written by LiFei Liu-Calver

Jon Keen has been a sports broadcaster but has been involved in radio since 1999. “I didn’t get into sports right away,” he says, “it’s my 20th year doing WHL play-by-play hockey.”

The Board of Radio stations that transfer the sport competition

There are 22 teams in the Junior Hockey League. There is the 10 in the Western Conference which consists of British Columbia, Washington State and Oregon and 12 in the Eastern Conference which consists of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. All teams play against each other once a year at least, with the United States being the only other country the Blazers play against.

When having face-offs with different teams, each team will have a hometown that they represent and where they practice their games. The “road team” is the team that travels. The “host team” is the team that will host the face-off.

While they do not get to an international type of game, the Western Hockey League gets to the Western Memorial Cup that Kamloops hosts in May and June. They take the top teams of each league consisting of the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Hockey League. Since Kamloops hosts the games, they automatically get a spot in the tournament.

Players on the Kamloops Blazers are between 16 to 21 years old which makes up the age range of the Junior Hockey teams. “Rookies” is the term for youngsters at 16, and “over-agers” are 20 and 21 years old and are only allowed three on a team.

Getting into the Kamloops Blazers is very competitive. Players on the Blazers usually have been playing hockey since they are four or five years old, and in some cases, younger. They are likely higher skilled than the rest of their peers, allowing them to play hockey at higher levels, such as rep hockey.

To get to these levels, they become identified. Scouting staffs are present in all WHL teams and attend high-level games and once these players turn 14 years old. The WHL Prospect Drafts is when the teams select about 10 players, all depending on the number of drafts in a year. If players continue to be a top players among their peers, they can get drafted into the Blazers or play in the WHL once they turn 16.

Blazers is the highest level of Junior Hockey in Canada. There are also Junior A, Junior B and Junior C teams. The Blazers prides itself in being one of the best junior hockey leagues of its age group


When players age out, they earn a year of paid post-secondary education of their choice for every year they are on the team, which includes tuition and books. In some cases, players continue to go into professional hockey, and can even go into the NHL as well as play in Europe or in other ranks within North America.  However not everyone makes it as it is very competitive, so instead, players are given a WHL scholarship.

While the Blazers currently only consist of young males, there have been a few females that have been drafted into the WHL. Chloe Primerano got drafted into the Vancouver Giants as a defence, as well as other female goaltenders. There is no reason why females cannot get onto the teams, yet Primerano was the first female to be drafted as a positional player and not a goaltender on a team. There are hockey academies and other levels under 18. The top female hockey players who can play for Hockey Canada can represent Canada.

Young players looking to join the Kamloops Blazers in the years to come are advised to work very hard, continue to train and listen to their coaches. “It is very tough to make this level,” Keen says. “Put in the work and get stronger and faster, you can even get into a hockey academy.”

Interview with John Keen by LiFei.

Season Tickets get someone all 34 games and can cost between $600-700. Anyone looking to watch a single game can get tickets starting from $25-35. Tickets can be bought at ticket master, blazerhockey.com or at the ticket office at the Sandman Centre.