The B-C Hockey League will be a 20-team loop in 2025-26.
The teams who completed last season with the exception of Penticton are committed for next season, that was confirmed at the league’s Annual General Meeting.
Board Chair and Trail Smoke Eaters Owner Rich Murphy says they continue to work with the Penticton ownership group on relocation.
Murphy maintains they remain a valued member of the league with the Vees now moving on to the WHL as an expansion franchise.
Murphy says the BCHL is also open to expansion.
“We do want to expand, but it’s got to be in the right market, with the right owners at the right time,” he explained, noting that the league is still in the exploration stage.
“We have people who are interested, we have areas that are interesting to us, there’s interest but I would say there is nothing to really focus on,” Murphy explained.
The Chairman of the Board also said there will be no further changes to roster rules after the mid-season decision to allow teams to carry up to seven 20-year-old’s and up to four Europeans.
“The reality is we feel very comfortable where we sit going into next season with our roster composition and our competition committee has done a lot of really good work, we addressed those issues early (last season),” Murphy pointed out.
Those moves came after the NCAA started offering scholarships to players in the Canadian Hockey League, including the WHL.
Murphy says the board is confident the BCHL will continue thrive at developing players for U-S College Hockey.
“Even today, we still are the premier league in Canada for developing college bound hockey players, that has not changed,” stated Murphy.
“We’re doubling down on that, we’re going to make sure that we continue to improve our league in areas of education initiatives and preparing these athletes for the next step.”
Murphy has helped navigate the league through its departure from Hockey Canada and the massive change to the junior hockey landscape brought on by the NCAA decision during the 2024-25 season.
He expects the challenges to continue.
“With everything that’s going on with college hockey and the CHL and hockey in general, this is something that we as a league will continue to focus on reacting and maneuvering and being cautious about what we do.”
Murphy is extremely excited about the renovations to Cominco Arena, feeling the new glass, boards and concrete floor will make the main rink in the Trail Memorial Centre among the best anywhere.
The Murphy Family Foundation donated $1-million US toward the project.
The rink is expected to re-open in early-to-mid Oct.
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