The Ontario Hockey League will continue to govern itself after failing to reach an agreement with its former parent body, the Ontario Hockey Association.
H&B Louisville Hockey
TORONTO—The Ontario Hockey League will continue to govern itself after failing to reach an agreement with its former parent body, the Ontario Hockey Association, but the two organizations have reached agreement in some areas for the good of hockey in the province.
There had been some suggestion that players who participated in OHL games would not be allowed to step back into the OHA—a situation that would have wiped out farm teams and affiliations—but that rumor was put to rest by OHL commissioner David Branch and OHA president Brent Ladds.
There also seems to be new hope that referees and linesmen, already hired full-time by the OHL, will be allowed to participate in both the OHL and OHA. That, however, is still up in the air.
“I know the Provincial Ontario Junior Hockey League (Tier II) had a meeting with the OHA and it was reaffirmed that its teams could be affiliated with our teams as can teams from lower levels (junior B, C and D),” said Branch. “1 think everything is falling into place. There doesn’t seem to be any unexpected problems.”
Ladds said players would be able to move freely between the OHL and OHA without fear of penalization from his association.
“We haven’t taken any sanctions against players who play in the OHL,” he said. “We’ve maintained that there is a problem between the OHA and OHL and the players shouldn’t be caught in the middle.”
So, the referees and linesmen are the only one, who may be hurt by the decision of the two bodies to split this summer when they couldn’t reach an agreement on how much the OHL was to pay the OHA.
Branch is pleased to have a good working relationship with the referees who will work in his league, but he feels that keeping them from working in the OHA will be bad for hockey at lower levels as well as affecting development of future referees.
As it is, referees and linesmen who used to do games in both the OHL and OHA have been forced to make a decision as to which they will do this year. Those who are hoping to one day officiate in the National League have chosen to join the OHL.
In the past, many of those with aspirations of turning professional started as linesmen in the OHL while refereeing games in the OHA at lower levels.
New linesmen in the OHL will have a hard time gathering refereeing experience. Also, they will not be able to pass their experiences from the OHL to some of the younger referees they work with in the OHA.
The OHA had originally said all referees who join the OHL will not be able to work in the OHA. Branch later received a telex from the OHA stating they had changed their minds and would allow refs and linesmen to work in both leagues.
Branch was pleased to hear this and immediately called Ladds to invite him to a meeting with the referees. Ladds said he would check with “his people” to see if he could attend.
One day before the scheduled meeting, Branch received a second telex stating the OHA had changed its mind again and now referees who do OHL games will not be permitted to work in the OHA.
A meeting between the OHA’s referee’s committtee and the OHA has been set for Oct. 24 to discuss the matter further. The policy may be changed again.
The meeting was held without the OHA in attendance and Branch feels the OHL and its officiating staff are ready for their first season together.
“The aspect of having the officials working for the league is a big plus for us,” said Branch, now in his fourth season as OHL commissioner. “We are able to sit down with the guys and discuss our league’s philosophy and what we expect from them.
“If the officials feel they aren’t getting the support of the league, they won’t address the games as we would hope they would. We told them the rules are there to be called and we don’t want to promote any unnecessary rough stuff. They will have the league’s full support in anything they do.
“Before the referees were a third-party. Now we have a direct line with them.”