What appeared to be a rebranding of the WSHL to the CAJHL just yesterday, has now been revealed as something completely different. The teams in the WSHL have decided to leave the league and start there own league that is called the CAJHL. The Barrhead Bombers, Cold Lake Aeros, Edmonton Eagles, Hinton Timberwolves, Vegreville Vipers and Vernal Oilers will all be founding member teams of the CAJHL.
At first glace this seemed to be a move right out of Ron White’s playbook, the commissioner of the WSHL, with creating a whole new league in the hopes to leave behind all the negative press and issues that were created in the WSHL. The WSHL was once a good league, but with poor leadership, it ended up where it is today with zero teams and nobody wanting to play there.
The CAJHL will be a new entity that will be governed by the founding teams. Ron White seems to no longer be the commissioner, however, he is still around due to the fact that the league needs insurance. Hockey Canada is not an option, so it appears that they will need to use Ron White in order to get insurance and function as a league.
Many of the teams moving into the CAJHL released an identical statement, which is the following…
Five Canadian teams and one United States team have come together today to announce their agreement to establish a new league named the Can-Am Junior Hockey League. The new league will be governed by its founding member teams and continue to operate with the Junior A model.
Founding members teams include the Barrhead Bombers, Cold Lake Aeros, Edmonton Eagles, Hinton Timberwolves, Vegreville Vipers and Vernal Oilers.
Formation of the new league comes at a time when a change in leadership and direction is necessary. All six teams have previously competed in the Western States Hockey League.
Expansion in both Canada and the United States has been discussed and will continue under the CAJHL for the 2022-23 season.
The COVID pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and enhanced approach are required to provide value and support for the players wishing to move on to the next level of hockey. Our objective is the improvement in the quality of hockey and the provision of a highly competitive environment, safe environment.
For the remainder of the 2021-22 season the teams will govern themselves. A search for a league commissioner will begin at the conclusion of the season. Announcement of new teams shall occur after the vetting process is complete.
The founder member teams wish to thank the players, parents, fans, volunteers and staff for their continued support during this transition.
As much as I hope this is the end of the WSHL, I have lost faith given all the events in the past, the WSHL and Ron White are most likely not going anywhere, so we will sit back and see what they come up with next. I would stay far away from the WSHL if they decide to start back up again. There are plenty of other opportunities and places that will actually help you develop and get to the next level.
We will continue to follow up on this and make sure that the CAJHL is doing things the right way. They have a clean slate, let’s hope they do what they are setting out to do.
