Image credit: KIJHL

By Aaron Schulze

KIJHL Realignment

KIJHL realigns Okanagan-Shuswap conference as new teams in Merritt, Quesnel and Williams Lake join the party

Jul 3, 2024 | 6:31 AM

KAMLOOPS — The new Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) teams in Merritt, Quesnel and Williams Lake now know their divisional rivals.

The KIJHL held its annual general meeting (AGM) on June 22 and with that came realignment within the Okanagan-Shuswap Conference ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The Merritt Centennials will play in the Bill Ohlhausen Division, joining the Kelowna Chiefs, Osoyoos Coyotes, Princeton Posse, Revelstoke Grizzlies and Sicamous Eagles.

Meantime, the Quesnel River Rush and Williams Lake Mustangs will play in the Doug Birks Division, joining the 100 Mile House Wranglers, Chase Heat and Kamloops Storm.

In March, the Centennials were unveiled as an expansion team with the same name and logo of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) franchise in Merritt that folded after 51 years of operation.

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Also, around the same time, the Summerland Steam Junior A Hockey Club was sold and relocated to Williams Lake and rebranded as the Mustangs. The North Okanagan Knights club was sold and relocated to Quesnel and rebranded as the River Rush.

The 2024-25 regular season begins Friday, Sept. 20 with the River Rush hosting the Centennials at West Fraser Centre in Quesnel and the Mustangs hosting the Sicamous Eagles at Cariboo Memorial Rec Complex in Williams Lake.

The Centennials play their home opener a week later on Friday, Sept. 27 when they welcome the Kamloops Storm to Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.

The KIJHL is part of the Junior A Tier 2 B.C. Hockey Conference that operates under the Hockey Canada umbrella. In December 2023, the BCHC engaged with Blackfin Sports Group, which is led by three former Canucks Sports & Entertainment executives, to develop an application and assessment process for KIJHL and Pacific Junior Hockey League teams to take the next step to full-fledged Junior A hockey.

As of the AGM, the KIJHL says 12 of its 21 teams had received their site visit from Blackfin’s assessment team, with the remaining clubs scheduled to receive their visits in July and August. The KIJHL says it expects to receive Blackfin’s completed review by Nov. 1, 2024.