There鈥檚 movement afoot in the province鈥檚 junior hockey landscape.

Junior B leagues like the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) are discussing the possibility of being reclassified as Junior A-level hockey since the BC Hockey League (BCHL) divorced itself from Hockey Canada in order to become an independent league.

The BCHL was this province鈥檚 Junior A level hockey circuit with 18 franchises but it chafed under eligibility rules set by Hockey Canada. On June 1, the BCHL became independent of Hockey Canada in order to address hurdles for players under 18 years of age who wish to maintain eligibility for U.S. college scholarships, amongst other challenges. The league can now also recruit players from outside the province, the U.S. and even Europe.

READ MORE:

The departure of the BCHL leaves Hockey Canada and BC Hockey without a Junior A circuit in this province and so it was speculated that the Junior B leagues could step up to that level. Junior B leagues in B.C. include the VIJHL (Vancouver Island), the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (B.C. Interior) and the Pacific Junior Hockey League (Lower Mainland of B.C.).

Those three junior B leagues are currently in discussion with each other on classification, VIJHL president Simon Morgan told Black Press Thursday, June 22.

And there are discussions scheduled with BC Hockey.

鈥淥nce these meetings are concluded, the league may be in a position to release further information, however, not at this time,鈥� Morgan said.

The 鈥減roject鈥� got a boost of interest in mid-June when it was announced that the KIJHL has submitted an application to BC Hockey to have the league and its members reclassified as Junior A level.

READ MORE:

KIJHL Chairman Brett Holt said that the BCHL鈥檚 departure to independent hockey has left 鈥渁 major hole in sanctioned junior hockey programming in our province.鈥�

鈥淲ith the BCHL departing to independent hockey, we believe that we are in exciting place right now to offer a solid alternative, an opportunity for really affordable, grassroots hockey, and just building on what we鈥檝e been doing for 55 years,鈥� Holt told the Kimberley Bulletin.

鈥� Written by Alistair Taylor ,with files from Trevor Crawley, Cranbrook Townsman, and Paul Rodgers, Kimberley Bulletin.