The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champion of the Canadian Junior Hockey League wins the Centennial Cup.
In May 1970, CAHA chairman Frank McKinnon tabled a motion at the organization's Annual General Meeting to allow the remaining Junior "A" leagues to compete at a national level for their own championship. The motion was granted and McKinnon and the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association donated the Manitoba Centennial Trophy to the new championship in honour of 100 years of ice hockey in Manitoba.[citation needed]
Leagues
The leagues that would be involved in that first year were:[citation needed]
The summer of 1982 saw the folding of the Quebec Junior A League. In 1983, the New Brunswick Junior Hockey League folded and merged with the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League. In 1985, the NorMan Junior Hockey League faltered and folded. In 1987, the OPJHL, then known as the Ontario Junior Hockey League, folded after dropping to only four teams. During the 1988 Centennial Cup playoff run, the Black Lake Miners of Quebec were allowed to enter as an independent team. That summer, the Quebec Provincial Junior Hockey League was formed, rebranded the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League in 1997. In 1989, Newfoundland would take a second shot at Junior A with the promotion of the St. John's Junior Hockey League.[citation needed]
In 1990, the western Junior A leagues in Canada would form the Canada West Association. This organization would be the catalyst for the creation of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League in 1993. In 2008, the league was rebranded the "Canadian Junior Hockey League".[citation needed]
The CJAHL was formed in November 1993, with Fred Page appointed as chairman of the board, and Ronald Boileau as president. The original leagues included:[1]
In 2000, the Thunder Bay Flyers folded, having competed strictly in the United States Hockey League since the 1996–97 season. A year later, their void was filled by the Superior International Junior Hockey League. In 2008, the Ontario Provincial League rebranded itself the Ontario Junior Hockey League, just to be divided into two leagues in 2009 (Central Canadian Hockey League and Ontario Junior A Hockey League), and be reunited in time for playoffs that year under the Ontario Junior Hockey League banner. In 2010, the Central Junior A Hockey League became the Central Canada Hockey League.[citation needed]
In 2018, the CJHL introduced a concussion protocol funded by the Co-operators, for the assessment and management of concussion, and digitally tracking a player's concussion history.[2] The CJHL later developed a player safety committee to implement educational videos for players, and for uniform ice hockey rules in the constituent leagues.[3]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the CJHL cancelled the 2019–20 season playoffs for all leagues, the four regional championships, and the national championship.[4][5] Several return-to-play scenarios were proposed for the 2020–21 season, which included staggered registrations and different opening dates for each league.[6] Due to the pandemic, some leagues in the CJHL played games without spectators in attendance with greatly reduced income. The CJHL hoped that the financial assistance given by provincial governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan would be equalled by other provinces.[3] Without national hockey events, some CJHL leagues planned showcases for players to be scouted, and worked with the NHL Central Scouting Bureau to make long-term plans for the NHL Entry Draft.[3]
The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) withdrew from the CJHL prior to the 2021–22 season. The BCHL reportedly sought to import players aged 16 and 17 from other provinces, which was opposed by the remainder of the CJHL. Despite the loss of a league, the other nine league were committed to the CJHL.[7] In 2021, all CJHL leagues agreed to truth and reconciliation games in support of First Nations in Canada. The Dryden Ice Dogs were the first team to arrange such a game.[8]
Current leagues
Locations of Regions and Leagues of the CJHL (2021-22 season).
Kirk Lamb was named the first full-time chairman and president in 2012.[9][10]Rick Morocco served as executive director from 2014 to 2016, when he was succeeded by Brent Ladds who became president while Lamb continued as chairman. The CJHL sought to restructure its administration to assist the chairman of the board. Ladds was tasked with overseeing all administration, events, planning and corporate partnerships.[11] Kevin Abrams was appointed chairman in 2017, followed by Robert Mazzuca who was appointed in 2021.[10] Andy Harkness succeeded Ladds as CJHL president on November 7, 2022.[12]
National playoffs and trophies
The Centennial Cup (formerly the Royal Bank Cup) is the championship trophy of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
There are a variety of trophies no longer used for the national playdown system. The Abbott Cup and Dudley Hewitt Cup were awarded to Western and Eastern Canadian Champions respectively, the winners of which would square off for the Manitoba Centennial Cup, the National Championship. The Abbott Cup was no longer a major trophy after the 1989 Centennial Cup when both the Doyle Cup and ANAVET Cup champions were granted entrance into the Centennial Cup round robin. The western leagues briefly returned to an all-western Canadian championship known as the Western Canada Cup from 2013 to 2017. The Dudley Hewitt Cup became the Central Canada championship after the 1978 Centennial Cup, but might have been awarded to an All-Eastern Champion briefly after 1982. In the early 1990s, the Callaghan Cup was replaced by the Fred Page Cup. The Callaghan Cup was originally awarded to the Atlantic Junior "A" Champion between the winner of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, but after the three major Maritime leagues merged and Newfoundland's final league departed the trophy had no real use. In 1995, the Quebec Provincial Junior Hockey League donated the Fred Page Cup to create an Eastern Canadian championship between the Maritimes, Quebec, and the Ottawa District of Ontario. The Dudley Hewitt Cup used to represent all of Ontario and Quebec, but with so many leagues in that region in the mid-1990s and the MJAHL's champion getting a direct ride to the National Championship, the Fred Page Cup became a necessity.[citation needed]
The Manitoba Centennial Cup was the Grand Championship of Junior "A" hockey in Canada from 1970 until 1995, when it was replaced by the corporately sponsored Royal Bank Cup, later known as the RBC Cup. The sponsorship ended after the 2017–18 season; the championship is once again known as the Centennial Cup.[citation needed]
The 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, was played in Estevan, Saskatchewan. IT was the first national championship awarded since 2019. The format changed into a 10-team event, which included the host Estevan Bruins, and the nine league champions. The CJHL chose not to have the four regional championships, and gave each league champion a berth in the Centennial Cup.[13]
CJHL Prospects Game
In 2005, the CJAHL created the CJAHL Prospects Game (now called the CJHL Prospects Game) where top players compete in a Team West versus Team East format for the President's Cup in front of the scouting community. In 2006, in conjunction with the Hockey Canada, the World Junior A Challenge was formed. At the WJAC, a prospects team from the five western leagues and the five eastern leagues of the CJHL host national prospect teams from around the world in an international tournament hosted by a town with a CJHL franchise. From 2011 on, the CJHL Prospects Game became an event at the World Junior A Challenge.[citation needed]
The President's Cup is awarded to the winning team at the CJHL Prospects Game. Team East (CHL, MHL, NOJHL, OJHL, and QJAAAHL players) and Team West (AJHL, BCHL, MJHL, SJHL, and SIJHL players) playoff in an annual event for the President's Cup at a predetermined host city in front of scores of fans and scouts. From 2005 until 2008, the event ran as a single game, but starting in 2009 the President's Cup will be played for in a two-game series where the combined score of the games determines the winner of the event.[citation needed]
Every year, each of the ten leagues of the CJHL choose their scholastic player of the year. One of these ten players is chosen to win the $5000 CAD RBC National Junior A Scholarship.[citation needed]
