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2023–24 AJHL season

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2023–24 AJHL season
LeagueAlberta Junior Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationPre-season
August - September
Regular season
September - March
Post-season
March - April
Number of games57
Number of teams16 (August-January)
11 (February-April)
Regular season
Season championsWhitecourt Wolverines
Post-season
Finals championsCalgary Canucks
  Runners-upWhitecourt Wolverines
AJHL seasons

The 2023–24 AJHL season was the 60th season of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). The season began with 16 teams and ended with 11 teams after the surprise mid-season departure of five teams to join the BCHL. The Calgary Canucks swept the Whitecourt Wolverines in 4 games to win the league championship.[1]

League changes

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The season began with 16 teams distributed between 2 divisions of 8 teams each. On January 20, 2024, the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) announced that the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders, and Spruce Grove Saints would move from the AJHL to the BCHL in the 2024-25 season.[2] The BCHL had planned to wait until the end of the season to make the announcement, however rumours had already begun to circulate online.[3] The AJHL responded to the announcement by cancelling most of the five teams' remaining scheduled matches except those between each other.[4][5] It was then decided by the BCHL that the five teams would play out the rest of the season as a stand-alone division under the aegis of the BCHL. The AJHL then consolidated the remaining teams from its North and South divisions into a single unit for the rest of the season.[6][7][8]

The league began a pilot program for video review on goals at specific arenas.[9] It subsequently decided to extend the pilot program through the 2024–25 season.[10][11]

Regular season

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Map of AJHL, 2023–24
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
200km
125miles
Bobcats
Lloydminster Bobcats
Pontiacs
Bonnyville Pontiacs
Oil Barons
Fort McMurray Oil Barons
Bandits
Brooks Bandits
Dragons
Drumheller Dragons
Kodiaks
Camrose Kodiaks
Crusaders
Sherwood Park Crusaders
Bulldogs
Blackfalds Bulldogs
Saints
Spruce Grove Saints
Oilers
Okotoks Oilers
Canucks
Calgary Canucks
Grizzlies
Olds Grizzlies
Thunder
Drayton Valley Thunder
Eagles
Canmore Eagles
Wolverines
Whitecourt Wolverines
Storm
Grande Prairie Storm
   North Division, team played full season
   North Division, team joined BCHL in January
   South Division, team played full season
   South Division, team joined BCHL in January

The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:

Standings
Team GP W L OTL SOL Pts
Whitecourt Wolverines 57 34 18 4 1 73
Lloydminster Bobcats 57 33 24 0 0 66
Calgary Canucks 57 31 23 1 2 65
Bonnyville Pontiacs 57 30 23 4 0 64
Drumheller Dragons 57 26 23 5 3 60
Grande Prairie Storm 57 24 26 4 3 55
Canmore Eagles 57 25 29 2 1 53
Camrose Kodiaks 57 22 28 0 7 51
Drayton Valley Thunder 57 19 35 2 1 41
Fort McMurray Oil Barons 57 17 34 3 3 40
Olds Grizzlys 57 10 41 3 3 26

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout losses, Pts = Points

Source: "2022-23 Alberta Junior Hockey League [AJHL] standings". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 22 September 2024.

Scoring leaders

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GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, P = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Caden Cabana Lloydminster Bobcats 53 27 42 69 38
Colby Browne Whitecourt Wolverines 57 26 42 68 44
Luka Sukovic Bonnyville Pontiacs 57 35 32 67 42
Bowden Singleton Calgary Canucks 56 21 46 67 32
Ben Aucoin Lloydminster Bobcats 57 32 31 63 40
Travis Verbeek Whitecourt Wolverines 55 28 32 60 38
Alex Atwill Grande Prairie Storm 57 23 35 58 30
Nicolas Beaudoin Bonnyville Pontiacs 54 23 33 56 32
Adam Grenier Drayton Valley Thunder 55 22 34 56 62
Blake Setter Lloydminster Bobcats 56 24 30 54 38

Leading goaltenders

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Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, GA = Goals Against, Sv% = Save Percentage, GAA = Goals Against Average, SO = Shutouts, Mins = Minutes played.

Player Team GP W L OTL SOL GA Sv% GAA SO Mins
Ben Charette Whitecourt Wolverines 34 20 9 4 1 79 0.925 2.40 4 1,974
Sean Cootes Drayton Valley Thunder 26 11 6 3 2 57 0.910 2.43 3 1,406
Julian Molinaro Calgary Canucks 45 27 16 1 1 115 0.916 2.60 6 2,650
Nicholas Jones Grande Prairie Storm 38 16 17 2 2 101 0.907 2.71 1 2,237
Chazz Nixon Drayton Valley Thunder 19 8 9 1 0 51 0.920 2.77 1 1,105
Lukas Renaud Whitecourt Wolverines 20 10 7 0 0 53 0.904 2.84 3 1,118
Bodee Weiss Bonnyville Pontiacs 40 21 14 4 0 112 0.900 2.89 1 2,327
Matthew Malin Canmore Eagles 39 18 16 2 0 100 0.907 2.89 2 2,077
Jack Solomon Lloydminster Bobcats 40 22 16 0 0 115 0.912 3.05 5 2,262
Jameson Kaine Drayton Valley Thunder 37 15 17 2 1 112 0.887 3.32 2 2,025

Post-season

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1st round Semifinals Finals
      
Whitecourt 4
Camrose 1
Whitecourt 4
Canmore 3
Lloydminster 2
Canmore 4
Whitecourt 0
Calgary 4
Calgary 4
Grande Prairie 2
Calgary 4
Drumheller 1
Bonnyville 0
Drumheller 4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Alberta Junior Hockey League 2023-2024 Playoffs". ajhl.ca. Alberta Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  2. ^ Saelhof, Todd (4 February 2024). "AJHL moving forward — and 'excited' — after exodus of teams to B.C." Calgary Herald. Postmedia. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  3. ^ "BCHL agrees to terms with five Alberta-based teams". bchl.ca. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. ^ Gustafson, Ian (25 January 2024). "Alberta hockey league cancels multiple games after 5 teams defect to BCHL". Penticton Western News. Black Press. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  5. ^ Saelhof, Todd (25 January 2024). "AJHL revamps schedule in wake of losing five teams". Calgary Herald. Postmedia. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  6. ^ Wolf, Sydney (1 February 2024). "Five AJHL teams set to join BCHL, effective immediately". therinklive.com. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  7. ^ "BCHL announces finalized franchise agreements and integration with five Alberta-based teams". bchl.ca. British Columbia Hockey League. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  8. ^ "AJHL statement on five defecting teams". ajhl.ca. Alberta Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  9. ^ Gustafson, Ian (29 May 2023). "AJHL announces rule changes for upcoming season". Red Deer Advocate. Black Press Media. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  10. ^ "AJHL hosts successful AGM in Canmore, AB". ajhl.ca. Alberta Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  11. ^ "AJHL releases schedule for upcoming 2024-25 season". Red Deer Advocate. Black Press Media. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.

Further reading

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