Five Alberta teams are heading over to the BCHL. File photo.
The British Colombia Hockey League (BCHL) announced on Jan. 20 that five teams from the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) will leave and join the BCHL for the 2024-2025 season.
The teams are the Brooks Bandits, Blackfalds Bulldogs, Okotoks Oilers, Spruce Grove Saints, and Sherwood Park Crusaders.
The BCHL decided to leave Hockey Canada on June 1, 2023, as regulation states that players who are looking to play junior A hockey must do so in their own province. The BCHL’s move away from this rule has allowed the league and its teams to recruit 16 and 17-year-olds from other provinces and help them pursue NCAA opportunities.
The AJHL is still a part of Hockey Canada, and the departing teams never sent a notice to the league. Four AJHL games involving the departing teams were cancelled on Jan. 20-21.
No further information has been released by either league or the teams.
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