Dear Readers,
For months I have been getting hundreds of emails, and a countless amount of phone calls from people who live and or play junior hockey in the eastern United States.
So many of you have asked me whats going on, or what my opinion may be. While I appreciate your asking, I simply can’t answer your question because my opinion changes daily. It shouldnt change daily, but since the events have unfolded nothing has been settled and nothing is resolved.
Yesterday we published what the newly designed east coast hockey environment would look like. The New Look Of Junior Hockey On the East Coast – All Team To League Transfers
Within hours of publishing this article, I took two phone calls from people involved at the league level in two different leagues. Both of these people said that the information we published was not set in stone. I agreed to keep their comments and information off the record today.
That said, the East Coast Junior Hockey system we know today, is probably the largest mess in junior hockey history. It will take more than a few years for every league involved to recover the trust of parents and players. It is a shame that this has happened.
Who is to blame?
It is easy to point fingers at the USPHL. Sure, they got this thing started with some very poorly worded public statements. Does anyone think it was wise to say you wanted to start your own league because other teams in the league pretty much suck? Really? Can you blame the EJHL guys for being upset by that?
It would also be easy to point fingers at the EJHL for being hyper sensitive to those comments and getting the state attorneys office involved. So you have a few partners who dont think youre as good as them and they want out. Whats the problem? Does the truth hurt that much? If you dont want people to say your teams cant compete, how about building a better organization?
So now we get to the Metro Junior League, Empire, and Eastern States. All three leagues have been the red headed step children of the EJHL for years. What are you arguning about what teams you are going to accept or not accept? Wake up and smell the coffee boys, this is your chance to show you are good places for players to play! Stop dragging your feet and get these deals done or you look as dumb as the rest.
USA Hockey. Where has leadership been? Why is this not settled?
How can the USPHL be denied sanctioning at the winter meeting and then get it through a negotiation? This is a violation of your own rules. Where are the meeting minutes from this historic meeting? Does the payning membership have no right to transparency?
USAH leadership should have stepped in and resolved the matter with simple stated rulings. Make decisions when decisions need to be made. Six months this has been going on. Can anyone honestly say that it should take six months to make decisions in the best interests of the player?
Yes, the best interests of the player. That is what has been lost throughout this whole saga. The player. You know, the kid who without him paying the bill USAH and these junior teams dont exist. Yep, that kid who’s parents pay the bills.
Is it wise to leave a paying customer with no information? Is it smart to own a store but not tell anyone when you will actually allow people in to make purchases?
“Yep, we sell gasoline, ummmm yeah but only when we are open. When will we be open? Ohhhhh we will let you know. How? Trust me, you will know.” Now that sounds like pure genious doesnt it?
The people who pay the bills want some answers. Isnt it time someone said something? Or is it simply a matter of thinking that the cattle will continue to follow no matter when we decide to start leading them?
Its a shame. But hey, dont forget to make sure you have a current USA Hockey player registration when you go for all these tryouts, and please make the check payable to the team.
Joseph Kolodziej – Publisher
