BURNABY, B.C. – The 2021-22 season is the 60th anniversary for the BCHL and the league has announced plans to celebrate the milestone and honour the rich history of the league going back to its inception in 1961.
The league’s 60th Anniversary plans include an outdoor event, retro jerseys for each team, a retro theme night in each building and plenty of digital content taking a look back at the past 60 years.
“We are thrilled to announce our plans to honour the league’s history for our 60th Anniversary season starting in the fall,” said BCHL Commissioner Chris Hebb. “The BC Hockey League has been a huge part of British Columbia’s culture since all the way back to 1961, producing top-end hockey players, great people and fantastic stories as well. Over the past 60 years, the BCHL has also grown into the largest Canadian feeder league for college hockey with the majority of players receiving scholarships to play at the NCAA Division I level. We are excited to take a look back at how we got to this point and we think the fans will enjoy it just as much as us.”
60th Anniversary event
The 60th Anniversary event will be an outdoor all-star weekend featuring a 3-on-3 all-star game, a skills competition an alumni game and much more. The event will take place from Jan. 14 to 16, 2022 and will be held at a newly built outdoor arena in downtown Penticton.
“The BCHL’s 60th Anniversary season is setting up to be a unique celebration of the BCHL and everything it means to our communities,” said Graham Fraser, Chairman of the BCHL Board of Governors. “While we take a look back at the past 60 years, this all-star event will also give us the chance to recognize the present and all of the talented young athletes playing in our league. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the city of Penticton for supporting this event. We look forward to hosting everyone in Penticton in January.”
Retro Theme Nights
All 18 teams will host a retro theme night in their arena where they will pay tribute to their franchise’s history as well as hockey in the area. These theme nights will take place throughout the season and a full retro night schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
As part of the retro night celebrations, BCHL teams will don retro-designed jerseys based on team or regional history. Teams may choose to wear the retro jersey as an alternate for the entirety of the season or as a one-off specifically for the theme night.
Digital Content
The BCHL will produce digital content throughout the year that showcases the league’s history. This content will recognize specific eras, teams and players and be in the form of written pieces, video and more.
Fans will have the chance to engage in several aspects of the 60th Anniversary season, including a fan-vote to fill out the all-star game rosters, to decide on the all-star jerseys and much more.
About the BCHL:
Sending more players on to college hockey every season than any other hockey league in Canada, the BCHL has established itself as a national leader in the development of young student athletes. Considering today’s NHL features more NCAA alumni than ever before, Junior A hockey is fast rivaling other leagues in North America as a breeding ground for the sport’s most elite and successful players. In 2019-20 alone, there were 196 BCHL players who received scholarships to top schools in the U.S. and Canada.
