The Vancouver Island Junior B league is cutting ties with Hockey Canada

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The BC Hockey League has a new tag team partner in its feud with Hockey Canada.

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The 11-team Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League said Monday it would leave Hockey Canada and become an independent league starting next fall. If that story sounds familiar, it should, as the BCHL cut ties with Hockey Canada and struck out on its own last June.

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Five teams from the Alberta Junior Hockey League switched from Hockey Canada in January and also joined the BCHL.

The two sides were not cordial. For example, Hockey Canada has called out the BCHL for handing out roster spots to Americans and Europeans, explaining in a statement in early February how Hockey Canada's priority is to provide opportunities for Canadian athletes to participate in our national winter sport.

BCHL CEO Chris Hebb fired back at Hockey Canada, saying I don't understand what they are trying to accomplish with their comments about roster composition. More than 70 percent of BCHL players this season are Canadian, according to the league.

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The BCHL pointed to Hockey Canada's limitations on things like recruiting when it announced it was parting ways. The VIJHL had similar messages and explained in a written statement on its website on Monday that the decision allows this the VIJHL will have more autonomy and place all decision-making in our hands.

Westshore Wolves owner Shawn Vincent called the VIJHL becoming independent a player-based decision, noting that the league will now be a feeder system or affiliate league for the BCHL.

Under Hockey Canada rules, any player who participates in a non-sanctioned or independent league in a season after September 30 is ineligible for any form of Hockey Canada activity for the remainder of the season.

Many players and families were frustrated when they had to look at the options of going to Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to get to the next level of hockey, Vincent added.

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Due to Hockey Canada rules, the BCHL went with expanded rosters this season, with a maximum of 23 skaters and three goalies per team. There were players who saw limited duty. There was a third string goalkeeper who played only one regular season game. Adding an affiliate league should limit these situations.

The BCHL has long been the nation's most successful Junior A league in advancing players to NCAA scholarships. BCHL teams have also won the most Centennial Cup national Junior A titles (14) of any league in Canada.

Founded in 1965, the VIJHL was a Junior B league until last July, when provincial governing body BC Hockey moved it up to Junior A Tier II as part of filling the void in the development path created by Hockey Canada. due to the departure of the BCHL. The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and the Pacific Junior Hockey League have both also moved up from Junior B.

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The plan is for teams from those leagues to now apply for Junior A Tier I status. BC Hockey has adopted Blackfin Sports, which is led by former Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Chris Gear, to evaluate the candidates, and the hope is that the evaluation will be completed next season.

Vincent says the VIJHL wasn't sure how many of its teams would make the move, and with only 11 teams on Vancouver Island, it could have left them in a difficult position if only some of them had been accepted.

The KIJHL and the PJHL have made identical statements On Monday, they said they plan to stay with Hockey Canada. They stated in their press releases that although the three competitions are traditionally ranked at the same level, this was indeed the case It is important that players, families and fans have a clear and accurate understanding of the difference in competition level between the three competitions. They were going to explainThe KIJHL and PJHL, along with the VIJHL teams, have won 38 of the 42 provincial championships, including the last seven in a row.

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Cameron Hope, CEO of BC Hockey, said the decision is deeply disruptive for children on Vancouver Island in the short term.

Hope admitted that they are a membership organization and they cannot force anyone to join.

If you don't like a gym, find another gym. “I just don't know why anyone wouldn't like this gym,” he said.

Leaving Hockey Canada means the VIJHL will have to find its own insurance, and its own referees and linesmen.

The BCHL was in the same spot.

BCHL's problems with Hockey Canada have been longstanding. The league left the Canadian Junior Hockey League in April 2021, which, among other things, organizes the Centennial Cup national championship on behalf of Hockey Canada. They also published a white paper in September 2022 on how to modernize Canada's junior hockey system.

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There are various connections between the BCHL and the VIJHL. One of them is the fact that David Michaud is president of both the BCHLs Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the VIJHLs Port Alberni Bombers.

The Victoria Times Colonist also reports this the VIJHL's Peninsula Panthers have been sold by longtime owners Pete and Coreen Zubersky to Rich Murphy, who also owns the BCHL's Trail Smoke Eaters.

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