The Oceanside Generals and other VIJHL teams could be Junior A-bound if a request to BC Hockey is granted. (Gus Galloway Photography)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

moving on up

VIJHL seeks Junior A status for 2023/24 season

Jul 11, 2023 | 11:58 AM

NANAIMO — The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) is looking to adjust its footprint in the province.

The league’s executive committee formally applied to BC Hockey to recategorize the 11-team circuit as a Junior A league, a level up from its current Junior B status. The VIJHL is home to the Oceanside Generals and Nanaimo Buccaneers on the central Island.

Committee members were spurred by a decision from the B.C. Hockey League in the spring to leave Hockey Canada’s framework and operate independently as a Junior A level team moving forward.

“The BCHL has chosen as of June 1, 2023 to move towards independent hockey, which has left a major hole in sanctioned junior hockey programming in our province,” a statement from the committee read.

The move would allow VIJHL teams to more directly interact with other Junior A leagues across Canada for player movement and signings.

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It would also force teams to “adopt new operating standards” for the 2023/24 season, according to the executive committee.

The statement says meetings with BC Hockey also included two other B.C.-based Junior B leagues with the Lower Mainland’s PJHL and the Interior’s KIJHL.

It’s not clear whether those two leagues would join the VIJHL into one Junior A league, or whether they would follow to the Junior A level at all.

“The focus on the three leagues is to provide an avenue or pathway, that our BC born players can choose to follow their hockey aspirations,” the statement read. “All three Junior B leagues continue to work collaboratively to assist in filling the void.”

Oceanside won the 2023 VIJHL Championship, their fourth league title, and finished third at the provincial championship last season.

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