WHA Junior Hockey League The WHA Junior Hockey League was an independent Canadian junior ice hockey league based out of British Columbia , Canada . The league marketed itself as a Junior A league , but was an unsanctioned independent loop with its own rules , processes and procedures , and was marked by franchise instability . Its team logos were based on the old WHA pro league of the 1970s . History . The first game in league history ( when it was known as the WHA Junior West Hockey League ) took place on September 21 , 2006 , between the Lumby Fighting Saints and the Armstrong Sharks in Armstrong , British Columbia . The result of the game was a 6 - 4 victory for Lumby . On November 15 , 2006 , the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League announced on its official site its affiliation with the World Hockey Association and the creation of the National Junior Hockey Alliance , an agreement to play for the " Alliance Cup " between the GMHL playoff champion and the winner of the WHA Junior West Hockey League . On March 2 , 2007 , the final was awarded to New Westminster after winning the best of five series . Lumby pulled out of the league final after a financial dispute between Lumby ' s coach and the league ; the league chose to remove Lumby ' s coach and continued the series without him . The Whalers won the last two games to take the league title . The Whalers moved on to compete for the NJHA Alliance Cup against the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League ' s Bradford Rattlers , and were swept three games straight by the GMJHL champion . On March 2 , 2007 , Vancouver Tours Bus Lines was awarded $ 71 , 348 CAD in unpaid fees by the WHA by a British Columbia Court . The WHA lost its Bellingham franchise in the fall of 2007 , but gained the Fort Vancouver Pioneers . The Pioneers received much scrutiny in USA Hockey ' s NorPac league due to allegations of " over - compensating " their players and violating their amateur status . The team was founded in 2003 as the Portland Pioneers and won two league championships . On October 28 , 2007 , the Fort Vancouver Pioneers ceased operations following the WHA reneging on travel arrangements made with the club . The Pioneers had a league best 7 - 1 - 0 - 0 record with 61 goals for and 27 goals against . Late in November , the transplanted 2007 champion Whalers ( 3 - 6 - 0 - 0 with 40 GF and 49 GA ) seemingly folded and their players were moved in with the Osoyoos Spurs franchise . Amidst cancelled games and rumors of unpaid bills , the remaining teams played little more than half the schedule before the season was cut short , and a " championship " series played between the Oliver Jets and the Armstrong Sharks . After a second season cut short and the playoffs won by the Oliver Jets with little notice , there was no sign of any renewal of the " Alliance Cup . " In the summer of 2008 , the WHA announced the addition of teams in Hope , Ashcroft , Nakusp , Clinton and Logan Lake . From the 2007 - 08 season , the WHA lost Barrhead , Fort Vancouver , Osoyoos , Squamish , and Vancouver , but announced that it had retained Armstrong , Lumby and Oliver . Furthermore , the league announced in July 2008 that it had secured affiliation deals with the Varkaus Eagles of Finland and Red Star - Sofia in Bulgaria . As part of the arrangement , WHA owner Ricky Smith was given control of the Eagles , but subsequently defaulted on a $ 75 , 000 bond and unilaterally folded the team . However , no franchise apparently attempted to field a roster for the scheduled start of the 2008 - 2009 season , and no games were ever played . The last post to the league ' s website was on September 15 , 2008 - which as of July 2009 was shut down for lack of payment - addressing the possible suspension by Hockey Canada of any player suiting up for a WHA team . On January 16 , 2009 , the WHA was successfully sued by Global Developments Inc . for $ 4 . 3 Million USD in losses in a District of Nevada courtroom for purposely diluting the worth of Global ' s interest in the company . On November 24 , 2009 , Ricky Smith filed a lawsuit in British Columbia against Hockey Canada , the Pacific International Junior Hockey League , BC Hockey , former WHA Coach Matt Samson , and Squamish Manager of Recreational Services Janet Gugins . The charges stem from Smith ' s belief that Hockey Canada and BC Hockey maliciously targeted the WHA in the summer of 2008 with a series of bulletins targeted at keep players from joining the WHA . The charges put against Samson , Gugins , and the PIJHL revolve around allegations that Samson and Gugins were in breach of a contract between them and the WHA when attempting to secure a PIJHL franchise .