The following was taken from the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League Website History Page
If you want to make something happen, you need a good group of people to commit. This is exactly what happened on a hot summer day in Castlegar in 1967, when a group of men met in a hot and steamy room. It was the start of the West Kootenay Junior Hockey League. Castlegar, Trail, Rossland, Grand Forks and Nelson were the first teams. The first season (1968-69) saw the Trail Jr. Smoke Eaters win the league, and advance to the BC Championship.
Castlegar and Grand Forks folded after one year. Grand Forks came back after a one-year absence, and Castlegar came back after seven years.
In 1972 Spokane entered the league, adding international tastes. At this point, the league became known as the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). Creston joined in 1976, while the Columbia Valley Rockies came along in 1978, and Beaver Valley in 1981. The seventies were dominated by the Cranbrook Colts, with 2 straight BC Championships in their first four years. This was followed by a dynasty in Kimberley, when the Knights won 2 Cyclone Taylor Cups in the 80�??s. The late eighties were dominated by the Columbia Valley Rockies, who won back to back Keystone Cup Championships. (Western Canadian Junior B Champions).
When the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League (RMJHL) was formed in 1990, our league lost several teams Trail, Cranbrook, Fernie, Kimberley and in 1992 Creston, to the Junior 'A' league. But in 1993 the North Okanagan Kings joined up, Sicamous joined in 1994, and we now have a well-rounded league with Revelstoke and Golden providing great rivalries.
In 1996 the 2 distinct divisions were named after two great founders. The south division was named after Neil Murdoch, the personification of the name Smoke Eater, while the north division was named after Eddie Mountain, the personification of a Humanitarian.
In 1996 Junior B hockey came to Osoyoos. 1996 saw them as the Osoyoos Jr. B. Rebels, then 1997 as the Osoyoos Heat under new ownership.
1998 brought the Castlegar Rebels back into the fold.
1999 brought the Nelson Leafs back home to the KIJHL. Also in 1999 the Summerland Minor Hockey had a Juvenile team playing under the name of the Summerland Warriors. This was an interim measure to replace the Rossland Warriors, who dropped out just before the season started
The 2000/2001 season saw the return of hockey to Creston, under the name of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats.
The 2001/2002 season has added two more members to the KIJHL. The return of the Kimberley Dynamiters and a new team Summerland (the Summerland Sting). The North Okanagan Kings became the Enderby Ice Kings and the Osoyoos Heat became the Osoyoos Storm. Also with the increase in teams, the league has split into three divisions.
In 2002/2003 the North Okanagan Kings re-located to Princeton, where they now call themselves the POSSE.
The 2004/05 season had the Fernie Ghostriders return to the league after playing in the KIJHL from 1973-1980 and then moving on to Junior 'A'. Fernie became the fifth team in the Eddie Mountain Division.
The Golden team changes it's name from the Rockets to the Xtreme for the 2005/06 season.
The 2006/07 season saw the league accept a franchise move from Osoyoos to Kamloops. The Kamloops Storm remain in the Okanagan/Shuswap Division. The Golden team changes name to Golden Jets after the purchase of the franchise by a group headed by Bobby Hull.
The Chase Chiefs were welcomed into the league for the 2007/08 season. They join the other five teams in the Okanagan/Shuswap Division. The Golden Jets franchise reverts back to a community-owned society who change the team moniker back to Rockets.
The 2008/09 season saw no new teams but the league did re-align into 2 conferences. The Okanagan Conference remains a six-team entity while the Kootenay Conference contains all ten of the other teams split into the Neil Murdoch and Eddie Mountain Divisions.
The 2009/10 season has the Okanagan Conference expanding to seven teams with the addition of the North Okanagan Knights, operating out of Armstrong, BC. The Summerland Sting also re-located to Penticton, BC.
Osoyoos was welcomed back into the league in 2010/11 when the Coyotes joined the Okanagan Conference. These upstart Coyotes went on to become league champions and represent the KIJHL at the Cyclone Taylor Cup. The Chiefs re-located from Chase to Kelowna that year as well.
The KIJHL expanded to twenty teams for the 2011/12 season. The Summerland Steam and Chase Heat re-joined the League as the fifth team in each of the Okanagan Divisions
In 2013, the Penticton Laker franchise was moved to 100 Mile House. The Wranglers begin play in the Doug Birks Division for the 2013-14 season while the North Okanagan Knights moved into the Okanagan Division.