junior Hockey League's Six Founding Teams. CKVG Country 106.5.
  3. Web site: January 12, 2022. Cold Lake Aeros and member teams leave WSHL to start new league. Lakeland Connect.
  4. Web site: 2023-09-28 . News: Welcome Northern Alberta Lightning - National Tier 2 Jr A Hockey League . 2024-06-12 . www.njhlhockey.com.
  5. Web site: 2023-10-09 . News: Vulcan Rampage join the NJHL for the 2023/24 season - Vulcan Rampage . 2024-06-12 . vulcan.hockeyshift.com.