BCHL Leaves Hockey Canada

[ThePenIsMightier]

The Penticton Vees just swept the Alberni Valley Bulldogs to win their second straight championship, but they are not permitted to play against the Brooks Bandits (AJHL Champ) or move into in the Centennial Cup Tournament (National) because the league (BCHL) has chosen to leave Hockey Canada.

Apparently their main debate/beef is that they can't import players from outside BC unless their parents move to BC. *Something along those lines - maybe it's a limit on how many players they can have without parents in BC.

Hockey Canada will fuck this league and everyone associated with it as hard as they can. Do you think this trend will spread and that BCHL will attract better players? Or do you think that the BCHL will fade into obscurity?

Why bother actually leaving when you can just cheat. Do you really think teams like Brooks, Nanaimo and Penticton are that strong year after year after year without having players from out of province whose parents didn't move?
It seems unlikely... And Hockey Canada hasn't penalized those teams, so...


*Note that this has nothing to do with the rest of Minor Hockey in British Columbia. The BCHL is the Jr.A league in BC, on the same line as the AJHL here.

[Buster]

I have not the first clue what the fuck you are talking about.

Hockey at the NHL level is mildly entertaining if I have the Flames to cheer for, or the Leafs/Oilers to cheer against.

Other than that, hockey "culture" in Canada is a steaming pile of shit.

[killramos]

Never heard of them

[ExtraSlow]

Wanting to distance yourself from Hockey Canada seems very smart at this point. You send them huge amounts of money just so you can be associated with their scandals. No fucking thanks.

[mr2mike]

You're referring to paying into the rape relief fund?

[ThePenIsMightier]

Oddly, no. The BCHL stance has nothing to do with virtue signaling or anything of the sort.
They are cranky that they can't import as many players as they'd like from "outside of British Columbia".

I think their stance is quite fair. Canada = Canada so I think it's bullshit to force them to stack BC players if that's not the favourable option at the time.
Who are they competing against at a national level?? Canada teams? Thought so - then eat a dick if they want to attract their team with BC players or dirty Newfie players, or all Ontario, or whatever the fuck.

The whole system was already stacked for Laurentians, so choke to death on my balls if you want to pretend that it's something otherwise.

[R-Audi]

I think it will continue to be a top feeder for kids going to NCAA.. might as well be as competitive as possible. Wouldnt be surprised if a bunch of AJHL teams join them.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Hockey Canada's strong punitive stance against the BCHL is not working. If this rumour is true, the best teams (including Brooks and Okotoks) in the AJHL are about to announce they are defecting to the BCHL.

Link: https://lakelandconnect.net/2024/01/...l-next-season/


"This is the beginning of the end of Hockey Canada."
- TPiM

[killramos]

Never heard of him

[ExtraSlow]

I know people care about children's sports, hell, I even have friends who care about children's sports.

Best I can muster for this is a shrug.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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I know people care about children's sports, hell, I even have friends who care about children's sports.

Best I can muster for this is a shrug.

AJHL players are approximately 16-20 (without nerding through the specific rules) so it's not precisely "children" depending on your definition.

But maybe it is time for Hockey Canada to die or become essentially irrelevant. I don't have a strong opinion on that, but these recent events are going to have a massive cascading effect on how hockey players are developed in Canada. Perhaps people don't realize that the coaching strategies and priorities in Canada are managed and mandated by Hockey Canada and are applied across the country and it's obviously been a successful recipe for decades. Eliminating that will create distinct regional differences in playing priorities and coaching strategies, particularly in such a massive country.
If kids in Ontario are taught like Europeans to focus on skating and not even given pucks until their skating is "strong enough" while players in BC are given pucks at 4 and only taught to dump & chase, it's going to be weird to see how a National Team performs in international competition.
But... It's more of a free market system which should develop a dominant strategy in the long run, but I think there may be a blip in the medium term after this happens.

[ExtraSlow]

Wasn't aware they were that old. I assume the 20 year olds are plugs who can't make the WHL or college?

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Wasn't aware they were that old. I assume the 20 year olds are plugs who can't make the WHL or college?

As I vaguely recall, I believe there's a limit to the number of 20yo on a team. AJHL (or most Tier-2 Jr.A) players have traditionally been playing in hopes of scholarships to continue hockey that way. Obviously there are several exceptions with players who ended up vaulting their game and landing in the NHL and even some superstars like Paul Kariya or Jamie Benn. But if you're 18+ and still in AJHL, your dreams of NHL should be getting faint.

[ExtraSlow]

I hope you are a serious hockey player to know or care this much about this league.

What's the top level of amateur tennis in Canada? Does that association have the same amount of drama? That's about how much I care.

[asp integra]

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Wasn't aware they were that old. I assume the 20 year olds are plugs who can't make the WHL or college?

If you want a scholarship to an American school, you can not play for a WHL (OHL, QMJHL) team since they are considered semi-pro leagues.
Most people who want to go to school down in the states will go the Jr A route, BCHL, AJHL etc. Most of the people playing Jr A are in highschool, but they can only have a max six 20 year olds.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Another consideration with this is that they can likely load teams with Europeans, if they choose to.

[r3ccOs]

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Another consideration with this is that they can likely load teams with Europeans, if they choose to.

BCHL has always been a step above... I think this is just to differentiate themselves and step outside the shadow of HC... that said, how the NCAA will view BC as a pro or non-pro team (i.e. CHL) will determine the talent it will attract. I know of a few kids (defense) who aren't those standout 'brick invite' talents, prefer the Jr. A -> NCAA Div 1 journey

[riander5]

Taking on those top tier Alberta teams, the new 'BCHL' could eventually rival CHL teams. The Bandits probably already do.

Pretty big shakeup.

[sexualbanana]

I've been reading about it, but I can't fully understand the reason for it. Hopefully someone can answer some questions:

The main reason I've read for the teams joining the BCHL is so they aren't subject to limitations on recruitment (in-province players stay in their respective leagues whereas BCHL is no allowed to recruit from anywhere because they're no longer governed by Hockey Canada. That part makes sense.

The other part that makes sense is that major juniors players (WHL, OHL, QMJHL, etc.) are considered professional and therefore ineligible for NCAA. That part also makes sense, but I wonder how NIL might effect that interpretation moving forward.

What I don't understand is the reason that BCHL somehow makes it easier for players to go the NCAA route. Junior A players aren't considered professional, are they? I don't see how getting outside of Hockey Canada's scope effects their players' eligibility.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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....

What I don't understand is the reason that BCHL somehow makes it easier for players to go the NCAA route. Junior A players aren't considered professional, are they? I don't see how getting outside of Hockey Canada's scope effects their players' eligibility.

Better coaching and coaches who are better connected to US schools. Also some advantage to scouts being able to see 3-5 different teams easily within a trip to Greater Vancouver.