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Economic squeeze hits hard at ownersOperating a junior hockey franchise in Canada is. at best, a rollercoaster ride.However this season, owners, coaches and players alike have been experiencing some new twists and turns that threaten the future of the National Hockey League's major development source.The Canadian Major Junior Hockey League — comprised of the Western and Ontario hockey leagues and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League — is reeling from the effects of the drafting of 18- and 19-year-olds, despite an agreement with the NHL that provides for payments to junior clubs for the loss of junior-age players The three-year, $4-mil-lion agreement was reached lastJune.The agreement has allowed us to maintain some sort of security, saysCMJHL president David Branch,also the OHL commissioner It is a tremendous financial commitment from the NHL, and both sides have come to a very close relationship which hasn’t existed since sponsorship.However, many junior operators say the agreement has endangered their security and made things a little too cozy for the NHL. The basic problem centres around the draft payments. They, along with a team's attendance, are the key to financial success in the junior leagues. Since attendance is directly related to a team's performance, the NHL entry draft is having far-reaching consequences.Stories byDAVID JENSENThe Canadian PressThe drafting of 18-year-olds increases the turnover of players on junior teams. Before 1979. the NHL didn’t touch juniors until age 20, leaving them up to four years with a junior club. However, the current drafting procedure can result in a player spending just one or two years at the junior level.The junior teams also are at the mercy of NHL clubs which at any time during the season are able to call up players they’ve drafted but left in the junior ranks.“We have been greatly affected by the underage situation, says Branch. “The key to being successful is to be able to forecast the future.“This becomes increasingly hard to do when the NHL teams are yanking your players up and down.”The draft also hinders a player’s education by removing him from school when he’s called up to the pros. Branch is proud of the fact that 83 per cent of OHL players currently are in school, but this figure is jeopardized by such moves.Most junior operators say the basic money received for drafted players ($2,000 for each player claimed in the first five rounds and $1,000 for those selected in subsequent rounds) is fine. But the compensation for having them called up to the NHL during the season ($500 a game with a maximum of $15,000) is not.Jim McAuley, owner of the DHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, says a top player means more than $15,000 to junior teams.Brian Bellows (the Kitchener Rangers star expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 1982 draft) means $15.0(H) each time he plays us, says McAuley.In the QMJHL, executive directorPaul Dumont says eight of the nine teams are losing money — Hull being the exception — for the second year in a row. League attendance has dropped from an average game attendance high of 2,719 in 1979-80 to 2,195 last year and threatens to dip below the ‘2,100 mark this season.The economy’s bad and there is a lot of professional hockey in the area,” says Dumont. “Still, despite all this, if we had control of our 18-and 19-vear-olds we would have less problems.”Sudburv Wolves are the lone—— — —- (jTtrouble spot in the OHL. Joe Drago, the Wolves’ coach, general manager and part owner, acknowledges that the club has lost a lot of money but denies rumors that two of the 10 partners in the ownership want out.“We've been in (the league) now for 10 years, but there's no way you can expect to make money for even eight of those years, not with things turning over every two years because of the draft,” Drago says.“I think the NHL is being very shortsighted because the draft is certainly throwing a monkey-wrench into the operation of a junior franchise.”With the addition of Guelph, the OHL will have 15 teams in 1982-83.Cyclical successWHL president Kd Chynowethfinds that success goes in cycles with his 12-team league. The season began with 13 teams, but Spokane folded after 26 games.“Traditionally, we’ve been assured that four would make money, four would break even and four would be struggling,’* says Chymoweth. “This year, Seattle is struggling and filed under the U S Bankruptcy Act in early January.“This allowed them to save the franchise. Since then, they have drawn well.”Seattle has rebounded from a low of 1,000 in 19S0-81 to an estimated 1,900 this season. The WHL continues to make steady attendance gains, averaging 2.475 fans this year, compared with 2.180 in 1979-80Most junior owners have other business interests and. for many, hockey is little more than a hobby. However, junior franchises must remain viable if the NHL is to continue using them as a place to develop talent.“If they kill us, I don’t know what they’re going to have left,” says Victoria Cougars co-owner Jim Hartshorne, whose club has lost many season subscribers.Fans too are critical of the draft0«that is constantly robbing them of their team’s stars.The fans can only take so much,” says Branch. “That’s our biggest concern for the future — that the fans won t stick around.
Newspaper Details
Brandon Sun
Brandon, Manitoba, CA
Sat, May 01, 1982
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Jason P.
USA 04 Dec 2018
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