Veitch Championship

This Veitch Memorial Trophy is annually awarded to the Newfoundland provincial championship team in the highest category of junior. It stands the measure of junior hockey supremacy throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

The trophy was first presented to the Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association by the Buchans Social and Athletic Club in 1951 in memory of three Veitch brothers. Originally, the Trophy remembered Cyril Veitch, a St. John's native who served on the NAHA executive, was a great hockey enthusiast and died in December 1949. Later John Veitch, another Buchans player, was added to the Trophy and then, the name of Phillip Veitch, who also played hockey for Buchans, was also added to the Trophy.

The Veitch Memorial Trophy was first played for in 1953 in which Grand Falls were awarded the trophy. The trophy has been up for competition for 60 years and the championship has been played 44 times. Teams from the St. John's league have the majority of Veitch championships with 14 titles. Grand Falls has won the Trophy seven times, while Gander has five titles. Bell Island has three championships. Corner Brook emerged as winners twice, with Buchans, Deer Lake and Mount Pearl each having one victory. Interspersed within the history of the Trophy are 14 seasons with "no competition". There was a run of "no competition" for seven seasons between 1988 and 1994.

Last year in 2010, marked the 44th year of competition and coincided with Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador’s 75th Anniversary.

Today there exists two Junior B hockey leagues in Newfoundland and Labrador that vie for the Veitch Memorial Trophy, the St. John’s Junior Hockey League and the Central West Junior Hockey League. The champions of both leagues, along with the host and runner-up of the opposing league enter into tournament play for the Veitch Memorial Trophy.