The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice Hockey league with 20 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 has characterized itself as a Junior ice Hockey league.
History
1961 to 1993
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.
Early expansion
In 1967, the league expanded beyond the Okanagan region, admitting the New Westminster Royals and the Victoria Cougars from the original (1962–1967) Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League.
With the expansion, the league decided that, since it was no longer confined to the Okanagan region, it needed a new name and became the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL).
A year later, the Vancouver Centennials joined the league. In the 1970s, the Victoria Cougars joined the Western Hockey League, and the New Westminster Team was forced to fold due to the relocation of the Estevan Bruins to 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 split Junior A Hockey into two tiers. Because the BCJHL was a Tier II league, it was ineligible to compete 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.
Rivalry with the PJHL
The 1970s also saw the rise of a rival league to the BCJHL, the Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League (PCJHL), which had existed briefly in the 1960s and was revived 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 led to an unusual development 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, thereby 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.
They advanced to the Abbott Cup (the Western Canada Championship), where they faced the ANAVET Cup winner, the Western region champion Prince Albert Raiders of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Centennials lost to the Raiders, four games to one.
Merger with the PJHL
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.
National champions
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 7–4 to win the Centennial Cup. A year later, the BCJHL’s Richmond Sockeyes won the league’s second consecutive national title.
1993 to 2021
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 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.
Further expansion and relocations
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 to the WHL in 2023, following the BCHL’s move to independence. The Cranbrook Bucks joined the league in 2020.
2021 to present
Withdrawal from CJHL and Hockey Canada
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 greater control over scheduling, particularly the timing of the playoffs, and the ability of BCHL teams to recruit players under 18 from outside BC Hockey’s territorial jurisdiction.[4]
Further information: § Withdrawal from Hockey Canada
Expansion into Alberta
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][6][7] 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.[8][9]
Beginning in the 2024–25 BCHL season, the five Alberta-based teams, along with the Cranbrook Bucks, will form the East division of the Interior conference.[10] The Prince George Spruce Kings, previously in the Interior Conference, moved to the Coastal Conference’s East Division.[11]
Further information: 2023–24 BCHL season League changes
VIJHL affiliation
Beginning in 2024–25, the league will have an affiliation agreement with the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL).[12][13] Following the agreement announcement, some BCHL owners acquired stakes in VIJHL clubs.[13][14][15]
However, sources reported that there will be no club-specific affiliations and that BCHL teams will be permitted to call up or assign players to any VIJHL Team.[16]
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