On the GOJHL’s website, on their home page, they have a link to an article written back in 2013. It boasts the GOJHL as the 8th best development league in North America. The league is ahead of the CCHL and the NAHL… which if you think about it in almost 2017, is a complete farce of a statement.
This isn’t to diminish the GOJHL as a developmental league, but those two leagues greatly surpassed the GOJHL shortly after that list was released.
And yet, 3 years later, the article is still the main link on their webpage as if they need to advertise their self worth and say, ‘see, we told you someone thinks we are a good league.’
The article boasts the AHL as number one, ECHL as 2, the CHL, NCAA and USHL as the next three… so it isn’t a very good list, because how can you say a Jr league is a better developmental league than the Swedish Elite League for example… and how can you have the BCHL not on that list. But besides the point of this article.
After keeping that link on the GOJHL website where many can see it up close and personal, to the rejection of upgrading their status to Jr A, their new commissioner seemingly not following the rules or trying to win a PR battle while they know their applications will be turned down, the GOJHL is losing a solid footing as a respectable league.
Yes you can jump on any league for the same statement, but outside of the GMHL, NCPHL and the CPJHL (which is still a float, surprisingly) I have two words to describe the latest setback of the GOJHL being a serious contender as a top league in Canada… Buffalo Regals.
Ok, quick history lesson, the Wheatfield Jr Blades is the predecessor to the Regals franchise that turned into the Buffalo Blades and now to the Regals…
Since 1987 when the Jr Blades were in the NEJHL, they are pretty average until 1990 when they rattled off 6 seasons of 30+ wins in a 54-58 game season, winning the league in 4 consecutive years from 92-96…. Jump ahead to them entering two leagues with the EmJHL and the GHJHL (the precursor to the Golden Horseshoe Conference in the GOJHL) That lasted one season, 2005/06 where they placed 19th in the EmJHL and 8th in the GHJHL…
They sold off the EmJHL team and focused on competing in the Canadian loop from 2006-2007 on… and that is when the clock struck midnight and Cinderella lost everything.
Since 06/07 the Jr Blades/Blades/Regals franchise has won an astounding 62 games in 8 seasons… in two of those seasons they won 19 and 13 games, so in the other 6 seasons a combined, 30 wins… out of 402 games…. And as sad as that sounds this year’s version of the Regals is the worst yet.
How can that possibly be? Well let me break down the numbers….
27 – the current position in the 27 team GOJHL.
.77 – goals scored per game by the Buffalo Regals
17 – the amount of goals scored by the club in 22 games… since you were wondering
0 – the amount of wins they have this year.
232 – goals against through 22 games played.
41.17% – the percentage of the teams goals scored by one player, 7 of their 17
82.48% – the goalies combined save percentage, have used 5 goalies this year.
60.18 – average shots against per game
387 – how many more shots Kodie Oude Vashaar has faced than the next goalie in the league, with 22 fewer minutes played…
13 – The amount of times the Regals were shut out in their 22 games.
14.5 – The amount of skaters that the team ices per game.
5 – out of their last 6 games, the team has skated with 11 skaters or less.
Do I need to go on? No I don’t think so. These numbers are appalling. They reflect the number of my peewee house league team back in the day… but this is Jr B hockey? Not it isn’t.
It isn’t even GMHL hockey. That is the sad part. And you have this league, the GOJHL, claiming to be in every way a Jr A loop in everything but name only.
And again, you can point to a few OJHL franchises and say, they are just as bad, but they have the designation. Not trying to keep it or get it. No matter what the OJHL does, it will not lose the Jr A title… well short of sports gambling and point shaving… something like that.
The bottom line of all this is that the Regals need to go, they need to be stripped of eligibility into the league, and unfortunately for their owners and Office staff, they need to go back to the drawing board to put together an actual team if they would like to come back in… the saddest part about this isn’t what is presented above, it is the fact that this team had 2 years to get in line and find players, build, an infrastructure and create a network and as it appears, they have failed to do so….
Most GMHL teams only need a few weeks to fold after paying league fees and being an expansion club, but to plan for 2 seasons and still lay a giant egg like this… that is just unprecedented and the team should be stripped of its membership.
Just because I like numbers… here is another one for you.
41 minutes and 9 seconds…. The total number of minutes the Regals have held a lead this season… they have played 1,320 minutes this season.
