The BCHL has been operating as an independent entity outside of Hockey Canada since June 1.
On Tuesday, BC Hockey announced a restructuring of junior hockey in the 
province and Yukon, all of this obviously in response to the BCHL’s departure having left the jurisdiction without a junior A league.
BC Hockey’s board of directors voted unanimously to do away with junior B. The 45 teams that had been playing in the province’s three junior B leagues all will be classified Junior A Tier 2 for the 2023-24 season.
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League features 20 teams, with 14 in the Pacific Junior Hockey League and 11 in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.
In time, some of those teams will be promoted to Junior A Tier 1.
One of the teams that hopes to make the jump is the Kamloops Storm.
“I think we more than meet pretty much any requirement they’re going to put 
in front of us, whether it be with our health and safety, our education, our facilities or our level of coaching,” Storm general manager Matt Kolle told Kamloops This Week.“In the last two seasons, we’ve carried 97 per cent B.C. players. In my mind, we’re meeting the criteria by a landslide.
“It’s a void that needed to be filled and I’m excited we get the opportunity to fill it. We want to embrace it. We want to run with it and make hockey a better place in Kamloops, whether it be for the players or the fans. We’re now junior A. When we see what these new enhanced standards required for Tier 1 are, we then need to start working toward those.”
According to BC Hockey, there will be “a rigorous process and analysis, conducted over the next three seasons, allowing individual teams and communities to find the level of Junior hockey most suited to them.”
Also according to BC Hockey, the newly classified teams “will take their place in Hockey Canada’s Canadian Development Model, which strengthens the game at elite levels, in partnership with the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).”
In a news release, Jeff Dubois, the KIJHL commissioner, offered: “During this 
process, we looked at the number of players who have left B.C. over the past number of years to play junior A hockey elsewhere in Canada and the United States. Our goal is to provide the type of athlete experience that incentivizes those athletes to grow and develop their game without having to look outside their home province.”
Once the Tier 1 and Tier 2 situation has sorted itself out, the Tier 1 teams will “seek membership with the CJHL. Such membership would open the door to competition for the Centennial Cup . . . and eligibility for players and bench staff” for events such as the World Junior A Challenge.
“BC Hockey is committed to this new Junior A landscape,” Cameron Hope, BC Hockey’s CEO, said in a news release. “These already strong teams and leagues have earned their opportunity to fill this layer of the pathway. It is important that junior-aged players in B.C. and Yukon have opportunities to compete at a high level, and eventually at the national level as part of the CJHL.”
For now, the KIJHL, PJHL and VIJHL will carry on as usual, all the while being evaluated for a potential move up in the ranks.
The KIJHL’s Revelstoke Grizzlies are another team interesting in getting to the Junior A Tier 1 level.
““I think it’s an ideal level for Revelstoke,” Ryan Parent, the Grizzlies’ general manager and head coach, told Josh Piercey of the Revelstoke Review. “The support that we’ve garnered locally in the past 10 years here, I think hockey is really on the map in Revelstoke.”
The BC Hockey news release is right here.
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Some thoughts on BC Hockey’s announcement: Keep in mind that the BCHL has said that it doesn’t want to be referred to as junior A or by any other kind of designation. It just wants to be the BCHL. . . . BC Hockey certainly has delivered a strong message to the BCHL this week. On Monday, CEO Cam Hope told folks in no uncertain terms that on-ice officials who work BCHL games after Sept. 30 won’t be allowed to handle Hockey Canada- or BC Hockey-sanctioned events during the 2023-24 season. And then came Tuesday’s announcement. . . . It would seem that the BCHL now is a non-entity as far as BC Hockey is concerned. . . . It will be interesting to see how many B.C.-born players opt for one of the three Junior A Tier 2 leagues for 2023-24, keeping in mind that players dropped by BCHL teams after Sept. 30 won’t be eligible. . . . There is chatter that the City of Revelstoke might build a new arena that would be home to the Grizzlies. You have to wonder if any other communities might take a look at doing that with a possible move to Junior A Tier 1 on the horizon for its team. . . . It strikes me that the operating costs for BCHL teams will rise, if only because of recruiting costs and the league now having its own officiating staff. And operating costs will go up for any of the Junior A Tier 2 teams that are serious about moving up. So from where will all this money come?
JUNIOR JOTTINGS:
Jake Heisinger is joining the WHL’s Victoria Royals as associate general manager. He had been with the Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice since 2017, joining the organization as hockey operations co-ordinator while it was located in Cranbrook. Most recently, he was Winnipeg’s vice-president of hockey operations and assistant GM. . . . The Winnipeg franchise has been sold and now operates out of Wenatchee, Wash., as the Wild. . . . In Victoria, Heisinger will work alongside Joey Poljanowski, the Royals’ new vice-president of hockey operations.
THINKING OUT LOUD: If you’re a hockey fan, you will be familiar with Cap Friendly (@CapFriendly). On Tuesday, Cap Friendly tweeted: “Patrice Bergeron, who announced his retirement today, has an estimated $96,324,048 in career earnings over his illustrious 20-year career. As part of his new five-year extension, Justin Herbert will earn $100,000,000 next season alone.” One more example of why NHL owners are so in love with their commissioner. . . . Saw a photo today of Ryan Craig, who was an assistant coach with the Vegas Golden Knights, eating pierogies out of the bowl of the Stanley Cup. That got me to wondering: Does anyone sterilize the bowl considering everything that goes into it — from a baby’s butt to beer and champagne — while it’s on tour? . . . The temperature on our gizmo showed in the low- to mid-30s for most of last week. On Tuesday at 6 a.m., it showed 10 C. After being so warm for a week, 10 C felt like it might snow.
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third period and went on to a 5-3 victory over the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . The Winterhawks, who have won three straight, had beaten the host Blazers, 7-3, on Wednesday night. . . . Kamloops has lost four straight. . . . Last night, each team scored twice on the PP. . . . F Joachim Blichfeld scored twice — once on the PP and once shorthanded — and added an assist for Portland. . . . Blichfeld has six goals and seven assists in six games. . . . Kamloops F Jermaine Loewen was tossed with a headshot major at 10:12 of the first period for a hit on Portland D Matthew Quigley, who left the game and didn’t return. The Winterhawks scored twice in the final 30 seconds of Loewen’s major. . . . Loewen could end up being suspended before the Blazers entertain the unbeaten Victoria Royals tonight. . . . Portland F Ryan Hughes scored once in his return to Portland’s lineup. He missed the first five games with an ankle or foot injury, one that at one time required a walking boot. . . . If last night was any indication, both teams have some work to do in the discipline department. . . . The Blazers and Winterhawks will complete their regular-season series in Portland on Oct. 27 and 28. . . .
Moose Jaw Warriors a 3-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . Brook also had two assists. . . . D Jett Woo was in Moose Jaw’s lineup for the first time this season. A second-round selection by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL’s 2018 draft, he had what was reported was a minor knee procedure early in September. As a result, he missed Vancouver’s training camp and also sat out Moose Jaw’s. . . . This was the third meeting of the young season between these teams. Brandon is 2-0-1 in the three games; Moose Jaw is 1-2-0. . . . 
Silvertips a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . G Cole Schwebius stopped 39 shots for the Thunderbirds in first WHL start. Schwebius, 17, was a 10th-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft. . . . G Liam Hughes, the Thunderbirds’ No. 1 guy, is sidelined with an undisclosed injury. With Hughes out, Seattle had Eric Ward, 17, on the bench in a backup role. . . . Seattle F Dillon Hamaliuk (4) tied the game at 19:03 of the third period. He has goals in four straight games. . . . Everett F Sean Richards took a headshot major and game misconduct at 14:02 of the third period. That was for a hit on Seattle D Reece Harsch, who needed on-ice help from trainer Phil Varney and didn’t return to the game and is doubtful for a game tonight against the visiting Kelowna Rockets. . . . 
Kelowna. . . . F D-Jay Jerome (3) gave the Royals a 4-1 lead at 10:18 of the second period, on the PP. . . . The Rockets got close on goals from D Lassi Thomson (3) and F Leif Mattson (6), the latter at 12:31 of the third, but weren’t able to equalize. . . . Victoria now is 5-0-0 as it travels to Kamloops for a Saturday night date with the Blazers. . . . F Liam Kindree scored once in his return to the Kelowna lineup after missing the first six games. He was injured during an exhibition game in Kelowna. . . . The Rockets (1-6-0) visit the Seattle Thunderbirds of Kent, Wash., tonight.
what it calls the OHL Priority Selection. Whereas this used to be wide open, the OHL wants to get to where teams are able to trade draft picks a maximum of four years away.
ninth-round selection in the WHL’s 2019 bantam draft. . . . McIsaac, who will turn 18 on Dec. 26, is from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. He was a second-round pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2015 bantam draft. . . . He had one assist in 10 games with the Blades in 2015-16, then was pointless in one game with Saskatoon in each of the past two seasons. . . . It’s believed that the Blades dropped McIsaac from their list sometime after Christmas and the Ice added him. . . . On July 13, his Canadian junior A rights were dealt by the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders to the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos.
whom were free-agent invitees to training camp, to WHL contracts. . . . Sanders, from Claresholm, Alta., played last season with the Calgary-based Edge School Elite 15s, putting up 19 goals and 29 assists in 36 games. . . . Zonneveld, from Calgary, had seven goals and 11 assists in 35 games with the midget AAA Calgary Flames. . . . Both players are with the Pats and could see action during an exhibition tournament in Regina this weekend.
shaken things up a bit, what with Ed Patterson choosing not to return after five seasons as head coach. . . . All told, Patterson worked as the Storm’s head coach for seven seasons, as he also ran the bench from 2007-09. . . . Former Storm F Jassi Sangha is the new head coach, while majority owner Barry Dewar, who had been the general manager, has stepped back, allowing assistant GM Matt Kolle to take over as GM. . . . Sangha, 30, played two seasons (2006-08) for the Storm and also spent three seasons (2009-12) with the now-defunct Thompson Rivers U Wolfpack. . . . Andrew Fisher, who also played at TRU with Sangha, is the assistant coach, with another one yet to be named, while former WHL G Lucas Gore (Chilliwack Bruins, 2008-11) will handle the goaltenders. . . . Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week has the complete Storm story 
known for some time that they won’t finish first or second in the East Division, the Moose Jaw Warriors (40-9-3) and Swift Current Broncos (37-13-4) simply being too far ahead. The Pats (28-22-5) trail the Warriors by 22 points and the Broncos by 17.
preseason tournament in Traverse City, Mich. He subsequently underwent surgery and only recently was cleared to resume skating.
Mile House Wranglers) and Saturday (Kamloops Storm vs. Myles Mattila and his Kelowna Chiefs in a game that also will promote mental health awareness).
TAKING NOTE 