AJHL Exodus Mirrors the Formation of the WHL

The BCHL's announcement that five teams were leaving the AJHL shook the hockey world, but the events are very similar to the creation of the WHL

On Jan 20, 2024, the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) leaked a report that five Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) teams agreed to join the league for the 2024-25 season. The announcement sent shockwaves throughout the hockey community. Nothing like this had ever happened before, at least not on this scale; both the AJHL and BCHL are two of the premier destinations for Canadian hockey players to pursue an NCAA scholarship. Seeing five teams leave one league for the other just didn’t make any sense.

The situation has only gotten muddier in the following days. Five days after the initial announcement, the AJHL cancelled all games involving the Brooks Bandits, Sherwood Park Crusaders, Okotoks Oilers, Spruce Grove Saints, and the Blackfalds Bulldogs, meaning that they could only play each other for the rest of the season. The five teams opposed the decision, claiming no agreement was ever reached with the BCHL. But before the AJHL revokes its suspensions, it needs to have some clear communication from the BCHL, something that the league is still waiting on.

This strange situation has raised several questions as to the future of Junior A hockey in Canada, some of which will be answered in time. But history can also provide some answers. Roughly 60 years ago, a similar situation played out across the prairies that resulted in the death of one league, but the creation of two brand new ones that redefined competitive hockey in Canada.

Junior A Hockey and the Need for Greater Competition

Making the NHL is every young hockey player’s dream. If it turns out they have a legitimate chance to do that, there are two paths that they can take to get there today.

The first is through the Major Junior route, which consists of the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), unified under Hockey Canada’s Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The second is through the college circuit, which is dominated by the NCAA. There are valid arguments for both sides. On one hand, colleges offer top-notch education and training, while the CHL has lower age restrictions and allows players to play more games, which, according to Nathan MacKinnon, who played with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, “We’re here to play games. I like getting into a rhythm; I feel like I play better when I play more.”

Those who choose the NCAA, however, need to play somewhere until they turn 18, which is where the Junior A leagues come in. There are 10 Junior A leagues in Canada compared to just the three Major Junior leagues, which gives players more opportunities to play, as long as they're from the province the league plays in. Apart from that one stipulation, the two streams operate very similarly, competing under the banner of Hockey Canada and playing for a trophy to the top team in Canada at the end of the season.

Yet that one stipulation became a sticking point for the BCHL, prompting them to break away from Hockey Canada in May 2023. The BCHL had always been the strongest Junior A league in the country and regularly saw their players taken in the first round of the NHL Draft, including Bradly Nadeau in 2023, Alex Newhook in 2019, and Tyson Jost and Dante Fabbro in 2016, as well as many more that have become NHL regulars.

Bradly Nadeau with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees (Jack Murray/Penticton Vees)