Alberta Junior Hockey League


The Alberta Junior Hockey League is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The regular season league champions receive the Dave Duchak Trophy. The playoff champions receive the Inter Pipeline Cup. The winner of the AJHL playoffs continues on to play in the Doyle Cup in a seven-game series with the champion team of the British Columbia Hockey League. The winner of the Doyle Cup competes in the National Junior A Championship.

History

The early 1960s saw a much different junior hockey scenario in Alberta than what currently exists. The Edmonton Oil Kings were the only true Junior-A-calibre team in the province and drew most of the top talent Alberta had to offer. The Oil Kings were the Western Canadian champions from 1962 until 1966, Abbott Cup champions in 1954 and from 1960 to 1966, and Memorial Cup national champions in 1963 and 1966. In 1966, the Oil Kings helped create the Western Hockey League. The issue in 1964 was that there were hundreds of junior-calibre players in the province, but really only one team to play for. A group of business and hockey people got together in 1964 and decided to form a Junior "A" league in an attempt to truly develop Alberta hockey. The original league consisted of the Edmonton Safeway Canadians, the Edmonton Maple Leafs, the Lethbridge Sugar Kings, Calgary Cowboys, and the Calgary Buffaloes.
The Edmonton Safeway Canadians and Maple Leafs later merged in 1971 to become the Edmonton Mets, then moved to Spruce Grove to become the Spruce Grove Mets in 1974. They lasted only three seasons in Spruce Grove; however, they won the AJHL title twice, and the Manitoba Centennial Trophy in 1975. In 1976, they moved again to become the St. Albert Saints, where they won three more league titles. In 2004, the team returned to Spruce Grove as the Spruce Grove Saints. This well-travelled franchise has sent over 30 players into the National Hockey League, including Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier.
One of the AJHL's most famous franchises, the Red Deer Rustlers, joined the league in 1967, capturing the championship in their first season. The Rustlers had attempted to join the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, but were blocked by the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association, and instead placed in the AJHL. In 1971, the Rustlers captured the first Manitoba Centennial Trophy as national Junior A champions. The Rustlers, who featured all six Sutter brothers who would go on to the National Hockey League, won eight AJHL titles and two Centennial Trophies during their existence. They were expelled from the league, however, in 1989, and formally folded in 1992 when the Red Deer Rebels joined the WHL.
In 1971, the Calgary Canucks were founded following the demise of the Cowboys and Buffaloes. Today, the Canucks are the oldest franchise still operating in the AJHL. It was founded with a mandate to focus on giving Calgary-area kids a place to play while focusing on their educational needs. The Canucks have captured a league record nine AJHL championships and won the Centennial Cup in 1995, the Canadian Championship of Junior A hockey, now known as the Royal Bank Cup.
After a game on February 21, 1980, the AJHL was shaken by a tragedy. Twenty-year-old Trevor Elton, Captain of the Sherwood Park Crusaders was hit cleanly along the boards by a player on the St. Albert Saints in St. Albert, Alberta. Elton landed and went into convulsions and died later that night while in hospital.
On November 26, 2010, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons and Drayton Valley Thunder played the first ever modern era regulation outdoor junior hockey game at MacDonald Island in Fort McMurray. The game was known as the "Northern Classic". The 5,000 tickets available for the game sold out in less than an hour, and consequently broke the league attendance record of 4,400. The current attendance record was set in 2017 as 5,989 fans watched the Okotoks Oilers and Spruce Grove Saints play the last game at Northlands Coliseum.
On May 2, 2012, the AJHL announced its approval of a request from the St. Albert Steel to relocate the team from St. Albert to Whitecourt to become the Whitecourt Wolverines.

Current teams

Future teams

Formerly the Calgary Mustangs that are currently on hiatus, the Blackfalds Bulldogs will commence play out of the Blackfalds Multiplex in the Town of Blackfalds in the AJHL's South Division in the 2021–2022 season.

National Junior A Championships

Teams from the AJHL have captured the National Junior A Championship nine times. The championship was formerly known as the Manitoba Centennial Trophy until 1995 and the Royal Bank/RBC Cup from 1995 to 2019.
The playoff championship cup was originally known as Carling O'Keefe Cup before it began going by several other sponsored names:
The winners of the AJHL playoffs then advance to the Doyle Cup against the playoff champion of the British Columbia Hockey League. The winner of the Doyle Cup then advances to the National Junior A Championship, previously known as the Royal Bank Cup and RBC Cup. From 2013 to 2017, instead of the Doyle Cup to qualify to the National Championship, the AJHL playoff winner participated in the Western Canada Cup.
Note: Playoff champions are in bold.

Timeline of teams in the AJHL

As of 2006, nearly 200 AJHL grads have gone on to play in the National Hockey League. Among them: