So headlining the circles of junior hockey this past week
was the shocking news that was delivered to the Western Hockey League`s
Portland Winterhawks. League
commissioner Ron Robison came down extremely hard on the `Hawks by stripping
them of their first five draft picks in the upcoming bantam draft while also
forcing them to hand over their first round picks for the next five drafts. It
doesn`t end there, as the owner`s wallet was hit hard with the unprecedented
fine of $200,000!!! This whole punishment stems from apparent illegal
recruitment violations which span across the last five hockey seasons. The violations enlisted in the league
statement include providing cellphones to past team captains, flying families
down to have the ability to watch their son play live, and aiding summer
training programs. Was the punishment delivered justified or over the top? What
actions can take place to ensure the league stays on top? We’ll examine below.
So, first we must analyze whether the punishment fits the
crime. The head honchos at the league office made it perfectly clear that
absolutely NO educational or monetary violations were committed. Even from a
quick gander, one could form the theory that what was delivered to Portland was
over-kill for what could be considered petty mis-demeanors in the hockey world.
Providing cellphones for a team captain isn’t something the league would carry
forward a thorough investigation to inquire into the team’s culpability. Flying
families into the community isn’t anything out of the ordinary as this has become
a common practice for most programs, especially in the NCAA.
Essentially, I’m of the opinion that if a program doesn’t delve into these
practices, they will already be behind the eight ball in trying to land the
services of the particular player. And as far aiding training programs
throughout the summer, last time I checked most teams across the Canadian
Hockey League authorize training programs to be followed by their players at
the team’s expense. Basically, although it has become blatantly clear that the
WHL or the Portland Winterhawks will not be commenting any further on the
matter, the crime does NOT fit the punishment and something else was violated
that either side is not willing to publicly disclose.
By divulging the seriousness of the “crimes” committed, the
CHL, if it’s not careful, may find themselves swimming in murky waters shortly.
The Canadian Hockey League, as explained in a previous post is a developmental
league. As much as that holds true, one cannot question that what the fans come
to see, the same people who drive the league’s revenue, aren’t attending the
games to watch third and fourth liners, they are their to see the top end
players, the same players who usually are in the midst pf the NCAA/CHL
recruiting war. If Canadian wide commissioner David Branch, along with the
respective league commissioners are going to be hell-bent on coming down hard
on “petty” infractions, they could be at risk at the NCAA’s gain. Not to sound
like a conspiracy theorist , but don’t you think that if the QMJHL would of
embarked on the thorough investigation on the handling of super Nova Scotian
prospect Nathan MacKinnon, who happens to currently suit up for the Halifax
Moosheads, might we see Nathan MacKinnon pursuing the college avenue. To
refresh people’s memory, MacKinnon, who some labeled s the next Sidney Crosby
was selected first overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, a team by which MacKinnon
showed no interest in playing for. After his respective bantam draft, he
threatened to pursue the NCAA angle. Conveniently, his rights were trades
shortly after to his home province Moosheads. You have to wonder how much of
that trade was Baie-Comeau’s doing, who if memory served me correct didn’t want
to make the move, or how much the QMJHL ponied up and used their authority to
protect a coveted asset. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s not about
what acts were committed by the teams , it’s about who those acts effect. Let’s
face the facts here, it has been no secret over the years that the Canadian
Hockey League has an influence when it comes to bettering their Canadian
markets for financial gain and not caring less about their markets in the U.S.
The reason for this that has been bantered about for the last few years is
because the league’s titles sponsor is Mastercard, a Canadian company who
wouldn’t receive the same kind of financial gain it would from a successful
American market. Conspiracy theorists have also correlated my aforementioned
point with the reason why ever since Mastercard has came on board that not ONE
U.S market has been awarded as the host team for the Memorial Cup.
Furthering my point on the murky waters the Canadian Hockey
League is swimming in, it’s important that we truly connect the never more
important battle between the NCAA-CHL, and in what ways the CHL needs to
improve to be the National Hockey League’s #1 talent provider. I’m sure most of
you are privy to what went on with the now debunked, or at least close to it,
CHLPA. The CHLPA, or at least those who weren’t convicted felons, fought tooth
and nails to force the Canadian Hockey League to pay it’s players minimum wage.
We can argue all day and night the necessity of that due to what the kids get
at the expense of getting minimum wage, but something may have to be improved
upon to compete with the ever growing empire, the NCAA. In a world full of
grey, the league needs to become more black and white when it comes to
enforcing it’s rules. For starters, it needs to examine the necessity of the
rule that dictates that a player becomes ineligible to play NCAA sports the
minute that player dresses in a exhibition game. How is it even remotely fair
that a 14-15 year old is put in a position of having to choose what the next
five-six years of their life must look like? Life`s full of decisions and it`s
not at all right that we`re denying our kids the freedom of choice when they
are not even yet adults. This policy needs to soften, and at the benefit of
both parties, working together on this matter is most definitely a win-win situation. Prospective young men
choose between the two leagues for a variety of reasons and in a business where
their motto`s are eerily similar, doesn`t it defeat the purpose and the objective
of protecting the student athletes of holding a `student athlete` hostage.
Getting back to what was I was saying earlier, and referencing
the Winterhawk`s situation again, if the NCAA-CHL feud was cleaned up, it would
completely erase the need for teams like the Hawks, or the OHL`s Windsor
Spitfires from having to bend the rules to accommodate the top players(who I
might add I find ridiculous that the Spitfires were handed lesser punishment
for their violation, and they reportedly paid a player a half mill.) The
problem there again is in my opinion the CHL looking the other way to a lesser
degree compared to their friends south of the border in Portland. Give kids a
choice and provide the parents with the time to make an informed decision,
because ultimately each family has it`s own reasons for making the choice they
feel is the best for their child.
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