1961 to 1993 In 1961, the heads of four
Junior "B" hockey teams in the
Okanagan region of
British Columbia got together and formed the first Junior "A" league in British Columbia's history. The
Okanagan-Mainline Junior "A" Hockey League (OMJHL) originally consisted of the
Kamloops Jr. Rockets, the
Kelowna Buckaroos, the
Penticton Jr. Vees, and the
Vernon Jr. Canadians.
Early expansion In 1967, the league expanded out of the Okanagan region, bringing in the
New Westminster Royals and the
Victoria Cougars of the original (1962–1967)
Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League. With the expansion, the league decided that since it was no longer solely in the Okanagan region that it need a new name, becoming the
British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL). A year later, the
Vancouver Centennials joined the league. In the 1970s, the Victoria Cougars jumped to the
Western Hockey League and the New Westminster team was forced to fold due to the relocation of the
Estevan Bruins into their arena. In 1972, the
Bellingham Blazers and the
Nanaimo Clippers expanded the league to eight teams. 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 then disallowed from competing for the
Memorial Cup, which had traditionally been the National Junior A Championship trophy. Consequently, the Tier II Junior A leagues across Canada agreed to compete for a new trophy called the
Centennial Cup.
Rivalry with the PJHL The 1970s also saw the rise of a rival league for the BCJHL, the
Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League (PCJHL), which briefly existed in the 1960s and was resurrected for the 1971–72 season. The
PCJHL was promoted to a Junior "A" league for the 1973–74 season and changed its name to the
Pacific Junior A Hockey League. The
PJHL champions competed with the BCJHL champions for the provincial championship, the
Mowat Cup. The existence of the two Junior A leagues in British Columbia caused an unusual turn of events in the 1977–78 season postseason. The BCJHL sent their regular season champion, the
Merritt Centennials, to play as the BC representative in the Pacific region (BC and Alberta) interprovincial
Doyle Cup, excusing them from the BCJHL playoffs. The BCJHL continued their league playoffs without them, crowning Nanaimo as the playoff champion after
Penticton Jr. Vees refused to finish the playoff finals due to a series of brawls in the third game of the series. Meanwhile, the
Merritt Centennials won the
Doyle Cup and advanced to the
Abbott Cup (the Western Canada Championship) against the winner of the
ANAVET Cup, the Western region champion
Prince Albert Raiders of the
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The
Centennials lost to the Raiders, four games to one.
Merger with the PJHL The
PJHL and the BCJHL merged for the 1979–80 season. During the 1980–81 season, the Coastal division season was interrupted by a strike at
BC Ferries in late January. Since the mainland teams could no longer reach the island teams, the Coastal Division stopped playing, and began extended playoff rounds in place of the regular season.
National champions In 1986, the
Penticton Vees became the BCJHL's first Junior A national championship team, 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 consecutive national title.
1993 to 2021 From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the
Canadian Junior Hockey League, an association of Junior A leagues across Canada that would play for the
National Junior A Championship. The winner of the BCHL Fred Page Cup (not to be confused with the
CJHL Fred Page Cup) would continue on to play the
Alberta Junior Hockey League champions in the
Doyle Cup for the right to compete for the
national championship. The BCJHL was renamed the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in 1995.
Further expansion and relocations The
Burnaby Bulldogs joined as an expansion team in 1998 and moved to
Port Alberni in 2002. The
Coquitlam Express and the
Salmon Arm Silverbacks joined in 2001. The
Williams Lake TimberWolves joined in 2002 and folded in 2010. The
Chilliwack Chiefs moved to
Langley in 2006 and were later renamed the
Langley Rivermen. That team replaced the
Langley Hornets who moved to
West Kelowna and were later renamed the
West Kelowna Warriors. In 2011, the
Quesnel Millionaires moved to
Chilliwack and were renamed the
Chilliwack Chiefs. The
Wenatchee Wild joined in 2015 and ownership moved operations up to the
WHL in 2023, following the BCHL move to go independent. The
Cranbrook Bucks joined the league in 2020.
2021 to present Withdrawal from CJHL and Hockey Canada In March 2021, the BCHL withdrew its membership from the
Canadian Junior Hockey League. On May 1, 2023, the BCHL decided not to renew its agreement with governing body
Hockey Canada, and thus became an independent league. The reasons for the decision included more control over their scheduling, particularly the timing of the playoffs, and allowing BCHL teams to recruit players under the age of 18 from outside
BC Hockey's territorial jurisdiction.
Expansion into Alberta On January 20, 2024, the league announced that five teams from the
Alberta Junior Hockey League would join the BCHL in the
2024-25 season, namely, the
Blackfalds Bulldogs,
Brooks Bandits,
Okotoks Oilers,
Sherwood Park Crusaders, and
Spruce Grove Saints. In the interim, it was decided that the five Alberta-based teams would play out the rest of the
2023-24 season as a separate division under the aegis of the BCHL, and that there would be a year-end competition with the winner of the Alberta-based teams playing the winner of the BC-based teams. Beginning in the
2024–25 BCHL season, the five Alberta-based teams, along with the
Cranbrook Bucks, will form the East division of the Interior conference. The
Prince George Spruce Kings, who previously were in the Interior Conference, moved to the Coastal Conference's East division.
VIJHL affiliation In
2024–25, the league entered into an affiliation agreement with the
Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL). Following the announcement of the agreement, some BCHL franchises acquired an ownership stakes in VIJHL clubs. However, sources reported that there would be no club-specific affiliations, and that BCHL teams will be allowed to call players up from, or send players down to, any VIJHL team. == Current franchises ==