Heritage Junior Hockey League
Junior ice hockey league in Alberta, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL), formally the Heritage Junior B Hockey League, is a Junior B ice hockey league in Alberta, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada. The HJHL was founded in 1987 and is made up of teams from southern and central Alberta. The HJHL is the 2nd largest Junior B league in the province, next to the CapJHL (14 teams), with 13 teams. The top two teams qualify for the Alberta Provincial Junior B Hockey Championship, whose winner had an option to compete in the Keystone Cup.
Upcoming season or competition: 2024–25 HJHL season | |
| |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Divisions | 2 |
| No. of teams | 13 |
| Country | Canada |
| Headquarters | Alberta, Canada |
| Most recent champions | Medicine Hat Cubs (1st title) |
| Most titles | Okotoks Bisons (8 titles) |
| Official website | heritagejunior |
History
HJHL teams have won the gold medal at the Keystone Cup twice. Red Deer Vipers were the first in 2006 defeating Campbell River Storm in the final. Blackfalds Wranglers won the gold medal in 2011.
The Lacombe Wranglers won the 2007 league championship over the Airdrie Thunder and Okotoks Bisons in a three team, round robin final. The Wranglers also captured the Alberta provincial title. The Wranglers chose not to participate in the Keystone Cup tournament due to scheduling conflicts.
During the 2011 HJHL finals Okotoks Bisons won the best-of-three series versus Blackfalds Wrangers 2–1, their eighth league title. Both teams advanced to the Junior B Provincials in Leduc. Blackfalds won the final 2–1 over the Beaumont Chiefs (CapJHL) to advance to the 2011 Keystone Cup in Sherwood Park. With a 4–1 record going into the final, Blackfalds defeated the host Sherwood Park Knights (CapJHL) 2–1 to win the Western Canadian crown.
Teams
The league has 13 teams beginning in the 2026-27 season, including seven in the Northern division and six in the Southern division.[1]
| Team | Centre |
|---|---|
| Airdrie Thunder | Ron Ebbesen Twin Arena |
| Mountainview Colts | Didsbury Memorial Complex Arena |
| Ponoka Stampeders | Ponoka Arena Complex |
| Red Deer Vipers | Servus Arena |
| Rimbey Royals | Vern Poffenroth Memorial Arena |
| Rocky Rams | Rocky Arena Complex |
| Sylvan Lake Wranglers | Nexsource Centre |
Former teams
- Indus Hurricanes (1999–2021)
- Banff Academy Bears (2005–2017)
- Barrhead Jr. Elks
- Blackfalds Wranglers
- Claresholm Storm
- Drayton Valley Devils
- Hobbema Knight Hawks
- Kainai Junior Braves
- Innisfail Blades
- Lacombe Wranglers
- Livingstone Rockmen
- Lomond Lakers
- Maskwacis Attack
- Rimbey Rock
- Rimbey West Stars
- Siksika Ice
- Southern Express
- Stettler Lightning
- Three Hills Thrashers (2000-2025)
Champions
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Drayton Valley Devils | ||
| 1988 | Barrhead Jr. Elks | ||
| 1989 | Red Deer Cowboys | ||
| 1990 | Terraco Knights | ||
| 1991 | Hobbema Knight Hawks | ||
| 1992 | Ponoka Knight Hawks | ||
| 1993 | Lacombe Wranglers | ||
| 1994 | Lacombe Wranglers | ||
| 1995 | Lacombe Wranglers | ||
| 1996 | Foothills Bisons | ||
| 1997 | Foothills Bisons | ||
| 1998 | Airdrie Thunder | ||
| 1999 | Red Deer Vipers | ||
| 2000 | Airdrie Thunder | ||
| 2001 | Foothills Bisons | ||
| 2002 | Foothills Bisons | ||
| 2003 | Foothills Bisons | ||
| 2004 | Red Deer Vipers | ||
| 2005 | Okotoks Bisons | ||
| 2006 | Okotoks Bisons | Red Deer Vipers | |
| 2007 | Lacombe Wranglers | ||
| 2008 | Cochrane Generals | ||
| 2009 | Cochrane Generals | ||
| 2010 | Blackfalds Wranglers | ||
| 2011 | Okotoks Bisons | Blackfalds Wranglers | |
| 2012 | Okotoks Bisons | ||
| 2013 | Okotoks Bisons | Red Deer Vipers | 3-0 |
| 2014 | Okotoks Bisons | Blackfalds Wranglers | 3-2 |
| 2015 | Coaldale Copperheads | Blackfalds Wranglers | 3-0 |
| 2016 | Mountainview Colts | Cochrane Generals | 4-2 |
| 2017 | Red Deer Vipers | Cochrane Generals | 3-1 |
| 2018 | Red Deer Vipers | Coaldale Copperheads | 2-1 |
| 2019 | Airdrie Thunder | Coaldale Copperheads | 3-0 |
| 2020 | Cancelled (Covid-19) | --- | --- |
| 2021 | Cancelled (Covid-19) | ||
| 2022 | Okotoks Bisons | Cochrane Generals | 3-0 |
| 2023 | Okotoks Bisons | Sylvan Lake Wranglers | 3-0 |
| 2024 | Okotoks Bisons | Sylvan Lake Wranglers | 4-2 |
| 2025 | Sylvan Lake Wranglers | Okotoks Bisons | 3-1 |
| 2026 | Medicine Hat Cubs | Red Deer Vipers | 3-0 |
- Bold text denotes teams that won the Alberta provincial title.
