THE Hockey RESOURCE DOES NOT EXPRESS A PARTICULAR OPINION ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BUT AS A RESOURCE FOR PARENTS, WE FEEL THIS INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO OUR MEMBERS.
The British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCHL) is officially independent and non-sanctioned according to BC Hockey and Hockey Canada. (1)
As of September 30, 2023, all BCHL-affiliated players, coaches, and volunteers are ineligible to participate in Provincial and National programs for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. (2-4) In Hockey slang, this is known as an “Outlaw League”, typically a last resort for players who become banned from playing organized Hockey under Hockey Canada.
Outlaw junior Hockey leagues have come and gone in the past, but never in recent history has an established, high-profile, and internationally recognized league such as the BCHL claimed independence from the National Sports Organization (NSO).
Some facts about the BCHL:
- The BCHL was formed in 1961 and earns more NCAA Division 1 scholarships than all nine Canadian Junior A Hockey Leagues combined. (2)
- 411 BCHL Alumni play in the NCAA, approximately one-quarter of current NCAA Division I Hockey players. (2)
- 283 BCHL players are committed to NCAA Division 1 at the end of the 2023-24 regular season. (5)
- 19 BCHL Alumni are on NHL rosters to start the 2023-24 season. 15 BCHL Alumni played in the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. (6)
- Six hundred thirty thousand fans attended BCHL games in 2022-23, on average, approximately 1,350 fans per game. (7)
Why Does This Matter?
Junior hockey features the best players aged 20 years and younger, who compete for university scholarships, professional contracts, and a chance to be drafted to the National Hockey League (NHL).
Junior Hockey is traditionally for players aged 16-20; however, in the past, top 15 and even 14-year-old players were allowed to move up to play junior if they were good enough to play. Junior Hockey has historical, cultural, and economic significance and is an integral part of many Canadian cities, small towns, and communities. (13)
How did we get here?
The BCHL left the Canadian Junior A Hockey League (CJHL) in 2021 and the following year published a report to Hockey Canada and BC Hockey titled “Modernizing Junior Hockey”. (8-10)
The report outlined several concerns related to changes in the Provincial, National, and international ice Hockey landscape and the league’s position within Hockey Canada. (11, 12) A few concerns in the report:
- The effectiveness of the Canadian Hockey Development Model (CDM). (p.1, 14-16)
- Supporting two development pathways, Major Junior vs. “College Track” Junior A. (p.8)
- Canadian players are leaving to play Junior in the United States. (p.8)
- Competitive equality between Jr. A leagues and teams. (p.10)
- University sports in Canada (U.Sports) versus the NCAA in the United States. (p.15)
- “Pay to play” (p.11, 23)
- The ability to sign, trade, and affiliate players based on age and location of residence, school district, province, nationality, etc. (p.15-21)
- NHL draft pick development fund money sharing. (p.22)
- Other topics, such as the players being allowed to wear visors, etc. (p.28)
Canadian hockey enjoyed a decade of dominance at international “best-on-best” tournaments in the late 1980s and 90, including a historic victory at the 1988 Canada Cup against the Russian Red Army and eight World Junior Championships (WJC) in ten years between 1988 and 1997.
However, after second place finishes at the 1996 World Cup, 1998 Winter Olympics and not winning the World Juniors between 1998-2004, it was clear other countries had caught up and closed the gap on the ice.
In response to increased competition (a minor national emergency), Hockey Canada released the Canadian Hockey Development Model (CDM) in 2006. (13)
The CDM modified the traditional Canadian minor Hockey system, which had evolved over previous decades and generations around local youth, aka “minor” Hockey associations (MHA). The CDM aligned early Hockey Canada Long Term Player/Athlete Development (LTPD/LTAD) models. Minor Hockey age groups were adjusted, and a Provincial high-performance league was created and called the BC Major Midget League (BCMML). (14)
To bolster the high-performance league, restrictions were introduced to limit the number of Bantam and Midget age players allowed to move up to play junior.
Figure 3. Traditional Hockey System in B.C.:
Where Are We Now?
Around the Arena, there is tremendous concern that the cost to play Hockey has outpaced the average Canadian family. The high costs of playing challenge the perception of Canadian Hockey as a hard-working, middle-class sport.
Since the release of the CDM, alternative minor Hockey programs have become big business for players who hope to play high-level hockey in the future. At the time of inception, the Provincial high-performance BCMML was criticized for its high price tag: currently rumoured this year at $20,000 CDN per Player in league and Team fees alone.
The Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) was founded in 2009 and includes prestigious prep schools such as St. George’s, Shawnigan Lake, and Hockey schools, including the Okanagan and Delta Hockey Academies (Figure 4). The CSSHL has grown into prevalence such that 18 out of 20 players on the current Male U16 Team BC are from private Hockey schools, with two players from the BCMML. (15)
The BCHL argued that high school Hockey academies had a greater ability to import players from outside the province and country than the Junior A league.
What Comes Next?
It has long been rumored that the BCHL wants to regain status compared to the United States Hockey League (USHL) as the world’s best junior league outside Canadian Major Junior.
Despite cutting ties with BC Hockey, the separation will not jeopardize players’ NCAA eligibility. In fact, the BCHL broke its own records for NCAA scholarships earned during the 2023-24 season.
Non-sanctioned Hockey is proliferating across Canada’s two westernmost provinces, BC and Alberta. Several BCHL and Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) teams have started ‘European football style’ club programs in a new Junior Prospects Hockey League (JPHL). In its third season, the JPHL has 37 teams in four age groups (U14, U15, U17, U18) and a stylish new $25 million CDN Arena as headquarters in the Leduc area south of Edmonton. (16, 17)
The Hockey Super League (HSL) in Alberta has 1500 players aged 8-12 and made national news when Hockey Canada banned a ten-year-old from his hometown minor Hockey association after playing in the non-sanctioned league. (18, 19) Parents are quoted as saying they want to choose where their kids play Hockey and their lives and weekends back.
History continues to unfold in January 2024 as five Alberta teams left the AJHL to join the BCHL, including the Brooks Bandits, three-time defending Canadian Junior A Champions in 2019, 2022, and 2023 (the Tournament was not hosted in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). (20)
By leaving Hockey Canada, Junior teams can start their own club programs, and the non-sanctioned junior prospects league is only expected to grow for the foreseeable future.
With the departure of the BCHL, BC Hockey reclassified its three provincial Junior B leagues to Junior A. (21) It remains to be seen if promoting the Junior B leagues to “Jr A” will impact the quality of play, game experience, Player services, and full-time, paid coaching jobs, etc.
Hockey Canada ‘finally’ replaced the traditional minor Hockey age-group naming system (ie, Tyke, Novice, Pee Wee, etc.) with the ‘Under’ age group designation used in other countries and sports (i.e., U12, U14, etc). The BC Major Midget League (BCMML) is now the BC Elite Hockey League (BCEHL). (22)
No one knows precisely where Hockey in BC and Alberta is heading. However, one thing is for sure: junior Hockey is alive and continues to lead the way on Canada’s “Outlaw” west coast and prairies.
Special thanks to Tali Campbell, Kirk Hards, Brandon Cox, and Jim Konowalchuk of the Coquitlam Express and Coquitlam Hockey Club, including the players, parents, families, and the Junior Prospects Hockey League.
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