The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) held its 2025 Annual League Meetings in Kamloops, with the weekend generating a number of news items that will be of interest to league fans.

The puck will drop on the 2025-26 KIJHL regular season on Friday, September 19 when the league’s 21 teams each embark on a 44-game schedule.

All clubs will play a total of 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 by one week and will conclude on Saturday, February 28. The full regular season schedule will be released on Wednesday, July 9.

The 2026 KIJHL Playoffs will begin on Friday, March 6 with one change having been made to the qualification criteria within the Okanagan-Shuswap Conference.

Recognizing that the Bill Ohlhausen division continues to be the lone KIJHL division with six member clubs, a Wild Card format has been introduced for this season 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.

KIJHL governors and staff were provided with an update regarding the status of the league’s Transitional Operating Plan ahead of a change in league structure for the 2026-27 season.

Six teams – the 100 Mile House Wranglers, Castlegar Rebels, Creston Valley Thunder Cats, Kelowna Chiefs, Quesnel River Rush and Williams Lake Mustangs – have confirmed their intent to participate in Phase 2 of the Junior A, Tier 1 assessment process being conducted by Blackfin Sports Group in fall 2025.

The league is also actively engaged with a number of communities and potential ownership groups that have expressed interest in applying for a Tier 2 expansion franchise. The KIJHL expects to finalize its new two-tiered structure and composition at its Semi-Annual Meeting in January 2026.

The league is pleased to announce the addition of Kerri Woods to the League Office in the newly-created role of Player Wellness Coordinator. Woods is a Canadian Certified Counsellor, who holds a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from Spokane’s Gonzaga University and will be focused on growing league and team mental health and wellness supports and enhancing the resources provided to KIJHL athletes.

Mark McNaughton (Princeton Posse, Bill Ohlhausen Division) and Matt Kolle (Kamloops Storm, Doug Birks Division) were re-elected to the KIJHL’s Executive Committee, which oversees day-to-day league business on behalf of the Board of Governors.

They join Brett Holt (Columbia Valley Rockies, Eddie Mountain Division) and Jake Swanson (Beaver Valley Nitehawks, Neil Murdoch Division), whose terms expire in June 2026. Holt continues in his position as the Chairperson of the KIJHL.

Williams Lake Mustangs head coach and general manager Tyrel Lucas was elected to the KIJHL’s Hockey Operations Committee, where he joins Derek Stuart (Kimberley Dynamiters, Eddie Mountain Division), Terry Jones (Beaver Valley Nitehawks, Neil Murdoch Division) and Mark McNaughton (Princeton Posse, Bill Ohlhausen Division).

Mike Casault (Fernie Ghostriders) was elected and Sheila Devost (Sicamous Eagles) was re-elected to the KIJHL’s Hockey Administration Committee, which is tasked with projects that include an evaluation of the league’s schedule length and format as the KIJHL continues its transition to a two-tiered league structure.

Darryl Adamson (Chase Heat), and Dave Hnatiuk (Grand Forks Border Bruins) begin their second year of two-year terms that will expire in June 2026.

The KIJHL has also launched a Governance Review Sub-Committee that will provide recommendations to the Executive Committee and Board of Governors regarding league governance ahead of the KIJHL’s 2026 Semi-Annual Meeting in January 2026.

Adamson (Chase Heat), Greg Aiken (100 Mile House Wranglers), Brandon Buliziuk (Creston Valley Thunder Cats), Devost (Sicamous Eagles), McNaughton (Princeton Posse) and Swanson (Beaver Valley Nitehawks) were elected to serve.

THANK YOU TO LARRY MARTEL

Larry Martel has retired from the KIJHL following more than 10 years of service to the league in a variety of roles, most recently as Deputy Commissioner. The Board of Governors, Executive Committee and League Office would like to recognize Larry for his many contributions to the growth and development of the KIJHL and junior hockey in B.C.

KIJHL

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