Junior hockey's dirty little $ecret

[Chemo]

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/ ... ?e=2885002

WOODSTOCK-- The Waterloo Siskins were hell bent on winning the Sutherland Cup.

It was the team's 75th anniversary in 2009-10, and the franchise needed a centerpiece for its celebrations. Winning its 12th provincial Junior B championship was the goal, and the Siskins were going to compete at all costs -- even if it meant breaking Ontario Hockey Association rules.


General manager Richard Burjoski thought he assembled one of the best teams money could buy. The Siskins had a player personnel budget of $90,000, and $55,000 was designated for player compensation.

Several Siskins were given six cash installments throughout the season. The highest paid player received $10,000.

Burjoski, who has since left the position, was personally responsible for going to the bank and stuffing wads of cash into envelopes earmarked mostly for teenagers.

It was a blatant circumvention of OHA rules, which allow teams to pay for "protective equipment, sticks and skates, travel expenses and educational expenses and/ or room and board if the player is required to relocate to join his team."

Anything beyond that is subject to suspension.

The Siskins, however, were hardly the first junior hockey team in Ontario that tried to buy a championship.

"When you run into these things and try to run it like a business, you run into guys who do whatever the hell they want," Burjoski told the Sentinel-Review. "It takes good people out of the game and that's what bugs me about it. The old school way of doing it just isn't the way anymore."

For their part, only one of the 47 OHA teams that responded to a Sentinel-Review survey admitted to having ever paid players beyond the allowed compensation. That didn't stop a large majority of them from pointing the finger at other teams.

"It gets worse every year," London Nationals assistant coach Paul Petrie said. "The amount coaches get paid (is minimal) compared to players, and the coaches are putting in 30 to 40 hours a week at the Junior B level. You go to LaSalle and it's an 11-hour day. Leamington is a 10-hour day. It's a four-hour day for home games when you're prepping. You're doing it for beer money."

Some of the players compensated by the Siskins last season were, in fact, billeted. Burjoski, though, admitted that cash payments some players received were far greater than the actual cost of room and board or mileage.

Some of that money came from selling players in 2007-08, when Waterloo didn't have cash to spend and finished eighth in the Greater Ontario Hockey League's Midwestern conference. Burjoski was team president at the time and said Western Junior C team Walkerton paid $8,500 for one player.

"Those teams gotta have the dough," he said. "It's the hidden thing nobody talks about."

OHA president Brent Ladds said he is aware of the claims and admitted that paying players under the table is as old as the game itself. He compared the situation to the underground economy.

"From an association standpoint, we've said what we think is acceptable," he said. "If teams are paying beyond that, it's totally inappropriate. The majority of teams have programs where players are good enough to play and don't have to stoop to that."

Ladds placed equal blame on players and teams. The OHA has fielded several complaints regarding payment of players, but with a volunteer staff , it lacks the ability to investigate without firm evidence.

"You can put infrastructure in place, which costs money. It's the degree to which the membership wants it curtailed," Ladds said. "It's frustrating because I think that's the beginning and end of their obligation (to provide a place to play). They shouldn't have to remunerate players. It's counter-productive to what they do."

Despite assertions from several teams that players are being compensated beyond OHA regulations, only one club has been reprimanded for doing so. In December 2005, the OHA suspended Milton IceHawks head coach and general manager George Dupont for the remainder of the season, including playoffs, and the Ontario Junior A Hockey League team was fined $12,000 after it was determined Milton had signed contracts with two players that fell outside of OHA guidelines.

In most cases, teams avoid the paper trail of a written contract and pay players with cash.

It's how many of the Wingham Ironmen Western Junior C players were compensated five years ago. Players were paid $50 per win ($100 in playoffs), while goalies were paid an additional $50 for a shutout. Skaters also received bonus money for goals and assists, said a former Wingham player who requested anonymity.

"Kincardine called and said ... 'We'll pay you more than Wingham is going to pay you, and pay for a place to stay

here,'" he said. "When you are that age, for them to say, 'I'll give you three or four grand,' how can you say no to that?"

The Ironmen lost in the league final that season, but the playoff run was enough for players to leave with golden handshakes.

"They never said to me under any circumstances, do not tell anyone," the player said.

Each spring in Junior C, a high-stakes courtship begins. Players shift promiscuously from team to team, looking for a perfect match. Managers welcome each overture like a jilted lover desperate to please.

Come autumn, successful relationships are based on answers to two questions: How long and how much?

"It's, 'Come and play for us and we'll give you a ton of money,'" Petrie said. "There's a ridiculous amount of money being thrown around in Junior C."

Petrie said he learned firsthand two years ago when the Niagara Junior C Norwich Merchants expressed interest in his son Brett. The 20-year-old had just finished his sixth season with the St. Marys Lincolns and was about to enter his final year of Junior B eligibility. Junior C teams are allowed up to four overage 21-year-olds each season, which is often the selling point when it comes to making offers.

Petrie said the Merchants offered his son $10,000 "amortized over the year for the regular season for the next two years."

The pursuit lasted two or three weeks, he said, and it ended with Brett Petrie turning down the lucrative offer and playing his final season with the London Nat iona ionals.

He later set the record for most Junior B games played.

"They called endlessly, all the time," Paul Petrie said of the Merchants. "The final one was, 'We want you to come to our golf tournament. We'll look after everything for you.' He wasn't interested. After that (Brett) wouldn't answer the phone."

Norwich general manager Tom Wright strongly denied Petrie's claim.

"I have never talked to that kid in my life," Wright said.

According to the longtime Merchants GM, it was Petrie who expressed interest, via current Merchant Curtis Logan, in coming to Norwich. The duo played together for two seasons in St. Marys.

"They're not getting half of what they say they're getting. It's a bunch of baloney," Wright said. "The OHA set up guidelines and we're going by them."

Brett Petrie also received overtures from the Simcoe Storm, but no offer was made.

"There's all different reasons for it," Paul Petrie said. "My son said no for the fact he wanted to play the highest level he could. He realized at 20 years of age he should be done junior hockey."

As a coach, Petrie has watched players leave for Junior C, only to come back once "they pissed the money away."

"Junior C has a lot of money," he said. "Small town, they run their lotteries and beer clubs.

"You know what? A kid gets it, good for him."

Woodstock Navy Vets head coach and general manager Jeff Morrison blames tampering for guilty under OHA tampering rules after Norwich dressed two Simcoe minor hockey players in an exhibition game without having permission-to-skate forms.

The OHA suspended Wright for five games and fined the Merchants $1,000, along with taking two roster cards.

"Everybody knows what's going on but nobody's been able to put a stop to it," Morrison said. "The OHA has to take the lead. It's the same with tampering. Everybody talks about getting it stopped, but even when you find someone guilty, you don't do enough to deter the next guy."

Morrison has made it clear that current Navy Vet players will not be released within the division for less than a staggering $15,000.

"It's no secret that in the past the team has sold off some top players to pay for bills," Morrison said. "We've raised our fee so it doesn't happen anymore."

Players and owners have even taken to social media to recruit. In a May 20, 2009, Facebook post, current Simcoe forward Colton Thornton, at the request of Storm owner Darren DeDobbelaer, attempted to woo Logan, who had recently finished his second season in St. Marys. The message was clear, and completely against OHA protocol.

"Hey man we just got our cards for Simcoe and Darren wanted me to talk to you and find out what's going on with you... i know your not going to commet right away and play it out so u can get as much as u want but call him when u can... hes not like that he makes u an offer off that bat thats just rediculas and even when it comes down to the beginning of the season it still will be the best offer on the table... talk to him."

DeDobbelaer also denied breaking OHA rules, saying he offers players a "hand up, not a handout."

"I didn't hear dollars in there," he said of Thornton's message. "I employed Jordan Paton, Kirk Stevenson, Colton Thornton (at his personal business). I don't hand people cash. I employ people. I let people work on my farm, let people rake leaves on my farm. I don't hand people cash, I never have."

DeDobbelaer said "a lot of kids embellish and lie" when bragging publicly about getting paid to play hockey. Rival teams have long accused Simcoe of paying its players.

"We try to help them out with school," DeDobbelaer said, "but the rest is not true."

Junior hockey's money culture has given some players a sense of brazen entitlement. Morrison said he spoke to potential recruits this summer who were more concerned about stipends than sticks.

"I don't know where it started or why it's so out of control now," he said. "Costs are on the rise as it is. Why are we paying players to play hockey?"

corysmith@bowesnet.co m

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The Sentinel-Review e-mailed every Junior A, Junior B, Junior C and Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League (Junior D) team in the Ontario Hockey Association, and asked them two questions pertaining to the sport's money culture. In total, 47 teams from across Ontario responded to the anonymous survey. All of them answered the first question, while a few teams chose not to answer the second question. Results are broken down by league.

1) Has your team ever paid players beyond "out of pocket expenses such as protective equipment, sticks and skates, travel expenses and educational expenses and/or room and board" as mandated by the OHA?

Junior A Yes) 0 No) 10

They said it: "We do not pay our players and/or give them any incentives to play." -Junior A head coach Junior B Yes) 0 No) 7

They said it: "Since we are a community-owned team we don't even have the funds to pay for education for players." -Junior B general manager

Junior C Yes) 1 No) 21

They said it: "We do not even pay travel expenses to anyone on our team, and never have." -Junior C general manager

Junior D Yes) 0 No) 8

They said it: "...it causes problems and destroys a team." -Junior D team president

2) Do you believe there are teams in your league that are paying players beyond OHA allowance?

Junior A Yes) 5 No) 2

They said it: "There are many teams that pay players to play for them and use that as a recruiting tool." -Junior A head coach

Junior B Yes) 6 No) 0 They said it: "I know there are teams out there paying beyond the proper limits." -Junior B general manager

Junior C

Yes) 16 No) 4

They said it: "The main culprit in this, in my opinion, (are the teams in) the Western Junior C League. They pay thousands over and above what is allowed." -Junior C general manager

Junior D Yes) 8 No) 0

They said it: "There are several players in our league getting paid. I have been told this by several of my players." -Junior D general manager

Article ID# 2885002