The Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League was a Canadian Junior "A"
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
league in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
:Peace Junior B Hockey League 19xx–1975
:Peace-Cariboo Junior Hockey League 1975–1991
:Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League 1991–1999
History
In 1975, the
Quesnel Millionaires
The Quesnel Millionaires were a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. They were members of the Interior Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They played their home games at Quesnel Twin Arena. ...
and
Prince George Spruce Kings joined the Peace Junior B Hockey League. The PJBHL already included the
Fort St. John Huskies,
Dawson Creek Canucks, and
Grande Prairie North Stars. Previously, Fort St. John won the
Cyclone Taylor Cup as British Columbia Jr. B Champions in 1969 as a member of the Peace Jr. B League. With the expansion, the PJBHL became the Peace-Cariboo Junior Hockey League. The first championship of the new PCJHL was won by Prince George, but Quesnel won the league and the
Cyclone Taylor Cup as BC Champions in 1977, 1978, and 1979 and the
Grande Prairie North Stars won the
Russ Barnes Trophy and
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
champions in 1976.
In 1980 the PCJHL became a Junior "A" League, one season after the
British Columbia Junior Hockey League
The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams.
From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Can ...
-
Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League
The Pacific Junior A Hockey League (PJHL) was a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey league operating within the Greater Vancouver metropolitan area in British Columbia from 1971 until 1979.
History
From 1962 to 1967, a Pacific Coast Junior Hockey Leagu ...
merger. The league's most successful team, by far, was the
Prince George Spruce Kings. Every season, their playoff champion earned the right to play for the
Mowat Cup, the British Columbia Junior "A" Title. The PCJHL/RMJHL was eligible for the
Royal Bank Cup, the Junior "A" National Title.
In 1991, the Peace Cariboo league doubled in size when it took in a portion of the Jr. B
Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) is a Junior "B" Ice Hockey league in British Columbia, Canada sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of the Teck Cup competes with the champions of the Pacific Junior Hockey League ...
and renamed itself the Rocky Mountain league. The original teams to the North would form the Peace-Cariboo Division, while the newer teams to the South would form the Kootenay Division.
In 1995, the
Trail Smoke Eaters
The Trail Smoke Eaters are a junior A ice hockey team from Trail, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League.
History
The Smoke Eaters (aka ''Smokies'') have existed as both junior and senior teams since the ...
walked away from the league and joined the
British Columbia Hockey League. In 1996, the league was reduced to the Kootenay Division members, when the entire Peace-Cariboo Division lost all its members:
Prince George Spruce Kings and
Quesnel Millionaires
The Quesnel Millionaires were a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. They were members of the Interior Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They played their home games at Quesnel Twin Arena. ...
jumped to the BCHL, the
Grande Prairie Chiefs
The Grande Prairie Storm is a junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) based in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Revolution Place.
History
The organization was founded in 1966 as the Junior Athlet ...
jumped to the
Alberta Junior Hockey League
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The re ...
, the
Williams Lake Mustangs
The Williams Lake Mustangs was a Junior ice hockey team from Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada. They are former members of the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League.
History
The Williams Lake Mustangs were founded in 1978 as members of the Pe ...
went defunct, and the
Fort St. John Huskies jumped to
Hockey Alberta
Hockey Alberta is the governing body of all ice hockey in Alberta, Canada and is affiliated with Hockey Canada. It was founded in 1907 as the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) to be the governing body for Alberta intra-city ice hockey play ...
's
North West Junior Hockey League
The North West Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" Ice Hockey league operating in the Peace River region of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of Northwest "B" playoffs earns the chance to compete for ...
.
To fill the void left when the Peace-Cariboo Division folded in 1996, the
Castlegar Rebels
The Castlegar Rebels are a junior 'B' ice hockey team based in Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Neil Murdoch Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). The Rebels ...
joined the fold. In 1998, however, the Rebels would return to the KIJHL and the
Cranbrook Colts
The Cranbrook Colts were a Junior "B" and a Junior "A" team in Cranbrook, British Columbia. They were formed in 1970 as a Junior "B" team in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. They were immediately successful, winning the league title ...
would fold to make way for the
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...
's
Kootenay Ice
The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and competed in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team played its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise w ...
.
[http://esportsdesk.com/leagues/custom_page.cfm?leagueID=14327&clientID=4369&link=Mills&pageid=6032] Left with 4 teams, the 4 teams of the RMJHL (
Creston Valley Thunder,
Kimberley Dynamiters,
Nelson Leafs
The Nelson Leafs are a Junior "B" ice hockey team based in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Neil Murdoch Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). They play their home ...
, and
Fernie Ghostriders
The Fernie Ghostriders are a junior 'B' ice hockey team based in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). The Ghost ...
) played an interlocking schedule with the
America West Hockey League
The America West Hockey League (AWHL) was a Tier II Junior A ice hockey league. The AWHL was formed in 1992 to offer junior ice hockey to the Rocky Mountain region of USA Hockey. It originally was called the American Frontier Hockey League (AFHL), ...
of
USA Hockey
USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...
. On February 12, 1999, the commissioner of the RMJHL,
Bronco Horvath
Bronco Joseph Horvath (March 12, 1930 – December 17, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 434 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1955 and 1968.
Early life
Horvath was born to an ethnic Hungarian family ...
, presented a letter to the management of the
British Columbia Hockey League proposing the four remaining teams join the BCHL as a "Kootenay Division".
The proposal was universally rejected by the BCHL.
After the 1998-99 season, Creston took a one-year hiatus which forced the RMJHL to fold. Nelson jumped to the KIJHL. Kimberley and Fernie outright joined the AWHL for the 1999-00 season and Kimberley left for the KIJHL in 2001, while Fernie moved to the
North American Hockey League in 2003 before joining the KIJHL in 2004. Creston returned to hockey after one year off in 2000 with the KIJHL.
The Mowat Cup
The
Mowat Cup is the championship trophy of Junior A hockey in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. For 19 years, starting in 1981, the champion of the RMJHL was forced to square off against the champion of the
British Columbia Hockey League for the right to face the
Alberta Junior Hockey League
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The re ...
champion in the
Doyle Cup. In the end, the BCHL had a virtually spotless record against the RMJHL, winning all 19 Mowat Cups and compiling a record 48 wins and 1 loss in that time frame. In fact, until the 1999 Mowat Cup (the final year of the RMJHL's existence), no BCHL champion had ever lost a playoff game against a RMJHL champion. In the 1999 Mowat Cup, the
Kimberley Dynamiters were able to snap the losing streak against the BCHL's
Vernon Vipers
The Vernon Vipers are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Interior Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Kal Tire Place.
History
The V ...
before losing the series.
Teams
Champions
From its founding until 1991, the league's champion was awarded the PCJHL Trophy. From 1992 until 1996, the league's champion was awarded the Citizen Cup. From 1997 until 1999, the league's champion was awarded the Subway/Eddie Mountain Trophy.
See also
*
Canadian Junior A Hockey League
The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champi ...
*
Royal Bank Cup
*
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
*
Hockey Canada
*
British Columbia Hockey League
*
Kootenay International Junior Hockey League
The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) is a Junior "B" Ice Hockey league in British Columbia, Canada sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The winner of the Teck Cup competes with the champions of the Pacific Junior Hockey League ...
References
External links
Vernon Junior A Hockey History
{{CJAHL
Defunct ice hockey leagues in British Columbia
1999 disestablishments in British Columbia
Sports leagues disestablished in 1999