Five teams join BCHL effective immediately, AJHL says they are disappointed

Effective immediately, the Brooks Bandits, Spruce Grove Saints, Blackfalds Bulldogs, Sherwood Park Crusaders, and Okotoks Oilers are members of the BCHL, and will be playing games soon under the umbrella of their new league.

The BCHL issued a press release on Thursday afternoon saying the five Alberta based teams will play each other 20 times until early April, and then play-off to crown an Alberta champion.

Then once the BC teams playoff competition is complete and a winner is determined, the BC champ will play the Alberta champ at year-end.

“With the unfortunate situation the Alberta teams have faced in recent weeks with having games cancelled in their previous league, it was imperative to us to get these players back on the ice in meaningful competition,” said BCHL Commissioner Steven Cocker in the release. “This five-team schedule and postseason will give these athletes the chance to get in a full set of games for the remainder of the year, which is the most important thing to us.”

The AJHL responded in a release almost two hours later, saying they are disappointed with these team’s decision.

“The AJHL wants to thank the 11 teams at the core of our league for their strong support as we continue working through the situation caused by mid-season announcement that five of our clubs had committed to play unsanctioned hockey in the BCHL,” the AJHL says.

“We are disappointed — but not surprised — that the five defecting clubs now intend to drop out of the AJHL to immediately participate in an unsanctioned exhibition series. For the past week, they have repeatedly denied any agreement with the BCHL, but today’s admission of ‘finalized franchise agreements and integration’ has helped clarify their true position. The full impact of this decision on our ongoing investigation remains to be determined, as the team’s have now eliminated a route back to the AJHL for their players this season.

“The AJHL has a strong future. We are grateful for the messages of support our players and coaches have received from hockey fans across the country over the past week. We also appreciate the expressions of interest coming from various partners and stakeholders who are exploring the possibility of becoming part of our great league.

“Our 11 core teams remain committed to our fans, committed to our communities, and committed to Alberta. We’re looking forward to an exciting finish to our 60th anniversary season — see you at the rink! [sic]”

Since the news broke and the BCHL confirmed that these five teams were accepted on Jan. 20, regularly scheduled AJHL games between these five teams against the remaining 11 were cancelled. Games between these five were still allowed to occur.

Last week, those five teams issued a joint statement saying they had not agreed to leave yet, and were concerned for the futures of their players with the game cancellations.

The AJHL responded the next day saying the contradiction of statements didn’t change their course of cancellations, until those contradictions were clarified.

Schedule announcements for the Bonnyville Pontiacs or a playoff format, have not yet been announced.