British Columbia Hockey League
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British Columbia Hockey League
Current season or competition: 2008 Fred Page Cup Playoffs
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1961
Commissioner	John Grisdale
No. of teams	16
Country(ies)	Canada
Most recent champion(s)	Penticton Vees
Most championships	Vernon/Penticton – 9
Official website	www.bchl.bc.ca

The British Columbia Hockey League is a British Columbia-based tier II Junior "A" ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a subsection of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 16 teams. These teams play in two conferences, known as the Coastal and the Interior. The winner of the BCHL playoffs (Fred Page Cup) continues on to play in the Doyle Cup in a best-of-7 series against the champion of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The winner of the Doyle Cup will compete in the Junior "A" National Championship for the Royal Bank Cup.

History

In 1961, the heads of four junior "B" hockey teams in the Okanagan region of British Columbia got together and formed the first ever Junior "A" league in British Columbia's history. The Okanagan-Mainline Junior "A" Hockey League, the precursor to the BCHL, was comprised originally of the Kamloops Jr. Rockets, the Kelowna Buckaroos, the Penticton Jr. Vees, and the Vernon Jr. Canadians.

In 1967, the league expanded out of the Okanagan region, bringing in the New Westminster Royals and the Victoria Cougars. With the expansion, the league decided that since it had stretched out of the Okanagan region, that it need a new name - The British Columbia Junior Hockey League. A year later, the Vancouver Centennials joined the league as well. In the 1970s, the Victoria Cougars jumped to the Western Hockey League and the New Westminster team was forced to fold due to the invasion of the Estevan Bruins into their arena. In 1972, the Bellingham Blazers and the Nanaimo Clippers expanded the league to 8 teams.

On a side note, in the early 1970s the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association separated the two tiers of Junior "A" hockey. The BCJHL, being a Tier II league, was disallowed from competing for the Memorial Cup. Therefore, the variety of Tier II Junior "A" leagues across Canada agreed to compete for a new trophy called the Centennial Cup. The '70s also saw the rise of a rival league for the BCJHL. The Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League, which briefly existed in the 1960s, was resurrected by Fred Page, the man that the Eastern Champion Junior "A" Fred Page Cup and the BCHL Championship trophy are named for. The Richmond Sockeyes were the PCJHL's most dominant team, which even defeated Nanaimo in the BC Championship, the Mowat Cup, to move on to what was the precursor to the Doyle Cup. In 1979, the PCJHL and the BCJHL merged. The 77-78 season proved to be a strange one. The BCJHL sent their regular season champion, the Merritt Centennials off to play in the interprovincial playdowns as league champions without playing a single playoff game. The BCJHL continued their league playoffs without them, crowning Nanaimo as the playoff champion after Penticton refused to finish the playoff finals due to a series of brawls in the third game of the series. Merritt played off against the Prince Albert Raiders of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in the Abbott Cup (the Western Canada Championship) and lost in 5 games (best-of-7). The Raiders lost the Centennial Cup finals to the Guelph Platers of the Ontario Hockey Association.

In 1986, Penticton won the BCJHL's first ever National Championship defeating the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League's Cole Harbour Colts by a score of 7-4 to win the Centennial Cup. A year later, the BCJHL's Richmond Sockeyes won the league's second national title as well.

In 1990, the BCJHL was renamed to its current name, British Columbia Hockey League, and changed its logo twice, in 1990 and 2000, continues to expand with new teams and younge players.

The most notable star to come from the BCHL is Olympian and National Hockey League hall of famer Brett Hull who played for Penticton. Hull holds the BCHL record for most goals in a season (105), which he set in 1983-84, a record that still stands today. Other NHLers who once played in the BCHL include Chuck Kobasew of the Boston Bruins who played for the since-rename Penticton Panthers, Scott Gomez of the New York Rangers, who played for South Surrey, and Paul Kariya of the St. Louis Blues who played for Penticton and Carey Price of Montreal Canadiens who played for Quesnel Millionaires.

Teams

2008-09 Teams

Future Teams

• Williams Lake TimberWolves – (begin play in 2009-10 season)

Timeline of Teams

• Kamloops Rockets (1967-73; became White Rock Centennials)
• Kelowna Buckaroos (1967-83; became Summerland Buckaroos)
• New Westminster Royals (1967-71; folded)
• Penticton Broncos (1967-75; renamed Penticton Vees)
• Vernon Essos (1967–73; renamed Vernon Vikings)
• Victoria Cougars (1967-71; joined Western Hockey League)
• Vancouver Centennials (1969-72; renamed Vancouver Villas)
• Chilliwack Bruins (1970-76; joined PJHL)
• Bellingham Blazers (1972-75; folded)
• Nanaimo Clippers (1972-1983; became Esquimalt Buccaneers)
• Vancouver Villas (1972-73; folded)
• Langley Lords (1973-76; renamed Langley Thunder)
• Merritt Centennials (1973-85; renamed Merritt Warriors)
• Vernon Vikings (1973–79; folded)
• White Rock Centennials (1973; became Merritt Centennials)
• Maple Ridge Blazers (1975-76; renamed Maple Ridge Bruins)
• Penticton Vees (1975-78; renamed Penticton Knights)
• Bellingham Blazers (1976-80; folded)
• Kamloops Braves (1976-77; renamed Kamloops Chiefs)
• Langley Thunder (1976-79; folded)
• Maple Ridge Bruins (1976-77; folded)
• Abbotsford Flyers (1976-85; renamed Abbotsford Falcons)
• Kamloops Chiefs (1977-78; renamed Kamloops Rockets)
• Revelstoke Bruins (1977-79; renamed Revelstoke Rockets)
• Chilliwack Colts (1978-81; folded)
• Delta Suns (1978-79; folded)
• Kamloops Rockets (1978-79; became Revelstoke Rockets)
• Penticton Knights (1978-90; renamed Penticton Panthers)
• Nor Wes Caps (1979-81; folded)
• Revelstoke Rockets (1979-83; renamed Revelstoke Rangers)
• Richmond Sockeyes (1979-90; became Chilliwack Chiefs)
• Coquitlam Comets (1980-81; folded)
• Cowichan Valley Whalers (1980-81; renamed Cowichan Valley Capitals)
• Vancouver Jr. Canucks (1980-81; folded)
• Vernon Lakers (1980–83; renamed Vernon Rockets)
• Cowichan Valley Capitals (1981-84; became Sidney Whalers)
• Langley Eagles (1981-87; became Chilliwack Eagles)
• New Westminster Royals (1981-83; folded)
• Vancouver Bluehawks (1981-82; became Burnaby Bluehawks)
• Burnaby Bluehawks (1982-85; folded)
• Shuswap/Salmon Arm Totems (1982-83; renamed Shuswap Totems)
• Esquimalt Buccaneers (1983; became Nanaimo Clippers)
• Revelstoke Rangers (1983-85; folded)
• Shuswap Totems (1983-84; renamed Salmon Arm Totems)
• Summerland Buckaroos (1983-88; folded)
• Vernon Rockets (1983-84; renamed Vernon Lakers)
• Nanaimo Clippers (1984-present)
• Salmon Arm Totems (1984-85; renamed Shuswap Blazers)
• Sidney Whalers (1984-86; renamed Juan de Fuca Whalers)
• Vernon Lakers (1984–96; renamed Vernon Vipers)
• Abbotsford Falcons (1985-88; folded)
• Delta Flyers (1985-88;folded)
• Kelowna Packers (1985-89; renamed Kelowna Spartans)
• Merritt Warriors (1985-87; renamed Merritt Centennials)
• Shuswap Blazers (1985-86; folded)
• Juan de Fuca Whalers (1986-88; became Cowichan Valley Whalers)
• Chilliwack Eagles (1987-90; folded)
• Merritt Centennials (1987-present)
• Salmon Arm Tigers (1987-89; folded)
• Cowichan Valley Whalers (1988-89; renamed Cowichan Valley Capitals)
• New Westminster Royals (1988-91; folded)
• Powell River Paper Kings (1988-1998; renamed Powell River Kings)
• Cowichan Valley Capitals (1989-90; folded)
• Kelowna Spartans (1989-95; folded)
• Ladner Penguins (1989-90; became Bellingham Ice Hawks)
• Bellingham Ice Hawks (1990-94; became Trail Smoke Eaters)
• Chilliwack Chiefs (1990-2006; became Langley Chiefs)
• Penticton Panthers (1990-2004; renamed Penticton Vees)
• Victoria Warriors (1990-93; folded)
• Surrey Eagles (1991-1996; renamed South Surrey Eagles)
• Cowichan Valley Capitals (1993-present)
• Langley Thunder (1994-98; renamed Langley Hornets)
• Royal City Outlaws (1994-96; folded)
• Victoria Salsa (1994-2006; renamed Victoria Grizzlies)
• Trail Smoke Eaters (1995-present)
• South Surrey Eagles (1996-2003; renamed Surrey Eagles)
• Prince George Spruce Kings (1996-present)
• Quesnel Millionaires (1996-present)
• Vernon Vipers (1996–present)
• Burnaby Bulldogs (1998-2002; became Alberni Valley Bulldogs)
• Langley Hornets (1998-2006; became Westside Warriors)
• Powell River Kings (1998-present)
• Coquitlam Express (2001-04; became Burnaby Express)
• Salmon Arm Silverbacks (2001-present)
• Alberni Valley Bulldogs (2002-present)
• Surrey Eagles (2003-present)
• Williams Lake TimberWolves (2003-2007)
• Burnaby Express (2004-present)
• Penticton Vees (2004-present)
• Langley Chiefs (2006-present)
• Victoria Grizzlies (2006-present)
• Westside Warriors (2006-present)

Royal Bank Cup champions

The Royal Bank Cup has been captured by a BCHL team four times since the trophy's founding:

• 2006: Burnaby Express
• 1999: Vernon Vipers
• 1998: South Surrey Eagles
• 1996: Vernon Vipers

Centennial Cup champions

The Centennial Cup was the forerunner to the Royal Bank Cup. The Centennial Cup was awarded for 25 years from 1971 to 1995 inclusive:

• 1993: Kelowna Spartans
• 1991: Vernon Lakers
• 1990: Vernon Lakers
• 1987: Richmond Sockeyes
• 1986: Penticton Knights

BCHL Records

Individual records

• Most goals in a season: 105, Brett Hull, Penticton, 1983–84
• Most assists in a season: 111, Bob Ginetti, Burnaby, 1986–87
• Most points in a season: 188, Brett Hull, Penticton, 1983–84
• Most goals in a season, defenceman: 38, Campbell Blair, Vernon, 1986–87
• Most assists in a season, defenceman: 77, Bruce Harris, Bellingham, 1978–79; Ian Kidd, Penticton, 1984–85
• Most points in a season, defenceman: 109, Campbell Blair, Vernon, 1986–87
• Most goals in a season, rookie: 84, John Newberry, Nanaimo, 1979–80
• Most assists in a season, rookie: 103, Doug Berry, Kelowna, 1974–75
• Most points in a season, rookie: 185, John Newberry, Nanaimo, 1979–80
• Most shorthanded goals in a season: 14, Greg Hadden, New Westminster, 1988-89
• Most powerplay goals in a season: 32, Dan Bousquet, Penticton, 1993–94
• Longest consecutive shutout streak: 250 minutes, 25 seconds, Brad Thiessen, Prince George, 2005-06

Team records

• Most wins in a season: 52, New Westminster Royals, 1989-90; Vernon Vipers, 1998-99
• Most points in a season: 108, New Westminster Royals, 1989-90
• Most goals scored in a season: 498, Penticton Knights, 1984–85
• Fewest goals against in a season: 130, Penticton Knights, 48-game schedule, 1981–82; 137, Penticton Vees, 60-game schedule, 2005-06

NHL Alumni

References

• British Columbia Hockey League
• BCHL History
• BCHL Individual Regular Season Records
• BCJHL Teams @ Internet Hockey Database
• BCHL Teams @ Internet Hockey Database