 | |
| Formerly | West Coast Junior Hockey League (1966–1992) Pacific International Junior Hockey League (1992–2004) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 1965 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Most recent champion | Ridge Meadows Flames |
| Official website | www |
ThePacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) is ajunior ice hockey league which operates in theLower Mainland and theSunshine Coast ofBritish Columbia. Although the PJHL has included American teams in the past, the league's sixteen franchises all currently reside in the districts ofMetro Vancouver,Fraser Valley, and theSunshine Coast. 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 theKootenay International Junior Hockey League and theVancouver Island Junior Hockey League for the provincial title, theCyclone Taylor Cup. From 1983 to 2017, the winner of the Cyclone Taylor Cup moves on to compete for the Western Canada Junior "B" Crown, theKeystone Cup.
The earliest incarnation of the Pacific Junior Hockey League, theWest Coast Junior Hockey League, was founded in 1966, with a total of six teams, including the still-existentGrandview Steelers. Other teams fromChilliwack,Coquitlam,Richmond andBurnaby. These five teams, along with theNor Wes Caps, contested the first season of play in the new league. TheRichmond Juniors were awarded the first ever championship in 1967, but the early years of the league were dominated by theNor 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 theJunior 'A' level of hockey, including the Nor Wes Caps. A number of teams would replace the departed, including theNorth Shore Flames and theNorthwest Americans. In the second half of the 1970s, the league championship was continuously handed back and forth between theRichmond Rebels,Burnaby Blazers and theNorthwest Americans, before the Blazers and Rebels were forced to relocate.
The first seven seasons of the 1980s were dominated by theNorth Shore Flames and theNorthwest 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 theBurnaby Bluehawks, who defeated theWhite 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 membersAbbotsford Pilots won their first league title, having relocated fromMission shortly before. A number of previously title-less teams would win the championship in the following years, including theCoquitlam Warriors in 1991, theRichmond Sockeyes in 1992, and thePort Coquitlam Buckeroos in 1995. In 1992, the West Coast Junior Hockey League officially re-branded itself as thePacific International Junior Hockey League.[1] In 1994, the Grandview Steelers won their first championship since 1968, defeating theRichmond Sockeyes in the league championship. ThePort Coquitlam Buckeroos andRidge Meadows Flames would split the next four championship between them, until theAbbotsford Pilots won in 1998–99, and again in 1999-00 for their second and third championships.
TheDelta Ice Hawks won their first title in 2000–01, defeating theBuckeroos in five games in the league finals, but lost the finals in four to theAbbotsford Pilots the following season. The next two seasons were won by theRichmond 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 theGrandview 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, theAldergrove 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, theNorth Vancouver Wolf Pack, formerly theSquamish Wolf Pack, won their first league title, defeating theMission 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, but lost to the Richmond Sockeyes in the Cyclone Taylor Cup Final. The Wolf Pack won their second overall title, defeating theLangley Trappers in four games in 2019. The PJHL Championship was not awarded for the first time after the 2019–20 season due to thecoronavirus pandemic. And again after the 2020–21 season. The Langley Trappers win their first league title over the White Rock Whalers in five games and captured their first Cyclone Taylor Cup title with a 4–2 victory over the Delta Ice Hawks in 2022. The Ice Hawks would captured their fifth league title the following year over the Ridge Meadows Flames in seven games.
In 2022, the PJHL andKIJHL entered a partnership known as the British Columbia Hockey Conference (BCHC). This involved the creation of a shared Department of Player Safety to oversee enhanced supplementary disciplinary procedures, and an annual showcase event for the leagues' top players known as the Prospects Game.[2] The first Prospects Game took place at the Sardis Sports Complex inChilliwack.[3]
In 2023, governing bodyBC Hockey announced plans to restructure itsjunior hockey framework following the departure of its onlyJunior A league.[4] The threeJunior B leagues (PJHL,KIJHL andVIJHL) were summarily designated as "Junior A Tier 2", with plans to conduct an independent evaluation of those teams seeking to be promoted to "Junior A Tier 1". It was expected that those teams promoted to Tier 1 would eventually apply for membership in theCJHL.[5] The league expected the evaluations to be completed during the 2024–25 PJHL season.[6]
ThePort Coquitlam Trailblazers joined the league as an expansion team in the 2023–24 PJHL season[7][8] along with theCoastal Tsunami the following season.[9][10] TheCloverdale Junior Hockey Club joined as an expansion team in the 2025–26 PJHL season.[11]
The league announced plans to subdivide into two tiers beginning in the 2025–26 season. Tier one would include theBurnaby Steelers,Chilliwack Jets,Coastal Tsunami,Delta Ice Hawks,Langley Trappers,Richmond Sockeyes andRidge Meadows Flames. Tier two would include theAbbotsford Pilots,Aldergrove Ironmen,Mission City Outlaws,North Vancouver Wolf Pack,Port Coquitlam Trailblazers,Port Moody Panthers,Surrey Knights,White Rock Whalers and a new expansion team to be based inCloverdale.[12] However, when a vote was held at the 2025 annual general meeting to approve the changes, it failed to pass by the required two-thirds majority, with 8 members voting for and 7 voting against.[13] The members that voted against the restructuring were those that would have been designated as tier two.[13]
TheCloverdale expansion franchise was voted down also.[13] An official statement from the league said that the Cloverdale franchise had "not been able to satisfy necessary league bylaws in order to operate as a member club in good standing".[14] A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the seven would-be tier two franchises alleging that the league acted in "an oppressive and unfairly prejudicial manner" in relation to the cancellation of the Cloverdale expansion.[15] On 18 September 2025, news media reported that the Cloverdale team had been reinstated.[16]
| Team | Home | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford Pilots | Abbotsford | MSA Arena |
| Aldergrove Ironmen | Aldergrove | Aldergrove Community Centre |
| Cloverdale Junior Hockey Club | Cloverdale | Cloverdale Arena |
| Mission City Outlaws | Mission | Mission Leisure Centre |
| North Vancouver Wolf Pack | North Vancouver | Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre |
| Port Moody Panthers | Port Moody | Port Moody Recreation Complex |
| Surrey Knights | Surrey | North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex |
| White Rock Whalers | White Rock | Centennial Arena |
| Team | Home | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Burnaby Steelers | Burnaby | Burnaby Winter Club |
| Chilliwack Jets | Chilliwack | Sardis Sports Complex |
| Coastal Tsunami | Gibsons | Gibsons & Area Community Centre |
| Delta Ice Hawks | North Delta | Sungod Arena |
| Langley Trappers | Langley | George Preston Recreation Centre |
| Port Coquitlam Trailblazers | Port Coquitlam | Port Coquitlam Community Centre |
| Richmond Sockeyes | Richmond | Minoru Arenas |
| Ridge Meadows Flames | Maple Ridge | Planet Ice Maple Ridge |
The Port Coquitlam Buckeroos played in the same league — when it was known as the Pacific International Junior Hockey League — from 1992 to 2004.