ICYMI: Historic Battle River Hockey League Disbands

The Battle River Hockey League, which only had five teams in the league last year, has played its last season under and has folded. The BRHL was the longest running hockey league in Western Canada.

Dustin Edwards, President of the BRHL from 2012 to present said, “We had another successful season in 2014-15, with probably some of the best hockey we have seen in the league over the past years, and we were really hoping we could of played off that success.

“However, this past May, I was notified that one of our teams, the Daysland Northstars, had applied to the North Central Hockey League and were accepted into that league.

“That left us with four teams for the upcoming season, which started to worry us. So that call spearheaded us trying to reach out to towns or groups who had expressed an interest in teams before so we could try and get to five or six teams, but we didn’t have much success.”

He continued, “our remaining BRHL teams then had a meeting with the NCHL about possibly merging the remainder of the teams with their league.

“We were given a two-week window to make a decision, and during that period we spoke with a few parties on potential expansion, but couldn’t get anything nailed down.

“So in June, we sent our applications for Big Valley, Tofield, and Bonnyville to join the NCHL. Lloydminster didn’t want to make the jump into that league. We were then notified we were accepted. This puts the teams in a 12-team league.

“It’s been tough to see, but in the big picture as long as teams have a league and place to play, that’s the most important thing.

“In the last few seasons the league lost teams from Provost, Hardisty, Sedgewick, Irma, Viking, Wainwright, Consort, and Hughenden. Most of the teams went into the East Central Senior League, which consists of all local players, and I think that was a big factor.

“Teams not importing players or paying players makes it difficult to compete and that was a big factor. I think the writing was on the wall over the past few years. Some teams weren’t happy with how other teams have operated over the years with respect to players being brought in to keep a team competitive or have enough players, and left them no choice but to fold or join another league.”

The BRHL will now sit dormant and will not be part of Hockey Alberta Senior play.
“I’m not sure if you’ll see a Battle River league again, but for how some groups operate, I wouldn’t rule it out. The ease of leaving leagues to join or start another is fairly simple in my opinion.

“The good news for local hockey fans is that this doesn’t affect them, and they will still get great senior hockey in the rinks this winter, which is what counts.”

Jae Robbins
Staff Reporter