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37-752: The Pueblo Bulls were announced by the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) as an expansion team on September 20, 2018. They began play in the 2019–20 season. In 2020, the Bulls left the WSHL after one season and joined the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) Premier Division. In 2023, the Bulls joined the USPHL's National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) Mountain division. This article about

74-591: A 30-game schedule operating as Tier III Junior B teams. The league was founded by Dr. Don Thorne and the Thorne Cup championship trophy was named in his recognition. The Anaheim Jr. Ducks won the first Thorne Cup Championship that season and was the last franchise from the inaugural season still in existence as the Long Beach Bombers until 2019. The Long Beach franchise was sold and the Bombers brand

111-855: A Nipissing/Ville-Marie combined squad. The only loss for a GMHL team happened to the Toronto Canada Moose . In the summer of 2010, the GMHL expanded in two fashions internationally. First, Canada 's only All-Russian team in the Shelburne Red Wings and then late in the summer they expanded to the United States through the expansion of the Jamestown Jets . On September 17, 2010, the GMHL played its first international regulation game, in Jamestown, New York between

148-824: A regular season game, known as the North Shore Winter Classic, between the Elliot Lake Bobcats and Algoma Avalanche on January 29, 2011. This is the first known regulation outdoor game in Ontario in the modern era. Elliot Lake would win the game 8–2 in front of an estimated 400 fans. At the conclusion of the 2011–12 season, the league lost the Elliot Lake Bobcats to the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League . Relocation of teams and expansion

185-643: A sports team in Colorado is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This American ice hockey team-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union , the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union . Previously, it

222-488: A unique concept and approach to improving the standard of developing young hockey players within a Junior 'A' league format setting. A draft showcase event took place from May 5 until May 7, 2006 with players from Canada, United States, and Europe taking up residence at the Hockeyworks' World Hockey Centre near Shelburne, Ontario to take part in the league's first tryout camp. As of September 2006, it became clear that

259-486: The Bradford Rattlers and South Muskoka Shield being thrown out in the semifinal round. An incident, both on-ice and later off-ice, involving a player from each team and later two more players and a parent from one team entering the altercation, resulted in a police investigation and one team refusing to continue. The league disqualified both teams after the game failed to continue. Since the 2012 tournament,

296-656: The Brock Bucks . At the same time, the Quebec -based Temiscaming Royals walked away from the league to join the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League , but were replaced within weeks by the Ville-Marie Dragons . In December 2008 and January 2009, eight teams of the GMHL hosted Kazakhstan 's Under-18 Torpedo UST-Kamenogorsk squad. Victorious were the Elliot Lake Bobcats (twice), South Muskoka Shield , King Wild , Bradford Rattlers , Innisfil Lakers , and

333-628: The Canadian Junior Hockey League 's Junior "A" status and continues to charge player tuition to help pay for team travel expenses. In the 2015–16 season, the WSHL grew to its largest membership with 29 teams across 14 states. In 2018, the league expanded into western Canada with a Provinces Division in the WSHL that had originally been announced to play as its own league called the Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA). After one season,

370-467: The Jamestown Jets and Sturgeon Falls Lumberjacks , both expansion teams to the league for the 2010–11 season. Jamestown won the game 4–3. In December 2010, the GMHL named Bob Bernstein commissioner. After serving as commissioner for seven days, Bernstein was relieved of his duties and Ken Girard later resumed as full-time commissioner. In mid-January 2011, it was announced that the town of Iron Bridge, Ontario and its 500-seat outdoor arena would host

407-898: The King Wild and Richmond Hill Rams played two games each against the Mexico national ice hockey team . The Wild won both their games, while the Rams lost both of theirs. For the 2008–09 season, the GMJHL adopted much of the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's ice hockey rulebook. The GMJHL added the Minden Riverkings and the Oro-Medonte 77's to the mix, and the Dukes relocated to become

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444-591: The National Junior Hockey Alliance . The affiliation resulted in a national championship between the GMJHL playoff champion and the winner of the WHA Junior West Hockey League after the 2006–07 season. The first ever regular season of the GMJHL concluded on February 25, 2007 with the Bradford Rattlers leading the way as regular season champs with a record of 37 wins, 1 regulation loss, and 4 overtime losses. In

481-767: The Seguin Huskies . The Force and Schooners both folded during the season without winning a game. After one season following the Islanders merge, the Seguin Huskies folded in 2018. The GMHL also added two teams originally in the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League in the Niagara-on-the-Lake Nationals and Ottawa Sharpshooters for 2018–19. The Wiarton Schooners returned but folded midseason for

518-776: The 2013–14 season, and were renamed the Shelburne Stars. However, the Stars did not play in 2014–15 and changed their name to the Shelburne Sharks and began play in 2015–16. In May 2015, the Rama Aces took a leave of absence but never returned. In November 2015, the Brantford Steelfighters suspended their operations after 18 games. The Shelburne Sharks returned as the Shelburne Stars in June 2016, but

555-571: The 2021–22 season. In June 2020, the El Paso Rhinos also left for the NA3HL for the 2020–21 season with the intention of joining the NAHL for the 2021–22 season. In January 2021, the league stated that it still intended to return for a 2021–22 season. In August, the league gave an update with six new teams and five returning teams split into two divisions: Northwest and Provincial. The schedule

592-550: The National Junior Hockey League (NJHL). Bolded are overall regular season champions. Bolded are overall champions, Italics are finalist. Since 2009, the GMHL has had a mid-season prospect tournament. Generally, the top seven teams of the league compete in the tournament with an eighth team, the GMHL Selects representing the other teams in the league. The 2012 tournament featured both

629-742: The USA Hockey and UHU National Championship over the years and most recently, the El Paso Rhinos were crowned the United Hockey Union National Champions in 2014. The WSHL has had great success in moving players on to the college hockey ranks through the "Western States Shootout", an annual all-league showcase held every December in Las Vegas, Nevada . The event averages in excess of 80 scouts in attendance, all of whom are looking to bolster their roster for

666-546: The Utah Outliers to the United States Premier Hockey League , another independent junior hockey organization. The Oklahoma City Jr. Blazers then left on May 19, 2020, to join to the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). On May 26, 2020, the WSHL announced it would be dormant for the 2020–21 season due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic , stating the league was already they have begun preparing to return for

703-628: The WSHL organizations then announced affiliations with some of the NCPHL teams to act as a developmental team and the WPL appears to have been disbanded. Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League ( GMHL ) is a Canadian developmental junior ice hockey league. The league has primarily had teams in the Greater Toronto Area , Central Ontario , Northeastern Ontario , and Quebec . As of December 2019,

740-649: The WSHL's association with the WPHA dissolved and removed the teams that had been directly operated by the owners of the WPHA. The WPHA then joined the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League , an independent junior league primarily based in Ontario. In April 2020, the WSHL lost the Fresno Monsters , Las Vegas Thunderbirds , Northern Colorado Eagles, Ogden Mustangs , Ontario Avalanche, Pueblo Bulls , San Diego Sabers , Southern Oregon Spartans , and

777-643: The WSHL. In its only season (2015–16), the WPL played with four Tier III prospect teams under Tier II organizations (the Casper Coyotes, Cheyenne Stampede, El Paso Rhinos, and Ogden Mustangs) with occasional games against non-WSHL affiliated teams. In 2016, the UHU approved of two other Tier III leagues, the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League (CPJHL) and the National College Prospects Hockey League (NCPHL). Several of

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814-531: The Wild. The first goal in the league's history was scored by the Rams' Darren Archibald (future Vancouver Canucks prospect) on the power play during the first period. Rams' goaltender Daniel Jones picked up the historical first victory, as well as the league's first shutout in history. On November 15, 2006, the GMJHL announced its affiliation with the World Hockey Association and creation of

851-795: The following season. In 2015, the WSHL Board of Governors announced the approval of the league to start competing as a Tier II-level player league for a higher caliber of play beginning in the 2015–16 season. Prior to the announcement the only Tier II-level league in the United States was the North American Hockey League . However, unlike the USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II NAHL, the UHU-sanctioned WSHL operates similar to

888-504: The league would operate its first season with seven teams. The original seven were the Bradford Rattlers , Deseronto Thunder , King Wild , Nipissing Alouettes , Richmond Hill Rams , South Muskoka Shield , and Toronto Canada Moose . The league's first ever game took place on September 8, 2006 between the King Wild and the Richmond Hill Rams . The final result was a 6–0 victory for the Rams, despite being badly outshot by

925-483: The league's alumni page lists 889 players from 2006 to 2019 who graduated from the GMHL to play for NCAA colleges, various professional leagues, major junior teams, or represented their country in various IIHF World Championships . The GMHL is an independent junior league and is not a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League or sanctioned by Hockey Canada . The league, founded by Bob Russell and Hockeyworks International Ltd., opened its doors in early 2006, with

962-733: The loss of its most successful franchise, the Phoenix Polar Bears , while adding many new teams. After the WSHL's success without USA Hockey, the United Hockey Union (UHU) was formed under the AAU sanctioning along with the Northern States Hockey League (NSHL) and the Midwest Junior Hockey League (MWJHL). The UHU leagues continued to operate with Tier III Junior A player requirements. The WSHL has had numerous teams participate and win

999-656: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and no champion was named. The following 2020–21 season did not take place as scheduled due to pandemic restrictions in Ontario and Quebec, with six teams playing only two games each in December 2020. The four teams in the GMHL West were able to play a partial season and a playoff in May 2021. In 2023, all teams from the GMHL West were removed by the league, which then formed their own league called

1036-640: The playoffs, the Rattlers beat the Deseronto Thunder in six games, and then the King Wild in five games to win the first ever Russell Cup as playoff champions. In September 2007, the GMJHL started its second season with six new teams, the Douro Dukes , Elliot Lake Bobcats , Espanola Kings , Innisfil Lakers , Tamworth Cyclones , and Temiscaming Royals . The Deseronto Thunder ran into financial trouble after their first season and ownership of

1073-662: The season. The Orangeville Ice Crushers would also suspend operations in January 2017 and all remaining games against Orangeville were considered forfeits. For 2017–18, the league added the Fergus Force, Ville-Marie Pirates, Wiarton Schooners, and Windsor Aces while losing the Toronto Attack . In late August 2017, the Parry Sound Islanders announced they were taking a leave of absence and merged with

1110-493: The second consecutive season, and third consecutive midseason GMHL team folding in the town of Wiarton. In 2019, the league added the Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA) as a Western Division in the GMHL for the 2019–20 season, which then rebranded as the GMHL West. The WPHA had played the previous season in the Western States Hockey League as the Provinces Division. The 2020 playoffs were then curtailed by

1147-584: The six remaining teams left the WSHL and started another league called the Can-Am Junior Hockey League (CAJHL) to finish the season independently. Full list of teams that have played in the WSHL. As part of the approval of the WSHL to Tier II status in 2015, the WSHL Board of Governors also announced the formation of the Western Prospects League (WPL), a United Hockey Union approved Tier III development league for

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1184-819: The team folded soon afterwards. The Sturgeon Falls Lumberjacks re-branded as the West Nipissing Lynx, but remained in Sturgeon Falls. Early into the 2016–17 season, the Toronto Blue Ice Jets were removed from the schedule in the first week, the Bracebridge Blues in the fifth week, the Komoka Dragons in the seventh week, the Lincoln Mavericks in the twelfth week, and Wiarton Rock in the fifteenth week of

1221-548: The team was transferred to the town. The team is now known as the Deseronto Storm . On December 11, 2007, the GMJHL announced a seven-game challenge series versus a Russian team known as the Moscow Selects. In late December and early January, the top seven teams of the GMJHL will compete against the Moscow Selects—a mixture of top Top Junior talent from the City of Moscow . The Selects played seven games, against Bradford, Innisfil, Temiscaming, Elliot Lake, Richmond Hill, Deseronto, and South Muskoka, winning each game. In March 2008,

1258-416: Was busier than ever in 2014. The Mattawa Voyageurs moved to Sundridge to make way for an NOJHL team. The Powassan Eagles moved to Parry Sound to make way for an NOJHL team. The league expanded rapidly with a total of 15 new teams in the off-season of 2014 and 2015. There was a total of 30 teams, with a total of six teams playing in the same market (two teams per town). The Shelburne Red Wings were sold after

1295-472: Was released in September and the league had lost the Vancouver Devils expansion team. The season started the last weekend of October and the expansion Utah Altitude folded after one game played. By November 5, the Northwest Division was announced as going dormant for the season with no games played by Bellingham, Rogue Valley, or Seattle. Bellingham and Vernal then joined the Provincial Division, but Bellingham withdrew after playing five games. By January 2022,

1332-437: Was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1994 to 2011. Teams played approximately 50 games in the regular season schedule, mimicking what players would experience at the collegiate level. As of January 2022, there are no active teams in the league following the creation of the Can-Am Junior Hockey League by former WSHL teams. Year one consisted of six teams, spanning Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah, with all member clubs playing

1369-428: Was then used as an expansion team called the Barrhead Bombers. Current commissioner Ron White took over operation of the WSHL in 1995 and continued to expand the league footprint. In 2007, the WSHL upgraded their league status from the Tier III Junior B level to Junior A to attract higher quality prospects. In 2011, the league joined the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and dropped its USA Hockey sanctioning leading to

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