WSHL 2021-22 (if it lasts)

[MeHateHe]

Meanwhile, the "new" league's website (Home - Can-Am Junior Hockey League) is stylistically identical to the "old" league's website (Home - Western States Hockey League). The "new" league has signed on with the same media partner (Blackdog hockey) as the "old" league. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I mean, if you want to believe the entire problem is the a league commissioner who owns a team in the league (which is shady AF, I'll grant you), okay, but if I were an investor or lender to these business people, I might look at the endless list of pay-to-play junior teams and leagues that have popped up and vanished over the past two decades and wonder if that particular business model has any real hope of surviving in a world where players with talent and potential are always going to find a place to play.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Meanwhile, the "new" league's website (Home - Can-Am Junior Hockey League) is stylistically identical to the "old" league's website (Home - Western States Hockey League). The "new" league has signed on with the same media partner (Blackdog hockey) as the "old" league. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I mean, if you want to believe the entire problem is the a league commissioner who owns a team in the league (which is shady AF, I'll grant you), okay, but if I were an investor or lender to these business people, I might look at the endless list of pay-to-play junior teams and leagues that have popped up and vanished over the past two decades and wonder if that particular business model has any real hope of surviving in a world where players with talent and potential are always going to find a place to play.

The Western Canadian teams have a slight chance at making their own league. The only reason being is there is a large number of towns in that area of the country that are too small for Junior A Canadian markets to be interested in. Many have extremely nice community rinks, most at or somewhere just short of Junior A quality. It would be somewhat similar to a worse version of the KIJHL, but serving the same market.

All you need to do is convince 25 kids to pay somewhere short of five figures and convince a community to host a team which is fairly easy considering it is a ton of guaranteed ice time sold and by history as we've seen now with this league, the WSHL teams in the markets before it, and GMHL teams which left the WSHL. If you make the import limits as low as possible (like the WSHL has done) then you find a bunch of imports and you easily have a team. Travel is fairly reasonable, some teams manage to get fans which help offset costs. The GMHL has 7 teams out there. If the GMHL can successfully do something like this, anyone can.

 

[mk80]

Essentially the teams have been successful in probably accomplishing their goal of getting out from Ron White's leadership. The Canadian teams have the best chance for success in forming a stable league going into the future, but I think beyond having Vernal in for this year, the US teams in tow would be tough for everyone.

At this point regardless of announced intentions to join this league or Vernal playing out this season, I don't think it is the final landing spot for Bellingham, Seattle, and Vernal. I wouldn't be surprised to see them permanently go dark following this season, or join the rest of the former WSHL franchises in the USPHL.

 

[PCSPounder]

Meanwhile, the "new" league's website (Home - Can-Am Junior Hockey League) is stylistically identical to the "old" league's website (Home - Western States Hockey League). The "new" league has signed on with the same media partner (Blackdog hockey) as the "old" league. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I mean, if you want to believe the entire problem is the a league commissioner who owns a team in the league (which is shady AF, I'll grant you), okay, but if I were an investor or lender to these business people, I might look at the endless list of pay-to-play junior teams and leagues that have popped up and vanished over the past two decades and wonder if that particular business model has any real hope of surviving in a world where players with talent and potential are always going to find a place to play.

When I posted my criticism, I was pointing my finger less at Ron White and more at, shall we say, inertia? I said “WSHL,” after all. Ron White was left with the smoking remains of what was once a vibrantly unstable league, the league logically became more unstable, more people bailed out, and it would be my guess that the 9 people in the world who could turn it around have far better jobs than that one.

The secret to success for a junior hockey league is to get 6-12 ownership groups to stay on the same page for at least 10 years, and that seems to be an extremely elusive goal as often as not.

 

[kij]

When I posted my criticism, I was pointing my finger less at Ron White and more at, shall we say, inertia? I said “WSHL,” after all. Ron White was left with the smoking remains of what was once a vibrantly unstable league, the league logically became more unstable, more people bailed out, and it would be my guess that the 9 people in the world who could turn it around have far better jobs than that one.

The secret to success for a junior hockey league is to get 6-12 ownership groups to stay on the same page for at least 10 years, and that seems to be an extremely elusive goal as often as not.

And more often than not, half of those 6-12 teams will relocate within those 10 years and at least three will argue about whose wife is more attractive.