Last summer, Hockey Canada took a big hit as one of its most successful leagues, the British Columbia Hockey League, decided to leave and become independent.
On Saturday, the BCHL made a huge announcement which was another big hit for Hockey Canada as they shared that five teams from the Alberta Junior Hockey League will be joining them beginning in the 2024-25 season.
"The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) has announced that it has come to terms with five Alberta-based teams to join the league for the 2024-25 season.
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." The BCHL said.
As the statement mentions, the teams that will be joining the BCHL next season are the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints. The Brooks Bandits were one of the most successful teams during their team as a Hockey Canada affiliated team, winning the Centennial Cup, formerly RBC Cup, which is the national Junior A championship, four times in seven years including in 2017 when they had Cale Makar.
At the time of writing this, there has been no comment from the Alberta Junior Hockey League or Hockey Canada, but it's safe to say that neither are happy with this announcement.
As a response; the AJHL cancelled some games on Saturday night, they can't handle some teams leaving, before suspending them for the rest of the season later
