What would happen if there is no OHL season? (Part 2)

[OHLTG]

The OHL needs to make a formal decision, either way. The longer they wait and/or go silent, the worse it looks.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

The OHL needs to make a formal decision, either way. The longer they wait and/or go silent, the worse it looks.

It can’t look much worse anymore. We’re at the point in the year where there is normally 4 teams left and the rest are having their post-draft development camps.

There has to be about a month gap in between an announcement and the 1st game being played to allow for 2 week quarantines entering the country, quarantine upon entering the bubble and allowing time for players to get their legs under them and maybe an exhibition game.

Based on that, the earliest game that could be played is ~May 20th~ which is the same day the Province-wide stay-at-home order is tentatively set to end on FWIW. The NHL draft is scheduled for July 23rd. So if they made an announcement tomorrow that they’re playing, they would have roughly a 60 day window and that is if they played right up until July 23rd.

Assuming that there won’t be an announcement tomorrow, the window for games is going to be 1 less than 60 days every day from here on out that there’s no announcement.

In theory, there’s still time for 24 games, but they are quickly running out of time.

 

[windsor7]

The OHL needs to make a formal decision, either way. The longer they wait and/or go silent, the worse it looks.

Its already been too long.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

 

[AttackBeacher]

Feel incredibly sad for those kids.

 

[Moroz]

So that leaves us with a bubble tournament in Erie!?!

LOL, Erie has already had two "bubble" tournaments in March, the CHA Women's Tournament and the NCAA Division I women's Frozen Four (this was actually an eight team tournament). Technically, it may not have been a "bubble", since PA was allowing 15% of capacity attendance in March, including players, coaches, staff, etc. As a practical matter, this meant that the parents got to see their daughters play, plus a handful of other spectators.

 

[Maxxim1]

Letter from Dave Branch:

Dear Players, Parents and Billets,
Let me begin by thanking you for your patience during these incredibly difficult times. I know it has been challenging as you wait to hear about the League’s Return-to-Play plans.
Unfortunately, we do not have good news.
The League’s goal has always been to get our players back on the ice this season, but only if we could do so safely. We have worked tirelessly with the Province, the Premier, the Minister of Sport and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health on various scenarios that would see a return to play. We have been totally focused and committed on securing a safe return to the ice.
Just a few short weeks ago, the League and Province had reached an agreement on the OHL Return-to-Play plan but on the eve of announcing any details COVID-19 conditions worsened dramatically as new variants of concern took hold and posed a significant threat to overwhelm the health care system. The plan envisioned a shortened season played in hub cities following the most rigorous COVID-19 containment protocols possible. The goal was to showcase the League’s 450 players for scouts preparing for the 2021 NHL Draft, U SPORTS men’s hockey programs as well as Hockey Canada’s World Junior Summer Evaluation Camp.
As you know, the conditions continue to worsen, the stay at home order has been extended, the COVID-19 numbers are rising and the new variants are ones that greater affect young people. In addition, by the Premier’s own admission, Ontario has the toughest restrictions in North America. With all this in mind, we could not get permission to start our season.
We know that this is tough to hear and we had hoped for a better outcome for the season. We have already begun to work on our Return-to-Play plans for the 2021-2022 season.
I understand that this has been a challenging time for everyone but in particular our players, and I want to remind you that the League and our teams have resources available for you including Talk Today, our mental health partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association. Should you want to speak to someone at Talk Today, they can be reached through your team’s Talk Today liaison, the CMHA website cmha.ca or 1-833-456-4566.
Our teams will continue to communicate with you and your families.

 

[Otto]

One person to blame. The one who consistently ignored science

 

[AttackSound]

IMHO too little too late for the OHL, they played a good magicians trick on all the fans for a whole year convincing fans they were going to come back for 2020-21 season but at the end of the day $$$ and everyone's safety comes first.

With the way this is all shaking out maybe next fall will be different, maybe the risks will be minimal or gone maybe the financial abilities will be there to balance the teams, etc. But in the end the OHL ran out of runway ages ago and with no ability or way for a safe return the safest option was what they chose to do.

I am a hockey fan and I am an OHL fan but at the end of the day safety of myself and family is more concerning then the OHL right now. When the day the OHL returns I will be there to support my Attack team but until that day will just have to sit in limbo a bit longer.

 

[OMG67]

I guess the RTP plan for 21-22 is underway.

I was wondering if some sort of age restriction changes would be warranted under the circumstances?

For the 2021-2022 season, shift the ages from 16-20 to 17-21. Make Overage 21. This would effectively push the 20-21 season to 21-22.

How to do it?:
1> Cancel the OHL Priority draft this season. Shift this season’s draft to next year and use the Under-18 draft as a means to draft what would have been this year’s eligibles.
2> Expand the under-18 draft to 10 rounds
3> Contract the 2022 OHL Priority draft to 10 rounds.
4> Move all picks between round 11 and 15 forward two seasons to ensure the integrity of existing picks in rounds 11 through 15 are respected. Teams that have extra picks keep their extra picks but since the 2021 and 2022 seasons don’t have those rounds, the picks move forward.
5> Utilize the Midget leagues as a means to develop the current 16 year old crop of players. Try to restrict the number of underage Junior aged players and allow the 21 year olds to also play Tier II jr A and Jr B.

I’d recommend doing something similar for the NHL as well. Obviously much more difficult than planned because of the CBA so probably not possible but it would be the “fair” thing to do.

Positives:
1> It would allow OHL teams to properly evaluate prospective players
2> Eliminates the double cohort of rookies this season
3> Also allows other tier II programs to offer options for fairness
4> Gives the current crop of 19 and 20 year olds an opportunity they missed out on this season.

Negatives:
1> Sets up a double cohort of rookies next season. Twenty rounds of two age groups as opposed to 15 rounds of one age group.
2> Potentially waters down the product for the 21-22 season. Teams will still see graduation to NHL/AHL while not having the 16 year olds coming in.
3> Would require buy in from all levels in Ontario as well as the CHL. The other member leagues of the CHL would need to do same otherwise the 21 year olds would not be eligible to play in the Memorial Cup.

Just spit-ballin’ here. The QMJHL did manage to get something going but is unlikely to play a playoff. WHL will fall short as well. Delaying everything one year and moving the ages seems fair for this cohort but it may hurt the future cohort to an extent. Just not sure how much or whether the future cohorts would be hurt more than it helps this cohort.

Of course, we could also have maybe a 3 round draft for 16 year olds and expand the under-18 draft. Maybe let two 16 year olds play per team? This may help soften some of the double cohort’ing that is inevitable regardless of what they do.

Thoughts?

 

[Otto]

I guess the RTP plan for 21-22 is underway.

I was wondering if some sort of age restriction changes would be warranted under the circumstances?

For the 2021-2022 season, shift the ages from 16-20 to 17-21. Make Overage 21. This would effectively push the 20-21 season to 21-22.

How to do it?:
1> Cancel the OHL Priority draft this season. Shift this season’s draft to next year and use the Under-18 draft as a means to draft what would have been this year’s eligibles.
2> Expand the under-18 draft to 10 rounds
3> Contract the 2022 OHL Priority draft to 10 rounds.
4> Move all picks between round 11 and 15 forward two seasons to ensure the integrity of existing picks in rounds 11 through 15 are respected. Teams that have extra picks keep their extra picks but since the 2021 and 2022 seasons don’t have those rounds, the picks move forward.
5> Utilize the Midget leagues as a means to develop the current 16 year old crop of players. Try to restrict the number of underage Junior aged players and allow the 21 year olds to also play Tier II jr A and Jr B.

I’d recommend doing something similar for the NHL as well. Obviously much more difficult than planned because of the CBA so probably not possible but it would be the “fair” thing to do.

Positives:
1> It would allow OHL teams to properly evaluate prospective players
2> Eliminates the double cohort of rookies this season
3> Also allows other tier II programs to offer options for fairness
4> Gives the current crop of 19 and 20 year olds an opportunity they missed out on this season.

Negatives:
1> Sets up a double cohort of rookies next season. Twenty rounds of two age groups as opposed to 15 rounds of one age group.
2> Potentially waters down the product for the 21-22 season. Teams will still see graduation to NHL/AHL while not having the 16 year olds coming in.
3> Would require buy in from all levels in Ontario as well as the CHL. The other member leagues of the CHL would need to do same otherwise the 21 year olds would not be eligible to play in the Memorial Cup.

Just spit-ballin’ here. The QMJHL did manage to get something going but is unlikely to play a playoff. WHL will fall short as well. Delaying everything one year and moving the ages seems fair for this cohort but it may hurt the future cohort to an extent. Just not sure how much or whether the future cohorts would be hurt more than it helps this cohort.

Of course, we could also have maybe a 3 round draft for 16 year olds and expand the under-18 draft. Maybe let two 16 year olds play per team? This may help soften some of the double cohort’ing that is inevitable regardless of what they do.

Thoughts?

I think from a league perspective they would rather secure the 16 year olds than give the 21 year olds one last shot at glory

 

[sirius67fan]

I think from a league perspective they would rather secure the 16 year olds than give the 21 year olds one last shot at glory

Agreed because theO might be scared to lose elite 16 y.o. to the USHL and later NCAA. A lot of good ideas in OMG 's post though. I would still do a two round draft to secure the elite and differ the rest to under 18 next year in a ten round format as he suggested.

 

[windsor7]

One person to blame. The one who consistently ignored science

All parties evolved r to blame

 

[windsor7]

This letter or announcement is 3 months over due
However about time they do something

 

[OMG67]

I think from a league perspective they would rather secure the 16 year olds than give the 21 year olds one last shot at glory

That’s a good point.

That said, with the double cohort, it may be tough as is. Maybe 3 rounds is a reasonable compromise but it seems like a waste to do a full 15 rounds. Talk about shots in the dark...

Most teams only sign 4 or 5 players before the season anyway. The rest are future prospects. Doesn’t make much sense going more than 5 rounds max for this draft. Let the rest play Midget and impress for the under-18 draft the following year.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

As mentioned above, I think the biggest priority should be securing as many 05s as possible for next season. Taking away another huge year from them will not entice them to stick around and play major midget hockey so they can play 4th line minutes in the OHL in their NHL draft year. They will flock to Jr. A/B or to the states. Hold the draft whenever and get as many signatures on paper as you can. Trust needs to be built back.

As for the actual RTP, I see no reason to start any later than the 3rd weekend after Labour Day like any other year. Whether or not its full capacity fans, I don't know. But by then, any Canadian adult who wants it is *supposed* to be able to get a vaccine. Make it that billets and staff must all be vaccinated and fans need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test to attend. I'm not sure when players and their age group will be able to be vaccinated, but by the time September rolls around, players from Europe, USA and the QMJHL will have been playing without a vaccine for an entire year.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

That’s a good point.

That said, with the double cohort, it may be tough as is. Maybe 3 rounds is a reasonable compromise but it seems like a waste to do a full 15 rounds. Talk about shots in the dark...

Most teams only sign 4 or 5 players before the season anyway. The rest are future prospects. Doesn’t make much sense going more than 5 rounds max for this draft. Let the rest play Midget and impress for the under-18 draft the following year.

I think 10 rounds is reasonable. Teams have been able to see most players from Ontario play in some regard as well as everyone in America who's eligible. I do say this with the mindset that the OHL draft should be 10 rounds every year. 15 is way too many. Theoretically a shorter draft makes the U18 draft more valuable and decreases the amount of long shot picks on Americans who have never even heard of half of the OHL teams and have 0 intention of ever coming over here to play.

 

[AttackSound]

I guess the RTP plan for 21-22 is underway.

I was wondering if some sort of age restriction changes would be warranted under the circumstances?

For the 2021-2022 season, shift the ages from 16-20 to 17-21. Make Overage 21. This would effectively push the 20-21 season to 21-22.

How to do it?:
1> Cancel the OHL Priority draft this season. Shift this season’s draft to next year and use the Under-18 draft as a means to draft what would have been this year’s eligibles.
2> Expand the under-18 draft to 10 rounds
3> Contract the 2022 OHL Priority draft to 10 rounds.
4> Move all picks between round 11 and 15 forward two seasons to ensure the integrity of existing picks in rounds 11 through 15 are respected. Teams that have extra picks keep their extra picks but since the 2021 and 2022 seasons don’t have those rounds, the picks move forward.
5> Utilize the Midget leagues as a means to develop the current 16 year old crop of players. Try to restrict the number of underage Junior aged players and allow the 21 year olds to also play Tier II jr A and Jr B.

I’d recommend doing something similar for the NHL as well. Obviously much more difficult than planned because of the CBA so probably not possible but it would be the “fair” thing to do.

Positives:
1> It would allow OHL teams to properly evaluate prospective players
2> Eliminates the double cohort of rookies this season
3> Also allows other tier II programs to offer options for fairness
4> Gives the current crop of 19 and 20 year olds an opportunity they missed out on this season.

Negatives:
1> Sets up a double cohort of rookies next season. Twenty rounds of two age groups as opposed to 15 rounds of one age group.
2> Potentially waters down the product for the 21-22 season. Teams will still see graduation to NHL/AHL while not having the 16 year olds coming in.
3> Would require buy in from all levels in Ontario as well as the CHL. The other member leagues of the CHL would need to do same otherwise the 21 year olds would not be eligible to play in the Memorial Cup.

Just spit-ballin’ here. The QMJHL did manage to get something going but is unlikely to play a playoff. WHL will fall short as well. Delaying everything one year and moving the ages seems fair for this cohort but it may hurt the future cohort to an extent. Just not sure how much or whether the future cohorts would be hurt more than it helps this cohort.

Of course, we could also have maybe a 3 round draft for 16 year olds and expand the under-18 draft. Maybe let two 16 year olds play per team? This may help soften some of the double cohort’ing that is inevitable regardless of what they do.

Thoughts?

The league very much sold a bill of hope and promise to something they had no control over. Is it upsetting and frustrating absolutely but this was the safest possible action they had left in there hand of cards to play.

Will the OHL have to change things moving forward into the future yes your examples OMG67 are just a few challenges that are still TBD.

Unfortunately time for a season this year wasn't in the cards for the OHL and this has a lot to do with the challenges that come with it. Did the OHL sell a bit of a pipedream to fans well yes they did but at the end of the day why wouldn't they? They needed the publics interest to stay in their sights.

The year is going to be a long one for fans, teams, and players in the OHL until 2021-22 and the hopes of a fresh start and ability to get something done in regards to return to play plans for the OHL. However let's not look at the OHL as a failure in this case but as an organization within the country that were up against impossible to control odds.

Who knows what will happen next? I certainly don't have a crystal ball that tells the future on this outcome but what I do know is that the OHL will return and when it does the talent will still be there and hockey will be just as exciting to watch.

The OHL and the country has a lot of work left to do before the puck will drop again but I'm sure they would rather wave the white towel now then run this pipedream any further then it's been.

There's half a year until September comes around again and half a year for the OHL and everyone else involved with it to get something going again. I fully expect that the OHL will return in late 2021-22.

 

[nickp91]

Going to be a very strange draft year for the OHL players who haven't really seen any games this season

 

[OHLTG]

Per Twitter - David Branch said the league is considering allowing 2000s to play one more season. It's a big topic of discussion among GMs.

 

[rangersblues]

Per Twitter - David Branch said the league is considering allowing 2000s to play one more season. It's a big topic of discussion among GMs.

I'll go on record saying 21 year olds playing against players as young as 15 years old at the beginning of the season is not a good idea. This is a developmental league and the players that are in the league as true rookies (15 and 16 years old) are the ones with the highest ceiling.

 

[sbpointer]

So that leaves us with a bubble tournament in Erie!?!

This didn't age well... I guess I should have posted this outlandish idea earlier maybe could have ended the misery sooner...

Feel for the guys who played their last junior game and didn't know it.

Looking forward to the fall hopefully we will be able to get back to the arena by then.

 

[IcemanTBI]

Well, they finally admitted what was obvious for the last few months.
It's going to be real interesting going forward how this is going to affect teams. First, the draft format and order will have to be figured out. I assume they will use last years draft order and snake it in the later rounds.
Then they have to figure out what to do with the 2000 cohorts. I don't really see how you can have 21 year olds play against 16 year olds in the same league. To me, thats asking for trouble. 5 years is a large age gap. If they are going to allow 21 year olds to play in the league, then I hope they go with OMG's suggestion and have a double draft next year so that 21-22 will be 17-21 as far as age ranges.
Finally, some teams are going to get screwed big time. I can't see how there is any way to compensate teams. Oshawa stands to lose the most, but I feel for fans in Sudbury who have basically seen the last of Byfield and had no shot at either making a run or trading for picks/prospects. Next season truly will be the least predictable season in recent memory.
And of course, my heart breaks for the kids involved who have lost a year and a half of development. It's a damn shame that all that hard work they put in may not be recognized. I sincerely hope those that have played their last OHL game will get some looks elsewhere.

 

[windsor7]

Per Twitter - David Branch said the league is considering allowing 2000s to play one more season. It's a big topic of discussion among GMs.

It really shouldn't be.

 

[windsor7]

I'll go on record saying 21 year olds playing against players as young as 15 years old at the beginning of the season is not a good idea. This is a developmental league and the players that are in the league as true rookies (15 and 16 years old) are the ones with the highest ceiling.

Completely agree