British Columbia Hockey League

British Columbia Hockey League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2016–17 BCHL season
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 1961
CEO John Grisdale
No. of teams 17
Countries  Canada
 United States
Most recent
champion(s)		 West Kelowna Warriors (1st title)
Most titles Vernon Vipers (10)
Official website www.bchl.ca

The British Columbia Hockey League is a Junior "A" ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada, a subsection of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 17 teams. These teams play in three divisions, known as the Interior, Island and Mainland divisions. The winner of the BCHL playoffs (Fred Page Cup) continues on to play in the Western Canada Cup or (WCC)[1][2] featuring the champions of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.[1] Two representatives from the WCC will compete in the Junior "A" National Championship for the Royal Bank Cup.

History

Locations of BCHL teams (Coastal Conference teams in red; Interior Conference teams in blue)

In 1961, the heads of four junior "B" hockey teams in the Okanagan region of British Columbia got together and formed the first ever Junior "A" league in British Columbia's history. The Okanagan-Mainline Junior "A" Hockey League, the precursor to the BCHL, was comprised originally of the Kamloops Jr. Rockets, the Kelowna Buckaroos, the Penticton Jr. Vees, and the Vernon Jr. Canadians.

In 1967, the league expanded out of the Okanagan region, bringing in the New Westminster Royals and the Victoria Cougars. With the expansion, the league decided that since it had stretched out of the Okanagan region, that it need a new name - The British Columbia Junior Hockey League. A year later, the Vancouver Centennials joined the league as well. In the 1970s, the Victoria Cougars jumped to the Western Hockey League and the New Westminster team was forced to fold due to the invasion of the Estevan Bruins into their arena. In 1972, the Bellingham Blazers and the Nanaimo Clippers expanded the league to 8 teams.

On a side note, 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 disallowed from competing for the Memorial Cup. Therefore, the variety of Tier II Junior "A" leagues across Canada agreed to compete for a new trophy called the Centennial Cup. The '70s also saw the rise of a rival league for the BCJHL. The Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League, which briefly existed in the 1960s, was resurrected by Fred Page, the man that the Eastern Champion Junior "A" Fred Page Cup and the BCHL Championship trophy are named for. The Richmond Sockeyes were the PCJHL's most dominant team, which even defeated Nanaimo in the BC Championship, the Mowat Cup, to move on to what was the precursor to the Doyle Cup. In 1979, the PCJHL and the BCJHL merged. The 77-78 season proved to be a strange one. The BCJHL sent their regular season champion, the Merritt Centennials off to play in the interprovincial playdowns as league champions without playing a single playoff game. The BCJHL continued their league playoffs without them, crowning Nanaimo as the playoff champion after Penticton refused to finish the playoff finals due to a series of brawls in the third game of the series. Merritt played off against the Prince Albert Raiders of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in the Abbott Cup (the Western Canada Championship) and lost in 5 games (best-of-7). The Raiders lost the Centennial Cup finals to the Guelph Platers of the Ontario Hockey Association.

In 1986, Penticton won the BCJHL's first ever National Championship defeating the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League's Cole Harbour Colts by a score of 7-4 to win the Centennial Cup. A year later, the BCJHL's Richmond Sockeyes won the league's second national title as well.

In 1990, the BCJHL was renamed to its current name, British Columbia Hockey League, and changed its logo twice, in 1990 and 2000, continues to expand with new teams and young players.

The most notable star to come from the BCHL is Olympian and National Hockey League hall of famer Brett Hull who played for Penticton. Hull holds the BCHL record for most goals in a season (105), which he set in 1983-84, a record that still stands today. Other NHLers who once played in the BCHL include Chuck Kobasew of the Colorado Avalanche who played for the since-renamed Penticton Panthers, Scott Gomez of the Montreal Canadiens, who played for South Surrey, and Carey Price of Montreal Canadiens who played for the Quesnel Millionaires. Willie Mitchell of the Los Angeles Kings is a native of British Columbia and played in the BCHL, as a member of the Kelowna Spartans, in 1994-95.

As of July 2013, the TheHockeyWriters.com lists the BCHL as the 6th best developmental league, professional or amateur, in North America.[3]

The Wenatchee Wild, previously of the North American Hockey League had been attempting to get into the BCHL since 2012. On June 1, 2015 it was announced that they would be joining for the 2015-16 season, marking the league's return to the US after a twenty-year absence.[4]

Teams

Island Division
Team City Arena Joined BCHL
Alberni Valley Bulldogs Port Alberni, British Columbia Weyerhaeuser Arena 1998
Cowichan Valley Capitals Duncan, British Columbia Island Savings Centre 1980
Nanaimo Clippers Nanaimo, British Columbia Frank Crane Arena 1972
Victoria Grizzlies Victoria, British Columbia The Q Centre 1967
Powell River Kings Powell River, British Columbia Hap Parker Arena 1988
Mainland Division
Team City Arena Joined BCHL
Chilliwack Chiefs Chilliwack, British Columbia Prospera Centre 1996
Coquitlam Express Coquitlam, British Columbia Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex 2001
Langley Rivermen Langley, British Columbia George Preston Recreation Centre 1990
Prince George Spruce Kings Prince George, British Columbia Prince George Coliseum 1972
Surrey Eagles Surrey, British Columbia South Surrey Arena 1976
Wenatchee Wild Wenatchee, Washington Town Toyota Center 2015
Interior Division
Team City Arena Joined BCHL
Merritt Centennials Merritt, British Columbia Nicola Valley Memorial Arena 1961
Penticton Vees Penticton, British Columbia South Okanagan Events Centre 1961
Salmon Arm Silverbacks Salmon Arm, British Columbia Shaw Centre 2001
Trail Smoke Eaters Trail, British Columbia Cominco Arena 1987
Vernon Vipers Vernon, British Columbia Kal Tire Place 1961
West Kelowna Warriors West Kelowna, British Columbia Royal Lepage Place 1994

Not active

Royal Bank Cup champions

The Royal Bank Cup has been captured by a BCHL team eight times since the trophy's founding:

Centennial Cup champions

The Centennial Cup was the forerunner to the Royal Bank Cup. The Centennial Cup was awarded for 25 years from 1971 to 1995 inclusive:

BCHL Fred Page Cup champions

For Western Canada Cup (Inaugural Season 2013) , please go to the Western Canada Cup.
For pre-2013 Pacific Regional playoffs, please go to the Doyle Cup.
For the National Championship, please go to the Royal Bank Cup.

Please note: In chart, league champions are bolded.

Year League champion League runner-up
Memorial Cup era
1962 Kamloops Rockets Kelowna Buckaroos
1963 Kamloops Rockets Kelowna Buckaroos
1964 Kamloops Rockets Kelowna Buckaroos
1965 Kelowna Buckaroos Kamloops Kraft Kings
1966 Kamloops Kraft Kings Kelowna Buckaroos
1967 Penticton Broncos Kelowna Buckaroos
1968 Penticton Broncos Kelowna Buckaroos
1969 Victoria Cougars Penticton Broncos
1970 Vernon Essos Victoria Cougars
Modern era
1971 Kamloops Rockets Vancouver Centennials
1972 Vernon Essos Penticton Broncos
1973 Penticton Broncos Chilliwack Bruins
1974 Kelowna Buckaroos Langley Lords
1975 Bellingham Blazers Kelowna Buckaroos
1976 Nanaimo Clippers Penticton Vees
1977 Nanaimo Clippers Penticton Vees
1978 Merritt Centennials Penticton Vees
1979 Bellingham Blazers Kamloops Rockets
1980 Penticton Knights Nanaimo Clippers
1981 Penticton Knights Abbotsford Flyers
1982 Penticton Knights New Westminster Royals
1983 Abbotsford Flyers Kelowna Buckaroos
1984 Langley Eagles Penticton Knights
1985 Penticton Knights Burnaby Blue Hawks
1986 Penticton Knights Richmond Sockeyes
1987 Richmond Sockeyes Kelowna Packers
1988 Vernon Lakers Richmond Sockeyes
1989 Vernon Lakers New Westminster Royals
1990 New Westminster Royals Vernon Lakers
1991 Vernon Lakers Powell River Paper Kings
1992 Vernon Lakers Bellingham Ice Hawks
1993 Kelowna Spartans Powell River Paper Kings
1994 Kelowna Spartans Cowichan Valley Capitals
1995 Chilliwack Chiefs Powell River Paper Kings
1996 Vernon Vipers Langley Thunder
1997 South Surrey Eagles Vernon Vipers
1998 South Surrey Eagles Penticton Panthers
1999 Vernon Vipers Chilliwack Chiefs
2000 Chilliwack Chiefs Vernon Vipers
2001 Victoria Salsa Merritt Centennials
2002 Chilliwack Chiefs Vernon Vipers
2003 Vernon Vipers Chilliwack Chiefs
2004 Nanaimo Clippers Salmon Arm Silverbacks
2005 Surrey Eagles Vernon Vipers
2006 Burnaby Express Penticton Vees
2007 Nanaimo Clippers Vernon Vipers
2008 Penticton Vees Nanaimo Clippers
2009 Vernon Vipers Powell River Kings
2010 Vernon Vipers Powell River Kings
2011 Vernon Vipers Powell River Kings
2012 Penticton Vees Powell River Kings
2013 Surrey Eagles Penticton Vees
2014 Coquitlam Express Vernon Vipers
2015 Penticton Vees Nanaimo Clippers
2016 West Kelowna Warriors Chilliwack Chiefs

2016-2017 BCHL Fred Page Cup Playoffs

For 2017, the top four teams from the Island and Mainland divisions advance to the playoffs, along with the top six Inland division teams, with a chance for the 5th place Mainland division team to take the spot of the 6th place Inland team if they finish higher in the regular season standings. The post-season consists of four rounds, all consisting of a series of best-of-seven games, and the top two teams in the Inland division receive a bye to the second round. The team that wins the Fred Page Cup championship advances to the 2016 Western Canada Cup in Estevan, Saskatchewan.

See 2016–17 BCHL season for detailed playoff results.

Timeline of teams

BCHL records

Individual records

Team records

NHL alumni

Notes

  1. 1 2 CJHL Hockey.com | News Detail
  2. ↑ British Columbia Hockey League (Design, Hosting, Registration & Administration tools by esportsdeskpro.com)
  3. ↑ http://thehockeywriters.com/top-10-best-developmental-ice-hockey-leagues-north-america/
  4. ↑ "Wenatchee Wild Join the BCHL for the 2015-16 Season". www.bchl.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-01.

References

External links

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