OHL still struggling with financial disparity
Educational program, draft holdouts are key issues facing teams today
The Ontario Hockey League as part of the Canadian Hockey League is arguably one of the better run and progressive hockey leagues anywhere.
It led the way in helmet use, throat protection, anti-hazing, educational packages and player safety. That being said, there are two areas that need addressing.
To make the league fairer and more worthwhile for the fans and players, the OHL must aggressively address the widening financial disparity among teams. This obviously comes about because of the varying sizes and amenities offered by the arenas of teams, the advanced marketing programs teams can afford, the population base they draw from as well as the depth of pockets of owners.
One of the most serious financial obligations facing OHL teams, especially those with smaller rinks and fan bases, is the cost of paying for education packages for their players not going on to professional hockey.
The OHL education policy mandates that all education costs be paid for all players while playing in the OHL. Upon leaving the team, if the player does not sign a professional hockey contract, he is eligible for a scholarship covering tuition, books and compulsory fees, at an approved higher education institute near his home; a year for each year he played.
In the 2016-17 season the 20 OHL teams were paying for 301 graduates attending 57 different educational institutes for a total cost of $3.17 million. Averaged out that means each team had 10 former players they were paying $10,500 each to attend a university.
That obligation increases each year and unfortunately it is not equably spread across the 20 teams. It seems the teams that can most afford it pay the least. The teams with smaller arenas seem to attract fewer of the top professional prospects and thereby end up obligated to pay for more education packages.
This inequity must be addressed by the OHL. One suggestion is that the obligations for education packages be based on teams’ attendance figures. Each year the total cost of all the education packages paid out by all the teams would be divided by the OHL attendance totals across the league. That result would be a surcharge each team pays the OHL education fund for each ticket sold in their next season.
The other issue that the league has grappled with for years is how to handle situations where top players refuse to play for teams that draft them. This is a much more delicate problem because it involves an individual’s rights. It has been addressed in a number of ways by the OHL. Unfortunately, it still separates teams.
The OHL obviously cannot demand a 16-year-old’s move to a city against his wishes, regardless of his reason. Lawyers would line up to take on such a case.
Obviously, teams with high draft picks do due diligence to determine if a player will come to their team. Sometimes players mislead teams or a team just cannot pass by a superior prospect. They draft him hoping later to convince him to come.
Originally teams could not trade their first-round selection, now there is a window just before training camp when first rounders can be traded. The OHL need these players in the league.
But to lessen the likelihood of these trades, maybe the OHL should mandate what such a trade must include.
For example, the OHL could declare that a team trading for a first rounder who refuses to go to the team drafting him must give up their first and second round picks for the next year, a player from their roster that played regularly the previous year plus other picks the sending team can negotiate.
Maybe then teams will be less likely to trade for these entitled players, encouraging them to stay with the team drafting them. Don Barrie is a retired teacher, former Buffalo Sabres scout and a member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame. His column appears each Saturday in The Examiner.