The Western Canada Cup, the CJHL’s western regional qualifier for the RBC Cup National Championship will be ending. That’s right kids, boom, just blow that shit up.
The four CJHL member leagues; Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League and British Columbia Junior Hockey League, recently voted to abandon the Western Canada Cup format following the 2017 tournament.
Why would they vote to end it? Ummmmmm well yeah, like the Canadian dollar is still taking a beating, and everything is more expensive in Canada to begin with. Seriously, where else do you pay more than ten bucks for a draft beer and not be at a hockey game?!
The AJHL, MJHL and SJHL all voted in favor of the change, with the BCHL was the lone holdout wanting to keep the current format. After losing Crescent Point Energy as a main sponsor for the event, this thing was pretty much doomed.
While some think events like the Western Canada Cup are important, the events rarely make money or break even. These events also assist in carrying the junior hockey season well into May each year, and many are beginning to question whether or not the junior season needs to be that long each year. Its not the freakin NHL guys, and kids actually like to have a summer vacation more than two weeks long before they have to go to try out camps!
The Western Canada Cup is a relatively new event. Prior to 2013, the SJHL and MJHL champions met in best-of-seven series called the ANAVET Cup, while the BCHL and AJHL champs battled for the Doyle Cup. The winner of each series earned a berth into the RBC Cup.
So who are the idiots who came up with these formats anyway? Oh yeah, sorry, it was league commissioners and Hockey Canada who thought they knew what was best for everyone. Hmmmmmm kind of like that Tier III National Championship that was flushed down the toilet in good old USA Hockey this year?
While no one is committed, a return to the old format is likely for the leagues according to TJHN sources.
See players and coaches don’t like the “tournament” format anyway. They play long series to win the league and then have to go play in some youth hockey type tournament to get to another youth hockey type tournament for a national championship? Yeah, that doesn’t make too much sense either.
Stay tuned kids, we got a lot more on the way……
David Wagner – The Angel Of Death – For Those Who Live Stupidly I salute You
*The Death Pool is a mix of comedy, and satire in connection with recent events. It is not an official report of current events although it may look as though the news is so accurate that it could one day happen or may be happening.
