The Brooks Bandits were awarded an expansion franchise by the
Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) in 1999 and began play in the 2000–01 season. The franchise secured its expansion fee through what they call "The Founding Fathers", a group of 17 local businesses and individuals who donated the money needed to finance the team in exchange for lifetime benefits with the team. The first coach for the Brooks Bandits was
Nolan Crouse. The first franchise goal was scored by Chris Boyle just under a minute into the first regular season game against the
Fort McMurray Oil Barons. The team struggled though most of its first four seasons, failing to make the playoffs. In 2004, the
Crowsnest Pass Timberwolves took a leave of absence for one season, and their players were dispersed, adding Judd Blackwater and Neil to the Bandits team. Under head coach Kevin Higo and players such as
Brendan Connolly,
Spencer Machacek, Ben Wright, and
Chad Johnson, the Bandit advanced to the AJHL playoffs for the first time. In 2008, after three successful years, Higo accepted an assistant coaching position with the
Moose Jaw Warriors in the major junior
Western Hockey League. With the head coach and general manager positions vacant, the Bandits hired ECHL head coach and former NHL
enforcer Brian Curran. Under Curran's leadership of a hard-hitting team, the Bandits finished in first place in the South Division before losing in the cross-over division playoff finals against the
Grande Prairie Storm. On October 16, 2009, Curran was released by the Bandit and replaced by assistant Ryan Papaioannou. The Bandits finished fifth in the south division in 2009–10 and a second round playoff loss. During the season on January 20, 2010, the Bandits moved from the smaller Centennial Arena in the
Lakeside Leisure Centre, to the brand new
Centennial Regional Arena. In Papaioannou's second 2010–11 season, the Bandits finished second in the division, but were eliminated in the second round by the
Camrose Kodiaks in seven games. In the off-season on July 5, 2011, forward Nick Crosby was killed in a car accident returning home from a Bandits camp. After Crosby's death, the Bandits dedicated the 2011–12 season in his honour and retired his #23 jersey. The Bandits had statistically their best season to date with a record of 47–7–8. In the playoffs, they
swept both the
Calgary Canucks and the
Olds Grizzlys in four games, advancing to their first league playoff championship series against the
Fort McMurray Oil Barons. The Bandits won the series four games to two for their first league championship. In the
Doyle Cup, the Bandits faced the
British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) champion
Penticton Vees for the right to participate in the Junior A national championship tournament, the
Royal Bank Cup. The Vees defeated the Bandits four games to one and went on to win the
2012 Royal Bank Cup Jr. A national championship. The Bandits continued to dominate the AJHL at the start of the 2012–13 season going 20–0–0 before finally losing a game. The Bandits were one win short of tying the AJHL record for longest winning streak. The Bandits were led by captain Cam Maclise, Mark Reners, and Dakota Mason. The Bandits finished the regular season with a record of 53–4–3, breaking the AJHL record for wins in season, and points in a season (109). In all but one week (week 1), the Bandits were ranked as the number one team in Canada by the
Canadian Junior Hockey League. In the playoffs, the Bandits defeated the
Drumheller Dragons and
Okotoks Oilers before winning a second straight AJHL championship over the
Spruce Grove Saints. 2013 was the first year of the
Western Canada Cup qualifying tournament to advance to the national championship and was held in
Nanaimo, British Columbia. The Bandits finished first in the round-robin portion of the tournament, but lost to the
Surrey Eagles 4–1 in the championship game. As the Western Canada Cup qualified two teams to the
Royal Bank Cup, the Bandits played the
Yorkton Terriers in the runner-up game the following day and won 1–0. They went 3–1 in the round-robin at the
2013 Royal Bank Cup and won their first Junior A national championship over the
Summerside Western Capitals, becoming the first team to win the championship without either being the host or a regional champion. They returned to the Western Canada Cup again in 2016 and 2017, winning the Western Junior A regional in 2017 and was the runner-up qualifier in 2016. They lost the 2017 Junior A national championship game in overtime to the
Cobourg Cougars. The Western Canada Cup discontinued after the 2017 tournament and the AJHL qualified through the Doyle Cup again beginning in 2018. The Brooks Bandits were also selected as the host city for the
2019 National Junior A Championship. The Bandits then won the AJHL championship for a fifth time in 2019, but lost the Doyle Cup to the
Prince George Spruce Kings in which both teams were also already qualified to advance to the national championship. Brooks then went undefeated in the championship tournament, winning the final game over the Spruce Kings 4–3, for their second Junior A national championship title. Brooks won the
2022 Centennial Cup in Estevan, SK by defeating the
Pickering Panthers 4-1. On January 20, 2024, the
BCHL announced that five teams from the
AJHL 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. On May 25th, 2025, the Brook Bandits defeated the
Chilliwack Chiefs in 6 games in the BCHL Playoffs to win their first ever
Fred Page Cup in franchise history. == Season-by-season record ==