There’s still a month left in the regular season, but the Okotoks Oilers have only one more home game. No, it’s not some scheduling quirk that will see the junior hockey club play almost all its remaining matches on the road as it’s also got just one away game on tap before the season ends on March 1.
The reason for this truncated schedule is because the Alberta Junior Hockey League, which feels spurned by the Oilers and four other teams, has taken the vindictive step of cancelling all games involving those five teams and the 11 others in the provincial loop.
By now, you’ve likely heard that the Oilers and the four other clubs are headed to the B.C. Hockey League for next season, although it should be noted that nothing is official in that regard. The teams have not made such an announcement, and the AJHL has even said that it hasn’t been given official notice by any of the clubs.
Despite that situation, and even though the five clubs remain in good standing with all governing bodies, they’ve effectively been punted, purportedly to protect the integrity of the league and ensure the safety of players and officials. In reality, they’re being punished for having designs on joining the more competitive circuit to the west.
Is there a deal in the works to make this happen for next season? The BCHL has certainly stated that’s the case, but at this point there’s nothing official, the BCHL’s recent social media post notwithstanding, and the teams in question just want to finish what they started: the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.
The jilted AJHL is determined not to let that happen, eager to penalize the clubs for having the audacity to seek greener pastures, but in doing so it’s also punishing the players, coaches and fans.
That’s not a good look for junior hockey.
