Statement released by five departing teams contradicts what BCHL said as schedule remains in turmoil: AJHL

Defending AJHL champion Brooks Bandits defeated Blackfalds 5-2 in a game played earlier this season in Brooks. Both clubs are part of five AJHL franchises moving to the British Columbia Hockey League next season. (Photo: Twitter@AJHL)

The breakup between the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and five of its clubs that are departing for the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is getting messy like a Hollywood divorce.

Thursday night, the five departing teams – Brooks, Okotoks, Blackfalds, Spruce Grove and Sherwood Park – issued a statement after the AJHL essentially wiped out what remains of their regular season schedules, and appeared to doom their prospects of competing in the post-season.

“We have not entered into any agreement to leave any of those organizations, nor have we made any announcement to that effect,” the statement said, after stating that the five teams remain members in good standing of the AJHL, Canadian Junior Hockey League Alberta and Hockey Canada.

“We have full intention of fulfilling our commitments to each of those bodies for the remainder of the 2023-24 regular season and postseason,” it said, continuing.

“We do not agree that any AJHL games should be cancelled or postponed. We share in the public’s disappointment in the current situation,” it said, before concluding that all five teams want to finish up the AJHL season.

Friday morning at 10:30 a.m., the AJHL clapped back, saying the teams’ statement was at odds with the BCHL announcement over the weekend.

“The denial made late Thursday night by the five clubs directly contradicts the BCHL itself,” it said, “which said last Saturday that the unsanctioned league and the clubs had ‘committed to terms’ for the teams to join the BCHL starting in the 2024-25 season."

They further shot down a comment from the president of the Brooks Bandits, the three-time defending AJHL champions, Paul Seaton, “who said two days ago that 'nothing has been signed yet but an agreement has been reached and our board has agreed to it unanimously…The information wasn’t supposed to be out until May 1.'”

They added that given the contradictory information being presented by the five clubs and the BCHL head office, they requested clarification.

“Until such time as the AJHL is satisfied that there are no plans for the five clubs to depart the league to play unsanctioned hockey, the current scheduling decisions remain in place.”

While the five clubs have had all their games against the remaining 11 AJHL teams cancelled, they are still allowed to play against each other.

That means the Okotoks Oilers game against the Bandits scheduled for Brooks Friday night, will be played.

“Back on the ice tonight,” the Oilers tweeted Friday, “Where we belong. A huge matchup in Brooks goes at 7 p.m.!”

However, the Oilers' Saturday night game against Whitecourt has been cancelled.