The Capital Region Junior Hockey League (CRJHL) is a junior B ice hockey league in the province of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. The league, sanctioned by

Hockey Manitoba Hockey Manitoba is the governing body of amateur ice hockey in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Hockey Manitoba was founded in 1914 as the ''Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association'' and is a branch affiliate of Hockey Canada. As part of its mand ...

, began play for 2018–19 season.

History

The CRJHL was formed in 2018 when five teams from the Keystone Junior Hockey League (KJHL) withdrew to form a new league. These five clubs, all located within an hour-and-a-half drive of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, cited the long travel distance to northern Manitoba, where the KJHL's other six teams are located, as the main reason for leaving to create the new league. The split resulted in litigation, with the remaining

KJHL KJIL is a Christian radio radio station, station broadcasting on 99.1 FM, licensed to Copeland, Kansas and serving the areas of Dodge City, Kansas, Garden City, Kansas, and Liberal, Kansas. The station is owned by Great Plains Christian Radio. T ...

teams alleging that the decision to form a new league was racially motivated. The remaining

teams filed a complaint with governing body,

, which ruled that the new league had breached the organization's constitution when it did not give proper notice to the

. Moreover, it ruled that former

players would need a release to play in the new league and there would be a $500 fee. The

applied to the

Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba The Court of King's Bench of Manitoba ()—or the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, depending on the monarch—is the superior court of the Canadian province of Manitoba. The court is divided into two divisions. The Family Division deals wi ...

for an injunction halting the CRJHL's inaugural season, and seeking damages for alleged breaches of contracts with players. The court denied the request for injunction, finding that the

teams had not exhausted their appeals through

and couldn't prove the split would cause irreparable harm to the league. The

Selkirk Fishermen The Selkirk Fishermen are a junior "B" ice hockey team based in Selkirk, Manitoba. They are members of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League (CRJHL). The franchise was founded in 1917. The Fishermen won the Abbott Cup in 1920, making them t ...

defeated the

North Winnipeg Satelites The North Winnipeg Satelites are a Junior ice hockey#Junior B, C, D, junior "B" ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are members of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League (CRJHL). History Founded in 1980, the North Winnipeg Satel ...

in six games to capture the first-ever CRJHL championship in 2019. The Fishermen, who defeated the

Arborg Ice Dawgs The Arborg Ice Dawgs are a Junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junio ...

in five games, were set to defend that title in 2020 against the St. Malo Warriors, but the finals were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The 2020–21 CRJHL season began in October 2020 with games played with spectator limits before provincial-wide restrictions forced the cancellation of the remainder of the season. In 2024, the St. Malo Warriors became the second club to win the league championship.

Teams

The league has expanded twice since it began with 5 teams in 2018. The

Beausejour Comets The Beausejour Comets are a Junior ice hockey team based in Beausejour, Manitoba in the Capital Region Junior Hockey League. Season-by-season record The team finished its inaugural 2022–23 regular season tied for 4th place (out of 6) with ...

joined in the 2022–23 CRJHL season, and the La Broquerie Habs debuted in the 2024–25 CRJHL season.

Champions

References

External links

CRJHL website
{{Junior Hockey Hockey Manitoba Ice hockey leagues in Manitoba B Sports leagues established in 2018 2018 establishments in Manitoba

History

Teams

Champions

References

Further reading

External links