OHL commissioner David Branch retiring after the 2023-24 season

[MMC]

Click to read more...

 

[LadyStanley]

Let the speculation begin for his replacement.

Who are the current OHL, QMJHL & WHL leaders? They might be contending

 

[BadgerBruce]

Let the speculation begin for his replacement.

Who are the current OHL, QMJHL & WHL leaders? They might be contending

Highly unlikely one of the commissioners from the other two CHL leagues takes over.

Former QMJHL commissioner (37 years!) Gilles Courteau resigned in March at the age of 66, as he was under intense pressure to do so after testifying at legislature hearings in Quebec City on hazing rituals in junior hockey. Long story short, he was accused of perjuring himself at the hearings and quickly resigned before being recalled to testify again.

He’s done in the hockey world.

His replacement, Mario Cecchini, isn’t exactly a spring chicken (he’s in his early 60s) and only started the job 3 months ago.

Ron Robison, the commissioner of the WHL, is 68 years old and has run the league for the entirety of this century. He’s more likely to join Branch and Courteau for an afternoon of gin rummy at the Senior’s Centre than move to the OHL.

Whoever gets the gig is unlikely to have the sort of unfettered, Czar-like power Branch held. Interestingly, when Branch-Courteau-Robison hired a new president of the CHL a few years ago, they put into the job description that the guy would report to them, not the other way around. I’d expect the OHL board of governors to take back control of the league by hiring a new guy with vastly curtailed autonomy.

There’s always a chance that the league picks someone from the old boys club (a Joe Birch type) but something tells me they might opt for someone with digital media/marketing chops, and thus cast a fairly wide net.

One thing is for sure: it’s long past time for a change at the helm of the OHL. Branch will be just shy of 76 when he leaves. He was 31 when he started in the job.