Since the British Columbia Hockey League announced it was leaving the umbrella of Hockey Canada on May 1, there are a number of questions about what it means.
The fact is, the impact of the BCHL becoming a non-sanctioned league is wide-reaching. There are a lot of rumours and conjectures floating around online and on social media regarding the roster makeup in the new BCHL. Still, there are some specifics available on the league’s FAQ page and in some media coverage from reputable outlets like Postmedia.
BCHL Commissioner Steven Cocker also dropped some roster notes during a BCHLNetwork Q&A and I’ve been able to get confirmation on some of the other roster rules taking effect for the 2023-24 season. The BCHL’s annual general meeting is on May 25, and the league will likely make an announcement shortly after that since players are able to sign for the new season starting on June 1.
B.C.-born player minimum
The BCHL has a regulation that states each team must have five B.C.-based players on its roster – this isn’t actually a new rule. Previously in the BCHL, a B.C. player was classified by his address of residence as determined by BC Hockey. Since the BCHL isn’t part of BC Hockey anymore, it has to come up with its own rules for what constitutes a B.C. player.
Although the league hasn’t announced the new clarification for a B.C. player, sources tell me there will be more substantial criteria as to what determines how a player is classified as a B.C. athlete. In the independent BCHL, a player’s place of birth as well as where they developed as a hockey player will play a role.
When looking online, it’s tough to determine whether or not a player meets certain criteria since not all information is public knowledge. In many cases, public hometown or birthplace data on the official league site and websites like Elite Prospects don’t match, and private data on the Hockey Canada Registry shows something different altogether.
It’s fair to question what information is accurate and based on what criteria. Going forward, the hope is that players listed on the BCHL’s official website rosters show their hometown accurately, so it’s straightforward for fans and media to determine which players meet the criteria of being a B.C. athlete and which don’t.
Import players
The BCHL included a note in its FAQ mentioning that its teams are now allowed to recruit under-18 players from across Canada, which was a major crux of the reason to leave Hockey Canada. However, it also mentioned that teams can now recruit players from outside of North America.
According to Elite Prospects, the BCHL featured four players out of 431 across the 18 teams who were not from Canada or the United States. Those players include Salmon Arm defender Liam Steele (Great Britain), Cowichan Valley forwards Oliver Salo (Finland) and Anton Yatsyshin (Ukraine), and Penticton forward Aydar Suniev (Russia).
In comparison on Elite Prospects, the U.S. Hockey League had 52 combined European and Asian players out of 469 players across its 16 teams.
The new regulation in the independent BCHL states that each team is allowed to roster a maximum of two non-Canadian or non-American born players. It does stand to say that an increase in the allowability of players from outside of North America opens the door for teams to recruit from around the world, but have no more than two on each roster.
Roster size
Under the umbrella of Hockey Canada, the BCHL was subject to certain roster deadlines. Those included the December 1 deadline where all teams were required to reduce to no more than the total of the number of players on their roster and the number of allotted but unused player registrations (often called “cards”). As well, teams were further required to reduce those numbers to a total of 23 on January 10.
Without the Hockey Canada restriction, the BCHL is free to set its own regulations in regard to the number of players on team rosters. For 2023-24, a BCHL team is permitted to have up to 25 players on its regular roster, two of which must be goaltenders. This is an increase of two roster spots from the 23 allowed during the 2022-23 season.
However, if a team wants to carry a third goaltender as insurance against injury, it is then permitted to have up to 26 players on its regular roster.
Of the 25 or 26 rostered players, teams are able to dress 19 skaters and two goalies per game. As such, if a team is entirely healthy and has three goaltenders on its regular roster, then five players will sit out in that situation. If a team is only carrying two goaltenders and has a healthy roster, then four skaters would be scratched for a game.
