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33-664: The team was originally known as the Nelson Maple Leafs but changed its name to the Leafs in 1994 when it joined the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League (RMJHL). The team returned to the KIJHL in 1999 but continued to be known as the Leafs. The Leafs are the 1968-69, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1999-00, 2008–09 KIJHL champions. In the 2006-07 season, the Leafs made it to the KIJHL finals, but lost to

66-849: A Junior "A" League, one season after the British Columbia Junior Hockey League - Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League merger. The league's most successful team, by far, was the Prince George Spruce Kings . Every season, their playoff champion earned the right to play for the Mowat Cup , the British Columbia Junior "A" Title. The PCJHL/RMJHL was eligible for the Royal Bank Cup , the Junior "A" National Title. In 1991,

99-876: A member of the Peace Jr. B League. With the expansion, the PJBHL became the Peace-Cariboo Junior Hockey League (PCJHL). The first championship of the new PCJHL was won by Prince George, but Quesnel won the league and the Cyclone Taylor Cup as BC Champions in 1977, 1978, and 1979 and the Grande Prairie North Stars won the Russ Barnes Trophy and Alberta champions in 1976. In 1980 the PCJHL became

132-783: A period dominated by the Colts. The next expansion occurred in 1976–77, when the Creston Clippers and the Castlegar Rebels joined the league, and the Rebels won the league championship in their debut season. Columbia Valley joined in 1978–79 season, thus bringing the league to a total of 11 teams, an all-time high. In the 1981–82 season, Fernie would withdraw from the league, while the Elk Valley Raiders ( Sparwood ) would join in their place. The following year,

165-809: The AWHL of USA Hockey . In 1999, the RMJHL proposed that the remaining four teams join the BCHL as a "Kootenay Division", however the BCHL rejected the proposal. The league folded after the 1998–99 season. The Creston Valley Thunder and Nelson Leafs moved to the KIJHL , and the Kimberley Dynamiters and Fernie Ghostriders joined the AWHL . The Mowat Cup was the championship trophy of Junior A hockey in British Columbia . From 1981 to 1999, it

198-650: The Beaver Valley Nitehawks would join, bringing the league to a total of 12 teams. Creston would withdraw from the league in 1985, and Nelson, Elk Valley and Grand Forks would do the same in 1986. Elk Valley and Grand Forks would return the next year and Nelson in 1989. The 1980s were largely dominated by the Cranbrook Colts with a 6 championship winning streak. In 1990, the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League

231-724: The Cariboo Memorial Recreation Centre . On 31 March 2024, it was announced that the Merritt Centennials of the BCHL would join the KIJHL under new ownership beginning in the 2024–25 season as part of the Bill Ohlhausen Division. According to the announcement, the team would keep the same name and continue to play out of the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena under a 5-year lease. In April 2024

264-972: The Fernie Ghostriders 4-2. In the 2008-09 season, the Leafs won the KIJHL championship 4-0 over the Kamloops Storm . Then in the 2009-10 season, the Leafs went to the KIJHL finals, but lost 4-1 to the Revelstoke Grizzlies . The Leafs hosted the Cyclone Taylor Cup, the Junior B provincial championship, in April 2014 but finished fourth. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses, D = Defaults, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Records as of February 17, 2024. Records as of February 27, 2024. Most Sportsmanlike Top Goaltender Rookie of

297-643: The Grand Forks Border Bruins , and the Rossland Warriors . The Smoke Eaters won the inaugural league championship, advancing to the provincial championship. The next year, Castlegar would withdraw from the league, leaving only four teams. In 1971–1972, the Spokane Valley Kings and Cranbrook Colts joined the league, raising the number of teams to six, and incorporating an American team for the first time. Furthermore,

330-597: The Kelowna Chiefs . The following year, two expansion franchises were granted to Chase and Summerland , and the Chase Heat and Summerland Steam were formed. The 2012–13 season saw no team changes, while the Castlegar Rebels won the league title. The following year, 2013–14, the Penticton Lakers were forced into relocation to 100 Mile House due to low ticket sales, which stemmed from playing in

363-755: The Keystone Cup ; the Cyclone Taylor Cup and the KIJHL Championship in their third only season against the previous year's champion, the Dynamiters. The 2016–17 season marks the KIJHL's 50th anniversary, with the Creston Valley Thunder Cats hosting the Cyclone Taylor Cup . Prior to the 2019–20 KIJHL season, the Okanagan Division was renamed the Bill Ohlhausen Division along with the KIJHL Championship renamed

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396-810: The North American Hockey League , and the following year the Golden Rockets were renamed the Golden Xtreme . They were renamed again the following year, this time becoming the Golden Jets . Also, 2006–07 saw the demise of the Osoyoos Storm, who moved to Kamloops Storm , while retaining the Storm name. In 2007–08, the league was divided into two conferences, which were furthermore split into two divisions each, dropping

429-974: The North Okanagan Knights franchise was announced to have been sold to a Quesnel - based ownership group where they would be rebranded as the Quesnel River Rush, with these changes the league moved the Revelstoke Grizzlies and the Sicamous Eagles moving from the Doug Birks Division to the Bill Ohlhausen expanding it from four to six teams. Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League The Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League

462-599: The Prairie Junior Hockey League (PJHL) in Saskatchewan for future considerations. In 2023, governing body BC Hockey announced plans to restructure its junior hockey framework following the departure of its only Junior A league . The three Junior B leagues ( PJHL , KIJHL and VIJHL ) were summarily designated as "Junior A Tier 2", with plans to conduct an independent evaluation of those teams seeking to be promoted to "Junior A Tier 1". It

495-521: The Teck Cup for sponsorship reasons. The Teck Cup was not awarded in 2020 due to the league suspended operations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic . Jeff Dubois was later named the new commissioner. In June 2023, following the BCHL's decision to leave Hockey Canada sanctioning, the KIJHL applied for Junior A status from BC Hockey , on July 25, 2023, BC Hockey announced that three BC Junior B leagues,

528-883: The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) for the Cyclone Taylor Cup , the British Columbia Provincial Title. The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League was founded in 1966 as the West Kootenay Junior Hockey League . Five teams joined the league in its first year and started play in the 1969–70 season. They included the Trail Jr. Smoke Eaters , the Nelson Plaza Oilers , the Castlegar Apollos ,

561-487: The KIJHL 2019–20 season, ending their nearly four season hiatus from the KIJHL due to travel restrictions from international travel. The 2023–24 hockey season also raised the limit of 20-year-old players from five to six players per team. The last Junior "B" player transaction from the KIJHL occurred on July 24, 2023, with a defenceman traded from the Grand Forks Border Bruins of the KIJHL to the Regina Capitals of

594-421: The KIJHL, PJHL , and VIJHL , were being promoted to "Junior A Tier 2". BC Hockey further announced that it hired a consulting firm to evaluate all Junior A Tier 2 teams for promotion to "Junior A Tier 1" to form a new league to fill the "Junior A" vacuum left by the BCHL . The Spokane Braves also returned to the KIJHL for the 2023–24 hockey season for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that shortened

627-785: The Nelson Plaza Oilers were renamed the Nelson Leafs . For 1972–73, the league was rebranded the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League . In this season, the Kimberley Knights joined the league, while the Grand Forks Border Bruins took a leave of absence. In 1973–74 the league expanded again, incorporating a Fernie -based team. The league did not expand for two years after this point, during

660-825: The Okanagan Shushwap, while creating the Eddie Mountain Conference, East and West Divisions, and likewise with the Neil Murdoch Conference. The Golden Xtreme was again renamed, this time reverting to the Rockets name. Furthermore, the Chase Chiefs joined the league in 2007–08, while the Fernie Ghostriders would capture the league title. There were no team changes in 2008–09, and the Nelson Leafs would capture

693-780: The PCJHL doubled in size when it took in a portion of the Jr. B KIJHL and was renamed the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League (RMJHL). The newcomers, which were concentrated in the southern region, formed the Kootenay Division, and the teams in the northern region formed the Peace-Cariboo Division. In 1995, the Trail Smoke Eaters moved to the British Columbia Hockey League . In 1996, the entire Peace-Cariboo Division departed

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726-617: The Rebels. In 1999–2000, the Nelson Leafs rejoined the KIJHL, winning the title in their first season back, and the Rossland Warriors relocated for a single season to Summerland. The 1999–2000 Summerland Warriors had the distinction of never having won a game, finishing their only season with a record of 0-45-0, conceding 485 goals in 45 games. The 2000–01 season saw the folding of the Summerland Warriors and

759-630: The Year Coach of the Year Top Defenseman Top Scorer KIJHL The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) is a junior ice hockey league in British Columbia , Canada and Washington state, USA sanctioned by Hockey Canada . The winner of the Teck Cup competes with the champions of the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) and until the 2024–25 season,

792-674: The creation of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats . In 2001–02, the league was split from two to three divisions, the Neil Murdoch, Eddie Mountain, and Okanagan/Shushwap. Along with the division re-alignment, the North Okanagan Kings relocated to Enderby , becoming the Enderby Ice Kings . The Osoyoos Heat took on the name the Osoyoos Storm , and an expansion franchise was granted to Summerland , which took

825-403: The league title in their first year. The following year, Elk Valley and Nelson would depart the league, while the Sicamous Eagles would join. The Eagles, too, won the league in their debut season. In 1996–97, the Castlegar Rebels relocated to Osoyoos, who played one season under the Rebels name, before being renamed the Heat. Castlegar was granted an expansion franchise in 1998–99, who was named

858-427: The league title. In 2009–10, however, the Summerland Sting were forced to relocate to nearby Penticton , taking the name Penticton Lakers . Furthermore, an expansion team was granted to Armstrong , and the North Okanagan Knights were founded. In the 2010–11 season , the Osoyoos Coyotes were formed, and won the league title in their debut season, while the Chase Chiefs relocated to Rutland, Kelowna to become

891-547: The league: the Prince George Spruce Kings and Quesnel Millionaires moved to the BCHL , the Grande Prairie Chiefs moved to the AJHL , the Williams Lake Mustangs folded, and the Fort St. John Huskies moved to Hockey Alberta 's North West Junior Hockey League . The Castlegar Rebels joined in 1996, but returned to the KIJHL in 1998. The Cranbrook Colts folded in 1998. The remaining four teams ( Creston Valley Thunder , Kimberley Dynamiters , Nelson Leafs , and Fernie Ghostriders ) played an interlocking schedule with

924-402: The name Summerland Sting . 2001–02 also saw the presence of the KIJHL's most accomplished alumnus, Shea Weber , who played for the league champions Sicamous Eagles for this single season. In 2002–03, the Princeton Posse joined the league, becoming the furthest west team in the KIJHL, and the Enderby Ice Kings folded after one season. In 2004–05, the Fernie Ghostriders joined the league from

957-430: The neighbouring arena to that of the Jr. A Penticton Vees , whose national success offered difficult competition. The new team was branded the 100 Mile House Wranglers . The following year again saw no team changes, and the Kimberley Dynamiters won the league title. In 2015–16, the Grand Forks Border Bruins made the playoffs for the first time in 19 years, a provincial Jr. B record and the 100 Mile House Wranglers won

990-407: Was a Junior "A" ice hockey league in British Columbia , Canada . In 1975, the Quesnel Millionaires and Prince George Spruce Kings joined the Peace Junior B Hockey League (PJBHL). The PJBHL already included the Fort St. John Huskies , Dawson Creek Canucks , and Grande Prairie North Stars . Previously, Fort St. John won the Cyclone Taylor Cup as British Columbia Jr. B Champions in 1969 as

1023-428: Was awarded to the winner between the championship team from the RMJHL and the championship team from the BCHL . The winner would then go on to play the AJHL championship team for the Doyle Cup . In the end, the BCHL had a near spotless record against the RMJHL, winning all 19 series with a record 48 wins and 1 loss. In the final year of the competition, the Kimberley Dynamiters recorded the league's only win against

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1056-406: Was expected that those teams promoted to Tier 1 would eventually apply for membership in the CJHL . The league expected the evaluations to be completed during the 2024–25 season. On March 22, 2024, it was announced that the Summerland Steam franchise has been sold and relocated to Williams Lake for the 2024-25 season, where they will now be known as the Williams Lake Mustangs and play out of

1089-415: Was formed, creating a level of competition between the two geographic rival leagues. Cranbrook and Kimberley would depart the league in 1991, while the Golden Rockets would enter. The Rossland Warriors would return to the league the following season after a lengthy absence. In 1993–94, the KIJHL gained two new teams in the form of the North Okanagan Kings and the Revelstoke Grizzlies . North Okanagan won

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