About the AJHL
History of the
It was born out of necessity, in 1963 when the Edmonton Oil Kings completely dominated junior hockey in
The only problem was that few of the Oil Kings were Edmontonian’s. But, Jim McAdie, now a member of the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame and a leading force in the organization of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, said: “there were 1,000 kids wanting to play junior hockey in
So, a few enterprising individuals met and formed the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), a five-team league playing a limited schedule, mainly on weekends. Other leading lights in the formative year were Ken Kuchinski of
The League comprised the Edmonton Safeway Canadians, the Edmonton Maple Leafs, the Lethbridge Sugar Kings, Calgary Cowboys and the Calgary Buffaloes.
None of the charter members are still in existence unless one wants to include the Maple Leafs who, through a series of ownership changes and franchise shifts, has finally settled in
From that humble beginning, the AJHL has grown into one of the most highly respected Junior ‘A’ Leagues in
But, it was not done without a great deal of difficulty, shifting franchises, new franchises, new commissioners, etc. It was done through the conviction of everyone involved that it was the thing to do.
The League took its first step towards a truly provincial alignment in 1966-67 when it admitted the Ponoka Stampeders, who lasted until 1970-71. One of the graduates of those early Ponoka years was Stan Weir; a former league scoring champion who played in National Hockey League.
Max Bentley, hockey’s famous “dipsy-doodle-dandy ” from Delisle,
Next, in 1967-68, came the Red Deer Rustlers, national champions in 1970-71, the Sutter saga and in 1979-80 they were national champions again. They were followed, in 1970-71, by the Mount Royal College Cougars of Calgary, who played in the League for two years before reverting to an all-college league (Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference). Former NHL great Bert Olmstead was the Cougars’ first coach.
Also that year,
In 1971-72, the Calgary Canucks and the Drumheller Falcons entered. However, in the same year, two of the charter members, the Movers and the Maple Leafs, ceased operations. Drumheller played continuously until 1975-76 when the original Falcons folded, only to be revived in 1979-80.
Drumheller’ s franchise folded again after going 0-26 to start the 1982-83 season.
The Lethbridge Sugar Kings fell by the wayside in 1972-73 because of the introduction to that city of major junior hockey. But, a new group stepped forward, renamed the team the Longhorns, and kept the AJHL functioning in
The Edmonton Movers and the Edmonton Maple Leafs combined to become the Edmonton Mets in 1972-73, who in turn became the Spruce Grove Mets in 1974-75. The Spruce Grove Mets gave the League its second national championship in 1974-75 before becoming the St. Albert Saints in 1977-78.
The Taber Golden Suns entered the league in 1974-75 with Gary Hull; brother of hockey’s famed Golden Jet, Bobby Hull, as their first coach. Taber transferred the franchise to Olds and became the Grizzlys in 1981-82.
Then came the Fort Saskatchewan Traders and the Edmonton Crusaders in 1976-77. The Crusaders became the Sherwood Park Crusaders in 1978.
The Fort McMurray Oil Barons and Hobbema Hawks entered the League in 1981-82. The Lloydminster Blazers were added in 1988-89, after
The Red Deer Rustlers were granted a leave of absence in 1989-90 and ceased operations in 1991-92. Hobbema took a leave of absence in 1990-91 and ceased operations in 1993.
The Bonnyville Pontiacs joined in 1991-92; the Bow Valley Eagles, Grande Prairie Storm and Camrose Kodiaks entered in 1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98, respectively.
In 1998-99 the
The Alberta Junior Hockey League awarded Brooks the opportunity to purchase a franchise in the League in September of 1998. In November 1999 the Brooks Bandits officially purchased the franchise for Brooks from Alberta Junior Hockey League. The Brooks Bandits opened the 2000-2001 season as the 15th team in the AJHL.
After six season in the AJHL, the Bow Valley Eagles changed the name of the hockey club to the Canmore Eagles for the 2001-2002 season. All regular season home games were then played out of
In January 2002, the AJHL awarded an expansion franchise to Drumheller, who would join as the 16th team in the AJHL. The Drumheller Dragons held their inaugural season in 2003-2004.
The Timberwolves franchise was taken over by the Okotoks Oilers at the end of the 2003-2004 season. The Oilers received a one-year leave of absence from the League to relocate the Crowsnest Pass Timberwolves franchise.
The St. Albert Saints moved to Spruce Grove in 2004, and began the 2004-2005 season as the Spruce Grove Saints. The Alberta Junior Hockey League welcomed a 16th member team, the Okotoks Oilers, joining the AJHL for their inaugural season in 2005-2006 after taking a one year absence to relocate the franchise from the
The Lloydminster Blazers received the Board of Governors’ approval to change their name to the Lloydminster Bobcats and also the team colors to Black,
The Fort Saskatchewan Traders were relocated to
During these years the franchises have seen countless coaches and players come and go along with numerous color changes, name changes, and venues. Through it all the franchises have relied upon the efforts of all volunteers to keep operating to provide an opportunity for young hockey players to play Junior “A” hockey close to home in
Since 1963, the Alberta Junior Hockey League has fostered the development of young athletes who have gone on to become Stanley Cup Champions, Ivy League Graduates and Community Leaders. AJHL Alumni include Mark Messier, Lanny Mc
Over 220 AJHL Alumni competed on College and University teams at Post-Secondary Institutes across
AJHL Alumni continue to have success in the National Hockey League, including NHL stars such Fernando Pisani, Wade Redden, Dany Heatley and Chris Phillips. AJHL Alumni continued to break into the NHL this season, including Mason Raymond (Vancouver Canucks / Camrose Kodiaks) and Curtis Glencross (Edmonton Oilers / Brooks Bandits). The number of AJHL Alumni competing in the NHL will surely grow as Alumni continue to sign NHL contracts.
The AJHL has been blessed with an abundance of strong administrators. Former League commissioners include Dave Duchak, Dick White, Steve Wyker, Doug Lauchlan, Jim Scoular, Ron Leopold, Cec Swanson, John Fulton, Dave Cranston, Marty Knack, Kim Marsh and the current President, Craig Cripps of
In April 2008, the Alberta Junior Hockey League officially released its new branding statement ‘Excellence Awaits’. The new brand is designed to spotlight the unique values of the AJHL in a clear and compelling way and will also serve as the foundation for promoting the AJHL to current and future student-athletes. ‘Excellence Awaits’ reflects the opportunities available within the AJHL and is intended to inspire athletes in their pursuit of excellence and future goals.
