The BCHL is pleased to announce Chris Hebb as the league's new commissioner, effective immediately.

Hebb is a former senior executive with two of the biggest sports and entertainment companies in Canada ' Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment (OBSE) in Vancouver and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) in Toronto.

From 2006 to 2013, Hebb was Senior Vice President of Content and Communications for MLSE. Hebb oversaw all broadcast and digital properties for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies. He was also responsible for running their three TV networks (NBATV Canada, GOLTV Canada and Leafs TV).

Before joining MLSE, Hebb spent 11 years with OBSE, owners of the Vancouver Canucks, the Vancouver Grizzlies and General Motors Place. Hebb served as Vice President of Broadcast and led the organization into the digital age by launching the Canucks website and streaming the first NHL games to ever be viewed online.

More recently, he has been President of Starting Five Media Consulting Ltd., a company advising sports organizations on business strategy and development. Clients there included Canada Soccer, Oilers Entertainment Group, USports, Vancouver Whitecaps, Hockey Canada, Curling Canada and BC Lotteries Corporation.

'The BCHL has a tremendous reputation in hockey development,' said Hebb, a native of Prince Rupert, B.C. 'I'm pleased to continue the good work that's been done, to give young men a platform to grow as hockey players and a path to a great career. But, I also look forward to helping our 17 teams raise their profile, increase league revenues and solidify our position as the best Junior A hockey league in North America.'

'Having known Chris for nearly 25 years, I am happy to see him take on this position and look forward to seeing the league grow under his stewardship,' said Rod Brind'Amour, head coach of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and a BCHL parent.

The office of commissioner had been held by John Grisdale from 2003 to 2018, the longest tenure in league history. Grisdale's time with the league saw unprecedented growth in numbers of players committed to college, including a league-record 152 players this year alone. Grisdale saw 67 players drafted into the NHL after having played in the BCHL, including the likes of Kyle Turris, Justin Schultz and Tyson Jost. Grisdale also led the way developing the league's media and online presence and fostered an upward trend in franchise values.

The BCHL's board of governors had a chance to meet Hebb last week at the league's annual general meeting in Richmond.

'We are confident with Chris's background and experience that he is the right person to take our league into a new era,' said Graham Fraser, the chairman of the BCHL board of governors. 'During the search process, Chris separated himself from the group of applicants not only with his resume but also with his ideas for taking the BCHL to even greater heights. We are extremely happy to have him on board.'

Hebb's athletic background includes a national title as a member of the University of Victoria Vikings basketball team that was also inducted into the Basketball BC Hall of Fame. He graduated UVic with a Bachelor of Arts degree in linguistics.

He began his professional career as a sports anchor and television producer with CKVU (now City TV) and BCTV (now Global BC).

Source: http://bchl.ca/bchl-announces-new-boss

Top

Motions raised at the BCHL annual general meeting are now finalized and the league is unveiling some rules changes that will be in place for the 2018-19 season.

There will be a new format for overtime in the coming season. If teams are tied at the conclusion of regulation, they will proceed directly into five minutes of three-on-three hockey. If a winner is still not determined, a three-player shootout will follow with more shooters as necessary to determine a winner. This overtime procedure follows exactly that of the NHL.

The BCHL will incorporate hybrid icing for next season. Up to this point, the BCHL has used automatic icing for pucks shot in from beyond the centre line. The new system mimics the rule currently in place NHL, introducing a race for the puck to determine if icing will be whistled or not.

The dates of the 2018 Bauer BCHL Showcase will be September 20, 21 and 22 which is a Thursday-Friday-Saturday on the calendar. Once again, Prospera Centre in Chilliwack will be the host location. Unlike last season however, both sheets of ice at the arena will be in use to allow the event to run over three days instead of five.

All of these changes will take effect for the start of the 2018-19 season which commences on the second weekend of September this year.

Source: http://bchl.ca/board-of-govs-agrees-on-new-rules

Top

TIE-BREAKER CRITERIA:

WITH RESPECT TO PLAYOFFS, FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING THE TOP TEAMS, THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA SHALL BE USED UNTIL THE TIE IS BROKEN:

• The team having the most POINTS
• The team having the most WINS
• The team having the most WINS IN GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER
• The team having the most POINTS IN GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER
• The team having the best GOALS FOR AND AGAINST IN GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER. (By taking the goals for and subtracting the goals against in games between the teams)
• The team having the BEST OVERALL GOALS FOR AND AGAINST (By taking the goals for and subtracting the goals against in regular season play)
• Should the teams remain tied after the above tie-breaking criteria, the team with the MOST POINTS EARNED in games involving DIVISIONAL OPPONENTS ONLY will be used to determine the DIVISIONAL STANDINGS. (This tie-breaker only applies in determining divisional standings)

Top

PLAYOFF FORMAT:

The 2019 Chevrolet Road to the Fred Page Cup BCHL Playoffs will adhere to the following structure:

• The top-four teams from both the Island and Mainland Divisions will qualify for the playoffs and will be seeded No. 1 to No. 4.
• In the Interior Division, the top-six teams will qualify for the playoffs, seeded No. 1 to No. 6.
• The last-place team from each division (Island, fifth place, Mainland, fifth place and Interior, seventh place) will be eligible to compete in the Interior Division opening round as the Wild Card No. 7 or 8 seed.
• The top two of the three last-place teams, determined by regular-season points total, will go into the Interior Division for Round 1. The Island and/or Mainland team crossing over will be the No. 7 or No. 8 seed if they have a higher points total than the Interior last-place team.
• All playoffs rounds will be a best-of-seven format. The winner of the Island versus Mainland final will play the winner of the Interior Division in the Fred Page Cup BCHL Finals with the winner advanceing to the Doyle Cup, BCHL vs AJHL

DOYLE CUP (BC vs AB), best of 7 - The Doyle Cup alternates between Leagues, - 2020 will begin in the BCHL (British Columbia). - Winner will advance to the Royal Bank Cup Tournament (National Championship)

Top