Canadian Hockey League

The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization for three Canadian hockey leagues for players of 15 to 20 years of age. The three member leagues are:

• the Western Hockey League, with teams in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Washington, and Oregon.
• the Ontario Hockey League, with teams in Ontario, Michigan, and Pennsylvania
• the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, with teams in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Maine

Altogether the league comprises 56 teams in 9 Canadian provinces and 5 American states. For lists of teams see the articles about each member league.

The CHL awards the Memorial Cup to the Canadian junior hockey champion (the American members also compete for this trophy). It is the chief development league for the National Hockey League. More than half the players in the National Hockey League for the 2002-2003 season had played in the CHL.