The early 1960s saw a much different junior hockey scene in Alberta than what currently exists. The
Edmonton Oil Kings were the only true Junior-A-calibre team in the province and drew most of the top talent Alberta had to offer. The Oil Kings were the Western Canadian champions from 1962 until 1966,
Abbott Cup champions in 1954 and from 1960 to 1966, and
Memorial Cup national champions in 1963 and 1966. In 1966, the Oil Kings helped create the
Western Hockey League. The issue in 1964 was that there were hundreds of junior-calibre players in the province, but really only one team to play for. A group of business and hockey people got together in 1964 and decided to form a Junior "A" league in an attempt to truly develop Alberta hockey. The original league consisted of the
Edmonton Safeway Canadians, the
Edmonton Maple Leafs, the
Lethbridge Sugar Kings,
Calgary Cowboys, and the
Calgary Buffaloes. The Edmonton Safeway Canadians and Maple Leafs later merged in 1971 to become the Edmonton Mets, then moved to
Spruce Grove to become the
Spruce Grove Mets in 1974. They lasted only three seasons in Spruce Grove; however, they won the AJHL title twice, and the
Manitoba Centennial Trophy in 1975. In 1976, they moved again to become the
St. Albert Saints, where they won three more league titles. In 2004, the team returned to Spruce Grove as the
Spruce Grove Saints. This well-travelled franchise has sent over 30 players into the
National Hockey League (NHL), including
Hockey Hall of Famer
Mark Messier. One of the AJHL's most famous franchises, the
Red Deer Rustlers, joined the league in 1967, capturing the championship in their first season. The Rustlers had attempted to join the
Western Canada Junior Hockey League, but were blocked by the
Alberta Amateur Hockey Association, and instead placed in the AJHL. In 1971, the Rustlers captured the first Manitoba Centennial Trophy as national Junior A champions. The Rustlers, who featured all six
Sutter brothers who would go on to the NHL, won eight AJHL titles and two Centennial Trophies during their existence. They were expelled from the league, however, in 1989, and formally folded in 1992 when the
Red Deer Rebels joined the WHL. In 1971, the
Calgary Canucks were founded following the demise of the Cowboys and Buffaloes. Today, the Canucks are the oldest franchise still operating in the AJHL. It was founded with a mandate to focus on giving Calgary-area kids a place to play while focusing on their educational needs. The Canucks have captured a league record ten AJHL championships and won the Centennial Cup in 1995, the Canadian Championship of Junior A hockey, now known as the Royal Bank Cup. After a game on February 21, 1980, the AJHL was shaken by a tragedy. Twenty-year-old Trevor Elton, Captain of the
Sherwood Park Crusaders was hit cleanly along the boards by a player on the St. Albert Saints in
St. Albert. Elton landed and went into convulsions and died later that night while in hospital. On November 26, 2010, the
Fort McMurray Oil Barons and
Drayton Valley Thunder played the first modern-era regulation outdoor
junior hockey game, at MacDonald Island in
Fort McMurray. The game was known as the "Northern Classic". The 5,000 tickets available for the game sold out in less than an hour, and consequently broke the league attendance record of 4,400. A new attendance record was set in 2017 as 5,989 fans watched the Okotoks Oilers and Spruce Grove Saints play the last game at
Northlands Coliseum. On May 2, 2012, the AJHL approved a request from the
St. Albert Steel to relocate the team from St. Albert to
Whitecourt to become the
Whitecourt Wolverines. On January 20, 2024, the
British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) announced that the
Blackfalds Bulldogs,
Brooks Bandits,
Okotoks Oilers,
Sherwood Park Crusaders, and
Spruce Grove Saints would join the
BCHL in the
2024–25 season. Following the announcement, the teams' remaining AJHL games for the
2023–24 season were cancelled, and nearly all trace of the five departing teams, including statistics for the current and previous seasons, had been removed from the AJHL website. == Current teams ==