Sport | Ice hockey |
---|---|
Founded | 1984 |
No. of teams | 17 |
Country | Canada |
Most recent champion(s) | Calgary (NW) Flames (2022-2023) |
Most titles | Red Deer Rebels/Chiefs |
Level on pyramid | U18 AAA |
Related competitions | Telus Cup |
Official website | www |
The Alberta Elite Hockey League or AEHL (formerly the Alberta Midget Hockey League) is the provincial U18 "AAA" ice hockey league for Alberta, Canada. The league consists of 17 teams split into the North and South Divisions. League champions go on to compete with the BC Elite Hockey League champions to represent the Pacific at the annual Telus Cup, Canada's national U18 championship. The Calgary Buffaloes are the current league champions. Red Deer is the last AEHL team to win a national title, having won in 2012 & 2013.
Trophy | |
Harry Allen Memorial Trophy | Top Scorer |
Trevor Linden Trophy | Top Forward |
Brian Benning Trophy | Top Defenceman |
Brian Sutter Trophy | Top Defensive Forward |
Bill Ranford Trophy | Top Goaltender |
Bob Johnson Memorial Trophy | Top Sportsman |
Glen Sather Trophy | Coach of the Year |
Richard Warwick Memorial Trophy | |
Esquire Watch MVP | Playoff MVP |
Year | Champion | Air Canada/Telus |
2023 | Calgary (NW) Flames | Unknown |
2022 | Calgary Buffaloes | Lost Pacific Championship |
2021 | - | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
2020 | - | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
2019 | Calgary Buffaloes | 3rd |
2018 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | - |
2017 | Shwab GM Oil Kings (Leduc) | - |
2016 | Lloydminister Bobcats | 4th |
2015 | UFA Bisons | 4th |
2014 | Red Deer Optimist Chiefs | Lost Pacific Championship |
2013 | Red Deer Optimist Chiefs | Gold |
2012 | Red Deer Optimist Rebels | Gold |
2011 | Red Deer Optimist Rebels | Lost Pacific Championship |
2010 | Red Deer Optimist Rebels | 5th |
2009 | Calgary Buffaloes | Silver |
2008 | Calgary Buffaloes | 4th |
2007 | Red Deer Rebels | Silver |
2006 | Calgary Buffaloes | Silver |
2005 | Edmonton Southside Athletics | 6th |
2004 | Red Deer Chiefs | Bronze |
2003 | Calgary Northstars | Gold |
2002 | Red Deer Chiefs | 4th |
2001 | Calgary Royals | Silver |
2000 | Fort Saskatchewan | 4th |
1999 | Calgary Flames | Silver |
1998 | Calgary Buffaloes | Bronze |
1997 | Calgary Royals | Bronze |
1996 | Red Deer Chiefs | 4th |
1995 | Red Deer Chiefs | Silver |
1994 | Red Deer Chiefs | Silver |
1993 | Calgary Northstars | 4th |
1992 | Sherwood Park Kings | - |
1991 | Calgary Northstars | Gold |
Sherwood Park Kings | Silver | |
1990 | St. Albert Raiders | 4th |
1989 | Calgary Buffaloes | Gold |
1988 | Calgary Northstars | Silver |
1987 | Calgary Buffaloes | Bronze |
1986 | Sherwood Park | - |
1985 | Calgary Buffaloes | Bronze |
Team | Championships |
Red Deer Rebels/Chiefs | 10 |
Calgary Buffaloes | 9 |
Calgary Northstars | 3 |
The Calgary Northstars (1991 and 2003), Calgary Buffaloes (1989), and Red Deer Optimist Rebels/Chiefs (2012 & 2013), represent the only AMHL teams to have won the national midget title. The AMHL has represented the Pacific at the tournament every year since 1985, with the exceptions of 1986, 1992, 2007, and 2012, when British Columbian teams won representation. [1] Alberta has hosted the national championship three times: 1991 in Calgary, 2007 in Red Deer, and 2012 in Leduc.
Year | AMHL Winner | Host City |
2013 | Red Deer Optimist Chiefs | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario |
2012 | Red Deer Optimist Rebels | Leduc |
2003 | Calgary Northstars | Sault Ste. Marie |
1991 | Calgary Northstars | Calgary |
1989 | Calgary Buffaloes | St. John's |
Many players move on from the AEHL to play Junior A or Major Junior in Western Canada. The league's National Hockey League (NHL) alumni include Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Jason Smith, Trent Hunter, Joffery Lupul, Trevor Linden, Geoff Sanderson, Scottie Upshall, Brian Sutherby, Mike Comrie, Nick Tarnasky, Jonathan Filewich, Bryan McCabe, and Ozzy Wiesblatt.
Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, healthcare, video, smart home automation and IPTV television. The company is based in the Vancouver, British Columbia, area; it was originally based in Edmonton, Alberta, before its merger with BC Tel in 1999. Telus' wireless division, Telus Mobility, offers UMTS, and LTE-based mobile phone networks. Telus is the incumbent local exchange carrier in British Columbia and Alberta. Its primary competitors are Rogers Communications and Bell Canada. Telus is a member of the British Columbia Technology Industry Association.
The Battle of Alberta is a term applied to the intense rivalry between the Canadian cities of Calgary, the province's most populous city, and Edmonton, the capital of the province of Alberta. Most often it is used to describe sporting events between the two cities, although this is not exclusive as the rivalry predates organized sports in Alberta.
The Sutter family, originally from Viking, Alberta, Canada, are one of the most famous families in the National Hockey League (NHL). Six brothers: Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich and Ron, reached the NHL in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Four brothers, Brent, Brian, Darryl and Duane, have gone on to become coaches and general managers as well, with Brian, Brent and Darryl, each having a stint as head coach of the Calgary Flames. All brothers played for either the Chicago Blackhawks or the St. Louis Blues at one point or another. A seventh brother named Gary is said by his brothers to have been the best hockey player of all seven boys. Rather than making his living as a hockey player, Gary stayed home to work on the family farm, as Rich remarked on an episode of the Canadian sports show Off the Record.
Hockey Alberta is the governing body of all ice hockey in Alberta, Canada and is affiliated with Hockey Canada. It was founded in 1907 as the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) to be the governing body for Alberta intra-city ice hockey play. As of the 2018–19 hockey season, the Chair of the Board of Directors was Terry Engen, and the Chief Executive Officer for operations management was Rob Litwinski.
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The Telus Cup is Canada's national under-18 ice hockey club championship. It is an annual event, held by Hockey Canada each April. From 1979 to 2003, the national championship was sponsored by Air Canada.
The St. Albert Saints were a junior ice hockey franchise based in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, for twenty-seven seasons from 1977 to 2004. Before 1977, the team played in nearby Spruce Grove as the Spruce Grove Mets, and in 2004 the team again moved to Spruce Grove where they now play as the Spruce Grove Saints. In all its incarnations, the team has been a part of the junior 'A' Alberta Junior Hockey League.
The history of ice hockey in Calgary extends back well over a century to the first recorded ice hockey game in Alberta in 1893. Imported from eastern Canada, the game's popularity rapidly grew in the city, with teams at every level playing for and capturing Canada's national championships. Calgary is known today as one of Canada's best ice hockey cities with the Calgary Flames and Calgary Hitmen receiving immense support from the city. The Calgary Oval X-Treme is one of the most dominant women's ice hockey teams in the country, while Junior A ice hockey is also well supported with two teams in the city. Calgary is home to the Mac's AAA midget hockey tournament, one of the most prestigious midget hockey tournaments in the world which has seen dozens of future National Hockey League players play in this city before their professional careers began.
The British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) is the highest level of provincial youth ice hockey league in British Columbia, Canada. The league is governed by BC Hockey and was inaugurated in 2004 as the British Columbia Hockey Major Midget League (BCMML).
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The 2012 Telus Cup was Canada's 34th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship played April 23–29, 2012 at Leduc, Alberta. The Red Deer Optimist Rebels completed an improbable comeback in the gold medal game, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period en route to 6-5 double overtime win over the Phénix du Collège Esther-Blondin. It was Red Deer's first gold medal after three previous silver medal finishes.
The 2013 Telus Cup was Canada's 35th annual national midget 'AAA' hockey championship, held April 22 – 28, 2013 at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The Red Deer Chiefs defeated the Ottawa Junior 67's in the gold medal game to win their second straight national title. The Rousseau Royal de Laval-Montréal won the bronze medal. This was Sault Ste. Marie's second time hosting the national championship – the 2003 Air Canada Cup was played at the old Sault Memorial Gardens.
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The Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL) is a defunct senior amateur hockey league that operated in Alberta, Canada from 1956 to 1966.
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