Featuring international competition, holiday games, the return of the AJHL All-Star Game and a new playoff format!
The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) will begin its 63rd season when the 2026-27 regular season opens September 18th-20th! Opening Weekend features nine games and a banner-raising ceremony for the 2026 Inter Pipeline Cup Champion Canmore Eagles.
The 2026-27 regular season will include a 54-game schedule, including six games against teams within the division and four games versus each member of the opposite division. The AJHL will maintain its structure of two divisions – the Bunge AJHL North Division and Bunge AJHL South Division.
The 2026 AJHL exhibition season will include international competition as four teams host games versus Korea University – including the Olds Grizzlys, Canmore Eagles, Devon Xtreme and Drumheller Dragons. The 32-game pre-season schedule, running from August 30th to September 13th, also contains three games between the Lloydminster Bobcats and SJHL opponents.
Six AJHL teams will host a Hockey Hooky Game this year – an exciting opportunity for school students to experience an AJHL game in our communities! The schedule also offers holiday games on Halloween, Remembrance Day and Family Day as well as games in non-AJHL communities like Banff and Thunderchild First Nations with additional new locations to be added.
The AJHL All-Star Game will return in January 2027 to recognize the league’s top-performing players. The All-Star Game will be a celebration of the league and create an exciting fan-focused atmosphere. The host community and further event details will be announced in the Fall.
The AJHL is introducing a new playoff format for 2027 designed to create more meaningful games and enhance the playoff experience for players and fans. Under the new format, the league will move to a 1-to-10 overall playoff seeding. Teams seeded 7th through 10th will compete in opening round best-of-five Play-In Series (7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9), while the top six teams earn a first-round bye.
Following the Play-In Series, the remaining eight teams will be reseeded 1-to-8. All playoff rounds from Round Two onward will be best-of-seven series, with teams reseeded based on regular-season points. The North and South division regular season champions will receive the top two seeds in Round Two.
The complete AJHL schedule is available at AJHL.ca and on our mobile app. All AJHL games will be broadcast live and available on demand from FloHockey – allowing fans to stream games anywhere from their phone, computer or smart TV!
