The Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League was once an up and coming league. In 2016, the CPJHL started out its inaugural season with eight teams.
At the beginning there was solid leadership at the league level, and several good owners who actually did a lot for the players on small budgets. While the level of play was not Junior A, there were some solid, young prospects who were being developed.
In 2017-2018 the league came into the new season with ten teams. Adding some US markets in the process, the league really started to become noticed, and ACHA scouts were attending games, while a few NCAA D-3 scouts were also spotted.
2018-2019 saw stability with nine teams, and again 2019-2020 saw nine teams and a noticeably elevated level of play before the playoffs were interrupted by COVID. The Seaforth Generals who showed a multi year commitment to development was on its way to a championship when the season was ended.
Leadership at the league level changed, and Ontario other than the eastern section was basically left to die. Poor leadership lead the CPJHL to focus on Quebec and eastern Ontario with no hope of survival and no long term vision.
After 2020, its been crickets.
The CPJHL announced they would expand for this season, and then no more announcements.
One team on the website has lost its owner to an untimely death, and another is playing in a new league. The other remaining two say nothing, and the old owners of the teams that league leadership abandoned are sitting at home and no longer involved in the game.
Good people let down by league leadership focused on cashing expansion checks.
The CPJHL once promising beginning has now come to an end. Stick a fork in it, their done.
