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Report: BCHL leaves Canadian Junior Hockey League

Brian Wiebe

 

The BC Hockey League is reportedly set to leave the umbrella of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.

Rod Pedersen, who hosts a daily nationwide sports talk show on Game+, tweeted on Wednesday night that he’s heard rumblings the BCHL will leave the CJHL to play on its own. He adds there are potentially some Alberta Junior Hockey League teams who will join as well.

Pedersen’s tweet was responded to by Steve Ewen of Postmedia, who notes he’s heard reports of a CJHL conference call set for Thursday in which the national junior A association will discuss the situation regarding the BCHL.

The BCHL is a charter member of the CJHL, which was formed in 1993. The association includes 10 junior A leagues from coast to coast and the Centennial Cup as national junior A champion is awarded to the CJHL champion each year.

The BCHL has been the most successful league at the Centennial Cup, with member teams claiming 14 championships. Vernon has won it six times, which is most among all junior A franchises.

Penticton is a two-time winner, with Chilliwack, West Kelowna, Surrey, Burnaby, Kelowna, and Richmond each grabbing the title once.

Brian Wiebe

Brian's been involved in the BCHL in a variety of capacities for 17 years. From 2002 to 2012, he served in several roles around the Merritt Centennials organization, including as team president, board member, beat writer, colour commentator, webmaster, media and communications coordinator and marketing assistant. He's been writing about the BCHL since 2008 and served as colour commentator on the TSN 1040 broadcasts in 2012-13. BCHLNetwork is one of Brian's many passion projects that he balances around his full-time job as an instructor in the Radio Arts and Entertainment Program at BCIT in Burnaby.