In actual fact yes London is a top end destination for sure, but its due to how great the organization has been and become. They have produced so much NHL talent and you cant argue with that. They run everything as professional as possible and have created a winning culture. I admire the business talent that the Hunters have, but I admire that they have a great team of management behind them
I’m just being real here. People that know me, know I am a very pragmatic person. When I say what I am about to say, I do it because of my pragmatism. It isn’t about jealousy.
I am 99% certain that int he early Hunter days of the London Knights, they were giving additional incentive to players. They were bending and breaking rules. They did it very well. Hey, if you ain’t cheatin’ you ain’t tryin’.
Unfortunately for Windsor, they got caught. London didn’t. Hell, even my hometown Ottawa 67’s have probably bent the rules more than what is allowed.
In saying that, it gave London a competitive advantage. They were able to use the added revenue from their new building and reputation of the Hunters to gain that advantage. The combination of the newly minted Hunters as owners/managers/coaches, solid revenue base and willingness to spend that money outside the rules changed the way the OHL operated. In the early Hunter days (2003-2007) that advantage built a stable operation. It gained a certain reputation. The ability of the coaches and management to provide solid development to top tier players was something that has perpetuated itself into not needing to bend the rules.
What I say is like Michael Corleone using all his ill gotten wealth to set up a legitimate business and no longer doing anything illegal.
I know I will be asked if I have any proof. But, let’s face it. We all know it happened. Just like we know OJ killed Nicole. So, let’s not go there.
That brings us to today. Are the Knights playing new games of shenanigans outside the rules? I don’t believe they are. I don’t believe they have since around 2009. I think those shenanigans from back then helped to build their organizational strength. It helped to build their reputation. The quality of their coaching was able to take advantage of those shenanigans. They opened a lot of eyes of top flight players that wanted to develop. Once the Knights organization was able to show those players they would thrive under the Knights care, they wanted to go there. They knew they would be treated like pro’s. IT was at that point they no longer needed to play games. Now, they don’t need to do anything other than sit back and wait for players to come to them. Provided they continue to maximize the potential of players and continue to develop them at a high level, players will always continue to seek them out.
So, even though the knights “more than likely” cheated in the early days, they were able to translate that ill gotten wealth into a winning organization. Other organizations could have done what they did attracting players but would they have had the same success? Probably not.
You cannot penalize the Knights for being really darn good at developing players and winning games. The time for penalizing the Knights for past illegal moves is long gone. It is time for fans of the OHL to stop whining about it. They did what they did and it helped build a dynasty. But it was their ability to manage and develop those assets and translate it into winning that now attracts top talent.
So, I think it is time for threads like these to stop. Kids deserve to be treated to the level of their ability. If they don’t want to move to Ottawa or SSM or Peterborough to play hockey, rules are now in place to compensate those teams very handsomely.
Do like Owen Sound and SSM. DON’T GET BITTER....GET BETTER!