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Tough decision, “junior”

BCHL or WHL? Who’s better? fin in-depth look at both leagues

Patrick Witwicki,
Sports Editor

The feeling is intense. The crowd cheers
every move, every play. A tall, lanky winger for
the Coquitlam Bantam AAA team crosses the
opposing blue line. He shoots, he scores! The
building erupts, as Coquitlam takes the lead
for the first time in the game. And there’s a lot
riding on this game: the winner will move on to
the semi-final of the Port Coquitlam Spring
Break Bantam hockey tournament. The loser
goes home.

In some cases, there may be more on the
line for that tall, lanky winger who just scored.
Because, in the crowd, there are more people
than just mommy and daddy watch-

briefly into space, he adds, “It’s probably a
four-person job.” In addition to his “four-per-
son” job, he is also somewhat of a historian. In
his possession, he holds every NHL media
guide dating back to 1932, and also has sta-
tistics extending back to the early 1900s. The
BCHL media guide, also compiled by Boileau,
is gigantic and impressive, and at
first glance an outsider would
think that a large publishing house in
Vancouver took care of it. Not so. He compiles
all the stats, figures, and player information on
his own, on an annual basis.

Since Boileau took over as president 12

-years ago, the BCHL has enjoyed a complete

turn-around. “As a league, we should draw

sion teams in Coquitlam and Salmon Arm
also enjoyed excellent attendance in their
inaugural seasons.

The only black mark, of course, is the pend-
ing move of the Burnaby Bulldogs franchise,
which will try a season in Port Alberni for the
2002-03 campaign. The team noticed a defi-
nite decline in attendance, and blamed the
occurrence on the arrival of the WHL
Vancouver Giants and the expansion fran-
chise in Coquitlam.

Despite this, Darcy Rota, president and gen-
eral manager of the Coquitlam team (and a
former coach of the Burnaby team) is con-
vinced his team will survive in Coquitlam. “Our
goal (this season) was to make people aware

of the team. We got involved in the

 

ing. Scouts are also present, repre-
senting various Major Junior hockey
teams, some from BC, some from
the U.S. The Bantam hockey draft is
approaching, and teams in the
Western Hockey League (WHL) are
trying to find the next star: a player
they can build their team around,
and in the process, maybe help that
player reach the ultimate destina-
tion: the NHL.

But players also have another
choice. They don’t have to neces-
sarily submit, and go directly to the
WHL. Some players, due to family or
school commitments, don’t have
that luxury. But others choose to try
their luck in the British Columbia
Hockey League (BCHL).

Ultimately a talented hockey
player faces a tough decision
once he reaches the
golden age of 14. WHL or
BCHL? Which league is better?

Is there a difference? Could a \_

 

 

™ community, and we have to keep
that up. We're building something
here, and we have to build it with
support from the Tri-City communi-
ty”
So, currently the BCHL is quite
strong, despite the lack of promo-
tion from the media standpoint.
Boileau believes that success at
the national level has led to the ris-
ing popularity of the league. “We
have won eight out of the last 16
championships,” he says proudly.
And the individual teams are also
popular, especially in smaller mar-
kets, where the BCHL team is the
only “game” in town. Small towns
like Quesnel or Chilliwack can have
a junior team, and expect a good
crowd almost every night. The
tougher sell is in bigger markets
where others sports teams, like
Vancouver or Prince George, exist.
ag And player recognition also helps.
Current NHLers like Paul Kariya or

 

 

player make a mistake choosing
one league over the other? Or, could a less-
talented player be making a major mistake by
choosing hockey over an education?

Ron Boileau, president of the BCHL,
has been involved with Junior hockey for a
long time. Originally, he started out as a
volunteer with the New Westminster Bruins of
the WHL, and spent some time with the
Delta Flyers of the BC Hockey League. Now,
as acting president of the BCHL, he openly
proclaims his love for the job. “I’m kind of a
one-man show,’ he says. “I do everything from
stats to PR.” After a brief reflection, staring

 

over 600,000 people this year, not including
playoffs. That will be the most ever. Teams are
doing a great job of marketing, despite the fact
there hasn’t been a single story about us in
the Vancouver Sun or Province,” he says.
The league had 16 teams this past season,
and will expand by one more, as Williams
Lake joins the league in time for next season.
That's a far cry from the nine teams that exist-
ed in the league when Boileau first began his
stint as president. “Our attendance is up in
many markets,” he admits, pointing to towns
like Nanaimo and Prince George. And expan-

Brett Hull, both successful at the
NHL level, played their junior hockey in the
BCHL before heading to a US college. And
BCHL grads have also had success across
the border, winning the Hoby Baker award
(best collegiate player), like Brendan
Morrison. Still, the perception that the BCHL is
inferior to the WHL, or can be considered as a
“farm” league is one that the BCHL must work
hard to eradicate. “We have to continue to
improve our marketing,” says Boileau. “So,
we're perceived, but that’s all it is. Most of our
fans know what we’re about.”
The WHL is considered by many to be the