The Lloydminster Bobcats will play in the AJHL north division next season as the Alberta Junior Hockey League will have two divisions with six teams each for the 2024-2025 season.
The AJHL North Division for the upcoming season will include the Bonnyville Pontiacs, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, the Grande Prairie Storm, the Lloydminster Bobcats, the Whitecourt Wolverines, and the Devon Xtreme.
The AJHL South Division will include the Calgary Canucks, the Camrose Kodiaks, the Canmore Eagles, the Drayton Valley Thunder, the Drumheller Dragons, and the Olds Grizzlys.
Last season the AJHL operated with all its member teams in one division with a 16-team schedule, and the top 12 teams qualifying for the playoffs. However, those plans changed when five of the AJHL’s member clubs – the Brooks Bandits, the Blackfalds Bulldogs, the Okotoks Oilers, the Sherwood Park Crusaders, and the Spruce Grove Saints departed to join the British Columbia Hockey League.
Drayton Valley joined the AJHL for the 1998-1999 season. After being part of the South Division for the Thunder’s first two years in the league, the team was moved into the North Division from the 2000-2001 campaign until last season.
In April, the AJHL announced it had awarded an expansion franchise to the Northern Alberta Xtreme Athletics Group and the community of Devon. The Devon Xtreme will be in the mix for the 2024-2025 season.
The AJHL also announced this week that its Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Whitecourt Wolverines to businessman Cory Masse. According to a press release, Masse was raised in Whitecourt and he and his wife are proud owners of two successful businesses there.
With files from: Galen Hartviksen – Vista Radio