cinnamoroll
baby sharks enthusiast
07 C Liam Kilfoil of Halifax Mooseheads commits to Northeastern
the next blog post will be on B1G classes
update on CHL recruitment/retention efforts:
OHL seems to be the league most aggressively cracking down on standardizing the quality of the league. the OHL had that updated player agreement earlier in the year with better academic support and then a league wide "player experience enhancement recommendations". those are a list of 20 items that the ohl board of governors agreed on and teams are required to meet them by the 26-27 season. The items came from a Player Experience committee that was apparently started before last season. some teams already have these but others are behind. they include things like: strength/conditioning coaches, team nutritionist, off-season training support, more medical/therapy services (massage therapist, physio, etc), billet standards and support, minimum travel accommodation standards. certain teams have more work to do on these than others of course, or have partial pieces of the services (as needed physio or massage therapy but not consistently available, strength coaches not around for off season)
another initiative is an official partnership between the OHL and GOJHL, naming it as their first official development league. many teams will send down affiliate players to the closest GOJHL team, but it was an unofficial relationship. the GOJHL is Southern Ontario-based, so not all OHL have a close enough team to send their players to. apparently there are discussions for other junior A leagues in Ontario, but the work
facilities wise: apparently last november Bryan Crawford met with the mayor of Peterborough who pledged to build a new arena within 5 years, and said something to the effect of 'shit or get off the pot' with other markets being more ready to have a team if they don't get it together. he clarified later that he has no intention of relocating the franchise unless absolutely necessary, and seems progress is going on. The Peterborough Petes are the oldest franchise in the league and play out of the Peterborough Memorial Center which is 70 years old, which is not up to standard and has fallen behind in the sorts of renovations that wouldve improved its longevity. a location has been designated for a new event center. there are 3 other cities with new arena constructions farther along in planning. yesterday Sudbury released architectural renderings of their new arena, which is sorely needed- their old one is kinda falling apart. you might be familiar with it, the Blueberry Bulldogs also play out of that arena (Shoresy is filmed there). also getting new arenas are Ottawa and Brantford.
the QMJHL's efforts can be harder to follow because I need to seek out quebec media but some of the teams getting arena upgrades and/or working on new arenas include Halifax and Drummondville. on expansion to the US, the Mariners just signed an extension with their arena so it seems the ECHL franchise has a hold on the Portland market, probably no room for a Q team there. lewiston and manchester appear to be the likely spots, but Cecchini has implied that USA Hockey is making the process a lot harder than they expected.
the WHL im worried about because the teams aren't exactly known for... cooperation, or listening to their commissioner. and they have the least professional commissioner as well. some teams really don't like other teams or league execs poking around and its reported to be a clash of egos at times. the exception is discipline like suspensions and fines, which are posted publicly. something tells me eventually it will squeeze out a few teams that aren't willing to adapt on their own initiative.
the next blog post will be on B1G classes
update on CHL recruitment/retention efforts:
OHL seems to be the league most aggressively cracking down on standardizing the quality of the league. the OHL had that updated player agreement earlier in the year with better academic support and then a league wide "player experience enhancement recommendations". those are a list of 20 items that the ohl board of governors agreed on and teams are required to meet them by the 26-27 season. The items came from a Player Experience committee that was apparently started before last season. some teams already have these but others are behind. they include things like: strength/conditioning coaches, team nutritionist, off-season training support, more medical/therapy services (massage therapist, physio, etc), billet standards and support, minimum travel accommodation standards. certain teams have more work to do on these than others of course, or have partial pieces of the services (as needed physio or massage therapy but not consistently available, strength coaches not around for off season)
another initiative is an official partnership between the OHL and GOJHL, naming it as their first official development league. many teams will send down affiliate players to the closest GOJHL team, but it was an unofficial relationship. the GOJHL is Southern Ontario-based, so not all OHL have a close enough team to send their players to. apparently there are discussions for other junior A leagues in Ontario, but the work
facilities wise: apparently last november Bryan Crawford met with the mayor of Peterborough who pledged to build a new arena within 5 years, and said something to the effect of 'shit or get off the pot' with other markets being more ready to have a team if they don't get it together. he clarified later that he has no intention of relocating the franchise unless absolutely necessary, and seems progress is going on. The Peterborough Petes are the oldest franchise in the league and play out of the Peterborough Memorial Center which is 70 years old, which is not up to standard and has fallen behind in the sorts of renovations that wouldve improved its longevity. a location has been designated for a new event center. there are 3 other cities with new arena constructions farther along in planning. yesterday Sudbury released architectural renderings of their new arena, which is sorely needed- their old one is kinda falling apart. you might be familiar with it, the Blueberry Bulldogs also play out of that arena (Shoresy is filmed there). also getting new arenas are Ottawa and Brantford.
the QMJHL's efforts can be harder to follow because I need to seek out quebec media but some of the teams getting arena upgrades and/or working on new arenas include Halifax and Drummondville. on expansion to the US, the Mariners just signed an extension with their arena so it seems the ECHL franchise has a hold on the Portland market, probably no room for a Q team there. lewiston and manchester appear to be the likely spots, but Cecchini has implied that USA Hockey is making the process a lot harder than they expected.
the WHL im worried about because the teams aren't exactly known for... cooperation, or listening to their commissioner. and they have the least professional commissioner as well. some teams really don't like other teams or league execs poking around and its reported to be a clash of egos at times. the exception is discipline like suspensions and fines, which are posted publicly. something tells me eventually it will squeeze out a few teams that aren't willing to adapt on their own initiative.
