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 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.
Rivalry with the PJHL
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.
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.
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.
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]
Beginning in 2024–25, the league will have an affiliation agreement with the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL).[12][13] Following the announcement of the agreement, some BCHL owners acquired an ownership stake in VIJHL clubs.[13][14][15] 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.[16]
Current franchises
The league's 21 teams are organized into four divisions, and two conferences: with 10 teams making up the Coastal Conference, and 11 teams making up the Interior Conference.[17]
1996 – Royal City Outlaws sell franchise rights to Prince George Spruce Kings; both Prince George and the Quesnel Millionaires of the RMJHL join the BCHL
1996 – Surrey Eagles renamed South Surrey Eagles
1998 – Burnaby Bulldogs join league
1998 – Powell River Paper Kings renamed Powell River Kings; Langley Thunder renamed Langley Hornets
2001 – Coquitlam Express and Salmon Arm Silverbacks join league
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.
^2020 & 2021 playoffs cancelled due to public health restrictions[18][19]
National championships
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.[20]
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.[22]
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:
Players seventeen (17) years of age and below must register in the Member where their Parent(s) reside, unless the Player is registered in a Hockey Canada School With Residence or Hockey Canada Accredited School, and registers with one (1) of that school’s Teams.
— Hockey Canada, By-laws, Regulations and History, regulation c(1), (June 2023)[23]
The residential qualification did not apply to CHLMajor Junior clubs, therefore they had the advantage of being able to recruit 16- and 17-year-old players from any jurisdiction in Canada. However, players who signed with CHL clubs were historically deemed ineligible to play college hockey in the United States because they were considered to be professionals by the NCAA. Therefore, the BCHL sought to attract elite 16- and 17-year-old players who were capable of playing Major Junior but wanted to retain their NCAA eligibility.[22] In 2024 the NCAA changed its position and decided that CHL players were no longer ineligible as of the 2025–26 season.[24][25] The decision was made after a class action was filed on behalf of a player who was declared ineligible after having played two exhibition games in the OHL when he was 16 years old.[26]
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'sNon-Sanctioned Leagues policy.[27] 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.[23][28] This was intended to reduce the likelihood of players being cut after the deadline, but also resulted in some players getting less playing time.
^Dheensaw, Cleve (29 April 2024). "VIJHL latest league to bolt Hockey Canada and go independent". Times Colonist. Glacier Media Group. Retrieved 19 July 2024. The affiliation will not be club-to-club but be on a universal basis with BCHL teams allowed to call up players from or send down players to any of the VIJHL teams.
