The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League is the premiere Junior B league in Canada. The only people that would debate that statement are those associated with other Junior B leagues. The GOJHL consistently develops players for Junior A, the OHL, CIS and the NCAA.
Recently though, much debate has been had over the number of twenty year old players on some rosters. At the center of the debate is the Caledonia Corvairs.
This season the Corvairs have 18 20-year-olds. They’re 9-0 in the GOJHL playoffs after winning the Golden Horseshoe Conference regular-season title with a 43-4-1-2 record. The Corvairs are chasing their third league championship in a row this season.
Now, instead of having an unlimited amount of 20 year olds on a roster, teams have voted to set a limit of nine 20-year-olds per club starting in 2016-17.
Additionally, if a team signs a 20-year-old player who was on a OHL card the previous season after Jan. 10, then he’ll be counted as two 20-year-olds!
This is a dramatic statement by the GOJHL as it concerns development. Placing limits, and in effect penalties on certain situations regarding 20 year old players shows a commitment to developing younger players. While still allowing each team the opportunity to carry older more experienced players, these rules set the tone for the future.
Why a limit? Other than balancing competition, the GOJHL is recognizing that scouts from higher levels are simply not as interested in older players as they are in younger players.
While players and parents would not want to hear it, scouts are simply not as interested in twenty year olds as they are in eighteen and under players. This stands true for the OHL, CIS, NCAA and Junior A. A twenty year old player has simply already had his opportunity to prove himself.
The question now, with no provincial import player rules to stand in the way, how many twenty year old players will go to other Junior B leagues across the country?
The GOJHL has certainly set the tone, will anyone else follow?
Joseph Kolodziej – Publisher
