Pacific Junior Hockey League

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Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL)

Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1965
Inaugural season	1966-67
No. of teams	13
Country	Canada
Most recent champion(s)	North Vancouver Wolf Pack
Official website	PJHL.net

The Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL), formerly Pacific International Junior Hockey League, (PIJHL) until 2012 is a Canadian junior ice hockey league which operates in the Lower mainland of British Columbia. Although the PJHL has included American teams in the past, the league's twelve franchises all currently^[when?] reside in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Several National Hockey League stars began their junior hockey careers in the PJHL, but the main focus of the league is player development and education with strong ties to the local hockey community. The PJHL Championship is awarded annually to the league playoff champion and the winner moves on to compete against the champions of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League for the British Columbia Provincial Title, the Cyclone Taylor Cup. The winner of the Cyclone Taylor Cup moves on to compete for the Western Canada Junior "B" Crown, the Keystone Cup.

History[]

Early years: 1966-1980[]

The earliest incarnation of the Pacific Junior Hockey League, the West Coast Junior Hockey League, was founded in 1966, with a total of six teams, including the still-existent Grandview Steelers. Other teams from Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Richmond and Burnaby. These five teams, along with the , contested the first season of play in the new league. The were awarded the first ever championship in 1967, but the early years of the league were dominated by the Nor Wes Caps, who won four championships in the first seven seasons in the league. However, in the mid-70s, a number of league teams departed for the Junior 'A' level of hockey, including the Nor Wes Caps. A number of teams would replace the departed, including the North Shore Flames and the . In the second half of the 1970s, the league championship was continuously handed back and forth between the Richmond Rebels, and the , before the Blazers and Rebels were forced to relocate.

1980-2000[]

The first seven seasons of the 1980s were dominated by the North Shore Flames and the Northwest Americans, who combined won all seven league championships in that time (four for the Americans, and three for the Flames). This dominance was ended in 1987 by the Burnaby Bluehawks, who defeated the White Rock Whalers in the league final. White Rock would become champions the following year, defeating the North Shore Flames en route to the title. In 1989, current league members Abbotsford Pilots won their first league title, having relocated from Mission shortly before. A number of previously title-less teams would win the championship in the following years, including the in 1991, the Richmond Sockeyes in 1992, and the in 1995. In 1992, the West Coast Junior Hockey League officially re-branded itself as the Pacific International Junior Hockey League. In 1994, the Grandview Steelers won their first championship since 1968, defeating the Richmond Sockeyes in the league championship. The Port Coquitlam Buckeroos and Ridge Meadows Flames would split the next four championship between them, until the Abbotsford Pilots won in 1998-99, and again in 1999-00 for their second and third championships.

2000-present[]

The Delta Ice Hawks won their first title in 2000-01, defeating the Buckeroos in five games in the league finals, but lost the finals in four to the Abbotsford Pilots the following season. The next two seasons were won by the Richmond Sockeyes, who defeated Abbotsford and Delta 4-3 and 4-1 respectively for the titles. Abbotsford would defeat Delta in 2004-05 championship final in seven games. However, Delta would defeat those same Pilots the next year in six games. Abbotsford would come back and win the following year, over the Grandview Steelers in the final, which to date remains their last championship. The Pilots would go on to lose in the championship series in four of the next five seasons, to Grandview once, Delta once and Richmond twice. The only year in which the Pilots did not make the final, the Aldergrove Kodiaks won their first title, over the Delta Ice Hawks. In 2012-13, the Richmond Sockeyes won their second title in three years, beating Aldergrove in four games, but the Kodiaks would defeat the Sockeyes the following year to claim their second overall title, in seven games. In 2014-15, the North Vancouver Wolf Pack, formerly the Squamish Wolf Pack, won their first league title, defeating the Mission City Outlaws in the championship. But Mission would win their first league title the following year over the Grandview Steelers in five games. The Aldergrove Kodiaks won their third overall title in 2017, defeating the Ice Hawks in six games. Delta won their fourth title the following year over the Ridge Meadows Flames in six games. The Wolf Pack won their second overall title, defeating the Langley Trappers in four games in 2019. The PJHL Championship was not awarded for the first time, after the 2019-20 season, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Teams[]

Team	City/Area	Arena	Founded	Joined	Head Coach	Captain
Harold Brittain Conference
Abbotsford Pilots	Abbotsford, BC	MSA Arena	1988		Daniell Lange
Aldergrove Kodiaks	Aldergrove, BC	Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre	2008		Chris Price
Chilliwack Jets	Chilliwack, BC	Sardis Sports Complex	2020		Clayton Robinson
Langley Trappers	Langley, BC	George Preston Recreation Centre	2017		Brad Bakken
Mission City Outlaws	Mission, BC	Mission Leisure Centre	2003*		Brad Veitch
Ridge Meadows Flames	Maple Ridge, BC	Cam Neely Arena at Planet Ice	1972*		Brett Hughes
Surrey Knights	Surrey, BC	North Surrey Recreation Centre	1999*		Andy Liborion
Tom Shaw Conference
Delta Ice Hawks	Delta, BC	Ladner Leisure Centre	1997		Steve Robinson
Grandview Steelers	Burnaby, BC	Burnaby Winter Club	1967		Jim Camazzola
North Vancouver Wolf Pack	North Vancouver, BC	Harry Jerome Arena	2008*		Matt Samson
Port Moody Panthers	Port Moody, BC	Port Moody Arena	1999*		Terry Morrison
Richmond Sockeyes	Richmond, BC	Minoru Arena	1972		Bayne Koen
White Rock Whalers	White Rock, BC	Centennial Arena	2018		Jason Rogers

Notes

Champions[]

Defunct or relocated teams[]

NHL alumni[]

External links[]

• Official Website of the Pacific Junior Hockey League
• PJHL historical standings archive