GOJHL seeking classification upgrade
The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League is hopeful a change in classification on paper leads to a better product on the ice.
The GOJHL is fighting for junior A status from the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), contending its lower-tier classification jeopardizes the on and off-ice success of its players. In an open letter sent to the OHA, GOJHL members are urging the OHA to approve its reclassification bid to level the playing field for junior hockey players across the province.
“For years, the level of play in the GOJHL has been equal to, or better than that of other junior A leagues in Ontario,” GOJHL commissioner Brent Garbutt said. “We are simply asking the OHA to do the right thing and ensure that our league classification adequately reflects the talent and skill sets of our elite athletes.”
The request notes a number of challenges associated with the GOJHL’s junior B status, including the implied perception that the product on the ice is inferior.
“I’ve owned a team for 20 years in this league. We’ve been asking for this for probably for the last 17-18 years, to be on the equal level with the OJ (Ontario Junior Hockey League) and the Ontario northern loop (Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League) and be classified at the A level,” Pelham Panthers owner Tim Toffolo said. “At the end of the da, we know our players’ skill level is at that level and we know our team’s skill level is at that level. There is no question in our mind about. We’ve played junior A teams in the past in pre-season tournaments, so we know the level of competition where we sit with them.
“When you have a league like ours, with kids playing in a geographical area that doesn’t have junior A just because the OJ and other bodies say you can’t because we won’t let you, how fair is that? Does that make any sense?”
Fort Erie Meteors owner Nik Passero feels a reclassification to junior A is crucial.
“We have so many players in southern Ontario, you shouldn’t have to leave home to play at the top level in the deepest hockey market in the world,” he said. “Ontario is the deepest hockey pool so you shouldn’t have to travel over an hour to play at a level you think is the highest. I just think don’t think that’s right.
“Losing your four or five best players every year is not a great way to keep the talent level high. It’s very important for us to develop young talent and it’s also important to have the older guys and have the (college) commitments and NHL draft picks still around.”
Thorold Blackhawks owner Scott Barnes is a huge proponent of developing players and feels the A classification would help keep top talent in the league.
“Obviously, we would love to be junior A. It’s a letter that players leave our program to play junior A , which I totally understand.”
The Ontario Hockey Federation regulations state that reclassification is up to the member, the OHA, in this instance.
A motion for reclassification presented by one of its member teams to allow the OHA membership to vote on the issue at the OHA’s June 19th annual general meeting has been denied to proceed.
“We’re being ping-ponged back and forth between the OHA and OHF and no one really wants to deal with it,” Garbutt said. “We’re simply asking to get junior A status within the OHA, not necessarily the CJHL (Canadian Junior Hockey League). It would be nice to be recognized across the country but our main goal is to try and keep our players in our league so they are not being pillaged.
“The issue we have is that the OHA hasn’t even agreed to talk to us with what we think are pretty obvious issues. What we’re trying to show it’s pretty simple.”
Approving junior A status for the GOJHL would see the number of junior A teams within the OHA grow from 22 to 48.
As the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) offers the only junior C hockey in Canada, the move could also have a trickle-down effect in reclassifying them as junior B.
London Knights owner, vice president and general manager Mark Hunter is in favour of the reclassification.
“The professionalism and integrity that these organizations have shown in their everyday operations are deserving of a junior A classification,” Hunter said in a press release. “They have repeatedly shown the ability to put on a world-class operation and the ability to develop players both in hockey and in life. They constantly lose players to other organizations merely due to perception of the junior B classification.”
The league is also circulating a petition in support of its reclassification bid. To learn more about the GOJHL, visit https://www.gojhl.ca/.
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