2024–25 KIJHL season

The 2024–25 KIJHL season is the 58th season of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The regular season began on September 20, 2024, with 18 of 21 franchises in action on opening night, the Kelowna Chiefs and defending champions the Revelstoke Grizzlies started the season the next night while the Ghostriders started their season the following Friday night. The only rematch of the 2024 Teck Cup Finals will occur on December 7, 2024, in Revelstoke. The season will run until February 22, 2025.[1] The playoffs will begin a week later on February 28, 2025, with 16 teams competing for the Teck Cup.

2024–25 KIJHL season
LeagueKIJHL
SportIce hockey
DurationSeptember – February
Number of games44
Number of teams21
Streaming partner(s)flohockey.tv
Seasons
2025–26 →

League changes

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The first major off-season change occurred on March 22, 2024, when the KIJHL's board of governors approved the sale of the Summerland Steam to a new ownership group including Tyrel and Robin Lucas, Parnell Pinette, Brad Paddison, Gerald Overton, and Aaron and Nathan Zurak. The new ownership moved the team to Williams Lake where they became the Williams Lake Mustangs,[2] a moniker previously used by the RMJHL team that played from 1978 to 1996.[3]

On March 31, 2024, the league announced that the Merritt Centennials, formerly of the BCHL, would join the KIJHL as an expansion franchise in the 2024–25 KIJHL season. The franchise will retain the Centennials moniker, colours, arena and branding.[4]

The second relocation of the 2024 off-season occurred five days later when the North Okanagan Knights were sold to a Quesnel-based ownership group who moved the team north, expanding the league footprint by 100 kilometres into the Cariboo region where they would be rebranded as the Quesnel River Rush.[5]

The Kelowna Chiefs were sold to Kelowna businessman Darren Tymchyshyn.[6]

On May 5, Rebels' forward Nathan Jackman was killed in a car accident.[7] Nate's number 23, was retired on September 20th at the Rebels home-opener. Jasper Tait, who started the season with William's Lake before being traded to Grand Forks, and Caden Still of the Nelson Leafs, have changed their numbers to 23 to honor Nate.

On December 2nd the Nelson Leafs fired head coach/general manager Briar McNaney after the team's 12-11-0-0 start to the season that saw six different goaltenders play[8]. Assistant Coach Gianni Mangone would be promoted to the role of interim-head coach, the Leafs organization has yet to announce the full-time plans going forward.[9]

Regular season

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Legend

On July 3rd 2024 the KIJHL announced the regular season schedule as well as the new division format in the Okanagan Conference, the Revelstoke Grizzlies and Sicamous Eagles would move from the Doug Birks Division to the Bill Ohlhausen joining the Centennials, Chiefs, Coyotes, and Posse. While the River Rush and Mustangs would take their spots in the Doug Birks along with the Storm, Heat, and Wranglers. The KIJHL season will be 44 games long for each team. The KIJHL erroneously reported that each team would play 10 out-of-conference games but in reality the 10 clubs in the Kootenay will in fact play 11.[10] Each team's schedule can be broken down as follows:

  • Neil Murdoch Division
    • 1 game against each Doug Birks team (5 total: 5 away)
    • 1 game against each Bill Ohlhausen team (6 total: 6 home)
    • 2 games against all-but-one Eddie Mountain team (9 total: 4 home, 5 away)
    • 6 games against the other Neil Murdoch teams (24 total: 12 home, 12 away)
  • Eddie Mountain Division
    • 1 game against each Doug Birks team (5 total: 5 home)
    • 1 game against each Bill Ohlhausen team (6 total: 6 away)
    • 2 games against all-but-one Neil Murdoch team (9 total: 5 home, 4 away)
    • 6 games against the other Eddie Mountain teams (24 total: 12 home, 12 away)
  • Doug Birks Division
    • 1 game against each Neil Murdoch team (5 total: 5 home)
    • 1 game against each Eddie Mountain team (5 total: 5 away)
    • 2 games against each Bill Ohlhausen team (12 total: 6 home, 6 away)
    • 5 or 6 games against the other Doug Birks division teams (22 total: 11 home, 11 away)
  • Bill Ohlhausen Division
    • 1 game against each Neil Murdoch team (5 total: 5 away)
    • 1 game against each Eddie Mountain team (5 total: 5 home)
    • 2 games against each Doug Birks team (10 total: 5 home, 5 away)
    • 4-5 games against the other Bill Ohlhausen teams (24 total:12 home, 12 away)[1]

The season began on September 20th

Standings

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Team W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA GD
Kootenay Conference-Eddie Mountain Division
Kimberley Dynamiters 14 6 3 0 31 96 81 15
Fernie Ghostriders 12 4 2 1 27 81 54 27
Columbia Valley Rockies 13 10 0 0 26 98 81 17
Creston Valley Thundercats 9 13 2 0 20 58 84 -26
Golden Rockets 5 10 4 3 17 47 81 -34
Kootenay Conference-Neil Murdoch Division
Beaver Valley Nitehawks 15 5 2 0 32 94 52 42
Grand Forks Border Bruins 15 4 2 0 32 99 60 39
Nelson Leafs 12 11 0 0 24 85 105 -20
Castlegar Rebels 7 9 2 3 19 58 70 -12
Spokane Baves 2 16 1 2 7 48 118 -70
Okanagan/Shuswap Conference-Bill Ohlhausen Division
Princeton Posse 18 5 0 1 37 107 54 53
Revelstoke Grizzlies 15 3 0 2 32 78 47 31
Sicamous Eagles 13 6 4 0 30 84 71 13
Merritt Centennials 12 8 2 1 27 74 71 3
Osoyoos Coyotes 9 11 1 1 20 61 82 -21
Kelowna Chiefs 9 9 0 2 20 71 83 -12
Okanagan/Shuswap Conference-Doug Birks Division
100 Mile House Wranglers 13 8 0 2 28 92 83 9
Kamloops Storm 13 10 1 0 27 87 84 3
Quesnel River Rush 10 10 1 0 21 80 91 -11
Chase Heat 9 11 2 0 20 59 80 -21
Williams Lake Mustangs 6 10 3 2 17 73 98 -25

x-Clinched Playoffs xy-Clinched Division xyz-Clinched Conference xyzp-Clinched best regular season record e-Eliminated from playoff contention

Division Races

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Top team in each division after each week
Day Eddie Mountain Neil Murdoch Doug Birks Bill Ohlhausen
Team Points Team Points Team Points Team Points
Sept 16 5 Teams 0 5 Teams 0 5 Teams 0 6 Teams 0
Sept 23 Columbia Valley 4 3 Teams (NEL, BVN, GFB) 4 Williams Lake 4 5 Teams (REV, KEL, MER, SIC, OSO) 2
Sept 30 Columbia Valley 8 Nelson 8 Chase 6 Revelstoke 6
Oct 7 2 Teams (CVR,KIM) 8 Nelson 10 Chase 9 Princeton 11
Oct 14 Kimberley 12 Nelson 14 2 Teams (MHW, CHA) 11 Princeton 15
Oct 21 Kimberley 18 Nelson 16 100 Mile House 15 Princeton 19
Oct 28 Kimberley 23 2 Teams (BVN, GFB) 19 100 Mile House 15 Princeton 25
Nov 4 Kimberley 27 2 Teams (BVN, GFB) 21 100 Mile House 19 Princeton 29
Nov 11 Kimberley 28 Beaver Valley 23 100 Mile House 21 Princeton 31
Nov 18 Kimberley 30 Beaver Valley 26 100 Mile House 24 Princeton 35
Nov 25 Kimberley 30 2 Teams (BVN, GFB) 30 100 Mile House 26 Princeton 37
Dec 2 Kimberley 31 2 Teams (BVN, GFB) 32 100 Mile House 28 Princeton 37
Dec 9
Dec 16
Dec 23
Dec 30
Jan 6
Jan 13
Jan 20
Jan 27
Feb 3
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24

Player of the week

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KIJHL players of the Week/Month
Week Forward Defenceman Goaltender
Sep 23 Connor Hovelkamp (NEL) 3G 2A 2GP Liam Ray (BVN) 2G 2A 2GP Brenner Fyfe (KAM) 3GA 71SVS 2GP
Sept 30 Jaden Rusznak (MHW) 2G 5A 3GP Nick Hughes (KIM) 2G 3A 2GP Michael Makowsky (SIC) 3GA 67 SVS 2GP
Oct 7 Boris Hristov (BVN) 2G 3A 2GP Andrew Morris (CHA) 2G 1A 2GP Brendan Smith (CRE) 2GA 46SVS 2GP
Oct 14 Braycen Dube (KAM) 4G 5A 4GP Nathan White (REV) 2G 1A 1GP Gibson Horne (PRI) 1GA 50SVS 1GP
Oct 21 Luke Davies (KIM) 2G 4A 3GP Grady Sterling-Ponech (PRI) 1G 4A 3 GP Andrew Krakora (MER) 0GA 46SVS 2GP
Oct 28 Matthew Langdon (PRI) 6G 2A 2GP Brandon Spilchen (GOL) 2G 2A 3GP Connor Stojan (BVN) 3GA 74SVS 2GP
October Matthew Langdon (PRI) 11G 11A 10GP Eric Martin (KIM) 4G 11A 9GP Andrew Krakora (MER) 1.64GAA .944SVP 5-1-1
Nov 4 JP Desabrais (WLM) 1G 6A 2GP Nathan Laforge (KIM) 2G 1A 2GP Ryder Ponto (REV) 0.00 GAA 1.000SVP 1GP
Nov 11 Sam Giangualano (MER) 4G 5A 3GP Landen Janz (MHW) 2G 2A 2GP Riley Deck (GOL) 4GA 74SVS 2GP
Nov 18 Justice Lowen (PRI) 3G 3A 2GP Grady Sterling-Ponech (PRI) 1G 2A 2GP Dawson Holitzki (KAM) 0GA 42SV 1GP
Nov 25 Taylor Haggerty (KIM) 4G 1A 2GP Jonathan Strecheniuk (BVN) 1G 2A 2GP Tyler Picha (SPO) 3GA 88SV 2GP
November
Dec 2 Kwentyn Oss (CAS) 3G 1A 1GP Graham Willey (CHA) 3G 1A 2GP Kael Svenson (SIC) 4GA 71SV 2GP
Dec 9
Dec 16
Dec 23
Dec 30
December
Jan 6
Jan 13
Jan 20
Jan 27
January
Feb 3
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24
February

Cariboo Cup

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The Cariboo Cup is an informal in Regular-Season championship between the three Cariboo based teams (Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House) organized by the three clubs and the cities' respective newspapers and radio stations, the winner will be the team with the best points percentage amongst the games played head-to-head between the three teams

TEAM W L OL PTS PCT vs QUE vs MHW vs WLM
Quesnel River Rush 3 0 1 7 0.875 - 2-0-1 1-0-0
100 Mile House Wranglers 4 1 1 9 0.750 1-1-1 - 3-0-0
Williams Lake Mustangs 0 1 3 3 0.375 0-0-1 0-1-2 -

BCHC Prospects game

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The BCHC prospects game was the third edition of the game, a matchup between the best young players in the KIJHL and PJHL who formed the BCHC on September 22nd 2022.[11] The game is used to showcase the best talent in the league to higher leagues, including the WHL. The Langley Trappers of the PJHL hosted the 2024 game on November 19th at the George Preston Rec. Centre.[12] The team staff was announced on October 30th, team KIJHL's head coach was once again be Dave Hnatiuk of the Grand Forks Border Bruins, who was the head coach of the team at the two previous games. The assistant coaches were Nick Deschenes of the Kelowna Chiefs, Chad Scharff of the Fernie Ghostriders and Geordie Wudrick of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats. Stephen Piccolo of the Beaver Valley Nitehawks was the team's opperations manager and Brian Burdikin, of the Border Bruins, was the athletic trainer and equipment manager. Team PJHL was be coached by Cullen Revel (Richmond Sockeyes), Andy Liboiron (Surrey Knights), Jarrett Craig (Abbotsford Pilots) and Caymen Froude (Coastal Tsunami), the team's co-Operations Managers were Derek Bedard (Ridge Meadows Flames) and Will Kump (Richmond Sockeyes). Jordana Robinson (Langley Trappers), Steve Sun (Port Moody Panthers) and Kristalee Walchuk (Abbotsford Pilots) formed the PJHL’s Athletic Training & Equipment Management staff. Rosters were announced November 6th.[13] Many fans of both the KIJHL and PJHL voiced their displeasure with the concept of the game as many felt that either an inter-league all star game or a Kootenay Conference VS Okanagan Conference all star game would be more enjoyable to watch, as a game featuring the league's best players was seen as more enjoyable as opposed to a game of just the best players aged 17 or younger.

Rosters

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Team KIJHL Team PJHL
Player Team Player Team
Goaltenders
Brenner Fyfe Kamloops Josh Vallee Ridge Meadows
Michael Makowsky Sicamous Armaan Kaila Richmond
Defencemen
Aaron Zulinick Kamloops Tyler Blatz Ridge Meadows
Brett Woodard 100 Mile House Miller Bruckshaw Delta
Keiran Thibault Kamloops Noah Marshall Chilliwack
Ben Filippone Castlegar Lachlan Staniforth Chilliwack
Rhett Serfas Merritt Ryan Howe Langley
Levi Dewitt Sicamous Nathan Gray Richmond
Forwards
Asher Lucas Williams Lake Lucas Davidson North Vancouver
Luca D'Amore Kamloops Cody Johnston Abbotsford
Phoenix Flett Grand Forks Beaudy Beaudin Richmond
Berkley Gross Creston Valley Jesse Brideau Chiliwack
Dylan Ruff Merritt Lukas Jakubec Delta
Jaden Rusznack 100 Mile House Jonah Ussher White Rock
Ryker Rougeau Grand Forks Max Shin Richmond
Clayton Gillmore Sicamous Oliver Nottingham Coastal
Noah Paulsen Kamloops Dalton Toma Ridge Meadows
Kaelen Swanson Williams Lake Deegan Holding Chilliwack
Brayden Rotach Castlegar Avraham Brown Langley
Luke Davies Kimberley Nick Kovich Richmond

[14][15]

19 November 2024
18:00
KIJHL Prospects1-4
(0–2,1-0,0-2)
PJHL ProspectsGeorge Preston Rec. Centre, Langley
Game reference
Brenner Fyfe (Starter)(L), Michael MakowskyGoaliesJosh Vallee (Starter)(W), Armaan KailaReferees:
  Jagjit Cheema
  Malcom Simpson
Linesmen:
  Connor Bradley
  Isaac La Roy
0–16:37 – O.Nottingham (PP) (B. Beaudin, L. Davidson)
0–210:51 –N. Kovich (M. Shin)
35:43 – A. Zulinick (PP)1-2
1-346:47 – T. Blatz (PP)(C. Johnston, J. Brideau)
1-453:36 – A. Brown
18 minPenalties12 min
23Shots46

Aaron Zulinick was named the KIJHL's player of the game. Whilst Cody Johnston received the honor for team PJHL.

Awards

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On November 12th the KIJHL announced the 'Wayne March 'GM of the Year' award' to join the existing annual awards. The award was name after Sicamous Eagles co-founder and GM who passed away on September 28th.

Playoffs

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The 2025 'Quest for the Teck cup' will begin on February 28th 2025 with the top four teams in each division making the playoffs, 1st will play 4th and 2nd will play 3rd in the division semi-finals. The winners will meet in the division final. The winners of those series will meet in the conference finals (Eddie Mountain V Neil Murdoch in the Kootenay and Doug Birks V Bill Ohlhausen in the Okanagan/Shuswap). The winners of the conference finals will meet in the Teck Cup Final. All series will be best-of-seven with games 1,2,5,and 7 being hosted by the team with the superior regular-season record. Barring any unforeseen circumstances this format, which was also used last year, will be the same format as the previous season's for the first time since the 2018 and 2019 playoffs.

Mowat Cup

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The Mowat Cup is the British Columbia Jr. A hockey championship between the champions of all the leagues in BC, a new format for the completion is expected as the previous format of the winners of the KIJHL, PJHL, and VIJHL plus a fourth host team would no longer be feasible due to the VIJHL becoming an independent league as an affiliate for the BCHL in a manner similar to Jr. B.[16] An announcement is expected in early February 2025.

References

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  1. ^ a b "KIJHL - Kootenay International Junior Hockey League". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  2. ^ jdubois (22 March 2024). "KIJHL approves move to Williams Lake". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Williams Lake Mustangs hockey team [RMJHL] statistics and history at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  4. ^ jdubois (31 March 2024). "KIJHL approves Merritt Centennials as expansion club". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  5. ^ jdubois (5 April 2024). "KIJHL approves move to Quesnel". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  6. ^ jdubois (2 May 2024). "KIJHL approves Chiefs ownership change". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  7. ^ jdubois (8 May 2024). "KIJHL mourns passing of Nathan Jackman". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Nelson Leafs fall to Grand Forks, beat Golden". Nelson Star. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  9. ^ "UPDATED: Nelson Leafs fire head coach Briar McNaney". Nelson Star. 3 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  10. ^ jdubois (3 July 2024). "KIJHL releases 2024-25 regular season schedule". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  11. ^ jdubois (22 September 2022). "KIJHL, PJHL announce creation of BCHC". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  12. ^ nikkistamand (22 August 2024). "Letter from the KIJHL Commissioner". www.nelsonleafs.ca. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  13. ^ jdubois (30 October 2024). "Team Staff named for 2024 BCHC Prospects Game". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  14. ^ jdubois (6 November 2024). "KIJHL roster announced for 2024 BCHC Prospects Game". www.kijhl.ca. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  15. ^ bradydouglas (6 November 2024). "BCHC Prospects Game Rosters Announced". www.pjhl.net. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  16. ^ "VIJHL ANNOUNCES DECISION TO BECOME INDEPENDENT LEAGUE". www.vijhl.com. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.

Further reading

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