Alberta Senior Hockey League

The Alberta Senior Hockey League or ASHL was a senior ice hockey league that operated between 1936 and 1941 in Alberta, Canada. It was formed by merging the Southern Alberta League and the Edmonton City Senior League.

In the 1940-41 season, the league played an interlocking schedule with the West Kootenay League.

In 1941 the league ceased operations due to World War II.

After the ASHL folded, the teams went on to join the the Alberta-British Columbia Senior League for the 1941-42 season. That league only lasted one season before folding. The Alberta Inter-Services League, made up of military teams, became the only senior league in the province until 1945.

In 1945-46, after World War II ended, the Western Canada Senior Hockey League was formed with teams from Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The league name would be briefly revived for the 1977-78 season.

Teams

• Calgary Bronks (1936–1937)
• Calgary Rangers (1936–1938)
• Drumheller Miners (1936–1940)
• Edmonton Dominions (1936–1938)
• Edmonton Superiors (1936–1938)
• Olds Elks (1936–1941)
• Calgary Stampeders (1938–1941)
• Coleman Canadians (1938–1941)
• Edmonton Eskimos (1938–1939)
• Lethbridge Maple Leafs (1938–1941)
• Turner Valley Oilers (1938–1941)
• Edmonton Flyers (1939–1941)

Champions

• 1936-37 Edmonton Dominions
• 1937-38 Calgary Rangers
• 1938-39 Lethbridge Maple Leafs
• 1939-40 Calgary Stampeders
• 1940-41 Lethbridge Maple Leafs

All teams would end up being Alberta Senior Hockey Champions, with 1938-39 to 1940-41 the league being the only league with teams completing for the Allan Cup and thus the league playoffs doubling as the Alberta Senior Playoffs.

In 1940 the Stampeders won the Western Canada Allan Cup Final and then went on to lose the Allan Cup Final to the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils.

Notable players

The Drumheller Miners featured the five Bentley brothers – Doug, Max, Reg, Roy and Wyatt. Doug, Max and Reg went on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL), while Doug and Max were both elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Alex Kaleta, who played for the Calgary Stampeders and Lethbridge Maple Leafs, would go on to compete in the NHL and is known for his part in originating hockey's hat trick tradition while with the Chicago Black Hawks.