The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) today released the schedule for its 58th season.
AJHL teams will open Training Camps on August 20th with the 2021 Exhibition Season beginning on August 27th. The AJHL will return to 16 teams in 2021-22 with the addition of the Blackfalds Bulldogs for their inaugural season. Each team will compete in a 60-game schedule, including 16 interlock games, and two regular season games at the Annual AJHL Showcase.
The 46-game exhibition schedule will include a new pilot project at the conclusion of each pre-season game in 2021. Overtime will consist of a 6-minute sudden victory period starting with 3-on-3 play, then moving to 2-on-2 at the first whistle after the 4:00 minute mark, and to 1-on-1 at the first whistle after the 2:00 minute mark. If the score remains tied after overtime a best-of-three shootout will follow.
The 15th Annual AJHL Showcase has been awarded to the Brooks Bandits for September 30th – October 3rd, 2021. The four-day event attracts thousands of fans and over 200 members of the scouting community from the National Hockey League (NHL), NCAA Division I, II and III schools, as well as Canadian colleges and universities and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). A game schedule for the event will be released in July.
AJHL teams are once again inviting fans to spend the holidays together with several games scheduled on holidays dates throughout the season including Halloween, Thanksgiving and New Year’s. The AJHL will also host five games on Family Day in February 2022. Four AJHL Teams have partnered with local schools to host “˜Hooky Games’ in 2021-22 alongside a growing initiative to raise awareness of anti-bullying.
The Canmore Eagles will continue a long-standing tradition of hosting games in Banff, AB, while the Sherwood Park Crusaders will also host regular season games in new locations including a game in Viking, AB and Vermilion, AB.
From December 12th – 18th, the 2021 World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) will display international talent in Cornwall, Ontario. The WJAC is an annual under-20 tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The international tournament features six teams per year with Canada represented by two regional squads.
The 2022 CJHL Prospects Game will be held in a CJHL community in January. Players chosen to participate in the CJHL Prospects Game are selected by NHL Central Scouting and will be among the top 40 CJHL prospects heading into the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
The 2022 AJHL Playoffs begin March 4th and the prize is bigger than ever in 2022 with the AJHL Champion automatically advancing to the Centennial Cup presented by Tim Horton’s in Estevan, SK from May 20th – 29th.
The top team in each division will receive a first-round bye to begin the 2022 AJHL Playoffs. The Viterra AJHL South Division and Viterra AJHL North Division will playoff to determine a divisional champion at the conclusion of Round Three. The North Division Champion and the South Division Champion will then compete in the League Final.
2021/22 Calendar of Events
- July 23rd-25th: 2021 AJHL Prospects Showcase @ River Creek Arenas (Enoch, AB)
- August 20th: AJHL Training Camps Open
- August 27th: AJHL Exhibition Season Start
- September 17th: AJHL Regular Season Opening Night
- September 30th: October 3rd – AJHL Showcase
- November 20th: AJHL Semi-Annual Meeting
- December 1st: CJHL Roster Cutdown
- December 12th-18th: World Junior A Challenge @ Cornwall, ON
- January 10th: CJHL Trade Deadline
- January TBD: CJHL Prospects Game @ TBD
- February 27th: End of AJHL Regular Season
- March 4th: 2022 AJHL Playoffs – Tentative Start Date
- May 20th-May 29th: National Junior A Championship (NJAC) Centennial Cup @ Estevan, SK
The majority of the AJHL exhibition schedule will be broadcast on HockeyTV, in addition to all AJHL regular season games. A complete broadcast schedule and subscription information can be found at HockeyTV.com.
A complete League Schedule is now available on the AJHL Website AJHL.ca. The AJHL schedule can be exported to calendars and mobile devices through the Schedule Page on the AJHL website.