Western States Hockey League
 |
|
| Sport | Hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Commissioner | Ron White |
| No. of teams | 27 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Most recent champion(s) |
Idaho Jr. Steelheads (2015–16) |
| Most titles | Phoenix Polar Bears (7) |
| Official website | WSHL |
Established in 1993, the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) is an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)-sanctioned, junior ice hockey league. The WSHL was previously sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1994–2011.
The 2016–17 regular season features 28 teams competing across four divisions, all playing a 52-game regular season schedule, which mimics what players would experience at the collegiate level. This is the second season operating as a UHU-sanctioned Tier II league.
Year one consisted of six teams, spanning Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah, with all member clubs playing a 30-game schedule operating as Tier III Junior B teams. The Anaheim Jr. Ducks won the first-ever Thorne Cup Championship that year and is the only franchise from the inaugural season still in existence, now operating as the Long Beach Bombers.
Current Commissioner Ron White took over operation of the WSHL in 1995 and continued to expand it over time eventually growing to the current 28 teams stretching across 14 states, making it the second largest junior hockey league in North America. In 2007, the WSHL upgraded their league status from the Tier III Junior B level to Junior A to attract higher quality prospects.
In 2011, the league would join the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and dropped its USA Hockey sanctioning leading to the loss of its most successful franchise, the Phoenix Polar Bears, while adding many new teams. After the WSHL's success without USA Hockey, the United Hockey Union was formed under the AAU sanctioning along with the Northern States Hockey League (NSHL) and the Midwest Junior Hockey League (MWJHL). The UHU leagues continued to operate with Tier III Junior A player requirements.
In 2015, the WSHL Board of Governors announced the approval of the league to start competing as a Tier II-level player league for a higher caliber of play beginning in the 2015–16 season. Prior to the announcement the only Tier II-level league in the United States was the North American Hockey League. However, unlike the USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II NAHL, the UHU-sanctioned WSHL operates similar to the Canadian Junior Hockey League's Junior "A" status and continues to charge player tuition to help pay for team travel expenses.
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