The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League has applied to the Ontario Hockey Association for reclassification for the 2014-15 season. The 27 teams in the GOJHL voted unanimously to seek to be reclassified as junior ‘A’ instead of ‘B’.
The GOJHL is one of the best kept secrets in Ontario, and one of the best kept secrets in Hockey Canada. Regularly producing players the move on to the NCAA and CIS ranks, this is a very productive league when it comes to developing players.
A formal decision is expected by Friday after a vote by the OHA board of directors.
While many already consider the GOJHL level of play to be that of junior A level, the junior B designation does hurt the league when recruiting and they must work harder to develop players because of it.
The only stumbling block seen is that the OHA already has a junior ‘A’ circuit – the Ontario Junior Hockey League – with 22 teams, many in the Greater Toronto Area. Reclassifying the GOJHL would level the playing field for the two leagues.
TJHN will update this story as more information becomes available.
