David Branch served as OHL commissioner for 45 years before his retirement in 2024 and was also CHL president from 1996 to 2019.
Former OHL commissioner and CHL president David Branch died on Sunday, the leagues announced Monday.
No cause of death was announced. Branch was 77.
The OHL described Branch as a transformative figure in Canadian major junior hockey, working as OHL commissioner from 1979 until his retirement in 2024 and CHL president from 1996 to 2019.
"This is a very sad day for a lot of people," OHL commissioner Bryan Crawford said in a statement. "David's contributions to the game of hockey will continue to impact the game for generations. The entire league mourns the loss of a great leader and visionary who oversaw the growth and evolution of the Ontario Hockey League, always prioritizing the players and putting their experience first."
Branch enhanced player development, educational opportunities and player welfare, including addressing player safety, mental health support and scholarships, the OHL said.
"The CHL would not be the top development hockey league in the world without David Branch," said current CHL president Dan MacKenzie. "His relentless focus on the player experience, both on and off the ice, will be his greatest legacy, as the game is safer, faster and more skilled because of his influence and leadership."
Born in Bathurst, N.B., in 1948, Branch attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on a hockey scholarship.
"Like most young Canadian boys, I played minor hockey, and I wanted to play in the National Hockey League," Branch told hockeycanada.ca in 2016. "I feel fortunate that I came to the realization that I really didn't have what it took to play professionally, so I then set my sights on the business side of the game."
He relocated to Whitby, Ont., and served as secretary-manager of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977.
After that, he was executive director of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1978 to 1979 before becoming OHL commissioner for the following 45 years. In 1996, he replaced Hockey Hall of Fame builder Ed Chynoweth as CHL president.
Under Branch, the OHL expanded from 12 to 20 teams, added the OHL scholarship program in 1982 and adopted the checking to the head rule in 2006, which assessed a penalty to any player who checks an opponent to the head area in any manner.
Branch had served on the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee, received the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2016 and was inducted into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame as a builder in 2017.
The CHL's top individual honor, presented annually to the most outstanding player in the CHL, was renamed the CHL David Branch Player of the Year Award in 2019-20. The David Branch Leader of the Year Award is also presented annually to the OHL's top executive.
"He was a true builder, and his rightful place should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day," MacKenzie said.
Even before his retirement from OHL commissioner duties, Branch coached Whitby Wildcats AAA teams, coaching with his sons as well.
Branch is survived by his partner, Patsy, his three sons – Barclay, Kyle and Wade – their wives, and his grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements and memorial service details will be announced in the coming days, the OHL said.