| Pacific Northwest Hockey League | |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Founded: | 1973 |
| Folded: | 1976 |
The Pacific Northwest Hockey League (PNWHL) was an amateur mixed-level ice hockey league in British Columbia from 1973 to 1976. The league had 10 teams in its 1973–74 season, 9 teams in 1974–75, and 6 teams in 1975–76.[1] The teams that played in the league were of both the Junior and Intermediate level due to the distances between towns in the area. The Intermediate teams were the Smithers Totems, Houston Luckies, Burns Lake Bears, Kitimat Eagles and Prince Rupert Kings. The Junior teams were the Prince George Spruce Kings, Vanderhoof Bears, Smithers Nats, Terrace Centennials and Kitimat Cohoes.
There were a number of notables that played in the PNWHL. One was Bill Riley who won scoring titles playing for the Kitimat Eagles and made the jump to the NHL with the Washington Capitals.[2] [3] Another was Larry Playfair who played for the Jr. Bears in Vanderhoof and went on to an NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres. There were a number of players with outstanding talent including Dave Pickett with the Prince Rupert Kings, Doug Stumpf, Gord Cook and brothers Hugh and Harry Bell, all of whom played for the Houston Luckies. Many of the young junior players moved on to Junior Leagues such as the Western Canada Tier 1 after honing their talent against the Intermediate teams in the PNWHL.