Two more teams will participate in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) playoffs next season.
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After its annual general meeting in Olds, the AJHL announced Monday that 10 of the 12 member teams will compete in the 2026-27 playoffs.
The new playoff format is “designed to create more meaningful games, reward regular-season success and enhance the playoff experience for players and fans,” AJHL executive-director Charla Flett said in a news release.
The league has switched to a first-to-10th-place overall playoff seeding. Four of those teams will compete in best-of-five play-in series (seventh versus 10th and eighth against ninth), while the top six teams earn first-round byes.
After the play-in action, the remaining eight teams are reseeded first through eighth. The North Division and South Division regular-season champions receive the top two seeds in Round 2, based on their point totals.
All playoff matchups from the second round onward are the traditional best-of-seven series, with teams reseeded based on regular-season points.
The new playoff format involves four rounds, one more than in recent years. Under the previous setup, teams played within their division for the first two rounds of the playoffs, before the two division champions met in the AJHL final.
This year’s league champions, the Canmore Eagles, won the South Division pennant with 68 points, the same number as the North Division’s fourth-place team, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
The league’s top three regular-season clubs were all from the North — the Whitecourt Wolverines, Grande Prairie Storm and Lloydminster Bobcats, respectively.
The regular-season divisional structure remains the same, with six teams each in the North and South divisions.
Each team will play a 54-game schedule — six games against each divisional opponent and four contests versus each club in the other division. The league plans to announce the exhibition and regular-season schedules this month.
Along with the expanded playoffs, another new strategy aimed at increasing player exposure is the addition of an AJHL all-star game in January 2027.
“The AJHL all-star game will recognize the league’s top-performing players and provide recognition for outstanding achievements throughout the season,” Flett said.
“The all-star game will be a celebration of the league and create an exciting fan-focused atmosphere.”
More details, including the host community, are to be announced this fall.
Last week’s AGM included the annual meeting of the board of governors, along with the general managers and coaches meeting and the league scheduling meeting.
Drumheller Dragons chairman Blair Christianson received the 2025-26 Ken Bracko Award as the AJHL executive of the year.
“Blair has a true passion for hockey and his community and believes in providing players with the best opportunities possible,” Flett said. “He has been an impactful leader on the AJHL board of governors and management committee, assisting the league in navigating the changes and challenges of junior hockey, while leading a successful franchise in Drumheller.”
Along with Flett, the AJHL operations team includes chairman Greg Wood, commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk, vice-presidents Fran Gow (hockey operations) and Colin Watt (officiating), and video review manager Dean Laschowski.
Shane Tomayer of Lloydminster and Reid Costley of Canmore return to the AJHL management committee, which has added Corey Wandler of the Bonnyville Pontiacs and Moe Jamal of the Olds Grizzlys. Outgoing committee members are Drumheller’s Christianson and Grande Prairie’s Ray Mildenberger.
The AJHL board has scheduled its semi-annual meeting for November 2026 in Devon, home of the Xtreme, and the 2027 annual general meeting for next May in Whitecourt, home of the Wolverines.
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