Western Canada Junior Hockey League (1948–1956)

The Western Canada Junior Hockey League was a junior ice hockey based in Alberta and Saskatchewan from 1948 until 1956. It was formed by teams which sought a higher level of competition and more formal organization. Its teams were eligible for the Memorial Cup as the national junior champion of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, and were runners-up in five seasons as the Abbott Cup junior champion of Western Canada.

The Abbott Cup was the championship trophy for junior ice hockey in Western Canada.

History

The Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL) formed in 1948 after junior ice hockey teams from Alberta and Saskatchewan wanted to form a league with a higher level of competition with more formal organization by a dedicated league governor rather than a provincial governing body. All four teams from the Southern Alberta Junior Hockey League combined with two teams from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League to become a six-team league. The remaining junior teams in Saskatchewan reorganized as the South Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for the 1948–49 season.[1] Earlier in 1948, the stronger junior teams based in Saskatchewan and Manitoba proposed an inter-provincial league. Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association president Jimmy Dunn was opposed to the idea since he felt it would have a negative effect on junior hockey in Winnipeg.[2]

The WCJHL operated under the joint jurisdiction of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association and the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association, and participated in the playoffs for the Memorial Cup as organized by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA). Teams from the WCJHL won the Abbott Cup as the junior champions of Western Canada in five seasons, which included the Regina Pats in 1950, 1952, 1955, 1956, and the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1954. In each of these seasons, the WCJHL team was a runner-up to the Eastern Canada champion which won the Memorial Cup final as the national junior champion.[3]

The WCJHL and other junior teams in Western Canada addressed the imbalance in Memorial Cup competition in a meeting with CAHA president W. B. George in August 1954. The teams sought permission for any league champion to add three players in the inter-provincial playoffs for the Memorial Cup, and contended that the imbalance in competition caused lack of spectator interest and less prestige for the event.[4][5] At the next CAHA meeting in January 1955, the request for three additional players for the Abbott Cup representative was approved.[6]

The WCJHL folded in 1958 and the remaining four teams returned to their respective provincial junior leagues.[1]

Governors

List of league governors:

Teams

List of teams that played in the WCJHL:[1]

Team nameSeasonsCity
Bellevue Lions1948–1949Bellevue, Alberta
Crow's Nest Pass Lions1949–1951Bellevue, Alberta
Crow's Nest Pass Coalers1951–1953Bellevue, Alberta
Calgary Buffaloes1948–1954Calgary, Alberta
Edmonton Oil Kings1951–1956Edmonton, Alberta
Lethbridge Native Sons1948–1956Lethbridge, Alberta
Medicine Hat Tigers1948–1956Medicine Hat, Alberta
Moose Jaw Canucks1948–1955Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Regina Pats1948–1956Regina, Saskatchewan

Standings

1948–49 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Calgary Buffaloes32209352188123
2Moose Jaw Canucks2617815213994
3Regina Pats26111414099126
4Lethbridge Native Sons321319036105139
5Medicine Hat Tigers311117330123147
6Bellevue Lions321418030166185

1949–50 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Lethbridge Native Sons403010060232139
2Moose Jaw Canucks402218044162180
3Regina Pats401920139182182
4Medicine Hat Tigers401721236174194
5Crow's Nest Pass Lions401624032191221
6Calgary Buffaloes401425129139160

1950–51 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Lethbridge Native Sons402910159226130
2Regina Pats402612254207126
3Crow's Nest Pass Lions401820238175197
4Medicine Hat Tigers401821137150218
5Moose Jaw Canucks401622234147160
6Calgary Buffaloes40830218119192

1951–52 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Regina Pats443011363229127
2Edmonton Oil Kings442914159234160
3Lethbridge Native Sons442715256232168
4Calgary Buffaloes442119446181146
5Moose Jaw Canucks442123042178171
6Crow's Nest Pass Coalers441825137219289
7Medicine Hat Tigers441130325171247

1952–53 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Edmonton Oil Kings3628625821897
2Regina Pats362311248165135
3Lethbridge Native Sons361912543214166
4Calgary Buffaloes361517434171182
5Moose Jaw Canucks361323026164209
6Medicine Hat Tigers361222226158207
7Crow's Nest Pass Coalers36827117145239

1953–54 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Edmonton Oil Kings3633305526384
2Regina Pats362313039182119
3Lethbridge Native Sons361917030183171
4Moose Jaw Canucks361719029166191
5Medicine Hat Tigers361323022144187
6Calgary Buffaloes3633305121307

1954–55 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Regina Pats403010060220116
2Lethbridge Native Sons402515050169163
3Edmonton Oil Kings402316147173115
4Medicine Hat Tigers401623133163167
5Moose Jaw Canucks40535010100264

1955–56 season
RankTeamGamesWinsLossesTiesPointsGFGA
1Regina Pats362411149181132
2Edmonton Oil Kings361719034150143
3Lethbridge Native Sons482424032223233
4Medicine Hat Tigers481829129173219

References
  1. "Western Canada Junior Hockey League history and statistics". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  2. "Junior Bosses Confer On New Hockey Set-Up". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. April 13, 1948. p. 16.
  3. Lapp, Richard M.; Macaulay, Alec (1997). The Memorial Cup: Canada's National Junior Hockey Championship. Madeira Park, British Columbia: Harbour Publishing. pp. 89–106. ISBN 1-55017-170-4.
  4. Hooper, Al (August 2, 1954). "Three Replacements Sought For West Champs". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. p. 13.
  5. "Western Junior Hockey Men Seeking Entirely New Deal". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. July 29, 1954. p. 7.
  6. "CAHA Hopes To Reduce Budget To 55 Thousand". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. January 10, 1955. p. 16.
  7. "22 Home Games For Juniors". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. September 17, 1951. p. 12.
  8. Pilling, Don (July 28, 1953). "Don Pilling". Lethbridge Herald. Lethbridge, Alberta. p. 7.
  9. "1948–49 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  10. "1949–50 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  11. "1950–51 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. "1951–52 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  13. "1952–53 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  14. "1953–54 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  15. "1954–55 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  16. "1955–56 Western Canada Junior Hockey League Standings". Hockey Database. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
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