Eight former members of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) have announced they will create their own independent league starting in 2026-27.
The new Western International Junior Hockey League (WIJHL) will not be affiliated with the KIJHL, Hockey Canada or BC Hockey.
The eight founding teams are the 100 Mile House Wranglers, Castlegar Rebels, Chase Heat, Creston Valley Thunder, Golden Rockets, Kelowna Chiefs, Sicamous Eagles and Spokane Braves.
According to a WIJHL statement, the decision was made by each individual team to “enhance the development opportunities for their players and families and to give their organizations greater autonomy over their future path.”
The WIJHL says the benefits of the move include greater development opportunities for players through affiliation agreements with higher levels of hockey, the ability to make decisions that are in the best interest of the individual organizations and an increased player pool that will raise the level of play in the league.
The WIJHL also says it anticipates that other teams will be interested in an independent hockey system, so they are open to discussing opportunities to grow the league.
In 2023, BC Hockey re-designated the KIJHL as a Junior A Tier 2 league, but also spelled out a pathway to Tier 1 status.
This led to the the KIJHL’s March 2025 announcement of major changes to its structure starting with the 2026-27 season. The plan was to have the league’s 21 members compete within separate Junior A Tier 1 and Tier 2 leagues.
All 21 teams then participated in a Tier 1 assessment process that saw 11 teams approved to transition to Tier 1.
Three teams were designated as Tier 2 – Chase Heat, Golden Rockets and Spokane Braves – all three have now moved to the WIJHL.
Seven teams were left undesignated with further assessment to occur during the 2025-26 season. Five of those teams – 100 Mile House Wranglers, Castlegar Rebels, Creston Valley Thunder, Kelowna Chiefs and Sicamous Eagles – have joined the WIJHL.
The WIJHL said the KIJHL and BC Hockey tiering system was one of their reasons for leaving the KIJHL.
The success of other independent hockey leagues such as the British Columbia Hockey League, Junior Prospects Hockey League and Vancouver Island Hockey League also played a role in the decision.
The founding members of the new league will operate as a board to make decisions in the best interest of the league’s growth and long-term stability.
They will begin the process of hiring a league commissioner and league staff in the near future.
Under the current Hockey Canada regulations, if a player participates in an independent league after Sep. 30 of the current season, they are not permitted to join a Hockey Canada sanctioned league during that same season but would be able to return the following season.
The league said more information about its structure, future partnerships and the next steps will be released in the coming weeks at wijhl.com.