Kootenay International Junior Hockey League

Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2017-18 KIJHL Season
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 1966, 52 years ago
CEO Bill Ohlhausen
No. of teams 20
Countries  Canada (19 teams)
 United States (1 teams)
Most recent
champion(s)		 Kimberley Dynamiters
Most titles Cranbrook Colts – 11
TV partner(s) KIJHL Broadcast Network
Official website http://www.kijhl.ca
50 Years: 1966-2016

The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" Ice Hockey league in British Columbia, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of the KIJHL playoffs competes with the champions of the Pacific Junior Hockey League and the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League for the Cyclone Taylor Cup, the British Columbia Provincial Title. The winner of the Cyclone Taylor Cup moves on to compete for the Western Canada "B" Crown, the Keystone Cup.

History

Early history: 1966–1980

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 1967-68 season. They included the Trail Jr. Smoke Eaters, the Nelson Plaza Oilers, the Castlegar Apollos, 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 1971–72, the Spokane Valley Kings and Cranbrook Colts joined the league, raising the quantity of teams to six, and incorporating an American team for the first time. Furthermore, 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 many years after this point, during 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.

1980–1990

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, 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 Kimberley and Columbia Valley.

1990–2000

In 1990, the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League 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 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 were named 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.

2000–2010

The 2000–01 season saw the folding of the Summerland Warriors and 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 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 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 the Okanagan Shushwap, while creating the Eddie Mountain Conference, East and West Divisions, and likewise with the Neil Murdoch Conference. The Golden Xtreme were 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 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.

2010–present

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 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 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 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.

Teams

2010-11 KIJHL Team Location Map

Champions

Year Winning team Coach Losing team Coach Games Winning goal
1970Trail Smoke EatersRossland Warriors
1971Trail Smoke EatersRossland Warriors
1972Trail Smoke EatersCranbrook Colts
1973Cranbrook ColtsRossland Warriors
1974Cranbrook ColtsGrand Forks Border Bruins
1975Cranbrook ColtsTrail Smoke Eaters
1976Cranbrook ColtsRossland Warriors
1977Castlegar RebelsCranbrook Colts
1978Castlegar RebelsCreston Clippers
1979Trail Smoke EatersSpokane Flames
1980Kimberley KnightsTrail Smoke Eaters
1981Trail Smoke EatersCranbrook Colts
1982Cranbrook ColtsTrail Smoke Eaters
1983Cranbrook ColtsTrail Smoke Eaters
1984Cranbrook ColtsSpokane Flames
1985Cranbrook ColtsTrail Smoke Eaters
1986Cranbrook ColtsTrail Smoke Eaters
1987Cranbrook ColtsCastlegar Rebels
1988Columbia Valley RockiesTrail Smoke Eaters
1989Columbia Valley RockiesNelson Leafs
1990Columbia Valley RockiesNelson Leafs
1991Trail Smoke EatersColumbia Valley Rockies
1992Nelson LeafsSpokane Braves
1993Nelson LeafsColumbia Valley Rockies
1994North Okanagan KingsCastlegar Rebels
1995Sicamous EaglesCastlegar Rebels
1996Castlegar RebelsSicamous Eagles
1997Beaver Valley NitehawksColumbia Valley Rockies
1998Revelstoke GrizzliesOsoyoos Rebels
1999Beaver Valley NitehawksRevelstoke Grizzlies
2000Nelson LeafsSicamous Eagles
2001Beaver Valley NitehawksRevelstoke Grizzlies
2002Sicamous EaglesBeaver Valley Nitehawks
2003Beaver Valley NitehawksSicamous Eagles
2004Beaver Valley NitehawksColumbia Valley Rockies
2005Osoyoos StormBeaver Valley Nitehawks
2006Sicamous EaglesBeaver Valley Nitehawks4–1Dustin Sobchak (0:42, first)
2007Fernie GhostridersNelson Leafs4–2Derek Porter (11:44, second)
2008Fernie GhostridersKamloops Storm4–2Josh McEwan (0:05, third)
2009Nelson LeafsKamloops Storm4–0Michael Spring (2:01, third)
2010Revelstoke GrizzliesNelson Leafs4–1Brad Friedrich (8:20, third)
2011Osoyoos CoyotesKen LawCastlegar RebelsSteve Junker4–2Steve Sasyniuk (19:25, first)
2012Beaver Valley NitehawksTerry JonesKelowna ChiefsKen Andrusiak4–0Craig Martin (9:35, second)
2013Castlegar RebelsNorth Okanagan Knights4-2Stuart Walton 5:54, first)
2014Beaver Valley NitehawksKamloops Storm4-2Dallas Calvin 19:19, first)
2015Kimberley DynamitersJerry BancksKamloops StormEd Patterson4–2Jordan Busch (13:16, second)
2016100 Mile House WranglersDale HladunKimberley DynamitersJerry Bancks4–1Brady Ward (3:57, third)
2017Beaver Valley NitehawksTerry JonesChase HeatBrad Fox3-0Dylan Kent (7:02, second)
2018Kimberley DynamitersDerek StuartRevelstoke GrizzliesRyan Parent4-2Nicholas Ketola (00:20, third)

NHL alumni

See also

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