A schedule, an update to the new tiering system, a plethora of executive and committee changes and more came out of Kootenay International Junior Hockey League's (KIJHL) recent Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The league held its meeting over the first weekend of July in Kamloops with a number of issues being solved and updated.
2025/26 regular season
The league has announced the puck will drop on the new season on Friday, Sept. 19. All teams will play a 44-game schedule and will be 10 inter-conference games as follows:
- Teams in the Doug Birks division host teams from the Eddie Mountain division
- Teams in the Eddie Mountain division host teams from the Bill Ohlhausen division
- Teams in the Neil Murdoch division host teams from the Doug Birks division
- Teams in the Bill Ohlhausen division host teams from the Neil Murdoch division
The regular season has been extended one week, finishing on Saturday, Feb. 28. The schedule comes out on Wednesday, July 9.
New playoff format
The 2026 playoffs will begin on Friday, Mar. 6, but one change has been made to the Okanagan-Shuswap Conference.
Because the Bill Ohlhausen division is the only division with six teams, a wild card format has been introduced whereby the fifth place team in the Bill Ohlhausen division will qualify for the fourth playoff position in the Doug Birks division in the event that they have a superior record to the fourth place Doug Birks division club.
Update to the new Tiered system for the 2026/27 season
Back on Mar. 18, the KIJHL announced a new tiered system for the 2026/27 season, stating a Tier 1 and Tier 2 division.
When it was announced, 11 teams had already qualified for the Tier 1 division, four in the Tier 2, while seven teams were held in limbo.
Coming out of the latest AGM, six of the seven teams have confirmed their "intent to participate" in Phase 2 of the Junior A, Tier 1 assessment process, which is being conducted by Blackfin Sports Group this fall.
The six teams are the 100 Mile House Wranglers, Quesnel River Rush, Williams Lake Mustangs, Castlegar Rebels, Creston Valley Thunder Cats, and Kelowna Chiefs. The one team not intending to participate is the Sicamous Eagles.
Because of this, and the status of six teams being up in the air, the league is actively looking at communities and leadership groups for expansion to compete in the Tier 2 division.
The KIJHL expects to finalize the new two-tiered structure and composition at its Semi-Annual Meeting in January 2026.
Executive and Committee changes
At the AGM, Mark McNaughton (Princeton Posse, Bill Ohlhausen Division) and Matt Kolle (Kamloops Storm, Doug Birks Division) were re-elected to the KIJHL香蕉视频直播檚 Executive Committee, which oversees day-to-day league business on behalf of the Board of Governors. The committee has one representative per division. McNaughton and Kolle join Brett Holt (Columbia Valley Rockies, Eddie Mountain Division) and Jake Swanson (Beaver Valley Nitehawks, Neil Murdoch Division). Holt's and Swanson's contracts expire in June 2026. Holt remains the league's chairperson.
Williams Lake Mustangs head coach and general manager Tyrel Lucas was elected to the KIJHL's Hockey Operations Committee, joining Derek Stuart (Kimberley Dynamiters, Eddie Mountain Division), Terry Jones (Beaver Valley Nitehawks, Neil Murdoch Division) and McNaughton.
The KIJHL香蕉视频直播檚 Hockey Administration Committee is tasked with projects like the league's schedule and schedule length as well as continuing the league's transition to a two-tiered structure. Mike Casault of the Fernie Ghostriders was elected and Sheila Devost of the Sicamous Eagles was re-elected. Darryl Adamson (Chase Heat) and Dave Hnatiuk (Grand Forks Border Bruins) have begun their second years on the committee, which comes to an end in June 2026.
In addition, the league has launched a Governance Review Sub-Committee, which will provide recommendations to the Executive Committee and Board of Governors regarding league governance ahead of the Semi-Annual Meeting in January 2026. Elected to serve on the sub-committee were Adamson, McNaughton, Devost, Swanson, Greg Aiken (100 Mile House Wranglers), and Brandon Buliziuk (Creston Valley Thunder Cats).
New mental health support for players
In a new role to the league, Kerri Woods has been hired as the Player Wellness Coordinator. Woods is a Canadian certified counsellor, who holds a Master's degree in Counselling Psychology from Gonzaga University. Woods is responsible for growing and enhancing mental health supports and wellness for players and teams.
