Did you know that Canada has a second major hockey league?
And that this league actually has more teams than the #NHL?
Of course, I’m talking about the Canadian Hockey League. If you don’t often hear about it, it’s because it’s actually an umbrella league for three other leagues: the #WHL, #OHL, and #QMJHL.
Think of the #CHL kind of like the MLB. In the MLB, there’s the National League and the American League. Just as the NL and AL champs play each other in the World Series, the CHL has a similar thing going on.
Each year, the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL all go through their respective playoffs. Once each league has its champion, the compete—with the host city’s team—in an event known as the Memorial Cup.
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... Show more...Did you know that Canada has a second major hockey league?
And that this league actually has more teams than the #NHL?
Of course, I’m talking about the Canadian Hockey League. If you don’t often hear about it, it’s because it’s actually an umbrella league for three other leagues: the #WHL, #OHL, and #QMJHL.
Think of the #CHL kind of like the MLB. In the MLB, there’s the National League and the American League. Just as the NL and AL champs play each other in the World Series, the CHL has a similar thing going on.
Each year, the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL all go through their respective playoffs. Once each league has its champion, the compete—with the host city’s team—in an event known as the Memorial Cup.
The majority of the 61 teams in the CHL are Canadian. But there are also 9 American teams that compete in it: 6 in the WHL, and 3 in the OHL.
The CHL is a major junior hockey league. To compete in it, a player has to be between the ages of 16-20.
While the CHL is usually deemed an amateur league, many people disagree—and this has proven to be a contentious issue.
Specifically, the NCAA used to label the CHL has a professional league. Which is why they disallowed CHL players from NCAA eligibility. This policy changed when American courts pointed out NCAA’s own issues.
Nevertheless, many believe CHL is a pro league since players earn a salary.
The CHL is a major source for NHL talent. Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, and Conor Bedard all played in the CHL.
In fact, the CHL is so dominant in the world of junior hockey that most American and European NHL superstars once played in there too. This includes Patrick Kane, Matthew Tkachuk, and Leon Draisaitl.
It is so successful that the USA’s own major junior hockey league is begging—hoping and praying—to join the CHL. The USHL is lobbying hard to be the 4th CHL league because it means they’ll be able to compete in the Memorial Cup.
And this is because, try as they might, they just can’t compete with the CHL, and this is reflected each year in NHL draft picks.
Huge crowds attend CHL games. Even in cities with small populations, only with 30,000 people, you get thousands of people showing up—packing arenas.
The Memorial Cup itself is a huge event, gets broadcast nationally on TSN. It sells out arenas. At the upcoming 2026 Memorial Cup in Kelowna, ticket packages start at C$767 for the round robin event.
People travel from across Canada and the USA to attend the Memorial Cup. It contributes up to $40M to a host city. Which is a huge windfall for small towns.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian…
