After years of speculation, talk of a possible merger involving junior hockey teams in B.C. and Alberta has finally come to fruition.
According to two social media posts this weekend, the Brooks Bandits, Spruce Grove Saints, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Blackfalds Bulldogs were slated to leave the Alberta Junior Hockey League for the B.C. Hockey League.
On Saturday morning, the BCHL confirmed the announcement.
The news means that the BCHL will grow from 17 teams to 22 while the AJHL will be reduced from 16 to 11.
“The British Columbia Hockey League has announced that it has come to terms with five Alberta-based teams to join the league for the 2024-25 season,” the league said on its website.
“The teams that have committed to terms include the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints. Further information, such as league structure, will be announced in the coming weeks.
“There will be no further comment until more information is available.”
In AJHL standings as of Saturday morning, Brooks was in first place with 78 points, followed by Sherwood Park (73), Okotoks (66) and Blackfalds (63).
Of the five teams jumping ship to B.C., only Spruce Grove wasn’t in the top five. The Saints are 12th in league standings with 41 points.
Saturday’s news caught the AJHL off-guard.
In a statement on the league’s website, it said “the AJHL was informed through an announcement from the BCHL of a decision by five member teams to join the British Columbia Hockey League for the 2024-25 season. No official notice has been provided to the AJHL from the respective teams.
“As a league, we are assessing next steps and schedule implications. The AJHL will continue to provide unprecedented development opportunities for our athletes within our valuable communities.”
The AJHL then went on to say that four games had been cancelled this weekend: Two on Saturday and two on Sunday.
Two of the four involved Brooks, but Blackfalds and Spruce Grove also had a game cancelled.
This isn’t the first time the BCHL has been involved in adding teams at a rival league’s expense.
In the summer of 1995 in B.C., the Trail Smoke Eaters left the fledgling Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League to join the BCHL. The next summer, 1996, the Prince George Spruce Kings and Quesnel Millionaires followed suit.
At the time, the RMJHL — a merger of the Peace Cariboo Hockey League and the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League in 1991 — was comprised of 11 teams. When Trail left, that number fell to 10.
Following the departure of Prince George and Quesnel, plus Grande Prairie also leaving in 1996 for the AJHL, the league began dwindling, with the league folding after the 1998-99 season.
Saturday’s news also came with the BCHL hosting its all-star weekend in Penticton, home of the defending league champion Vees.
Last June, the BCHL left Hockey Canada, becoming an independent league. By doing so, the league has lost its Hockey Canada privileges, such as its players competing on national teams.
However, the decision allowed the BCHL to do whatever it wanted, such as ignoring provincial borders to attract players — something it couldn’t do under Hockey Canada rules.
“Leaving Hockey Canada was a long process, a difficult decision,” BCHL CEO Chris Hebb told Jay Janower of Global News on Saturday morning.
“We have no animosity towards the federation. But in order for us to grow, we needed to have our hands on the wheel. And now what we’re doing is something that I believe, across the country, that other leagues are watching.
“And they’re very interested in seeing exactly what it looks like to be independent of Hockey Canada.”
Hebb was also asked about speculation that those five teams would be leaving the AJHL for the BCHL.
“There may be some growth that’s associated with that, but, at the end of the day, we are a player-centric league,” Hebb said.
“What we want is our players to come and have a great experience in the BCHL, especially kids that can get college commitments out of their hockey skills and move on to be educated as a result of that.
“To me, there’s nothing above that in terms of what happens with Hockey Canada or doesn’t happen with Hockey Canada. We’re just trying to get these kids a great education through their hockey.”