09-27-2021, 03:16 AM
JUNIOR C
The lowest level of the junior hockey totem pole is Junior C, which is recommended for people who want to continue playing competitively at the junior level but may not necessarily want to turn pro, or want to go pro elsewhere. There are some that do join NAMPHA clubs as well, and also some early risers who may spend a year or two at this level (the minimum age for Junior C is 15 rather than 16) and then go on to bigger and better things. You will see many more indigenous-owned teams at this level, a decent number of B-teams from higher up clubs, and as foreshadowed in the last post, some 42 leagues! Some of these, such as Hockey North and the OPJHL system, are under a single umbrella organization, while others are not.
The Junior C teams play an end-of-season tournament for the Yzerman Cup, which has expanded this season to become a World Cup-like tournament with all 42 teams involved. There are divisions, which we will get to at the end of this explanation. But regardless of size, two teams advance from each division to the final 16-team knockout.
Hockey North, Alaska-Yukon Division (HNAYD)
Hockey North's westernmost division is also the westernmost junior division in the world, of any country. Yes, even beating Hawaii. Until this season, the Bethel Huskies were North America's westernmost team "in the system," but they will be replaced by the Aleutian Islands Eagles in Unalaska this season, who are one of four expansion teams alongside the Anchorage Earthquakes, the South Anchorage Panthers, and the Eagle River Raptors, all in Anchorage.
Is the Yukon represented at all? Yes. In spite of the territory's miniscule population (only around 36 thousand as of 2020), there are plans to put two new teams in the Yukon starting in 2022-23 - one more in territorial capital Whitehorse (which as an aside is the largest settlement in the five contiguous territories, even outdoing Yellowknife and Nuuk) and one in Watson Lake. This adds to the Whitehorse Jr. Cavalry (the B-team of the HNPD team, who surprised a few people by winning the HN Junior C championship in 17-18) and the Dawson Dodgers. There is also the possibility of two more consortium-based indigenous teams in Alaska. The division size has been capped at 20.
Their lineup for 2021-22 is as follows (all divisions listed):
Aleutian Islands Eagles (Unalaska, AK)
Anchorage Earthquakes (AK)
Bethel Huskies (AK)
Dawson Dodgers (YT)
Eagle River Raptors (Anchorage, AK, borough of Eagle River)
Homer Hawks (AK)
Juneau Grizzlies (AK)
Kenai Kings (AK)
Ketchikan Cougars (AK)
Kodiak Islanders (AK)
Sitka Saints (AK)
South Anchorage Panthers (Anchorage, AK, borough of Bayside)
Utqiagvik North Stars (AK)
Valdez Whales (AK)
West Fairbanks Wolves (Fairbanks, AK, borough of Badger)
Whitehorse Jr. Cavalry (YT)
Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, Second Division (VIJHL-2)
Most of the teams in this new division are on the southern third of the island, putting northerly teams such as Port McNeill and Cumberland at a bit of a disadvantage for now. Actually, of the fourteen teams, six of them are in Victoria alone, with another two in Nanaimo. The VIJHL brass made the (unfairly) controversial decision of putting the Victoria Royals' B-team in this division, which caused Royals fans and Victorians in general to raise a bit of a stink, to no avail. Hockey Canada was called in to defuse the situation, and those protesting were basically told to get over themselves. Still, its expected that the Jr. Royals will be favourites to win this season!
The 2021-22 season's teams are (all in BC):
Colwood Grizzlies (Victoria, borough of Colwood)
Cumberland Avalanche
Departure Bay Devils (Nanaimo, city proper)
Duncan Jr. Capitals
Esquimalt Admirals (Victoria, borough of Esquimalt)
Ladysmith Royals
Lake Cowichan Monsters
Langford Lakers (Victoria, borough of Langford)
Oak Bay Academical (Victoria, borough of Oak Bay)
Port McNeill Salmon Kings
Saltspring Sharks (Ganges)
Sooke Thunderbirds (Victoria, borough of Sooke)
Victoria Jr. Royals (Victoria, city proper)
Wellington Fire (Nanaimo, borough of Central Wellington)
The Cowichan Tribes of the Duncan area and the Nanaimo out-of-city suburb of Cedar are looking to add teams to the system as well, plus there's interest from Friday Harbour, Washington (on San Juan Island), and some outside interest from Qualicum Beach.
Fraser Valley Junior Hockey League, Second Division (FVJHL-2)
Another new second division. As with the first division, the teams are mostly in the Fraser Valley, although there are some from the Squamish and Sunshine Coast areas. It actually sits at the cap of 32 teams (as opposed to the 18 in the First Division) and is waiting on a skill assessment to see how many further teams will get promoted to the FVJHL-1, leaving the door open for further expansion and potentially even including teams from just over the Cascadian border, with Blaine and Lynden, Washington expressing interest in putting a team in each due to their immediate proximity to Vancouver. Still, to no one's great surprise, most of these teams are from boroughs of Vancouver. Here are the 2021-22 teams (all from BC):
Abbotsford Aces (city proper)
Agassiz Knights
Albion Lumberjacks (Vancouver, borough of Maple Ridge)
Chilliwack Crusaders (currently city proper, to move to borough of Yarrow once arena is completed there)
Chilliwack Jr. Chiefs (city proper)
Clearbrook Bulldogs (Abbotsford, borough of Clearbrook)
Cloverdale Mustangs (Vancouver, borough of Cloverdale)
Coquitlam Jr. Express (Vancouver, borough of Coquitlam)
Deep Cove Ducks (Vancouver, borough of North Vancouver)
Fleetwood Fire (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Gibsons Gulls
Guildford Grenadiers (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Hope Frontiersmen
Ladner Sea Kings (Vancouver, borough of Ladner)
Langley Jr. Rivermen (Vancouver, borough of Langley)
Lonsdale Voyagers (Vancouver, borough of North Vancouver)
Musqueam Sharks (Vancouver, borough of Musqueam)
New Westminster Bruins (Vancouver, borough of New Westminster)
Newton Academical (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Nordel Ice (Vancouver, borough of North Delta)
North Inlet Blues (Vancouver, borough of Port Moody)
North Squamish Eagles (Squamish, borough of Brackendale)
Poco Predators (Vancouver, borough of Port Coquitlam)
Qathet Kings (Powell River)
Roberts Creek Renegades
Sardis Surge (Chilliwack, borough of Sardis)
Sechelt Tsunami
South Surrey Rangers (Vancouver, borough of South Surrey)
Surrey Jr. Eagles (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Tla’amin Tiger Sharks (Sliammon)
Vancouver Jr. Giants (Vancouver, borough of Burnaby)
Walnut Grove Warriors (Vancouver, borough of Walnut Grove-Port Kells)
There is the potential for as many as fourteen new teams in the entire system in the next three seasons, which would put both divisions at cap, but this is highly unlikely. A more reasonable number per the league board is six - the two potential Cascadian teams plus new teams for Mission, Lions Bay, and Burnaby borough, and a team for the small villages of the Fraser Canyon, to be based at a new small arena just completed in Boston Bar. Joining the two indigenous-owned teams in the first division will be four (two full and two partial) in this division - Deep Cove, Musqueam, North Squamish, and Tla'amin.
Northern British Columbia Junior Hockey League (NBCJHL)
The only one of BC's 21-22 Junior C leagues that even existed last season. This league was a brainchild of numerous top-level pros in the Robertian Era that wanted the region to have the same access to hockey teams that the south of the province did. They later jumped into the system head-first, and have been somewhat impressive as well! Their best result was in the 19-20 season when the Prince George Jr. Cougars went all the way to the semifinals! Twelve out of the twenty-six teams are at least partially indigenous-owned.
Here's the roster for 2021-22:
Bella Bella Brigade
Bella Coola Grizzlies
Burns Lake Flames
Chilcotin Red Wings (Alexis Creek)
Fort St. James Falcons
Fraser Lake Falcons
Haida Gwaii Spirit Bears (Daajing Giids)
Hart Highlands Huskies (Prince George, borough of Hart Highlands)
Hazelton Ksan Eagles
Houston Hawks
Kitimat Gazoviks
Mackenzie Cascades
Mount Robson Avalanche (Valemount)
Nechako Canucks (Prince George, borough of Lower Nechako)
Nisga’a Nation Seals (Gitlax̱t'aamiks)
Prince George Jr. Cougars (city proper)
Prince Rupert Admirals (defending champs)
Quesnel Dakelh Hockey Club
Quesnel Jr. Millionaires
Smithers Rangers
Southridge Blues (Prince George, borough of Southridge)
Telkwa Hornets
Terrace Jr. Sabres
Upper Fraser Bruins (McBride)
Vanderhoof Vees
Williams Lake Jr. Timberwolves
Bella Bella, Chilcotin, Hazelton, Nisga'a Nation, and Quesnel DHC are fully indigenous-owned, while Bella Coola, Burns Lake, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Haida Gwaii, Kitimat, and last season's champs the Prince Rupert Admirals are partially indigenous-owned. It is worth noting that Montréal star goalie Carey Price is part of the owning group of Quesnel DHC, as he himself is Dakelh by ancestry!
British Columbia Interior Junior Hockey League, Second Division (BCIJHL-2)
Another new second division This one has 26 teams, including five indigenous-owned teams and five B-teams. With a WHL reserve team in here, you can kinda guess who the favourites are to win the inaugural season! But you also have several little towns with teams, which has - as with the other BC leagues along the border - attracted Cascadian attention, with the towns of Oroville, Washington and Eureka, Montana attempting to put teams in... to no avail. With a service area of just over two thousand people, Ashcroft may be the smallest area with multiple teams thanks to the Nlaka'pamux Nation's decision to share an arena with the Ashcroft Rattlers rather than build an entirely new arena in Lytton (which was about their only other option). Those two are also expected to have a healthy rivalry with nearby Lower Thompson United, which draws its players from Cache Creek, Clinton, Savona, the Bonaparte First Nation, and the Skeetchestn First Nation, who host the arena.
The BCIJHL covers a fairly broad geographical range between the two divisions, going as far west as Whistler and Pemberton, as far north as 100 Mile House or Clearwater, as far east as Sparwood and Elkford near the Alberta border, and skirting the US border with teams in Osoyoos, Midway, Creston, and Grand Forks. Here's their inaugural roster for 2021-22:
Ashcroft Rattlers
Coldstream Cobras (Vernon, borough of Coldstream)
Cranbrook Jr. Bucks
Elk Valley Herd (Elkford)
Enderby Stampede
Kamloops Jr. Blazers
Kaslo Cougars
Kelowna Chiefs (city proper)
Keremeos Coyotes
Lillooet Thunderbirds
Lillooet Valley Lightning (Mount Currie)
Logan Lake Crew
Lower Thompson United HC (Skeetchestn Nation)
Lumby Lions
Midway Monsters
Nakusp Lakers
Nlaka’pamux United HC (Ashcroft)
Peachland Predators
Pemberton Broncos
Penticton Vees Reserves
Rossland RoughRiders
Shulus Shock (Lower Nicola)
Sparwood Rams
Trail Jr. Smokes
Whistler Olympics
Winfield Wolves (Kelowna, borough of Winfield)
The indigneous-owned teams are Lillooet (partial), Lillooet Valley (full), Lower Thompson U (partial), Nlaka'pamux U (full), and Shulus (full).
Hockey North, Mackenzie Division (HNMD)
This division is somewhat unusual. It is the only Hockey North entity with a team in it from BC, plus it covers Northern Alberta - the real Northern Alberta - and Denendeh. Of the sixteen teams in it, ten are at least partially indigenous-owned, of which six are fully owned by indigenous groups and the remaining four are majority-owned. But consider also that there is a former NHL owner who spent his childhood in the area, having been born in Hay River and lived in now-abandoned Pine Point until he was a teenager: two-time All-Star Geoff Sanderson. Although he lives in Calgary now, and has a son that has opted to represent Dakota rather than Canada, he felt it was only fair to "give back a little" to Hay River by setting up an amateur hockey program there, which started a junior C program in 2018 and made its debut in the division in the 18-19 season. At present, this is the only Hockey North Division that has not claimed a Hockey North Junior C championship.
The teams for the 2021-22 season are:
Behchoko Blades (DN)
Cadotte Lake Lakers (AB)
Fort Chip Flames (Fort Chipewyan, Alberta)
Fort Nelson Fire (BC)
Fort Simpson Flood (DN)
Fort Smith Bison (DN)
Fox Lake Reynards (AB)
Gift Lake Buzzards (AB)
Hay Lake Broncos (AB)
Hay River Hawks (DN)
Inuvik Ice (DN, defending champs)
La Crête Lions (AB)
Manning Coyotes (AB)
Wabasca Wolves (AB)
Whitefish Lake Rush (Atikameg, AB)
Yellowknife Jr. Rebels (DN)
Behchoko, Cadotte Lake, Fox Lake, Gift Lake, Hay Lake, and Whitefish Lake are fully indigenous-owned, while Fort Chip, Inuvik, Fort Simpson, and Wabasca are partially owned (with a majority). Besides the two indigenous-run leagues (which are also both Junior C as of this season), this division has the most indigenous-team champions of any Junior league in Canada, with Behchoko winning in 17-18, Wabasca winning in 19-20, and Inuvik winning last season.
Southern Alberta Junior Hockey League (SAJHL)
Pretty self-explanatory. Except for Calgary, Southern Alberta is covered by this relatively new league, which only started two seasons ago and already has one indigenous-owned champ to their name! It is also among Western Canada's largest Junior C leagues with thirty teams, two shy of cap, but they have no plans to expand further at this point. The farthest north team is in Olds, which is parallel with the southernmost team in the Central Alberta League in Sundre. Each of the three major Blackfoot reserve areas has its own team, which has lent itself to the potent Blackfoot Trivalry between 20-21 champs the Kainai Bison, 18-19 runners-up Piikani Young Warriors, and 18-19 semifinalists the Siksika Mustangs. They are the only three indigenous-owned teams in the league, but they are showing themselves to be worthy competitors, having never finished lower than sixth in the regular season between the three of them.
On that note, here are the 2021-22 teams:
Bow Island Cavalry
Brooks Jr. Bandits
Butte Bulls (Picture BUtte)
Cardston Crusaders
Carstairs Canucks
Claresholm Cavaliers
Coalhurst Blackshirts
Crossfield Crunch
Crowsnest Pass Ravens (borough of Coleman)
Didsbury Dynamo
Drumheller Dinos
Fort MacLeod Maple Leafs
Hanna Heat
HC Bassano
Irricana Ice
Kainai Bison (Stand Off, defending champ)
Magrath Red Wings
Nanton Palominos
Olds Jr. Grizzlies
Oyen Tornadoes
Penhold Panthers
Piikani Young Warriors (Brocket)
Pincher Creek Predators
Raymond Roughriders
Redcliff Roadrunners (Medicine Hat, borough of Redcliff)
Sheep River Rams
Siksika Mustangs (Fort Siksika (OOC: near Gleichen))
Taber Tigers
Vauxhall Motors HC
Vulcan Voyagers
Central Alberta Junior C Hockey League (CAJCHL)
A relatively strong grassroots league in spite of just having started a junior program this season; its teams' midget hockey programs (for those who don't know hockey, it's a step down from Junior) have won the provincial championships twice, most recently two seasons ago courtesy of the Innisfail Clansmen. It has a couple of ex-NHLers as owners - sometimes controversial Maple Leaf alum Darcy Tucker owns and runs the oddly-named Area 4 Dust Devils (it makes sense if you're an Albertan though!) which is situated in Tucker's birthtown of Castor, while outspoken Christian Kevin Haller and his family own the Trochu Crusaders team that won the 2017-18 Midget championships in Alberta and even made it to the quarterfinals of the national Midget hockey championship.
The whole area is pretty excited as to what these kids will do in the inaugural Junior C season of the league! Let's look at the 2021-22 teams:
Area 4 Dust Devils (Castor)
Bashaw Blues
Bentley Wolves
Blackfalds Jr. Bruins
Bowden Bombers
Castor Flames
Clearwater County Canucks (Rocky Mountain House)
Coronation Kings
Eckville Hawks
Innisfail Clansmen
North Red Deer Stags (Red Deer)
O’Chiese-Sunchild United (O'Chiese Nation)
Provost Predators
Rimbey Wheat Kings
Stettler Steel
Sundre Stars
Sylvan Lake Reds
Trochu Crusaders
O’Chiese-Sunchild is indigenous-owned, a partnership of the two bands of the same names.
Noralta Junior Hockey League (Noralta)
This league's been around for a while. Founded in 1992, it has expanded in recent years to cover a much larger area, although nine of the 24 teams are still in the City of Edmonton (its various boroughs). Teams are now as far away as Entwistle and Mayerthorpe, over 100km away from Edmonton's city centre.
It has seen many teams come and go, leaving it with what it has for 2021-22:
Bon Accord Blast
Devon Rivermen
Edmonton Jr. Oil Kings (borough of Southwest Edmonton)
Edmonton Mavericks (city proper)
Entwistle Vultures
Gibbons Broncos
Junior Braves (Edmonton)
Kalmar IK (Calmar)
Lamont Lions
Legal Canadiens
Mayerthorpe Mounties
Millet Mustangs
Morinville Contras
New Sarepta Blades
NorthEast Zone Northstars (borough of Northeast Edmonton)
Onoway Boilermakers
RCAC Rivermen (Edmonton, city proper)
Redwater Oilers
Sandy Beach Lakers
SEERA Icemen (Edmonton, borough of Southeast Edmonton)
Sherwood Park Renegades (Edmonton, borough of Sherwood Park)
SouthWest Zone Ice Kings (Edmonton, borough of Southwest Edmonton)
St. Albert Comets (Edmonton, borough of St. Albert; defending champs)
Westlock Warriors
Sandy Beach is partially indigenous-owned. But an interesting note here - Kalmar IK is owned by Kalmar HC in Sweden!
Calgary Junior C Hockey League (CJCHL)
As mentioned before, there was a bit of a shift in who went where in Calgary's two leagues in the off-season, with many of the teams from last year's CalJHL (this year's GCJBHL) ending up here because the parent club of the teams in question wanted a unified first team. While there are four teams from outside the municipal boundaries of Calgary in the GCJBHL, there is only one, which is barely outside, in this league, and that's its defending champs, the Tsuu T'ina Jr. Blizzard, which are from a club that has a fairly strong reputation in Junior B and C.
Here is the 2021-22 list of teams, with the boroughs indicated except for the above exception.
Calgary Jr. Flames Blue (city proper)
Calgary Jr. Flames Red (city proper)
Calgary Khalsa (West Calgary)
Calgary QQJ (city proper)
CBHA Blackhawks (Southwest Calgary)
CBHA Rangers (Southwest Calgary)
CNHA Blazers (Northeast Calgary, CalJHL 19-20 champions)
CNHA Canucks (Northeast Calgary)
CRAA Blue (West Calgary)
CRAA Gold (West Calgary)
NWCAA Bruins (Northwest Calgary)
NWCAA Stampeders (Northwest Calgary)
South Calgary Warriors (Southeast Calgary)
Tsuu T’ina Jr. Blizzard (Tsuu T'ina Nation)
Northeastern Alberta Junior Hockey League, Second Division (NEAJHL-2)
Yet another newbie. Whee. This is a smaller league, with only twelve teams, of which one is indigenous-owned. While not expected to be particularly strong, it does have an international connection, in that Sokil Vegrevil is owned by the famous Sokil Kyiv athletics club in Ukraine. It is also noteworthy because Elk Point is among the smallest settlements in Canada with two teams "in the system" - it is slightly larger and has a larger service area than Ashcroft, BC.
The 2021-2022 lineup:
Bonnyville Jr. Pontiacs
Bruderheim Blitz
Cold Lake Corporals
Elk Point Herd
Kehewin Blue Jays (Elk Point)
Kitscoty Knights
MHK Sokil Vegrevil (Vegreville)
Mundare Bucks
Saint Paul Galaxy
Smoky Lake Spectres
Two Hills Tempest
Wainwright Polar Kings
Kehewin is owned by the small Cree nation of the same name.
West Saskatchewan Junior C Hockey League (WSJCHL)
A relatively new league, having only started two seasons ago as an upward extension of the WSAHA, the WSJCHL covers the southwestern part of Saskatchewan. Don't underestimate this league because of its relatively small population base! Kids in Saskatchewan LOVE hockey and are relishing the opportunity to get their feet in the door!
There is an interesting peculiarity about this division. While there are several Christian owners, and teams run by Christian principles in the system, especially in Junior C, this league has the only team that is officially owned by a parachurch organization, the Caronport Clippers. This is run by the board of Briercrest College and Seminary, and draws specifically on the student bodies from both the university and the high school, which covers the breadth of Junior C's age depth, beginning to admit kids at the age of 15. While this hasn't been without its controversy, the Clippers have been a relatively successful team.
Another note here; last year's champions, the Outlook Oracles, were actually promoted to Junior B and the PrJHL. They were that good!
The teams for 2021-22 are:
Assiniboia Wheat Kings
Auvergne Sabres (Ponteix)
Biggar Bruins
Caronport Clippers
Davidson Dashers
Eston Thunder
Gravelbourg Gophers
Gull Lake Lakers
Herbert Harriers
Leader Storm
Macklin Bison
Maple Creek Militia
Rosetown Rodeo
Shaunavon Shooters
Swift Current Shock
Wilkie Warriors
The Nekaneet Cree Nation has a minority stake in the Maple Creek Militia.
Central Saskatchewan Junior C Hockey League (CSJCHL)
This is a new league for this season after increasing demand from Saskatoon and the Battlefords for more junior hockey opportunities. Ironically, the response to Saskatoon was to give them another Junior B team and the Battlefords only got one club, although in Saskatoon's case there are also three teams within a relatively short distance in Dalmeny, Warman, and Rosthern, and the Battlefords have two indigenous-owned teams (out of six overall) within less than an hour's drive in Cut Knife and Cando.
Their teams for 2021-22 are as follows:
Battleford Bruins
Cando Four Nations Herd
Canora Kings
Cut Knife-Poundmaker Attack (Cut Knife)
Dalmeny Jr. Warriors
Duck Lake Red Wings
Humboldt Jr. Broncos
Kelvington-Yellow Quill Coyotes (Kelvington)
Langham Lions
Maidstone Jets
Melfort Colts
Mistawasis Mayhem
One Arrow Eagles (Wakaw; transfer from the NSIJHL)
Prince Albert Royals
Rosthern Renegades
Shellbrook Shock
Tisdale Trojans
Wadena Blackbirds
Watrous Wizards
West Central Rage
As mentioned, there are six indigenous-owned teams, four of them fully-owned (Cando Four Nations, Duck Lake, Mistawasis, and One Arrow), one almost fully-owned (Cut Knife-Poundmaker is only 10% owned by the Village of Cut Knife, with the remainder being split between the Poundmaker and Sweetgrass First Nations), and one with a large minority ownership (Kelvington-Yellow Quill; the Yellow Quill First Nation has a 40% stake in the team, the balance being owned by a regional sport nonprofit).
Northern Saskatchewan Indigenous Junior Hockey League (NSIJHL)
There are plenty of indigenous-owned teams in Junior C, but there are even two indigenous-run leagues, of which this is the further west. The NSIJHL is still fairly robust even though a couple teams have left for logistical reasons (Wollaston Lake to Hockey North and One Arrow to the above-mentioned CSJCHL). All 24 teams are currently at least partially indigenous-owned, with just four (all expansion teams last season) having any non-indigenous ownership at all (Big Island Lake, Buffalo River, English River, and Two Lakes).
The two-time defending champion Ballantyne Blues made a few headlines last year by going all the way to the semifinals of the Yzerman Cup. It'll be tougher to do this year, but the Blues definitely have the skill and the tenacity to do so! Here are the 2021-22 teams:
Ahtahakkoop Stars (Starblanket)
Ballantyne Blues (Pelican Narrows, 2-time defending champs)
Big Island Lake Bruins (Pierceland)
Black Lake Hawks
Buffalo River Bulldogs (Buffalo Narrows)
Canoe Lake Kings (Canoe Narrows)
Cochin Canucks
English River Redcoats (Beauval)
James Smith Jets (Kinistino)
KP Bass Kings (Deschambault Lake)
La Loche Lions
Lac La Ronge Lakers
Loon Lake Oilers
Montreal Lake Canadiens
Muskoday Buffalo
Pawkaw Lake Predators
Pinehouse Punishers
Red Earth Renegades
Sakitawak Trappers
Sandy Bay Saints
Sturgeon Lake Senators
Two Lakes Tigers (Turtleford)
Waterhen Wild (Waterhen Lake)
Witchekan-Chitek United Coyotes (Wildwood)
While most of these are owned by a single First Nation, some are partnerships. Aside from the four with non-indigenous ownership, there are also the Cochin Canucks (Moosomin Cree Nation and Saulteaux Nation), La Loche (Clearwater River Dene and Métis), and Witchekan-Chitek United (Witchekan Lake and Pelican Lake First Nations).
Eastern Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (ESJHL)
With 28 teams, this is the largest of the four Saskatchewan-only Junior C leagues. Of these, a quarter of the teams have at least some official indigenous ownership. A lot of these teams are concentrated in the Qu'Appelle Valley, which gave itself to its pre-2016 name, the Qu'Appelle Valley Junior Hockey League. This of course includes provincial capital city Regina. As with its western counterpart, its champion got promoted to an expanding PrJHL, so the Oxbow Bulls are no longer around. But it is expected to remain very competitive.
Its teams for 2021-22:
Balcarres Broncs
Balgonie Celts
Carlyle Clansmen
Carnduff Stampede
Cote-Keeseekoose United Hockey Club (Badgerville)
CTKNN Hawks (Montmartre)
Emerald Park Wizards (White Butte, borough of Emerald Park)
Estevan Jr. Bruins
Etomami Harriers (note: Etomami was renamed from Hudson Bay in 2018)
Grenfell Rams
Indian Head Ice
Kamsack Crunch
Keys Kings (Norquay)
Kipling Ghosts
Langenburg Cavaliers
Lumsden Lumberjax
Melville Jr. Millionaires
Moose Jaw Maniacs
Moosomin Moose
Ocean Man-Stoughton Oilers (Stoughton)
Piapot Army (Regina)
Preeceville Panthers
Quill Lakes Vikings (Wynyard)
QV4N United Stampede (Bird's Point)
Regina River Rats
White Butte Eagles (White Butte, borough of White City)
Wolseley Mustangs
Yellow Grass Wheat Kings
Four teams are completely indigenous-owned - Cote-Keeseekoose United (a partnership between the two titular First Nations), CTKNN (which stands for Carry The Kettle Nakoda Nation), Piapot (which is not actually on Piapot land, but the team is owned and run by that Nation), and QV4N (which stands for Qu'Appelle Valley Four Nations - a consortium of the Ochapowace, Kahkewistahaw, Cowessess, and Sakimay First Nations. A note about that last one - one of the members of its board is current Saskatchewan Warrior defenceman Ethan Bear, himself a member of the Ochapowace Cree Nation!
Partially-indigenous-owned teams are Carlyle, Keys, and Ocean Man-Stoughton.
Hockey North, Hudson Bay Division (HNHBD)
This league covers a fair bit of territory, ranging from western Nunavut and the far north of Saskatchewan to the Ontario-Québec border. It is unique in that, while not officially indigenous-run (even if de facto a lot of Hockey North's staff is First Nations, Inuit, or Métis), it only has one team that has no indigenous ownership, the Gillam Bucks. Its defending champs, the Churchill Nanuks (owned by ex-NHLer Jordin Tootoo, who was born in Churchill), are consistently among the best teams in the Junior C Hockey North divisions, winning the Silver Inukshuk as Hockey North Junior C's champion twice, including the inaugural season in 16-17.
Its teams this season:
Arviat Whalers (NU)
Attawapiskat Phoenix (ON)
Baker Lake Bears (NU)
Cambridge Bay Explorers (NU)
Churchill Nanuks (MB, defending champs)
Fort Albany Trappers (ON)
Gichi-Namegosib Trout Kings (ON)(OOC: Big Trout Lake)
Gillam Bucks (MB)
Igloolik Ice (NU)
Kugluktuk Coppershirts (NU)
Lake Athabasca Dragons (Fond-du-Lac, SK)
Moose Factory Sharks (ON)
Naujaat Wolves (NU)
Pikangikum Power (ON)
Tataskweyak Tornadoes (MB)
Wollaston Lake Wings (SK)
A couple of other teams in the league have celebrity owners as well - former San Jose Shark Jonathan Cheechoo is the senior ownership partner in the Moose Factory Sharks organization in his hometown, while well-decorated Inuk singer Susan Aglukark is a major financial partner in the Arviat Whalers organization and has sung the national anthem pre-game for them numerous times!
Keystone Junior Hockey League (KSJHL)
This league was formerly the entire-province Junior B League, although that changed in the Robertian Era, and by the time that ended, it was almost exclusively in Northern Manitoba. It is also the reverse of Hockey North's Hudson Bay Division - it is officially run by indigenous peoples as of 2017, but many teams don't have indigenous ownership, and that's perfectly okay with the head office of the 16-team league. But it let in two Saskatchewan-based teams as transplants from other leagues recently, with the Cumberland Kings from Cumberland House and the Creighton Border Stars from Flin Flon, Manitoba's primary suburb of Creighton, joining from Hockey North and the North Saskatchewan Indigenous League respectively. Eleven of the sixteen teams are at least partially indigenous-owned, with all of those save Creighton being fully indigenous-owned.
2021-22's teams are as follows (from MB unless otherwise noted):
Creighton Border Stars (Creighton, SK)
Cross Lake Islanders
Cumberland Kings (Cumberland House, SK)
Fisher River Hawks
Flin Flon Flames
Garden Hill Gators
Grand Rapids Cascades
Moose Lake Moose
NCN Flames (Nelson House)
OCN Jr. Storm (The Pas)
Pas Predators (The Pas)
Snow Lake Blues
St. Theresa Saints (St. Theresa Point)
Swan River Stampeders
Thompson Tigers
Wasagamack Wild
The five non-indigenous teams are the Flin Flon Flames, the Pas Predators, the Snow Lake Blues, the Swan River Stampeders, and the Thompson Tigers. As part of the Manitoba reshuffle that created the MRJHL, the defending champion Norway House North Stars stayed in Junior B along with Peguis Juniors and the OCN Storm (from which the Jr. Storm was spun off for this season).
Southwestern Manitoba Junior Hockey League (SWMJHL)
The southwest of Manitoba wanted a league of their own, so they got one for this season. They had a point in stating that the less-populated North had a league, as did of course the southeast (the next one on our list!) so the southwest should have one as well. So a committee scrounged together 22 teams, including six indigenous-owned teams (to their chagrin this didn't include the Waywayseecappo Jr. Wolverines, who went to the Junior B MRJHL instead) and three reserve teams, and voilà! A new Junior C league for the southwest thanks to program extensions from clubs that previously only went up to the Midget or even the Bantam level.
The teams play in cities and towns ranging from Brandon (the "big city" in the area) to little towns that are under a thousand people. But passion for the game is one thing these teams will all have in common. Here's their inaugural, 2021-22 lineup:
Boissevain Border Kings
Carberry Canucks
Dauphin Jr. Kings
Deloraine Surge
Ebb and Flow Lakers (Bacon Ridge)
Gladstone Golems
Grandview Gophers
Long Plain Tornadoes
Louise Lightning (Pilot Mound)
MacGregor Clansmen
Melita Flock
NCL United Hockey Club (Brookdale)
Neepawa Jr. Nighthawks
Riverdale Rush (Rivers)
Roblin Lumberjacks
Russell Roughriders
Sainte-Rose Saints (Sainte-Rose-du-Lac)
Sandy Lake Cossacks
Sioux Valley Fire (Griswold)
Souris IceRats
Treherne Tornadoes
Virden Jr. Oil Capitals
Ebb and Flow, Long Plain, and Sioux Valley are fully indigenous-owned, while Sandy Lake is majority-owned (two of the three owning bodies are indigenous, accounting for a 75% share) and Louise (40%) and Roblin (33%) have large-minority ownership.
Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League (HTJHL)
The league that has been in Junior C the longest in Manitoba (Keystone was Junior B for the longest time, only switching over this season), the Hanover Tache league covers the heart of Manitoba's provincial population, that is, the southeast of the province. With that said, owing to the number of the teams in the MRJHL from Winnipeg (including last year's HTJHL champs, the North Winnipeg Satellites), there are only three teams from within Winnipeg city limits in this league, although there are another four from the census metro area (LaSalle, Oakbank, Stony Mountain, and Selkirk). Rather, there are a good number of teams from the traditionally French, German, and Mennonite areas, plus one indigenous-owned team. It's actually a pretty good league overall, with North Winnipeg making the Yzerman Cup quarterfinals last year and looking to build on that.
The teams for 2021-22 (all in MB - don't let the French fool you! ) :
Altona Aces
Bonny Bulldogs (Lac-du-Bonnet)
Cartier Explorers (Saint-Eustache)
Crestview Crunch (Winnipeg, borough of Crestview)
Garden City Blizzard (Winnipeg, borough of Garden City)
Grant Park River Rats (Winnipeg, borough of Grant Park)
Grunthal Red Wings
La Broquerie Habs
La Salle Lions
Lorette Comets
Morris Moose
Niverville Canadiens
Pinawa Predators
Portage Jr. Terriers (Portage-la-Prairie)
PPF Panthers (Powerview-Pine Falls)
Red River Mudbugs (Saint Jean Baptiste)
Rockwood Roughriders (Stony Mountain)
Sagkeeng Freeze (OOC: Fort Alexander)
Springfield Xtreme (Oakbank)
St-Pierre Steel (Saint-Pierre-Jolys)
Ste. Anne Saints
Steinbach Huskies
Teulon Titans
Winkler Jr. Flyers
Sagkeeng, located just 125km northeast of Winnipeg, is fully indigenous-owned.
Northwest Ontario Junior Hockey League, Second Division (NWOJHL-2)
With one downward expansion, one two-tier league system started from scratch, one oversized league split into four, and one upward expansion... yeah, Ontario went a little crazy with its new hockey leagues! It's worth pointing out that although there are only seven teams in this 20-team league that are at least partially indigenous-owned, there is not a single team in the division that doesn't have at least three status indigenous players registered on the team's roster! Most of them are Anishinaabe although some are Oji-Cree or Cree. But it is looking like a good league from what preliminary reports from IHSB scouts are saying, and another tip we've been given is that the best teams aren't necessarily from Thunder Bay!
Our teams for 2021-22:
Eabametoong Freeze
Ear Falls Lightning
Elliot Lake Red Wings
Emo Walleye
Fort Frances Jr. Lakers
Fort William Falcons (Thunder Bay, borough of Fort William)
GZA Loons (Gitigaan-Ziibi)
Hearst Jr. Lumberjacks
Ignace Drillers
Longlac Berserkers (Greenstone, borough of Longlac)
Manitouwadge Spirit
OFN Flames (Lac Seul)
Red Lake Jr. Miners
Sagamok Ravens
Shuniah Storm (Thunder Bay, borough of Current River)
SNWBU Posse (Whitefish Bay)
Soo 99ers (Sault Ste. Marie)
Thessalon Spartans
Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye
Wabaseemoong Wolves
Of the seven indigenous-owned teams, five are fully indigenous-owned (Eabametoong, GZA, OFN, Sagamok, and Wabaseemoong) and two are partnerships with non-indigenous entities (Fort William has the First Nation of the same name as a 40% owner, while SNWBU is an equal partnership between the Whitefish Bay consortium of multiple Anishinaabe First Nations, and the nearby village of Sioux Narrows). Another note here - the Soo 99ers are named after Wayne Gretzky, not because he's from there (he's from Brantford) but because he played his major junior for the Soo Greyhounds! You should see the hilarious logo of the Emo Walleye. It is a classic example of self-deprecating humour - imagine a fish with black eyeliner and emo hair! But its players are surprisingly good for such a small town!
North-Central Ontario Junior Hockey League, Second Division (NCOJHL-2)
Not much to say about this league, which has been graded the weakest in Ontario, although it isn't terrible by any means. While many of the teams are from the metro area of Sudbury, there are also three teams on Manitoulin Island, one of which is the league's only indigenous-owned team. On top of that, even if three quarters of the Finns from Ontario moved to Uralica, that didn't stop Sudbury from capitalizing on the Finnish history in the area, and allowed Jokerit from the SM-Liiga to set up a hockey school there, which eventually had a Junior C team added to this league! With 16 teams, this is one of the smaller leagues in the Big Two provinces.
The teams in the 2021-22 season are:
Burk’s Falls Bruins
Capreol Canucks (Sudbury, borough of Capreol)
Chapleau Shock
Gore Bay Giants
Jokerit Sudbury (city proper)
Little Current Lions
M’Chigeeng Sharks
Markstay Warriors (Markstay-Warren)
McKellar Archies
Nickel Centre Bats (Sudbury, borough of Nickel Centre)
Onaping Falls Huskies (Sudbury, borough of Onaping Falls)
Rayside-Balfour Jr. Canadians (Sudbury, borough of Rayside-Balfour)
Saint-Charles Cavalry
South River Rangers
Sundridge SunCats
Walden Wings (Sudbury, borough of Walden)
M'Chigeeng is the lone indigenous-owned team.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League System
The OPJHL had 66 teams last season. In one division. Hockey Canada came along and said that was too many. What happened next dropped the collective jaws of everyone on their staff. Sure, they split to ensure that nobody went over the cap of 32 teams. The entire OPJHL system ended up with a grand total of 128 teams spread out across four new leagues! In spite of the influx of teams, all four divisions are ranked in the Canadian top 10.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Southwest (OPJHL-SW)
Covering Essex, Kent, Lambton, and Elgin Counties, and most of Middlesex County, the preliminary rankings have them ninth overall in Canada's Junior C. Part of that definitely has to do with having three OHL B-teams in the league (for Windsor, Sarnia, and London). But there's definitely more to it than that. The teams in general have good quality rosters supported by good quality coaching staff. It's a winning formula. It's also worth noting that it's the only OPJHL division with more than one indigenous-owned team, having two fully-owned and two partially-owned teams.
And what are the teams for 2021-22, you ask? Well:
Amherstburg Athletics
Aylmer Spitfires
Blenheim Blades
Corunna Canucks
Dorchester Dolphins
Dresden Kings
East Kent United (Thamesville)
Essex 73's
Harrow Railers
Kingsville Counts
Lakeshore Canadiens (Belle River-Emeryville)
Lambeth Lancers (London, borough of Lambeth)
Lambton Shores Lions (borough of Forest)
Leamington Jr. Flyers
London Jr. Knights (city proper)
Lucan Irish
Middlesex Three Nations Militia (Muncey)
Mooretown Flags (Sarnia, borough of Mooretown)
Mount Brydges Bulldogs
Port Stanley Sailors
Ridgetown Reapers
Sarnia Jr. Sting (city proper)
St. Thomas Jr. Saints
Strathroy Jr. Rockets
Thamesford Trojans
Tilbury Tornadoes
Wallaceburg ThunderHawks
Walpole Island Warriors
Wheatley Sharks
Windsor Jr. Aces
Windsor Jr. Spitfires
Wyoming Wolves
Walpole Island and Middlesex Three Nations are fully indigenously-owned, and Lambton Shores and East Kent U are partially-owned.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League North-Huron (OPJHL-NH)
The weakest of the foursome, North-Huron nevertheless ranks tenth overall per the IHSB's prelims. More generally, it covers Muskoka, Haliburton, Simcoe, Dufferin, Bruce, Huron, Perth, Wellington, and Grey Counties, but it also has one team in the northernmost parts of Middlesex - most of the area is a hop, skip, and a jump from Lake Huron. Three OHL teams have their reserve teams in this division - Barrie, Owen Sound, and Guelph, and there are no indigenous-owned teams in the area in terms of actual entities, although Bruce Peninsula has First Nations individuals as board members. Some of these teams are admittedly quite rural due to the nature of the area covered!
For 2021-22, the teams are:
Alliston Hornets
Angus Army
Barrie Jr. Colts
Bracebridge Kings
Bruce Peninsula Bulldogs (North Bruce Peninsula, borough of Lion's Head)
Erin Emeralds
Exeter Hawks
Fergus Flames
Goderich Flyers
Gravenhurst Generals
Guelph Jr. Storm
Haliburton County Highlanders (Minden Hills)
Hanover Barons
Huntsville Otters
Innisfil Iron
Kincardine Bulldogs
Meaford Lakers
Midland Flyers
Mitchell Hawks
Mount Forest Patriots
North Middlesex Stars (Parkhill)
Owen Sound Jr. Attack
Penetang Kings
Perth East Predators (borough of Milverton)
Port Elgin Raging Tide
Rockwood Golems
Schomberg Cougars
Shelburne Shock
Springwater Dragons (Midhurst)
Stayner Siskins
Walkerton Hawks
Wingham Ironmen
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Erie-Niagara (OPJHL-EN)
Covering Oxford, Waterloo, Norfolk, Haldimand, Niagara, and Brant Counties, and the City of Hamilton, this is the second-strongest Junior C league of the OPJHL foursome, the third-strongest in Ontario, and the sixth-strongest in Canada overall. And while some of the areas are rural, others - such as Hamilton, which is a crossover territory between the OPJHL and the new GTJHL - are *very* urban. Kitchener and the Niagara Jr. Ice Dogs represent the OHL reserve teams in the division. The mighty Six Nations Tornadoes, who won the Junior Bs last season, also have their reserve team here, and considering how far they made it in the playoffs at the reserve level - they would lose out to national Junior C runners-up Uxbridge in the end in the semis, but they were the best Erie-Niagara team of the lot - I'd keep an eye on them. I have them pegged to win silverware this year!
Here's the whole 21-22 contingent:
Ayr Centennials
Baden Bruins
Beamsville Laser (Lincoln, borough of Beamsville)
Breslau Prussians (Kitchener, borough of Breslau)
Burford Bulldogs
Delhi Travellers
Dunnville Jr. Mudcats
Fort Erie Jr. Meteors
Glanbrook Rangers (Hamilton, borough of Binbrook)
Grimsby Peach Kings (Hamilton, borough of Grimsby)
Hagersville Hawks
Hespeler Shamrocks (Cambridge, borough of Hespeler)
Ingy Ice (Ingersoll)
Kitchener Jr. Rangers (city proper)
New Hamburg Firebirds
Niagara Falls Jr. Canucks (Niagara, borough of Niagara Falls)
Niagara Jr. IceDogs (Niagara, borough of St. Catharines)
Niagara Riverhawks (Niagara, borough of Chippawa)
Norwich Merchants
NOTL Lakers (Niagara, borough of Niagara-on-the-Lake)
Paris Mounties
Port Dover Sailors
Simcoe Steelers
Six Nations Jr. Tornadoes (Ohsweken)
Tavistock Braves
Tillsonburg Torrent
Waterford Irish
Waterloo Warriors
Welland Jr. Canadians
Wellesley Applejacks
West Lincoln Wildcats (borough of Smithville)
Woodstock Navy-Vets
Besides Six Nations, Hagersville is partially-owned by the Mississaugas of the Credit, an Anishinaabe group, who look to make a "fun rivalry" with Six Nations' reserves. Good luck with that - you'll need all you can get! They are so good.
Greater Toronto Junior Hockey League (GTJHL)
Greater Toronto, seeing all the hubbub around the OPJHL Junior C, decided it needed to start its own Junior C league just to keep its better players from going elsewhere. This is partially on account of the OHL teams in the area, who wanted to keep their reserves from becoming perpetual bench-warmers, and indeed, the Hamilton Steel Kings, Mississauga Steelheads, and Oshawa Generals all have their reserve teams here. Don't think it's all just Toronto, Hamilton, and Oakville, though! The league also contains the balance of Halton County and part of Durham-York County as well. Here are the 21-22 teams - all 28 of them:
Ajax Trojans (Toronto, borough of Ajax)
Bolton Blazers
Bowmanville Blast
Burlington Blizzard (Hamilton, borough of Burlington)
Don Mills Flyers (Toronto, borough of North York)
East Gwillimbury United (borough of Sharon)
Etobicoke Predators (Toronto, borough of Etobicoke)
Georgetown Jr. Raiders
Gormley Grenadiers (Whitchurch, borough of Gormley)
Halton Hills Harriers (Acton)
Hamilton Steel Princes (city proper)
King City Knights
Milton Maniacs
Mississauga Jr. Steelheads (Toronto, borough of Mississauga)
Mississauga Rebels (Toronto, borough of Mississauga)
Newmarket Rangers (Toronto, borough of Newmarket)
Nobleton Royals
North York Jr. Rangers (Toronto, borough of North York)
Oakville Jr. Blades
Oshawa Jr. Generals (Toronto, borough of Oshawa)
Richmond Hill Rockets (Toronto, borough of Richmond Hill)
Scarborough Devils (Toronto, borough of Scarborough)
Stoney Creek Stallions (Hamilton, borough of Stoney Creek)
Stouffville Spectres
Toronto Marlboros (borough of East York)
Toronto Nationals (city proper)
Toronto Titans (city proper)
Vaughan Kings (Toronto, borough of Vaughan)
It's hard to believe, but the GTJHL are ranked fourth in Canada's Junior C (behind the OPJHL-CE, the LHJRS, and the LHJEY) going into the 21-22 season!
Ligue de Hockey Junior d'Abitibi-Témiscamingue et d'Ontario Nord-Est (LHJATONE)
Stepping away from the Golden Horseshoe for a moment, francophone Northeast Ontario and Abitibi-Témiscamingue in Québec got this idea for a bi-provincial league, and while the OHA-North took a little convincing, they eventually saw how it would benefit both sides and they gave their blessing. It's a decent-enough league given the sparsity of the region's population. It may come as a bit of a surprise that there are only three indigenous teams in the division though! It has two QMJHL reserve teams as well - Val d'Or and Rouyn-Noranda.
Its roster for 2021-22:
Bleus Cobalt
Bruins Englehart
Castors Macamic
Cochrane Jr. Crunch
Foreurs Juniors Val-d’Or
Huskies Juniors Rouyn-Noranda
Iroquois Falls Bears
Léons La Sarre
Nipissing Nation Nighthawks
Saints Senneterre
Serpents Simosagigan
Smooth Rock Hunters
Temiscaming Royals
Juniors Unités Temiskaming Shores
Timmins Tigers
Voyageurs Malartic
Nipissing Nation, Simosagigan, and Temiscaming are indigenous teams, with the first two being fully-owned and the latter being half-owned by businessman Pascal Labranche.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Central-East (OPJHL-CE)
Due to strong performances last year and a great start to training camp, the OPJHL is ranked top Junior C league in Canada, Ontario, and of course the OPJHL system. It is home to hockey's purported birthplace, Kingston (although the professional game and the codified laws thereof have their origins in Montréal) as well as some outer suburbs of Toronto, Belleville, Peterborough, and several hockey hungry little towns and cities! I kid you not - of the final four in last year's OPJHL playoffs, three were from this division. Five of the last eight, too! You wonder why they're #1 even though Uxbridge lost a heartbreaker to the Tsuu T'inas in the Yzerman Cup finals!
Here's the 21-22 lineup:
Amherstview Jets
Belleville Bulls
Bobcaygeon Hip
Brighton Blazers
Brock Beavers (Beaverton)
Caledon Golden Hawks
Campbellford Rebels
Chemong Lakers (Selwyn)
Clarington Eagles (Newcastle)
Gananoque Islanders
Keswick Ice
Kingston Jr. Frontenacs
Lakefield Chiefs
Little Britain Merchants
Millbrook Wild (Cavan Monaghan, borough of Millbrook)
Mount Albert Avalanche
Napanee Raiders
North Kawartha Knights (Apsley)
Norwood Nets
Odessa Cossacks (Loyalist, borough of Odessa)
Orono Orange
Peterborough Jr. Petes
Picton Pirates
Port Hope Panthers
Port Perry Mojacks
South Frontenac Frontiersmen (Harrowsmith)
Stirling Silver Bullets
Sutton Stampede
Tamworth Cyclones
Trenton Jr. Golden Hawks
Tyendinaga Tornadoes (Desoronto)
Tyenindaga alone is indigenous-owned. Wondering who joined Six Nations in the final four? While Uxbridge beat the Jr. Tornadoes, it was the battle of OHL junior squads as the Junior Petes edged the Junior Frontenacs in a shootout!
Ottawa Valley Junior Hockey League (OVJHL)
Not directly related to the CCHL and EOJHL, the newly-renamed OVJHL nevertheless has connections with the two due to being in the same region of Ontario. This is most evident in the fact that in the 32-team rotation for 2021-22, there are six CCHL reserve teams! It resulted from such a glut of applications happening that the former National Capital Junior Hockey League split in two for this season, with the Québec teams going on to form the Ligue de Hockey Junior C Outaouaise. But the host cities and towns vary from national capital Ottawa (which oddly enough only has a single team at this level) to little towns spread throughout the constituent counties - the City of Ottawa plus Leeds & Grenville, Prescott & Russel, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry, Lanark, and Renfrew Counties, plus one team in Nipissing County as well.
Here's the gang:
Akwesasne Jr. Falcons (Cornwall Island)
Alfred Kings
Braeside Bulls
Bruins Bourget
Chalk River Chargers
Clarence Castors
Cornwall Jr. Colts
Deep River Atomic
Eganville Scouts
Kemptville Jr. 73s
Lancaster Lords
Lanciers Limoges
LV Laser (Laurentian Valley)
Madawaska Valley (Barry's Bay)
Maitland Mayhem (Augusta, borough of Maitland)
Metcalfe Jets (Ottawa, borough of Metcalfe)
MM Blades (Mississippi Mills)
Morrisburg Lions
North Dundas Rockets (Chesterville)
North Stormont Devils (Finch)
Pembroke Jr. Lumber Kings
Rockland Jr. Nationals
Russell Rage
Smiths Falls Cubs
South Algonquin Wendigos (borough of Madawaska)
South Dundas Warriors (borough of Iroquois)
South Grenville Rangers (Prescott)
South Stormont Storm (borough of Ingleside)
Spencerville Pioneers
Thousand Islands Bunyans (Landsdowne)
Troupe de l’Orignal
West Carleton Inferno (Carp)
There are two indigenous-owned teams in this division, of which one is a reserve team (Akwesasne) and the other is the first team and only part-owned (Eganville).
The lowest level of the junior hockey totem pole is Junior C, which is recommended for people who want to continue playing competitively at the junior level but may not necessarily want to turn pro, or want to go pro elsewhere. There are some that do join NAMPHA clubs as well, and also some early risers who may spend a year or two at this level (the minimum age for Junior C is 15 rather than 16) and then go on to bigger and better things. You will see many more indigenous-owned teams at this level, a decent number of B-teams from higher up clubs, and as foreshadowed in the last post, some 42 leagues! Some of these, such as Hockey North and the OPJHL system, are under a single umbrella organization, while others are not.
The Junior C teams play an end-of-season tournament for the Yzerman Cup, which has expanded this season to become a World Cup-like tournament with all 42 teams involved. There are divisions, which we will get to at the end of this explanation. But regardless of size, two teams advance from each division to the final 16-team knockout.
Hockey North, Alaska-Yukon Division (HNAYD)
Hockey North's westernmost division is also the westernmost junior division in the world, of any country. Yes, even beating Hawaii. Until this season, the Bethel Huskies were North America's westernmost team "in the system," but they will be replaced by the Aleutian Islands Eagles in Unalaska this season, who are one of four expansion teams alongside the Anchorage Earthquakes, the South Anchorage Panthers, and the Eagle River Raptors, all in Anchorage.
Is the Yukon represented at all? Yes. In spite of the territory's miniscule population (only around 36 thousand as of 2020), there are plans to put two new teams in the Yukon starting in 2022-23 - one more in territorial capital Whitehorse (which as an aside is the largest settlement in the five contiguous territories, even outdoing Yellowknife and Nuuk) and one in Watson Lake. This adds to the Whitehorse Jr. Cavalry (the B-team of the HNPD team, who surprised a few people by winning the HN Junior C championship in 17-18) and the Dawson Dodgers. There is also the possibility of two more consortium-based indigenous teams in Alaska. The division size has been capped at 20.
Their lineup for 2021-22 is as follows (all divisions listed):
Aleutian Islands Eagles (Unalaska, AK)
Anchorage Earthquakes (AK)
Bethel Huskies (AK)
Dawson Dodgers (YT)
Eagle River Raptors (Anchorage, AK, borough of Eagle River)
Homer Hawks (AK)
Juneau Grizzlies (AK)
Kenai Kings (AK)
Ketchikan Cougars (AK)
Kodiak Islanders (AK)
Sitka Saints (AK)
South Anchorage Panthers (Anchorage, AK, borough of Bayside)
Utqiagvik North Stars (AK)
Valdez Whales (AK)
West Fairbanks Wolves (Fairbanks, AK, borough of Badger)
Whitehorse Jr. Cavalry (YT)
Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, Second Division (VIJHL-2)
Most of the teams in this new division are on the southern third of the island, putting northerly teams such as Port McNeill and Cumberland at a bit of a disadvantage for now. Actually, of the fourteen teams, six of them are in Victoria alone, with another two in Nanaimo. The VIJHL brass made the (unfairly) controversial decision of putting the Victoria Royals' B-team in this division, which caused Royals fans and Victorians in general to raise a bit of a stink, to no avail. Hockey Canada was called in to defuse the situation, and those protesting were basically told to get over themselves. Still, its expected that the Jr. Royals will be favourites to win this season!
The 2021-22 season's teams are (all in BC):
Colwood Grizzlies (Victoria, borough of Colwood)
Cumberland Avalanche
Departure Bay Devils (Nanaimo, city proper)
Duncan Jr. Capitals
Esquimalt Admirals (Victoria, borough of Esquimalt)
Ladysmith Royals
Lake Cowichan Monsters
Langford Lakers (Victoria, borough of Langford)
Oak Bay Academical (Victoria, borough of Oak Bay)
Port McNeill Salmon Kings
Saltspring Sharks (Ganges)
Sooke Thunderbirds (Victoria, borough of Sooke)
Victoria Jr. Royals (Victoria, city proper)
Wellington Fire (Nanaimo, borough of Central Wellington)
The Cowichan Tribes of the Duncan area and the Nanaimo out-of-city suburb of Cedar are looking to add teams to the system as well, plus there's interest from Friday Harbour, Washington (on San Juan Island), and some outside interest from Qualicum Beach.
Fraser Valley Junior Hockey League, Second Division (FVJHL-2)
Another new second division. As with the first division, the teams are mostly in the Fraser Valley, although there are some from the Squamish and Sunshine Coast areas. It actually sits at the cap of 32 teams (as opposed to the 18 in the First Division) and is waiting on a skill assessment to see how many further teams will get promoted to the FVJHL-1, leaving the door open for further expansion and potentially even including teams from just over the Cascadian border, with Blaine and Lynden, Washington expressing interest in putting a team in each due to their immediate proximity to Vancouver. Still, to no one's great surprise, most of these teams are from boroughs of Vancouver. Here are the 2021-22 teams (all from BC):
Abbotsford Aces (city proper)
Agassiz Knights
Albion Lumberjacks (Vancouver, borough of Maple Ridge)
Chilliwack Crusaders (currently city proper, to move to borough of Yarrow once arena is completed there)
Chilliwack Jr. Chiefs (city proper)
Clearbrook Bulldogs (Abbotsford, borough of Clearbrook)
Cloverdale Mustangs (Vancouver, borough of Cloverdale)
Coquitlam Jr. Express (Vancouver, borough of Coquitlam)
Deep Cove Ducks (Vancouver, borough of North Vancouver)
Fleetwood Fire (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Gibsons Gulls
Guildford Grenadiers (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Hope Frontiersmen
Ladner Sea Kings (Vancouver, borough of Ladner)
Langley Jr. Rivermen (Vancouver, borough of Langley)
Lonsdale Voyagers (Vancouver, borough of North Vancouver)
Musqueam Sharks (Vancouver, borough of Musqueam)
New Westminster Bruins (Vancouver, borough of New Westminster)
Newton Academical (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Nordel Ice (Vancouver, borough of North Delta)
North Inlet Blues (Vancouver, borough of Port Moody)
North Squamish Eagles (Squamish, borough of Brackendale)
Poco Predators (Vancouver, borough of Port Coquitlam)
Qathet Kings (Powell River)
Roberts Creek Renegades
Sardis Surge (Chilliwack, borough of Sardis)
Sechelt Tsunami
South Surrey Rangers (Vancouver, borough of South Surrey)
Surrey Jr. Eagles (Vancouver, borough of Surrey)
Tla’amin Tiger Sharks (Sliammon)
Vancouver Jr. Giants (Vancouver, borough of Burnaby)
Walnut Grove Warriors (Vancouver, borough of Walnut Grove-Port Kells)
There is the potential for as many as fourteen new teams in the entire system in the next three seasons, which would put both divisions at cap, but this is highly unlikely. A more reasonable number per the league board is six - the two potential Cascadian teams plus new teams for Mission, Lions Bay, and Burnaby borough, and a team for the small villages of the Fraser Canyon, to be based at a new small arena just completed in Boston Bar. Joining the two indigenous-owned teams in the first division will be four (two full and two partial) in this division - Deep Cove, Musqueam, North Squamish, and Tla'amin.
Northern British Columbia Junior Hockey League (NBCJHL)
The only one of BC's 21-22 Junior C leagues that even existed last season. This league was a brainchild of numerous top-level pros in the Robertian Era that wanted the region to have the same access to hockey teams that the south of the province did. They later jumped into the system head-first, and have been somewhat impressive as well! Their best result was in the 19-20 season when the Prince George Jr. Cougars went all the way to the semifinals! Twelve out of the twenty-six teams are at least partially indigenous-owned.
Here's the roster for 2021-22:
Bella Bella Brigade
Bella Coola Grizzlies
Burns Lake Flames
Chilcotin Red Wings (Alexis Creek)
Fort St. James Falcons
Fraser Lake Falcons
Haida Gwaii Spirit Bears (Daajing Giids)
Hart Highlands Huskies (Prince George, borough of Hart Highlands)
Hazelton Ksan Eagles
Houston Hawks
Kitimat Gazoviks
Mackenzie Cascades
Mount Robson Avalanche (Valemount)
Nechako Canucks (Prince George, borough of Lower Nechako)
Nisga’a Nation Seals (Gitlax̱t'aamiks)
Prince George Jr. Cougars (city proper)
Prince Rupert Admirals (defending champs)
Quesnel Dakelh Hockey Club
Quesnel Jr. Millionaires
Smithers Rangers
Southridge Blues (Prince George, borough of Southridge)
Telkwa Hornets
Terrace Jr. Sabres
Upper Fraser Bruins (McBride)
Vanderhoof Vees
Williams Lake Jr. Timberwolves
Bella Bella, Chilcotin, Hazelton, Nisga'a Nation, and Quesnel DHC are fully indigenous-owned, while Bella Coola, Burns Lake, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Haida Gwaii, Kitimat, and last season's champs the Prince Rupert Admirals are partially indigenous-owned. It is worth noting that Montréal star goalie Carey Price is part of the owning group of Quesnel DHC, as he himself is Dakelh by ancestry!
British Columbia Interior Junior Hockey League, Second Division (BCIJHL-2)
Another new second division This one has 26 teams, including five indigenous-owned teams and five B-teams. With a WHL reserve team in here, you can kinda guess who the favourites are to win the inaugural season! But you also have several little towns with teams, which has - as with the other BC leagues along the border - attracted Cascadian attention, with the towns of Oroville, Washington and Eureka, Montana attempting to put teams in... to no avail. With a service area of just over two thousand people, Ashcroft may be the smallest area with multiple teams thanks to the Nlaka'pamux Nation's decision to share an arena with the Ashcroft Rattlers rather than build an entirely new arena in Lytton (which was about their only other option). Those two are also expected to have a healthy rivalry with nearby Lower Thompson United, which draws its players from Cache Creek, Clinton, Savona, the Bonaparte First Nation, and the Skeetchestn First Nation, who host the arena.
The BCIJHL covers a fairly broad geographical range between the two divisions, going as far west as Whistler and Pemberton, as far north as 100 Mile House or Clearwater, as far east as Sparwood and Elkford near the Alberta border, and skirting the US border with teams in Osoyoos, Midway, Creston, and Grand Forks. Here's their inaugural roster for 2021-22:
Ashcroft Rattlers
Coldstream Cobras (Vernon, borough of Coldstream)
Cranbrook Jr. Bucks
Elk Valley Herd (Elkford)
Enderby Stampede
Kamloops Jr. Blazers
Kaslo Cougars
Kelowna Chiefs (city proper)
Keremeos Coyotes
Lillooet Thunderbirds
Lillooet Valley Lightning (Mount Currie)
Logan Lake Crew
Lower Thompson United HC (Skeetchestn Nation)
Lumby Lions
Midway Monsters
Nakusp Lakers
Nlaka’pamux United HC (Ashcroft)
Peachland Predators
Pemberton Broncos
Penticton Vees Reserves
Rossland RoughRiders
Shulus Shock (Lower Nicola)
Sparwood Rams
Trail Jr. Smokes
Whistler Olympics
Winfield Wolves (Kelowna, borough of Winfield)
The indigneous-owned teams are Lillooet (partial), Lillooet Valley (full), Lower Thompson U (partial), Nlaka'pamux U (full), and Shulus (full).
Hockey North, Mackenzie Division (HNMD)
This division is somewhat unusual. It is the only Hockey North entity with a team in it from BC, plus it covers Northern Alberta - the real Northern Alberta - and Denendeh. Of the sixteen teams in it, ten are at least partially indigenous-owned, of which six are fully owned by indigenous groups and the remaining four are majority-owned. But consider also that there is a former NHL owner who spent his childhood in the area, having been born in Hay River and lived in now-abandoned Pine Point until he was a teenager: two-time All-Star Geoff Sanderson. Although he lives in Calgary now, and has a son that has opted to represent Dakota rather than Canada, he felt it was only fair to "give back a little" to Hay River by setting up an amateur hockey program there, which started a junior C program in 2018 and made its debut in the division in the 18-19 season. At present, this is the only Hockey North Division that has not claimed a Hockey North Junior C championship.
The teams for the 2021-22 season are:
Behchoko Blades (DN)
Cadotte Lake Lakers (AB)
Fort Chip Flames (Fort Chipewyan, Alberta)
Fort Nelson Fire (BC)
Fort Simpson Flood (DN)
Fort Smith Bison (DN)
Fox Lake Reynards (AB)
Gift Lake Buzzards (AB)
Hay Lake Broncos (AB)
Hay River Hawks (DN)
Inuvik Ice (DN, defending champs)
La Crête Lions (AB)
Manning Coyotes (AB)
Wabasca Wolves (AB)
Whitefish Lake Rush (Atikameg, AB)
Yellowknife Jr. Rebels (DN)
Behchoko, Cadotte Lake, Fox Lake, Gift Lake, Hay Lake, and Whitefish Lake are fully indigenous-owned, while Fort Chip, Inuvik, Fort Simpson, and Wabasca are partially owned (with a majority). Besides the two indigenous-run leagues (which are also both Junior C as of this season), this division has the most indigenous-team champions of any Junior league in Canada, with Behchoko winning in 17-18, Wabasca winning in 19-20, and Inuvik winning last season.
Southern Alberta Junior Hockey League (SAJHL)
Pretty self-explanatory. Except for Calgary, Southern Alberta is covered by this relatively new league, which only started two seasons ago and already has one indigenous-owned champ to their name! It is also among Western Canada's largest Junior C leagues with thirty teams, two shy of cap, but they have no plans to expand further at this point. The farthest north team is in Olds, which is parallel with the southernmost team in the Central Alberta League in Sundre. Each of the three major Blackfoot reserve areas has its own team, which has lent itself to the potent Blackfoot Trivalry between 20-21 champs the Kainai Bison, 18-19 runners-up Piikani Young Warriors, and 18-19 semifinalists the Siksika Mustangs. They are the only three indigenous-owned teams in the league, but they are showing themselves to be worthy competitors, having never finished lower than sixth in the regular season between the three of them.
On that note, here are the 2021-22 teams:
Bow Island Cavalry
Brooks Jr. Bandits
Butte Bulls (Picture BUtte)
Cardston Crusaders
Carstairs Canucks
Claresholm Cavaliers
Coalhurst Blackshirts
Crossfield Crunch
Crowsnest Pass Ravens (borough of Coleman)
Didsbury Dynamo
Drumheller Dinos
Fort MacLeod Maple Leafs
Hanna Heat
HC Bassano
Irricana Ice
Kainai Bison (Stand Off, defending champ)
Magrath Red Wings
Nanton Palominos
Olds Jr. Grizzlies
Oyen Tornadoes
Penhold Panthers
Piikani Young Warriors (Brocket)
Pincher Creek Predators
Raymond Roughriders
Redcliff Roadrunners (Medicine Hat, borough of Redcliff)
Sheep River Rams
Siksika Mustangs (Fort Siksika (OOC: near Gleichen))
Taber Tigers
Vauxhall Motors HC
Vulcan Voyagers
Central Alberta Junior C Hockey League (CAJCHL)
A relatively strong grassroots league in spite of just having started a junior program this season; its teams' midget hockey programs (for those who don't know hockey, it's a step down from Junior) have won the provincial championships twice, most recently two seasons ago courtesy of the Innisfail Clansmen. It has a couple of ex-NHLers as owners - sometimes controversial Maple Leaf alum Darcy Tucker owns and runs the oddly-named Area 4 Dust Devils (it makes sense if you're an Albertan though!) which is situated in Tucker's birthtown of Castor, while outspoken Christian Kevin Haller and his family own the Trochu Crusaders team that won the 2017-18 Midget championships in Alberta and even made it to the quarterfinals of the national Midget hockey championship.
The whole area is pretty excited as to what these kids will do in the inaugural Junior C season of the league! Let's look at the 2021-22 teams:
Area 4 Dust Devils (Castor)
Bashaw Blues
Bentley Wolves
Blackfalds Jr. Bruins
Bowden Bombers
Castor Flames
Clearwater County Canucks (Rocky Mountain House)
Coronation Kings
Eckville Hawks
Innisfail Clansmen
North Red Deer Stags (Red Deer)
O’Chiese-Sunchild United (O'Chiese Nation)
Provost Predators
Rimbey Wheat Kings
Stettler Steel
Sundre Stars
Sylvan Lake Reds
Trochu Crusaders
O’Chiese-Sunchild is indigenous-owned, a partnership of the two bands of the same names.
Noralta Junior Hockey League (Noralta)
This league's been around for a while. Founded in 1992, it has expanded in recent years to cover a much larger area, although nine of the 24 teams are still in the City of Edmonton (its various boroughs). Teams are now as far away as Entwistle and Mayerthorpe, over 100km away from Edmonton's city centre.
It has seen many teams come and go, leaving it with what it has for 2021-22:
Bon Accord Blast
Devon Rivermen
Edmonton Jr. Oil Kings (borough of Southwest Edmonton)
Edmonton Mavericks (city proper)
Entwistle Vultures
Gibbons Broncos
Junior Braves (Edmonton)
Kalmar IK (Calmar)
Lamont Lions
Legal Canadiens
Mayerthorpe Mounties
Millet Mustangs
Morinville Contras
New Sarepta Blades
NorthEast Zone Northstars (borough of Northeast Edmonton)
Onoway Boilermakers
RCAC Rivermen (Edmonton, city proper)
Redwater Oilers
Sandy Beach Lakers
SEERA Icemen (Edmonton, borough of Southeast Edmonton)
Sherwood Park Renegades (Edmonton, borough of Sherwood Park)
SouthWest Zone Ice Kings (Edmonton, borough of Southwest Edmonton)
St. Albert Comets (Edmonton, borough of St. Albert; defending champs)
Westlock Warriors
Sandy Beach is partially indigenous-owned. But an interesting note here - Kalmar IK is owned by Kalmar HC in Sweden!
Calgary Junior C Hockey League (CJCHL)
As mentioned before, there was a bit of a shift in who went where in Calgary's two leagues in the off-season, with many of the teams from last year's CalJHL (this year's GCJBHL) ending up here because the parent club of the teams in question wanted a unified first team. While there are four teams from outside the municipal boundaries of Calgary in the GCJBHL, there is only one, which is barely outside, in this league, and that's its defending champs, the Tsuu T'ina Jr. Blizzard, which are from a club that has a fairly strong reputation in Junior B and C.
Here is the 2021-22 list of teams, with the boroughs indicated except for the above exception.
Calgary Jr. Flames Blue (city proper)
Calgary Jr. Flames Red (city proper)
Calgary Khalsa (West Calgary)
Calgary QQJ (city proper)
CBHA Blackhawks (Southwest Calgary)
CBHA Rangers (Southwest Calgary)
CNHA Blazers (Northeast Calgary, CalJHL 19-20 champions)
CNHA Canucks (Northeast Calgary)
CRAA Blue (West Calgary)
CRAA Gold (West Calgary)
NWCAA Bruins (Northwest Calgary)
NWCAA Stampeders (Northwest Calgary)
South Calgary Warriors (Southeast Calgary)
Tsuu T’ina Jr. Blizzard (Tsuu T'ina Nation)
Northeastern Alberta Junior Hockey League, Second Division (NEAJHL-2)
Yet another newbie. Whee. This is a smaller league, with only twelve teams, of which one is indigenous-owned. While not expected to be particularly strong, it does have an international connection, in that Sokil Vegrevil is owned by the famous Sokil Kyiv athletics club in Ukraine. It is also noteworthy because Elk Point is among the smallest settlements in Canada with two teams "in the system" - it is slightly larger and has a larger service area than Ashcroft, BC.
The 2021-2022 lineup:
Bonnyville Jr. Pontiacs
Bruderheim Blitz
Cold Lake Corporals
Elk Point Herd
Kehewin Blue Jays (Elk Point)
Kitscoty Knights
MHK Sokil Vegrevil (Vegreville)
Mundare Bucks
Saint Paul Galaxy
Smoky Lake Spectres
Two Hills Tempest
Wainwright Polar Kings
Kehewin is owned by the small Cree nation of the same name.
West Saskatchewan Junior C Hockey League (WSJCHL)
A relatively new league, having only started two seasons ago as an upward extension of the WSAHA, the WSJCHL covers the southwestern part of Saskatchewan. Don't underestimate this league because of its relatively small population base! Kids in Saskatchewan LOVE hockey and are relishing the opportunity to get their feet in the door!
There is an interesting peculiarity about this division. While there are several Christian owners, and teams run by Christian principles in the system, especially in Junior C, this league has the only team that is officially owned by a parachurch organization, the Caronport Clippers. This is run by the board of Briercrest College and Seminary, and draws specifically on the student bodies from both the university and the high school, which covers the breadth of Junior C's age depth, beginning to admit kids at the age of 15. While this hasn't been without its controversy, the Clippers have been a relatively successful team.
Another note here; last year's champions, the Outlook Oracles, were actually promoted to Junior B and the PrJHL. They were that good!
The teams for 2021-22 are:
Assiniboia Wheat Kings
Auvergne Sabres (Ponteix)
Biggar Bruins
Caronport Clippers
Davidson Dashers
Eston Thunder
Gravelbourg Gophers
Gull Lake Lakers
Herbert Harriers
Leader Storm
Macklin Bison
Maple Creek Militia
Rosetown Rodeo
Shaunavon Shooters
Swift Current Shock
Wilkie Warriors
The Nekaneet Cree Nation has a minority stake in the Maple Creek Militia.
Central Saskatchewan Junior C Hockey League (CSJCHL)
This is a new league for this season after increasing demand from Saskatoon and the Battlefords for more junior hockey opportunities. Ironically, the response to Saskatoon was to give them another Junior B team and the Battlefords only got one club, although in Saskatoon's case there are also three teams within a relatively short distance in Dalmeny, Warman, and Rosthern, and the Battlefords have two indigenous-owned teams (out of six overall) within less than an hour's drive in Cut Knife and Cando.
Their teams for 2021-22 are as follows:
Battleford Bruins
Cando Four Nations Herd
Canora Kings
Cut Knife-Poundmaker Attack (Cut Knife)
Dalmeny Jr. Warriors
Duck Lake Red Wings
Humboldt Jr. Broncos
Kelvington-Yellow Quill Coyotes (Kelvington)
Langham Lions
Maidstone Jets
Melfort Colts
Mistawasis Mayhem
One Arrow Eagles (Wakaw; transfer from the NSIJHL)
Prince Albert Royals
Rosthern Renegades
Shellbrook Shock
Tisdale Trojans
Wadena Blackbirds
Watrous Wizards
West Central Rage
As mentioned, there are six indigenous-owned teams, four of them fully-owned (Cando Four Nations, Duck Lake, Mistawasis, and One Arrow), one almost fully-owned (Cut Knife-Poundmaker is only 10% owned by the Village of Cut Knife, with the remainder being split between the Poundmaker and Sweetgrass First Nations), and one with a large minority ownership (Kelvington-Yellow Quill; the Yellow Quill First Nation has a 40% stake in the team, the balance being owned by a regional sport nonprofit).
Northern Saskatchewan Indigenous Junior Hockey League (NSIJHL)
There are plenty of indigenous-owned teams in Junior C, but there are even two indigenous-run leagues, of which this is the further west. The NSIJHL is still fairly robust even though a couple teams have left for logistical reasons (Wollaston Lake to Hockey North and One Arrow to the above-mentioned CSJCHL). All 24 teams are currently at least partially indigenous-owned, with just four (all expansion teams last season) having any non-indigenous ownership at all (Big Island Lake, Buffalo River, English River, and Two Lakes).
The two-time defending champion Ballantyne Blues made a few headlines last year by going all the way to the semifinals of the Yzerman Cup. It'll be tougher to do this year, but the Blues definitely have the skill and the tenacity to do so! Here are the 2021-22 teams:
Ahtahakkoop Stars (Starblanket)
Ballantyne Blues (Pelican Narrows, 2-time defending champs)
Big Island Lake Bruins (Pierceland)
Black Lake Hawks
Buffalo River Bulldogs (Buffalo Narrows)
Canoe Lake Kings (Canoe Narrows)
Cochin Canucks
English River Redcoats (Beauval)
James Smith Jets (Kinistino)
KP Bass Kings (Deschambault Lake)
La Loche Lions
Lac La Ronge Lakers
Loon Lake Oilers
Montreal Lake Canadiens
Muskoday Buffalo
Pawkaw Lake Predators
Pinehouse Punishers
Red Earth Renegades
Sakitawak Trappers
Sandy Bay Saints
Sturgeon Lake Senators
Two Lakes Tigers (Turtleford)
Waterhen Wild (Waterhen Lake)
Witchekan-Chitek United Coyotes (Wildwood)
While most of these are owned by a single First Nation, some are partnerships. Aside from the four with non-indigenous ownership, there are also the Cochin Canucks (Moosomin Cree Nation and Saulteaux Nation), La Loche (Clearwater River Dene and Métis), and Witchekan-Chitek United (Witchekan Lake and Pelican Lake First Nations).
Eastern Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (ESJHL)
With 28 teams, this is the largest of the four Saskatchewan-only Junior C leagues. Of these, a quarter of the teams have at least some official indigenous ownership. A lot of these teams are concentrated in the Qu'Appelle Valley, which gave itself to its pre-2016 name, the Qu'Appelle Valley Junior Hockey League. This of course includes provincial capital city Regina. As with its western counterpart, its champion got promoted to an expanding PrJHL, so the Oxbow Bulls are no longer around. But it is expected to remain very competitive.
Its teams for 2021-22:
Balcarres Broncs
Balgonie Celts
Carlyle Clansmen
Carnduff Stampede
Cote-Keeseekoose United Hockey Club (Badgerville)
CTKNN Hawks (Montmartre)
Emerald Park Wizards (White Butte, borough of Emerald Park)
Estevan Jr. Bruins
Etomami Harriers (note: Etomami was renamed from Hudson Bay in 2018)
Grenfell Rams
Indian Head Ice
Kamsack Crunch
Keys Kings (Norquay)
Kipling Ghosts
Langenburg Cavaliers
Lumsden Lumberjax
Melville Jr. Millionaires
Moose Jaw Maniacs
Moosomin Moose
Ocean Man-Stoughton Oilers (Stoughton)
Piapot Army (Regina)
Preeceville Panthers
Quill Lakes Vikings (Wynyard)
QV4N United Stampede (Bird's Point)
Regina River Rats
White Butte Eagles (White Butte, borough of White City)
Wolseley Mustangs
Yellow Grass Wheat Kings
Four teams are completely indigenous-owned - Cote-Keeseekoose United (a partnership between the two titular First Nations), CTKNN (which stands for Carry The Kettle Nakoda Nation), Piapot (which is not actually on Piapot land, but the team is owned and run by that Nation), and QV4N (which stands for Qu'Appelle Valley Four Nations - a consortium of the Ochapowace, Kahkewistahaw, Cowessess, and Sakimay First Nations. A note about that last one - one of the members of its board is current Saskatchewan Warrior defenceman Ethan Bear, himself a member of the Ochapowace Cree Nation!
Partially-indigenous-owned teams are Carlyle, Keys, and Ocean Man-Stoughton.
Hockey North, Hudson Bay Division (HNHBD)
This league covers a fair bit of territory, ranging from western Nunavut and the far north of Saskatchewan to the Ontario-Québec border. It is unique in that, while not officially indigenous-run (even if de facto a lot of Hockey North's staff is First Nations, Inuit, or Métis), it only has one team that has no indigenous ownership, the Gillam Bucks. Its defending champs, the Churchill Nanuks (owned by ex-NHLer Jordin Tootoo, who was born in Churchill), are consistently among the best teams in the Junior C Hockey North divisions, winning the Silver Inukshuk as Hockey North Junior C's champion twice, including the inaugural season in 16-17.
Its teams this season:
Arviat Whalers (NU)
Attawapiskat Phoenix (ON)
Baker Lake Bears (NU)
Cambridge Bay Explorers (NU)
Churchill Nanuks (MB, defending champs)
Fort Albany Trappers (ON)
Gichi-Namegosib Trout Kings (ON)(OOC: Big Trout Lake)
Gillam Bucks (MB)
Igloolik Ice (NU)
Kugluktuk Coppershirts (NU)
Lake Athabasca Dragons (Fond-du-Lac, SK)
Moose Factory Sharks (ON)
Naujaat Wolves (NU)
Pikangikum Power (ON)
Tataskweyak Tornadoes (MB)
Wollaston Lake Wings (SK)
A couple of other teams in the league have celebrity owners as well - former San Jose Shark Jonathan Cheechoo is the senior ownership partner in the Moose Factory Sharks organization in his hometown, while well-decorated Inuk singer Susan Aglukark is a major financial partner in the Arviat Whalers organization and has sung the national anthem pre-game for them numerous times!
Keystone Junior Hockey League (KSJHL)
This league was formerly the entire-province Junior B League, although that changed in the Robertian Era, and by the time that ended, it was almost exclusively in Northern Manitoba. It is also the reverse of Hockey North's Hudson Bay Division - it is officially run by indigenous peoples as of 2017, but many teams don't have indigenous ownership, and that's perfectly okay with the head office of the 16-team league. But it let in two Saskatchewan-based teams as transplants from other leagues recently, with the Cumberland Kings from Cumberland House and the Creighton Border Stars from Flin Flon, Manitoba's primary suburb of Creighton, joining from Hockey North and the North Saskatchewan Indigenous League respectively. Eleven of the sixteen teams are at least partially indigenous-owned, with all of those save Creighton being fully indigenous-owned.
2021-22's teams are as follows (from MB unless otherwise noted):
Creighton Border Stars (Creighton, SK)
Cross Lake Islanders
Cumberland Kings (Cumberland House, SK)
Fisher River Hawks
Flin Flon Flames
Garden Hill Gators
Grand Rapids Cascades
Moose Lake Moose
NCN Flames (Nelson House)
OCN Jr. Storm (The Pas)
Pas Predators (The Pas)
Snow Lake Blues
St. Theresa Saints (St. Theresa Point)
Swan River Stampeders
Thompson Tigers
Wasagamack Wild
The five non-indigenous teams are the Flin Flon Flames, the Pas Predators, the Snow Lake Blues, the Swan River Stampeders, and the Thompson Tigers. As part of the Manitoba reshuffle that created the MRJHL, the defending champion Norway House North Stars stayed in Junior B along with Peguis Juniors and the OCN Storm (from which the Jr. Storm was spun off for this season).
Southwestern Manitoba Junior Hockey League (SWMJHL)
The southwest of Manitoba wanted a league of their own, so they got one for this season. They had a point in stating that the less-populated North had a league, as did of course the southeast (the next one on our list!) so the southwest should have one as well. So a committee scrounged together 22 teams, including six indigenous-owned teams (to their chagrin this didn't include the Waywayseecappo Jr. Wolverines, who went to the Junior B MRJHL instead) and three reserve teams, and voilà! A new Junior C league for the southwest thanks to program extensions from clubs that previously only went up to the Midget or even the Bantam level.
The teams play in cities and towns ranging from Brandon (the "big city" in the area) to little towns that are under a thousand people. But passion for the game is one thing these teams will all have in common. Here's their inaugural, 2021-22 lineup:
Boissevain Border Kings
Carberry Canucks
Dauphin Jr. Kings
Deloraine Surge
Ebb and Flow Lakers (Bacon Ridge)
Gladstone Golems
Grandview Gophers
Long Plain Tornadoes
Louise Lightning (Pilot Mound)
MacGregor Clansmen
Melita Flock
NCL United Hockey Club (Brookdale)
Neepawa Jr. Nighthawks
Riverdale Rush (Rivers)
Roblin Lumberjacks
Russell Roughriders
Sainte-Rose Saints (Sainte-Rose-du-Lac)
Sandy Lake Cossacks
Sioux Valley Fire (Griswold)
Souris IceRats
Treherne Tornadoes
Virden Jr. Oil Capitals
Ebb and Flow, Long Plain, and Sioux Valley are fully indigenous-owned, while Sandy Lake is majority-owned (two of the three owning bodies are indigenous, accounting for a 75% share) and Louise (40%) and Roblin (33%) have large-minority ownership.
Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League (HTJHL)
The league that has been in Junior C the longest in Manitoba (Keystone was Junior B for the longest time, only switching over this season), the Hanover Tache league covers the heart of Manitoba's provincial population, that is, the southeast of the province. With that said, owing to the number of the teams in the MRJHL from Winnipeg (including last year's HTJHL champs, the North Winnipeg Satellites), there are only three teams from within Winnipeg city limits in this league, although there are another four from the census metro area (LaSalle, Oakbank, Stony Mountain, and Selkirk). Rather, there are a good number of teams from the traditionally French, German, and Mennonite areas, plus one indigenous-owned team. It's actually a pretty good league overall, with North Winnipeg making the Yzerman Cup quarterfinals last year and looking to build on that.
The teams for 2021-22 (all in MB - don't let the French fool you! ) :
Altona Aces
Bonny Bulldogs (Lac-du-Bonnet)
Cartier Explorers (Saint-Eustache)
Crestview Crunch (Winnipeg, borough of Crestview)
Garden City Blizzard (Winnipeg, borough of Garden City)
Grant Park River Rats (Winnipeg, borough of Grant Park)
Grunthal Red Wings
La Broquerie Habs
La Salle Lions
Lorette Comets
Morris Moose
Niverville Canadiens
Pinawa Predators
Portage Jr. Terriers (Portage-la-Prairie)
PPF Panthers (Powerview-Pine Falls)
Red River Mudbugs (Saint Jean Baptiste)
Rockwood Roughriders (Stony Mountain)
Sagkeeng Freeze (OOC: Fort Alexander)
Springfield Xtreme (Oakbank)
St-Pierre Steel (Saint-Pierre-Jolys)
Ste. Anne Saints
Steinbach Huskies
Teulon Titans
Winkler Jr. Flyers
Sagkeeng, located just 125km northeast of Winnipeg, is fully indigenous-owned.
Northwest Ontario Junior Hockey League, Second Division (NWOJHL-2)
With one downward expansion, one two-tier league system started from scratch, one oversized league split into four, and one upward expansion... yeah, Ontario went a little crazy with its new hockey leagues! It's worth pointing out that although there are only seven teams in this 20-team league that are at least partially indigenous-owned, there is not a single team in the division that doesn't have at least three status indigenous players registered on the team's roster! Most of them are Anishinaabe although some are Oji-Cree or Cree. But it is looking like a good league from what preliminary reports from IHSB scouts are saying, and another tip we've been given is that the best teams aren't necessarily from Thunder Bay!
Our teams for 2021-22:
Eabametoong Freeze
Ear Falls Lightning
Elliot Lake Red Wings
Emo Walleye
Fort Frances Jr. Lakers
Fort William Falcons (Thunder Bay, borough of Fort William)
GZA Loons (Gitigaan-Ziibi)
Hearst Jr. Lumberjacks
Ignace Drillers
Longlac Berserkers (Greenstone, borough of Longlac)
Manitouwadge Spirit
OFN Flames (Lac Seul)
Red Lake Jr. Miners
Sagamok Ravens
Shuniah Storm (Thunder Bay, borough of Current River)
SNWBU Posse (Whitefish Bay)
Soo 99ers (Sault Ste. Marie)
Thessalon Spartans
Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye
Wabaseemoong Wolves
Of the seven indigenous-owned teams, five are fully indigenous-owned (Eabametoong, GZA, OFN, Sagamok, and Wabaseemoong) and two are partnerships with non-indigenous entities (Fort William has the First Nation of the same name as a 40% owner, while SNWBU is an equal partnership between the Whitefish Bay consortium of multiple Anishinaabe First Nations, and the nearby village of Sioux Narrows). Another note here - the Soo 99ers are named after Wayne Gretzky, not because he's from there (he's from Brantford) but because he played his major junior for the Soo Greyhounds! You should see the hilarious logo of the Emo Walleye. It is a classic example of self-deprecating humour - imagine a fish with black eyeliner and emo hair! But its players are surprisingly good for such a small town!
North-Central Ontario Junior Hockey League, Second Division (NCOJHL-2)
Not much to say about this league, which has been graded the weakest in Ontario, although it isn't terrible by any means. While many of the teams are from the metro area of Sudbury, there are also three teams on Manitoulin Island, one of which is the league's only indigenous-owned team. On top of that, even if three quarters of the Finns from Ontario moved to Uralica, that didn't stop Sudbury from capitalizing on the Finnish history in the area, and allowed Jokerit from the SM-Liiga to set up a hockey school there, which eventually had a Junior C team added to this league! With 16 teams, this is one of the smaller leagues in the Big Two provinces.
The teams in the 2021-22 season are:
Burk’s Falls Bruins
Capreol Canucks (Sudbury, borough of Capreol)
Chapleau Shock
Gore Bay Giants
Jokerit Sudbury (city proper)
Little Current Lions
M’Chigeeng Sharks
Markstay Warriors (Markstay-Warren)
McKellar Archies
Nickel Centre Bats (Sudbury, borough of Nickel Centre)
Onaping Falls Huskies (Sudbury, borough of Onaping Falls)
Rayside-Balfour Jr. Canadians (Sudbury, borough of Rayside-Balfour)
Saint-Charles Cavalry
South River Rangers
Sundridge SunCats
Walden Wings (Sudbury, borough of Walden)
M'Chigeeng is the lone indigenous-owned team.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League System
The OPJHL had 66 teams last season. In one division. Hockey Canada came along and said that was too many. What happened next dropped the collective jaws of everyone on their staff. Sure, they split to ensure that nobody went over the cap of 32 teams. The entire OPJHL system ended up with a grand total of 128 teams spread out across four new leagues! In spite of the influx of teams, all four divisions are ranked in the Canadian top 10.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Southwest (OPJHL-SW)
Covering Essex, Kent, Lambton, and Elgin Counties, and most of Middlesex County, the preliminary rankings have them ninth overall in Canada's Junior C. Part of that definitely has to do with having three OHL B-teams in the league (for Windsor, Sarnia, and London). But there's definitely more to it than that. The teams in general have good quality rosters supported by good quality coaching staff. It's a winning formula. It's also worth noting that it's the only OPJHL division with more than one indigenous-owned team, having two fully-owned and two partially-owned teams.
And what are the teams for 2021-22, you ask? Well:
Amherstburg Athletics
Aylmer Spitfires
Blenheim Blades
Corunna Canucks
Dorchester Dolphins
Dresden Kings
East Kent United (Thamesville)
Essex 73's
Harrow Railers
Kingsville Counts
Lakeshore Canadiens (Belle River-Emeryville)
Lambeth Lancers (London, borough of Lambeth)
Lambton Shores Lions (borough of Forest)
Leamington Jr. Flyers
London Jr. Knights (city proper)
Lucan Irish
Middlesex Three Nations Militia (Muncey)
Mooretown Flags (Sarnia, borough of Mooretown)
Mount Brydges Bulldogs
Port Stanley Sailors
Ridgetown Reapers
Sarnia Jr. Sting (city proper)
St. Thomas Jr. Saints
Strathroy Jr. Rockets
Thamesford Trojans
Tilbury Tornadoes
Wallaceburg ThunderHawks
Walpole Island Warriors
Wheatley Sharks
Windsor Jr. Aces
Windsor Jr. Spitfires
Wyoming Wolves
Walpole Island and Middlesex Three Nations are fully indigenously-owned, and Lambton Shores and East Kent U are partially-owned.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League North-Huron (OPJHL-NH)
The weakest of the foursome, North-Huron nevertheless ranks tenth overall per the IHSB's prelims. More generally, it covers Muskoka, Haliburton, Simcoe, Dufferin, Bruce, Huron, Perth, Wellington, and Grey Counties, but it also has one team in the northernmost parts of Middlesex - most of the area is a hop, skip, and a jump from Lake Huron. Three OHL teams have their reserve teams in this division - Barrie, Owen Sound, and Guelph, and there are no indigenous-owned teams in the area in terms of actual entities, although Bruce Peninsula has First Nations individuals as board members. Some of these teams are admittedly quite rural due to the nature of the area covered!
For 2021-22, the teams are:
Alliston Hornets
Angus Army
Barrie Jr. Colts
Bracebridge Kings
Bruce Peninsula Bulldogs (North Bruce Peninsula, borough of Lion's Head)
Erin Emeralds
Exeter Hawks
Fergus Flames
Goderich Flyers
Gravenhurst Generals
Guelph Jr. Storm
Haliburton County Highlanders (Minden Hills)
Hanover Barons
Huntsville Otters
Innisfil Iron
Kincardine Bulldogs
Meaford Lakers
Midland Flyers
Mitchell Hawks
Mount Forest Patriots
North Middlesex Stars (Parkhill)
Owen Sound Jr. Attack
Penetang Kings
Perth East Predators (borough of Milverton)
Port Elgin Raging Tide
Rockwood Golems
Schomberg Cougars
Shelburne Shock
Springwater Dragons (Midhurst)
Stayner Siskins
Walkerton Hawks
Wingham Ironmen
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Erie-Niagara (OPJHL-EN)
Covering Oxford, Waterloo, Norfolk, Haldimand, Niagara, and Brant Counties, and the City of Hamilton, this is the second-strongest Junior C league of the OPJHL foursome, the third-strongest in Ontario, and the sixth-strongest in Canada overall. And while some of the areas are rural, others - such as Hamilton, which is a crossover territory between the OPJHL and the new GTJHL - are *very* urban. Kitchener and the Niagara Jr. Ice Dogs represent the OHL reserve teams in the division. The mighty Six Nations Tornadoes, who won the Junior Bs last season, also have their reserve team here, and considering how far they made it in the playoffs at the reserve level - they would lose out to national Junior C runners-up Uxbridge in the end in the semis, but they were the best Erie-Niagara team of the lot - I'd keep an eye on them. I have them pegged to win silverware this year!
Here's the whole 21-22 contingent:
Ayr Centennials
Baden Bruins
Beamsville Laser (Lincoln, borough of Beamsville)
Breslau Prussians (Kitchener, borough of Breslau)
Burford Bulldogs
Delhi Travellers
Dunnville Jr. Mudcats
Fort Erie Jr. Meteors
Glanbrook Rangers (Hamilton, borough of Binbrook)
Grimsby Peach Kings (Hamilton, borough of Grimsby)
Hagersville Hawks
Hespeler Shamrocks (Cambridge, borough of Hespeler)
Ingy Ice (Ingersoll)
Kitchener Jr. Rangers (city proper)
New Hamburg Firebirds
Niagara Falls Jr. Canucks (Niagara, borough of Niagara Falls)
Niagara Jr. IceDogs (Niagara, borough of St. Catharines)
Niagara Riverhawks (Niagara, borough of Chippawa)
Norwich Merchants
NOTL Lakers (Niagara, borough of Niagara-on-the-Lake)
Paris Mounties
Port Dover Sailors
Simcoe Steelers
Six Nations Jr. Tornadoes (Ohsweken)
Tavistock Braves
Tillsonburg Torrent
Waterford Irish
Waterloo Warriors
Welland Jr. Canadians
Wellesley Applejacks
West Lincoln Wildcats (borough of Smithville)
Woodstock Navy-Vets
Besides Six Nations, Hagersville is partially-owned by the Mississaugas of the Credit, an Anishinaabe group, who look to make a "fun rivalry" with Six Nations' reserves. Good luck with that - you'll need all you can get! They are so good.
Greater Toronto Junior Hockey League (GTJHL)
Greater Toronto, seeing all the hubbub around the OPJHL Junior C, decided it needed to start its own Junior C league just to keep its better players from going elsewhere. This is partially on account of the OHL teams in the area, who wanted to keep their reserves from becoming perpetual bench-warmers, and indeed, the Hamilton Steel Kings, Mississauga Steelheads, and Oshawa Generals all have their reserve teams here. Don't think it's all just Toronto, Hamilton, and Oakville, though! The league also contains the balance of Halton County and part of Durham-York County as well. Here are the 21-22 teams - all 28 of them:
Ajax Trojans (Toronto, borough of Ajax)
Bolton Blazers
Bowmanville Blast
Burlington Blizzard (Hamilton, borough of Burlington)
Don Mills Flyers (Toronto, borough of North York)
East Gwillimbury United (borough of Sharon)
Etobicoke Predators (Toronto, borough of Etobicoke)
Georgetown Jr. Raiders
Gormley Grenadiers (Whitchurch, borough of Gormley)
Halton Hills Harriers (Acton)
Hamilton Steel Princes (city proper)
King City Knights
Milton Maniacs
Mississauga Jr. Steelheads (Toronto, borough of Mississauga)
Mississauga Rebels (Toronto, borough of Mississauga)
Newmarket Rangers (Toronto, borough of Newmarket)
Nobleton Royals
North York Jr. Rangers (Toronto, borough of North York)
Oakville Jr. Blades
Oshawa Jr. Generals (Toronto, borough of Oshawa)
Richmond Hill Rockets (Toronto, borough of Richmond Hill)
Scarborough Devils (Toronto, borough of Scarborough)
Stoney Creek Stallions (Hamilton, borough of Stoney Creek)
Stouffville Spectres
Toronto Marlboros (borough of East York)
Toronto Nationals (city proper)
Toronto Titans (city proper)
Vaughan Kings (Toronto, borough of Vaughan)
It's hard to believe, but the GTJHL are ranked fourth in Canada's Junior C (behind the OPJHL-CE, the LHJRS, and the LHJEY) going into the 21-22 season!
Ligue de Hockey Junior d'Abitibi-Témiscamingue et d'Ontario Nord-Est (LHJATONE)
Stepping away from the Golden Horseshoe for a moment, francophone Northeast Ontario and Abitibi-Témiscamingue in Québec got this idea for a bi-provincial league, and while the OHA-North took a little convincing, they eventually saw how it would benefit both sides and they gave their blessing. It's a decent-enough league given the sparsity of the region's population. It may come as a bit of a surprise that there are only three indigenous teams in the division though! It has two QMJHL reserve teams as well - Val d'Or and Rouyn-Noranda.
Its roster for 2021-22:
Bleus Cobalt
Bruins Englehart
Castors Macamic
Cochrane Jr. Crunch
Foreurs Juniors Val-d’Or
Huskies Juniors Rouyn-Noranda
Iroquois Falls Bears
Léons La Sarre
Nipissing Nation Nighthawks
Saints Senneterre
Serpents Simosagigan
Smooth Rock Hunters
Temiscaming Royals
Juniors Unités Temiskaming Shores
Timmins Tigers
Voyageurs Malartic
Nipissing Nation, Simosagigan, and Temiscaming are indigenous teams, with the first two being fully-owned and the latter being half-owned by businessman Pascal Labranche.
Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Central-East (OPJHL-CE)
Due to strong performances last year and a great start to training camp, the OPJHL is ranked top Junior C league in Canada, Ontario, and of course the OPJHL system. It is home to hockey's purported birthplace, Kingston (although the professional game and the codified laws thereof have their origins in Montréal) as well as some outer suburbs of Toronto, Belleville, Peterborough, and several hockey hungry little towns and cities! I kid you not - of the final four in last year's OPJHL playoffs, three were from this division. Five of the last eight, too! You wonder why they're #1 even though Uxbridge lost a heartbreaker to the Tsuu T'inas in the Yzerman Cup finals!
Here's the 21-22 lineup:
Amherstview Jets
Belleville Bulls
Bobcaygeon Hip
Brighton Blazers
Brock Beavers (Beaverton)
Caledon Golden Hawks
Campbellford Rebels
Chemong Lakers (Selwyn)
Clarington Eagles (Newcastle)
Gananoque Islanders
Keswick Ice
Kingston Jr. Frontenacs
Lakefield Chiefs
Little Britain Merchants
Millbrook Wild (Cavan Monaghan, borough of Millbrook)
Mount Albert Avalanche
Napanee Raiders
North Kawartha Knights (Apsley)
Norwood Nets
Odessa Cossacks (Loyalist, borough of Odessa)
Orono Orange
Peterborough Jr. Petes
Picton Pirates
Port Hope Panthers
Port Perry Mojacks
South Frontenac Frontiersmen (Harrowsmith)
Stirling Silver Bullets
Sutton Stampede
Tamworth Cyclones
Trenton Jr. Golden Hawks
Tyendinaga Tornadoes (Desoronto)
Tyenindaga alone is indigenous-owned. Wondering who joined Six Nations in the final four? While Uxbridge beat the Jr. Tornadoes, it was the battle of OHL junior squads as the Junior Petes edged the Junior Frontenacs in a shootout!
Ottawa Valley Junior Hockey League (OVJHL)
Not directly related to the CCHL and EOJHL, the newly-renamed OVJHL nevertheless has connections with the two due to being in the same region of Ontario. This is most evident in the fact that in the 32-team rotation for 2021-22, there are six CCHL reserve teams! It resulted from such a glut of applications happening that the former National Capital Junior Hockey League split in two for this season, with the Québec teams going on to form the Ligue de Hockey Junior C Outaouaise. But the host cities and towns vary from national capital Ottawa (which oddly enough only has a single team at this level) to little towns spread throughout the constituent counties - the City of Ottawa plus Leeds & Grenville, Prescott & Russel, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry, Lanark, and Renfrew Counties, plus one team in Nipissing County as well.
Here's the gang:
Akwesasne Jr. Falcons (Cornwall Island)
Alfred Kings
Braeside Bulls
Bruins Bourget
Chalk River Chargers
Clarence Castors
Cornwall Jr. Colts
Deep River Atomic
Eganville Scouts
Kemptville Jr. 73s
Lancaster Lords
Lanciers Limoges
LV Laser (Laurentian Valley)
Madawaska Valley (Barry's Bay)
Maitland Mayhem (Augusta, borough of Maitland)
Metcalfe Jets (Ottawa, borough of Metcalfe)
MM Blades (Mississippi Mills)
Morrisburg Lions
North Dundas Rockets (Chesterville)
North Stormont Devils (Finch)
Pembroke Jr. Lumber Kings
Rockland Jr. Nationals
Russell Rage
Smiths Falls Cubs
South Algonquin Wendigos (borough of Madawaska)
South Dundas Warriors (borough of Iroquois)
South Grenville Rangers (Prescott)
South Stormont Storm (borough of Ingleside)
Spencerville Pioneers
Thousand Islands Bunyans (Landsdowne)
Troupe de l’Orignal
West Carleton Inferno (Carp)
There are two indigenous-owned teams in this division, of which one is a reserve team (Akwesasne) and the other is the first team and only part-owned (Eganville).
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(06-11-2022, 10:13 PM)Kyng Wrote: I love how [Abacab] has a track with a section named "Lurker", when the album title itself looks like Lurker's attempt to spell "Abacus" or something .
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