Canadian Hockey League

For other hockey leagues, see CHL (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Canadian Hockey Association.

Canadian Hockey League

Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1975
No. of teams	59
Country(ies)	Canada  United States
Most recent champion(s)	Saint John Sea Dogs
Official website	www.chl.ca

The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League,^[1] and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Its three leagues and 59 teams represent nine Canadian provinces as well as four American states.

The CHL schedule culminates in the Memorial Cup tournament, which sees each of the three league champions, as well as a host team, play a round-robin tournament to determine a national champion. The CHL also hosts the CHL Top Prospects Game, for the top draft eligible players in the league, as well as the Subway Super Series, a six-game all-star exhibition series against a team of Russian juniors.

Introduction

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is the governing body for Major Junior Hockey (formerly known as Tier One Junior A) in Canada. Its precursor was the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA). The CHL currently oversees the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). All three leagues have teams in both Canada and the United States. Each league plays individual regular season schedules, and playoffs. The annual CHL championship is determined by the Memorial Cup tournament held in May.

Differences in styles of play can be identified from the three leagues. In recent history, the WHL has been known for a much grittier, east-west style of hockey, producing heavy hitting and defensively sound defensemen as well as strong goaltenders. The QMJHL is typically known for a much faster, wide open and offensive north-south style of play, producing many offensively gifted forwards and puck rushing defensemen but much fewer professional-material goalies. The OHL has tended to be a moderate combination of both styles and is commonly commended with producing an assortment of professional-ready players and goalies. The OHL also owns a repuation for producing the most complete players, skill and maturity-wise compared to the WHL and QMJHL.

More than half the players in the National Hockey League for the 2005–06 NHL season had played in the CHL.^{[citation needed]} The CHL is generally considered the world's top professional development junior hockey league.^{[citation needed]} It is a key supplier of new players and officials for the many North American professional hockey leagues, such as the National Hockey League, American Hockey League, ECHL, and the Central Hockey League. Many CHL players also opt for Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).

The CHL also seeks to raise the profile of the junior game by hosting annual events such as the Memorial Cup, the CHL Top Prospects Game and the Subway Super Series. The organization also provides many scholarships and bursaries for its players who exemplify extraordinary efforts and community involvement. These programs are supported by the many corporate sponsors.

Annual events

The MasterCard Memorial Cup

The Memorial Cup Tournament is the championship of Junior Canadian hockey. Each year it features the champions from the (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) and the host CHL team. The host team changes from year to year, and is selected by a bidding process prior to the start of each season. The annual event is one of the biggest sporting events in North America, attracting thousands of spectators and generating increasing revenue for both the CHL teams and the host city. MasterCard is the official sponsor of the championship.

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  Memorial Cup celebration

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  Memorial Cup

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  Memorial Cup warmup

CHL Top Prospects Game

The CHL Top Prospects Game is an annual event sponsored by Home Hardware and hosted by the CHL in which 40 of the top NHL Entry Draft eligible prospects in the Canadian Hockey League play against each other much like an all-star game. Each draft prospect hopes to boost their draft ranking with the NHL scouts and general managers who attend. The players are typically coached by a pair of hockey celebrities, usually Don Cherry and Bobby Orr. The event has been held annually since 1992. From 1992 to 1995 the event was known as the CHL All-Star Challenge and usually pitted one of the CHL's leagues against the other two.

Canada-Russia Super Series

The CHL hosts annually, the Subway Super Series, sponsored by Subway to showcase Canadian junior talent versus Russian junior talent. Each year a Russian junior team plays 6 games in total in Canada, two games against each CHL member league (WHL, OHL, QMJHL). The OHL has yet to lose a game.

CHL Import Draft

Each year, every team in the CHL has the option to choose up to two players from outside North America to add to its roster. Picks are chosen in reverse order of the team's standings in the CHL. The Import Draft is seen as a way to raise the level of competition in the CHL, as well as to broaden its fan base while retaining high North American content.

CHL awards

List of annual awards given by the CHL: Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award CHL Defenceman of the Year CHL Goaltender of the Year CHL Humanitarian of the Year CHL Player of the Year CHL Rookie of the Year CHL Scholastic Player of the Year CHL Sportsman of the Year CHL Top Draft Prospect Award CHL Top Scorer Award

Memorial Cup Awards: Ed Chynoweth Trophy George Parsons Trophy Hap Emms Memorial Trophy Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy

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  Brian Kilrea Trophy

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  CHL Defenceman of Year

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  CHL Goaltender of the Year

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  CHL Player of the Year

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  CHL Rookie of the Year

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  CHL Sportsman of the Year

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  Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy

Teams

The league comprises 60 teams located in nine Canadian provinces and four American states. For lists of teams see the articles about each member league. In 2008, the St. John's Fog Devils moved to Montreal, becoming the Montreal Junior Hockey Club, and left Newfoundland and Labrador as the only province without a team. The newest team is the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL, which began play in the 2007–08 season.

• The Western Hockey League, with 22 teams in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Washington, and Oregon.
• The Ontario Hockey League, with 20 teams in Ontario, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
• The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, with 17 teams in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

Attendance

Top CHL teams by average attendance, 2010–11 regular season. Teams with an average attendance over 6,000 shown.^[2]

1.	Quebec Remparts	(QMJHL)	10928.9
2.	London Knights	(OHL)	8947.5
3.	Calgary Hitman	(WHL)	8263.1
4.	Ottawa 67's	(OHL)	7880.6
5.	Vancouver Giants	(WHL)	7044.4
6.	Kitchener Rangers	(OHL)	6340.6
7.	Windsor Spitfires	(OHL)	6111
8.	Kelowna Rockets	(WHL)	6078.1

See also

• List of CHL franchise post-season droughts

References

1. ^ :::: The Official Ohl Website ::::
2. ^ League Attendance Report

External links

• Canadian Hockey League Official web site
• Ontario Hockey League Official web site
• Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Official web site
• Western Hockey League Official web site