Canadian Hockey League
 Canadian Hockey League | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| President | David Branch |
| No. of teams | 60 |
| Countries |
Canada United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Acadie–Bathurst Titan |
| TV partner(s) |
Sportsnet Sportsnet One Shaw TV (WHL and OHL) Rogers TV/TV Rogers (OHL) Eastlink TV/TVA Sports (QMJHL) |
| Official website | www.chl.ca |
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; French: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League,[1] and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. For the 2017–18 season, its three leagues and 60 teams represent nine Canadian provinces (52 teams) as well as four American states (8 teams).
The CHL schedule culminates in the Memorial Cup tournament, which sees each of the three league champions, as well as a host team, play a round-robin tournament to determine a national champion. The CHL also hosts the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, for the top draft eligible players in the league, as well as the CHL Canada/Russia Series, a six-game all-star exhibition series against a team of Russian juniors. The current president is David Branch, and Gilles Courteau and Ron Robison are vice-presidents.
Introduction
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is the governing body for Major Junior hockey (formerly known as Tier One Junior A), the top level of amateur hockey in Canada. The CHL currently oversees the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), with the OHL and WHL having teams in both Canada and the United States. Each league plays individual regular season schedules, and playoffs. The annual CHL championship is determined by the Memorial Cup tournament held in May.
The CHL is generally considered the world's top junior hockey league for developing professional players and is a key supplier of new players and officials for the many North American professional hockey leagues, such as the National Hockey League, American Hockey League, and the ECHL.[2] If a CHL player does not sign a professional contract, many also opt to play for U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport - CIS) and go to school due to CHL sponsored scholarship programs. However, due to the use of paying player stipends and allowing junior players that have signed entry level contracts with the NHL,[3] all CHL teams are considered professional by the NCAA; thus any player who plays a game at the Major Junior level loses their eligibility to play for universities in the United States.[4]
The CHL also seeks to raise the profile of the junior game by hosting annual events such as the Memorial Cup, the CHL Top Prospects Game and the Subway Super Series. The organization also provides many scholarships and bursaries for its players who exemplify extraordinary efforts and community involvement. These programs are supported by the many corporate sponsors.
Annual events
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup Tournament is the championship of Junior Canadian hockey. Each year it features the champions from the (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) and the host CHL team. The host team changes from year to year, and is selected by a bidding process prior to the start of each season. The annual event is one of the biggest sporting events in North America, attracting thousands of spectators and generating increasing revenue for both the CHL teams and the host city. MasterCard is the official sponsor of the championship.
Memorial Cup celebration
Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup warmup
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game
The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is an annual event sponsored by Home Hardware and hosted by the CHL in which 40 of the top NHL Entry Draft eligible prospects in the Canadian Hockey League play against each other much like an all-star game. Each draft prospect hopes to boost their draft ranking with the NHL scouts and general managers who attend. The players are typically coached by a pair of hockey celebrities, usually Don Cherry and Bobby Orr. The event has been held annually since 1992. From 1992 to 1995 the event was known as the CHL All-Star Challenge and usually pitted one of the CHL's leagues against the other two.
CHL Canada/Russia Series
The CHL Canada/Russia Series is an annual junior ice hockey exhibition tournament held between a select team of Russian players and all-star teams representing the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The event is organized by the Canadian Hockey League and consists of six games total each year, with the Russian Selects playing two games versus each league's all-star team. All games are broadcast nationally in Canada on Sportsnet. The series often features players from the Canadian national junior team, and the Russian national junior team.
CHL Import Draft
The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every team in the Canadian Hockey League may select the rights to eligible import players. An import is classified as a player whose parents not residents of Canada, or the United States. The draft is conducted online, during the last week of June, or first week of July. Teams from the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, systematically take turns making selections in reverse order of the team's standings in the CHL from the previous season. Teams can have a maximum of two imports, which may only be obtained through the draft.
Trophies and awards
The Canadian Hockey League awards sixteen annual trophies for accomplishments during the regular and at the Memorial Cup to top individuals and teams among its three member leagues. The Memorial Cup is the top award for the championship team at the end-of-season Memorial Cup tournament. A set of five individual awards are given for performance at the tournament. In the regular season, Canadian Hockey League also presents ten annual awards.[5] The nominees for each individual award are determined by the winner of the corresponding award handed out by each of the Canadian Hockey League's three member leagues, the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and the Western Hockey League.[6]
| Memorial Cup — Tournament awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trophy name | Recognition | Founded | Current recipient(s) |
| Memorial Cup | Canadian Hockey League champion | 1919 | Acadie–Bathurst Titan |
| Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy | Most valuable player | 1972 | Dylan Strome |
| George Parsons Trophy | Most sportsmanlike player | 1974 | Anthony Cirelli |
| Hap Emms Memorial Trophy | Outstanding goaltender | 1975 | Michael DiPietro |
| Ed Chynoweth Trophy | Leading scorer | 1996 | Dylan Strome |
| Memorial Cup All-Star Team | Best player at each position | 1975 | Michael DiPietro, Darren Raddysh, Mikhail Sergachev, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex DeBrincat, Taylor Raddysh |
| Regular season — Individual awards | |||
| Trophy name | Recognition | Founded | Current recipient(s) |
| Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award | Coach of the year | 1988 | Ryan McGill |
| CHL Player of the Year | Most outstanding player | 1975 | Alex DeBrincat |
| CHL Top Scorer Award | Top scoring player | 1994 | Sam Steel |
| CHL Goaltender of the Year | Most outstanding goaltender | 1988 | Michael McNiven |
| CHL Defenceman of the Year | Most outstanding defenceman | 1988 | Thomas Chabot |
| CHL Rookie of the Year | Most outstanding rookie | 1988 | Nico Hischier |
| CHL Top Draft Prospect Award | Top draft prospect | 1991 | Nolan Patrick |
| CHL Scholastic Player of the Year | Top scholastic player | 1988 | Sasha Chmelevski |
| CHL Sportsman of the Year | Most sportsmanlike player | 1990 | Nick Suzuki |
| CHL Humanitarian of the Year | Top humanitarian player | 1993 | Tyler Wong |
| CHL Executive of the Year | Most outstanding executive | 1989 | not awarded since 2002 |
Teams
For the 2016–17 season the league comprises 60 teams located in nine Canadian provinces (52 teams) and four American states (8 teams). Currently, nine of the ten Canadian provinces have a member team. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province without a team.
- The Western Hockey League, with 22 teams in British Columbia (6), Alberta (5), Saskatchewan (5), Manitoba (1), Washington (4), and Oregon (1).
- The Ontario Hockey League, with 20 teams in Ontario (17), Michigan (2), and Pennsylvania (1).
- The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, with 18 teams in Quebec (12), New Brunswick (3), Nova Scotia (2), and Prince Edward Island (1).
Attendance
Listed below are the top CHL teams by average attendance for the 2015–16 regular season. Teams with an average attendance over 5,000 are shown.[7][8][9][10]
The CHL single game attendance record is held by the London Knights and Plymouth Whalers for the December 29, 2013 outdoor game at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. A total of 26,384 spectators took in the game.[11]
| Pos. | Team | League | Average attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 13,835 |
| 2. | London Knights | OHL | 9,013 |
| 3. | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 8,217 |
| 4. | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 7,012 |
| 5. | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 7,004 |
| 6. | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 6,893 |
| 7. | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 6,838 |
| 8. | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 5,765 |
| 9. | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 5,635 |
| 10. | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 5,353 |
| 11. | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 5,242 |
| 12. | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 5,169 |
References
- ↑ :::: The Official Ohl Website ::::
- ↑ "2018 Draft Prospect Rankings". www.nhl.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ↑ "Learning About the Western Hockey League and Major Junior Hockey". Five for Howling. February 23, 2010.
- ↑ "Daily Dish: Major Junior Misunderstanding". Junior Hockey News. September 3, 2013.
- ↑ "History – Awards". Mastercard Memorial Cup. Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
- ↑ "CHL Awards". chl.ca. Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
- ↑ "CHL Attendance Report for 2015-16". 3rdlinegrind.com. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ↑ "Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ↑ "Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ↑ "Western Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ↑ "Spits top Spirit 6-5 at Comerica Park". windsorstar.com. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canadian Hockey League. |
- Canadian Hockey League Official web site