Now that it looks like the pay to play crash that took out about thirty six junior, U18, and U16 programs appears to be over, its time to look at the causes of why it happened.
There are several reasons for this historical crash and burn, all but one of them were potentially avoidable, and all of them should have been obvious to everyone.
First, leagues in their turf wars were simply too agressive in their expansion plans. With player registration numbers not growing, and in some areas they are declining, it should have been obvious to some people that the player market was not going to be able to handle the pressure.
For those parents and players wanting to blame leagues for this, go right ahead. But understand that leagues are business operations, not hobby centers. Leagues are designed and developed to make money. If you cant accept that fact, then you are living in a dream world where everyone is a philanthropist.
Leagues are obligated to give current owners a return on their investment in buying franchises. This is the same from the NHL on down. Leagues are not responsible for what teams do or dont do. Leagues are obligated to operate a league.
Vetting of owners. Enter Chris and Rhea Reaves. Lets be clear, the Reaves misrepresented everything. They claimed wealth they never had. But lets dive deeper. Chris and Rhea Reaves got involved with the USPHL back in 2022 with the Columbia Infantry through a son that played there. On the outside to league officials, Chris Reaves put on a show that convinced the USPHL that he was a serious real estate developer. All for show.
Reaves went on to buy the former Provo Predators, and moved them to Casper. It was not an expansion team as some would like to say. He operated for a year, and kept the show of wealth up in public. He created “Outrival Sports” out of thin air, trying to portray himself as a hockey mogul. That website was all it was, a website and nothing more. Its now gone, along with all the money Reaves scammed players and families. So lets place the blame squarely at Chris and Rhea Reaves feet. Then lets look to who allowed Reaves into the league in 2023 and who pushed his narrative.
Another reason most are not talking about is the number of players simply quiting the chase of the NCAA dream.
When the NCAA changed the rules, players on the bubble looked in the mirror and made the choice to start their lives now and not continue to chase a dream that was likely out of reach. Younger players went to ACHA programs in solid numbers further reducing the player pool for pay to play junior.
The downward pressure of CHL players taking D1 spots, and other bubble D1 players moving down to D3 pushes others still to ACHA. This will continue over the coming years as NCAA hockey cannot expand as quickly as the player market would have it.
Tier 2 expansion is the third reason. More players are playing Tier 2 now than ever before, meaning there are simply less for the pay to play markets. Look for more Tier 2 expansion this 2026 off season in the United States and Canada.
Finally, badly timed start ups or new leagues and new teams. Inexperienced owners should never be allowed to start a team or league in August. The AEJHL was simply a head scratching development that was destined to implode from day one. Anyone supporting this disaster should simply stay out of hockey and start stamp collecting as a hobby.
What did everyone learn from this bloodbath? NOTHING. It is going to happen again next year, and it may be worse than this year.
