 | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| First season | 1953–54 |
| President | Michael Mercredi |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Country | Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | Spirit River Rangers (2023–24) |
| Related competitions | |
| Official website | northpeacehockeyleague |
The North Peace Hockey League (NPHL) is a Canadian men's Senior ice hockey league in Peace River Country in Northern Alberta and British Columbia.
The league formed in 1954 and is the longest running senior ice hockey league in Canada. [1] The league was down to two teams (Peace River Stampeders and High Prairie Regals) in the early 1970s, when it played an interlocking schedule with the South Peace Hockey League.
Prior to the start of the 2009–10 season, the league voted to disallow any team playing AAA hockey from competing in the NPHL playoffs. This change affects teams competing for the Allan Cup. [2] That same year, the Fort St. John Flyers hosted and won the 2010 Allan Cup national championship. [3] The 2010 Fort St. John Flyers were inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024. [4]
The 2013–14 season saw the league lose two teams when the Hythe Mustangs folded near the end of the season and the Lakeland Eagles were expelled for repeatedly failing to fulfill league commitments. [5] [6] The 2014–15 season saw the league reduced to six teams with the loss of the Dawson Creek Sr. Canucks and High Prairie Regals. [7] [8] The Grande Prairie Athletics announced it was taking a leave of absence in the 2015–16 season due to a lack of players. [9]
The 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] The league returned with 8 teams for the 2022–23 season. [11]
The Grimshaw Huskies announced a leave of absence for the 2023–24 season citing a lack of players. [12] The league rejected a re-entry bid from the High Prairie Regals. [13]
In the 2024–25 season, the High Prairie Regals returned from a five-year hiatus, and the Fox Creek Knights joined as an expansion team. [14]
| Team | Home | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Falher Pirates | Falher, AB | Falher Regional Recreation Complex |
| Fox Creek Knights | Fox Creek, AB | Greenview Multiplex |
| High Prairie Regals | High Prairie, AB | High Prairie Sports Palace |
| Manning Comets | Manning, AB | Jack McAvoy Arena |
| Valleyview Jets | Valleyview, AB | Polar Palace |
| Team | Home | Arena |
|---|---|---|
| Dawson Creek Canucks | Dawson Creek, BC | Dawson Creek & District Memorial Arena |
| Grande Prairie Athletics | Grande Prairie, AB | Design Works Centre |
| Spirit River Rangers | Spirit River, AB | Maclean Rec Centre |
| Fort St. John Flyers | Fort St. John, BC | North Peace Arena |
The Spirit River Rangers won the 2023–24 league championship Campbell Cup after defeating the Falher Pirates in game 7 of the finals. [15] In 2023, the Dawson Creek Canucks defeated the Falher Pirates in overtime of game 7 of the finals. [16]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(October 2024) |
Gino Odjick played 25 games with the Horse Lake Thunder in the 2004–05 season, averaging 2.6 points and more than 5 penalty minutes per game. [17] Theoren Fleury, Todd Holt, Sasha Lakovic and Dody Wood also played for the Horse Lake Thunder. [18] [19] Columbus Blue Jackets president and former New York Rangers goalie, John Davidson, played one season with the High Prairie Regals in the early 1970s. Reg Bentley was a player-coach for the High Prairie Regals for a couple years in the early 1960s. AHL and KHL alumnus, Jon Mirasty, played for the Grande Prairie Athletics during their 2018–19 championship season. Former NHL and AHL player, Wade Campbell, played for the Grimshaw Huskies both before and after his professional career. Other NHL alumni include Ed Beers and Howard Walker.
Northern Alberta Railways was a Canadian railway which served northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Jointly owned by both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, NAR existed as a separate company from 1929 until 1981.
Dunvegan-Central Peace was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 2004 to 2012.
Division No. 19 is a census division in Alberta, Canada. It is located in the west-central portion of northern Alberta and surrounds the City of Grande Prairie.
The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).
The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. Winners of the SIJHL playoffs compete for the Centennial Cup, the Canadian Junior A championship. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the winner of each tier 2 junior A league across Canada shows up to the national championship.
The Prairie Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" ice hockey league in Saskatchewan, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada.
The Thunder Bay Flyers were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Peace Country Health Region was the governing body for healthcare regulation in an area of the Canadian province of Alberta until 2008 when the regional health authorities were merged into the province-wide Alberta Health Services. The area region included the communities of:
The 1983 Centennial Cup is the 13th Junior "A" 1983 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.
The Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) was an American Tier III junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy was the Cascade Cup.
The Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League was a Junior "A" ice hockey league in British Columbia, Canada.
The Powell River Regals are a Canadian Senior AA ice hockey team from Powell River, British Columbia. The Regals played an independent schedule under the supervision of BC Hockey, also known as the BC Amateur Hockey Association. Prior to the 2015–16 season, when the team temporarily ceased operation, the Regals competed as a Senior AAA team, winning the BC Senior AAA Savage Cup 14 times between 1994–95 and 2014–15, and were three-time Allan Cup National Senior AAA Champions and one-time Hardy Cup National Intermediate "A" Champions.
The 2010 Allan Cup was the Canadian championship of senior ice hockey. This tournament was the 102nd year that the Allan Cup has been awarded. The 2010 tournament was hosted by the City of Fort St. John, British Columbia and the Fort St. John Flyers.
The Coy Cup is awarded to the Senior AA ice hockey champions of British Columbia. Teams from the Yukon have also competed. It is awarded annually to the winners of a round-robin tournament between the champions of the Central Interior Hockey League (CIHL), the champions of the North Peace Hockey League (NPHL), a qualifier from another part of British Columbia or the Yukon, and the designated host city team.
The Savage Cup is the trophy that is awarded to British Columbia’s senior ice hockey champions. This trophy was first presented in 1912-13 to the ice hockey team fielded by the Vancouver Rowing Club. and the Savage Cup will be awarded to the BC provincial champions for the 2009-10 season.
The Williams Lake Mustangs was a Junior ice hockey team from Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada from 1978-1996. They were members of the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League.
The Fort St. John Huskies are a Canadian Junior "B" Ice Hockey team based in Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada. They are former members of the Peace-Cariboo Jr. B, Jr. A, and Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League and current members of the Jr. B North West Junior Hockey League of Hockey Alberta.
The Dawson Creek Kodiaks were a Junior ice hockey team from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. They are former members of the Peace-Cariboo Junior Hockey League.
Central Peace-Notley is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district was one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. It was contested for the first time in the 2019 Alberta election.