CHL on the Legal Hot Seat

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The Canadian Hockey League is facing a pair of lawsuits that could forever change the face of major junior hockey as we know it. 

As written up by Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star, The CHL is facing a class action lawsuit:
  

An unprecedented class action lawsuit striking at the economic foundations of junior hockey in Canada alleges the Canadian Hockey League and its teams “conspired” to force young players into signing contracts that breach minimum wage laws.

A statement of claim filed in a Toronto court Friday and obtained by the Star, seeks $180 million in outstanding wages, vacation, holiday and overtime pay and employer payroll contributions for thousands of young players given as little as $35 a week for practices, games, training and travelling that could add up to more than full-time hours.

The league and its teams “conspired and agreed together . . . to act in concert to demand or require that all players sign a contract which the defendants knew was unlawful,” the claim alleges. “Such conduct was high-handed, outrageous, reckless, wanton, deliberate, callous, disgraceful, wilful and in complete disregard for the rights of the (players).”

The second lawsuit comes from a former CHL goalie named John Chartrand who appeared in 61 OHL games over the course of three season. As detailed by TSN's Rick Westhead, Chartrand is seeking $12M from the OHL's Barrie Colts for whom he played his first 16 OHL games for from 2009-2011.
 

John Chartrand is suing his former team for $12 million, alleging in court documents that Colts medical and team officials cleared him to play in games mere days after he was in a violent car accident that required him to be hospitalized.

I highly recommend reading both stories before proceeding with the rest of this blog entry.

Yesterday on The Pipeline Show, Dean Millard and I invited TSN Legal Analyst Eric Macramalla to come on an go through the lawsuits from his expert perspective.  We wanted to know if either case will stand up and if so, what the ramifications for Major Junior hockey and beyond might be. Certainly the CHL won't be the only level of competitive hockey affected and is it possible that other team sports might fall under the same umbrella should players moving forward be classified as "employees"?

That's after the jump. 

Winterhawks about to be clipped?

This past August the Windsor Spitfires were handed a $400,000 fine for recruiting violations.  A month later it was reduced to a $250,000 fine, as well as, some draft pick relief.

TPS has learned from multiple sources in the WHL that the Portland Winterhawks could be the next CHL club to face sanctions for player recruitment.

Open Letter: CHL & NCAA

During all the CHLPA hoopla last week there was one chapter in the series I wrote which touched on the possibility of CHL players retaining their NCAA eligibility. While that may in the end prove to be nothing more than a pipe dream, the conversation about whether it would be a good idea or not was definitely interesting. 

I received a letter from an owner of a USHL franchise which outlined his opinion on the subject and I found it intriguing. Here is the owner of a team from a league largely considered to be a gateway to the NCAA and, to some extent, in competition for players with the CHL. 

I asked the owner for his permission to post the letter and he agreed. After the jump, an open letter from Josh Mervis, owner of the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks on whether allowing CHL players into the NCAA hockey should be considered.

Another Opinion on the CHLPA

As we continue to wait for details on the structure and plans of the CHLPA...

One of the strongest columns on the CHLPA thus far was penned by Toronto Star writer Cathal Kelly on August 25th. I pulled some quotes from it for the story I wrote a while ago but there was so much more in the original that I wanted to revisit it. 

I thought the best way to go about that was to get the columnist himself on the show. Kelly's write up was no holds barred and cut through all the B.S. so effectively that I couldn't wait to see if, three weeks later, he still felt the same way about the CHLPA.

His appearance on TPS Saturday morning was nothing short of audio gold. 

Leagues Enjoy Draft Success

211 players were selected at the 2012 NHL Draft and they come from all over North America and Europe. Some have been playing professionally in place like Sweden or the Czech Republic, others are headed to or already are collegians. Nearly half played in the Canadian Hockey League while a good number were found in American high schools or in the USHL. 

This is not a post meant to compare the numbers by league in order to pronounce one superior to others. What follows is simply a celebration of the diverse paths players can take on their way to achieving their dream of perhaps one day playing in the NHL. 

Jack Parker fires both barrels at QMJHL

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Another NCAA coach has voiced his opinion on the CHL vs NCAA debate, and Boston University head coach Jack Parker did not hold back one bit. Parker lost Charlie Coyle to Saint John of the QMJHL just before the World Junior Championship. Recently Coyle who has 28 points in 17 games with the defending Memorial Cup Champion Sea Dogs, signed a pro contract with the Minnesota Wild. Parker's comments and my reaction after the jump.

Top Prospect Games Hurt by Absences?

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The CHL Top Prospect game will be played on Wednesday but the shadow of injuries to the Class of 2012 hangs over this year's showcase. Certainly the game will still be worth attending or watching from home but it's impossible to ignore the fact that the absence of several key players is a blow to this year's event.

When you consider the same was the case with last week's inaugural USHL Top Prospects game (and the US-NTDP tied up with exams), it really is an unfortunate year for the class of eligible players. Of the top 30 players ranked by ISS in January, only 11 will have taken part in either the CHL or USHL Top Prospects Game. 6 of those 30 are European based so ineligible anyway but still, less than half of the ISS first round?

Maybe the Central Scouting list will be more applicable because it separates the North Americans from Europeans. Don't get your hopes up.

Saturday Morning Special - Sept 10

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It's not every show that we have a member of the NHL Hall of Fame on the program but that was the case today. Plus we spoke with another CHL General Manager, a WHL assistant coach who was in Europe this summer spreading the gospel of hockey, we heard from a writer from USCHO.com who has been outspoken against the CHL scholastic program and we chatted with the head coach from one of the top CIS hockey programs in Canada.

An Open Letter From the USHL

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"You guys talked about playing the Memorial Cup winner. Sure. Ready to do it. It would provide some great hockey." - Skip Prince, (Commissioner of the USHL)

For the last week or so there has been a lot of discussion on our show comparing the caliber of hockey leagues across North America. It began with a listener's comment to us via Twitter and took off from there. We've tossed around hypothetical match ups that would pit the Memorial Cup champs against the USHL's Clark Cup winners, considered a clash between Clark Cup and RBC Cup champions and wondered if it was all just a pipe dream.

Those conversations have spawned a TON of feedback to us via Twitter and to our email inbox. Last Saturday we were joined by Brian Werger, Director of Communication for the USHL, who offered up a perspective from his league's vantage point.

Yesterday, CHL President David Branch dropped a bit of a bombshell on the subject and today we've got an open letter from USHL President/Commissioner Skip Prince.

Interleague Play in the CHL

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Training camps are well underway in the CHL, the Q has even played exhibition games already. Now wouldn't it be nice if you lived in Regina and were able to watch Gatineau take on the Pats or Sarnia face off with Medicine Hat? How about living in Quebec and having the opportunity to see Kelowna skate against Belleville in the pre-season?

If the CHL held interleague play during the pre-season you would get to see that.

Saturday Morning Special - Aug 27th

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With training camps opening all over the CHL and NCAA news still coming out south of the border there was lots to talk about on this morning's edition of TPS. We spoke with a recent draft pick of the New York Islanders, heard from a quartet of rookie hopefuls for the Edmonton Oil Kings, got a rundown on current events around the NCAA, discussed a really interesting hypothetical inter-league play idea and also spoke with a representative from the USHL in regards to comments heard on our last show.

A Few Match Ups We'd Like to See

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Tuesday night we had a fun discussion spurred on by this tweet from a listener.

rckaplan rob
"@ThePipelineShow How bout let the ushl play for the memorial cup?"
23 Aug

Guy and I chatted about the question and both agreed that while the USHL is a very good league it is not equal to the CHL. The USHL is more comparable to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) which includes Tier 1 junior leagues from B.C. to the Maritimes.

I was surprised to hear so many people disagree with us through Twitter, but enjoyed their reasoning. So we wondered about other league vs league games we might want to see or that are fair match ups.

CHL Semi-Finals Living up to Hype

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After the weekend's action in the Canadian Hockey League, only 2 of the six semi-final series features a team without a loss. As fans would hope for, the best against the best has produced terrific hockey and impossibly close games. You can offer up predictions but things are so tight that any combination of league finals really wouldn't be much of a shocker at this point.

Here is a look at where things stand right now across Canada.

CHL Top Prospects Game Rosters

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The 40-player invite list to the 2011 CHL Home Hardware Top Prospects Game will be released on Tuesday. The game is one of the marquee events during the draft year for a prospect trying to elevate and raise his stock in front of a plethora of NHL scouts and executives.

Unfortunately, like every year, some deserving players might be on the outside looking in whether due to injury or simply not getting the invite.

More CHL/NCAA Cross-Border Confusion

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I always like to read articles about the CHL written by Americans because they often contain inaccuracies, generalizations, spin doctoring and blatant bias. In fact, anti-CHL (or pro NCAA) stories out of the U.S. are usually just as bad as the anti-NCAA (or pro CHL) stories originating from Canada. Suffice to say, 99% of these articles appear to be written by people with an agenda that can't seem to see the story from both sides.

That's where we come in.

Major Junior Prices in NHL Cities

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I thought I'd do a cross-Canada comparison of ticket prices for Major Junior teams that are located in NHL markets. There are 6 NHL teams in the country but 7 CHL clubs with two being based in the greater Toronto region. I explored all of the team websites, called a few for clarification on prices. I now have a solid comparison for what it would cost to get a single game ticket in a few different areas in each rink. Who is the cheapest or the most expensive? The answers may (or may not) surprise you.

Why isn't every CHL team Twittering?

Whether you use Twitter or not, you have to admit it's a very valuable and free marketing tool for a sports team. Which is why I find it interesting that only half the QMJHL teams are using it. The numbers get better in the OHL and WHL, but it should be 100 per cent across the board in every league.

The break downs can be found at NHL Draft Video

The CHL is going to a uniform website system (although it hasn't been the smoothest transition) and they should make it a rule that each team has to have a twitter account to promote the product. Every league should be doing this in my opinion.

Do you agree?

CHL Goes High Tech, Johansen Signs With Jackets

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The Canadian Hockey League unveiled their new websites today, with every team coming under one umbrella...finally. In the past there were some terribly outdated sites that lacked information. Even the 3 different league sites (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) were miles apart when it came to consistency. All the details can be found here.

Meanwhile Columbus has signed 2009 4th overall pick Ryan Johansen to an entry level contract. Aaron Portzline has the details here. I agree with Aaron that it's unlikely Johansen will stick with the Jackets this year, which is a relief to everyone in Portland where the centre will continue to develop in the WHL. It sounds like the Islanders will keep Johansen's Winterhawk linemate Nino Neiderrieter with the big club this year, and if Johansen somehow sticks with CBJ it would decimate the Hawks high hopes this year.

NCAA Propoganda Getting Ridiculous

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There is another "report" circulating which originates South of the 49th parallel and takes aim at the Canadian Hockey League. The "report" focuses largely on the subject of education, not simply the scholarship issues but from a variety of view points including high school, grades, homework and study time.

The "report" is so blatantly skewed towards the pro-NCAA end of the spectrum that it's embarrassing. I would think that even smart NCAA proponents like Paul Kelly would read such a release and think "Um... I'm not sure this makes 'us' look all that good."

FAIL is an apt description.

Eberle to be evaluated by Hockey Canada

I reported it last night on Global Sports, and today Falcons head coach Rob Daum confirmed on the TEAM 1260 that Oilers prospect Jordan Eberle (photo courtesy Springfield Falcons) will be in Springfield tomorrow. I'm told Hockey Canada officials will monitor his play and that he could receive an invite to play for Canada at the World Hockey Championship. Last year Eberle had 9 point in 9 games with the Falcons down the stretch and if he's anywhere near that production this time around he'll likely get a late call up from the Oilers. I just spoke to Eberle and he'll join Guy and myself for a quick conversation Tuesday night shortly after 7 pm MST. More details here.

Oil Kings GM Bob Green was in Phoenix last week watching listed player Henrik Samuelsson. The Oil Kings had hoped that his older brother Philip, whom they drafted would have come north but he ended up at Boston College and is now a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect. Henrik wasn't taken in the 2009 WHL draft but shortly after the Oil Kings listed him. Bob Green is very high on the 6.02, 193 pound forward who plays for the PF Chang Midget program in Arizona and has a cannon for a shot. Sameulsson attended Oil Kings training camp last year and last week was invited to attend the United States national development camp for it's U17 team, the camp takes place March 27-30.

In all 3 CHL leagues the regular season is over and all 3 leagues today announced it's playoff schedules. Click on WHL, OHL and QMJHL for each league's schedule.