"Weir-y" of Change

[Marcie]

An interesting column in the Leamington Southpoint Sun by journalist Bryan Jessup.

“Weir”-y of change
– Bryan Jessop, Leamington Southpoint Sun

The stakes could be somewhat higher than usual in the quest for this year’s Western Ontario Conference playoff battle for the Bill Weir Trophy.

For starters, it’ll be the first one awarded since the former Western Conference convenor, after which it was named, died. Secondly, it could be the last one.

Ever.

A very short time after it was discovered that the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League may rearrange its teams from three conferences into four, it has come to light that it may instead divide those same three groups into two. There are likely a few moving targets to hit before it’s decided which path the Ontario Hockey Association embarks upon.

For one, the Niagara Falls Canucks and Brantford 99ers may be shot down in their bids to be promoted from the “GO” (Junior B) to the “OJ” (Tier II Junior A). If that’s the case, things could very well remain unchanged as we jump into the 2016-17 campaign (yup, I’m bringing up next season already, several days before we’ll even discover the identities of THIS year’s conference champs). There are a lot of local junior hockey fans frequently left scratching their heads after witnessing the actions of the OHA. The mere thought that they’d even consider adding two more teams after undergoing a painstaking process to REDUCE the number of teams in the OJHL boggles the mind. As such, seeing these two promotion applications being struck by the big red “DENIED” stamp wouldn’t be all that surprising, especially considering the fact that one of the two entered the Junior B fray not too long ago.

Assuming that both Brantford and Niagara Falls get the thumbs up and part ways with the GOJHL — and that no Junior C franchises express an interest in taking their places — we’re left with the possibility of two conferences of 12
teams each. Why the change in tune towards four groups of six each? Hard to say. Four divisions or conferences of six each does seem more economical as far as traveling distances are concerned. Each team plays divisional rivals 10
times per regular season — five at home and five on the road for a total of 50, the same total as the 2015-16 campaign.

Easy peasy.

But perhaps that’s the problem forcing the Junior B loop to reconsider its op-
tions. Are spectator numbers going to be as strong when they’re watching the same five visitors compared to seven or eight? Would it be a breath of fresh air to watch 11 opponents making their way through your home team’s rotation, especially without the rigamarole or the risks involved that come with accepting expansion teams?

That brings me to the fun part of this particular column — speculating on
which teams would join the nine existing Western teams. The Stratford Cullitons are a no-brainer. The Listowel Cyclones would be a fairly safe
bet, but from a geographical standpoint, it would get pretty tricky to pick the third addition. It would seem kind of crazy to add the Elmira Sugar Kings when other teams are closer to the existing nine Western teams, but putting Waterloo and Kitchener in different conferences would be even nuttier.

Not seeing any other choices, it looks like the Sugar Kings get the short end of the stick and the nightmarish busing regime that goes along with it. Their predicament wouldn’t be completely unlike a smaller-scale version of what the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets dealt with prior to the NHL’s most recent realignment.

So there we’d have it — LaSalle, Leamington, Sarnia, Chatham, Lambton Shores, Strathroy, London, St. Thomas, St. Marys, Stratford, Listowel and Elmira in the West (hmmm, maybe the Bill Weir Trophy simply becomes available to 25 per cent more teams and one of the OTHER two existing conferences has to put its trophy in a museum). The East of course would be represented by Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Ancaster, Caledonia, Brampton, Pelham, Welland, St. Catharines, Thorold and Fort Erie.

Maybe the travel problem could be addressed with uneven divisional schedules within each conference. LaSalle, Leamington, Chatham, Strathroy, London and St. Thomas become the Erie Division while Sarnia, Lambton Shores, St. Marys, Stratford, Listowel and Elmira represent the Huron Division. At the other end, Caledonia, Pelham, Welland, St. Catharines, Thorold and Fort Erie become the Niagara Division and Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Ancaster and Brampton become the (Lake) Ontario Division.

Each team plays divisional rivals six times each (there’s 30 games) and each of the other division’s teams four times each (another 24 games). If a 54-game regular season is too much, the other division’s team’s are played three times
apiece for a sum of 48 matches. In that case, the existing, season-starting Showcase Weekend’s two games apiece brings us back up to an even 50 games.

The other bonus of course is weeding out more weaker teams to pave the way for a more interesting first round of playoffs. The top four of each division advance to divisional semifinals, leaving eight teams out of the post season instead of just two (could anything have been more pointless than the Caledonia-Pelham series?). In all, there are now 16 playoff series instead of 24.

In this scenario, the two Sutherland finalists play four rounds instead of five. A quicker, more legitimate playoff stretch now makes up for at least some of the extra travelling in the regular season.

Anyway, as I wrap up this column, the Leamington Flyers are wrapping up their Western semifinal series against the Chatham Maroons (a huge debt of thanks to the Flyers for not making me work Monday night). Could they be facing London in the Western final for the last time... ever?

Time will tell.

[Caledonia Fan]

Great article thanks for sharing.
Maybe this is why Niagara Falls and Brantford not moving.
Something is up for sure. Lets hope want moves they make are better than what happen to the EOJHL (JR-B)
I don't know how I feel about it. Caledonia only been back in JR-B for a few years.
It's some of these teams and fans that been in the league for years and support JR-B how they feel.
But one thing for sure the fans wouldn't have a say.

[jfvoll]

So there we’d have it — LaSalle, Leamington, Sarnia, Chatham, Lambton Shores, Strathroy, London, St. Thomas, St. Marys, Stratford, Listowel and Elmira in the West (hmmm, maybe the Bill Weir Trophy simply becomes available to 25 per cent more teams and one of the OTHER two existing conferences has to put its trophy in a museum). The East of course would be represented by Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Ancaster, Caledonia, Brampton, Pelham, Welland, St. Catharines, Thorold and Fort Erie.

Maybe the travel problem could be addressed with uneven divisional schedules within each conference. LaSalle, Leamington, Chatham, Strathroy, London and St. Thomas become the Erie Division while Sarnia, Lambton Shores, St. Marys, Stratford, Listowel and Elmira represent the Huron Division. At the other end, Caledonia, Pelham, Welland, St. Catharines, Thorold and Fort Erie become the Niagara Division and Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Ancaster and Brampton become the (Lake) Ontario Division.

Elmira is a 15 minute drive to Waterloo, yet this guy suggests that Elmira plays Sarnia?

To me, it makes no sense to split up the 3 divisions into 2 or 4.

If you have to spend $2000 to go from St. Catherines to Elmira, that adds up quickly.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2012 ... -to-expand

[Falcons president Joe] MacNeil estimates it will cost the Falcons close to $2,000 for the team’s trip to Elmira. That’s a lot of money for one game and attendance will fall off before it increases for most home interleague games.

[ILuvHackey]

Splitting into 2 or 4 will happen. It's a slow morph as they make the league to closer resemble the OJ as they work towards Jr. A status.

[Caledonia Fan]

Splitting into 2 or 4 will happen. It's a slow morph as they make the league to closer resemble the OJ as they work towards Jr. A status.

I think you are right there's something up. I see splitting into 4 divisions. Just like tier 2 JR-A. There already changing a lot of the rules the same as JR-A. But I don't think they will ever get JR-A status. I think the OHA would like to see all JR-C teams affiliate with JR-B teams and JR-B teams affiliate
with tier 2 JR-A teams. Just like there trying to do with U-18 - CCHL2 - CCHL. I already mention this on the JR-C forum

[RocketGirl]

I like the idea of 2 Conferences. I don't think there's a reason to split the Conferences into divisions because at 26 teams, it's 13 each side, so how do you decide which division has 6 and which has 7.

If they do 2 Conferences, 13 teams each, they could say the top 8 in each Conference makes the play-offs, which would make the teams try harder to ice a competitive team and to compete each night.

The obvious choices to go to the West would be Listowel and Stratford, and then I'd add Brantford and Cambridge as well, then flip the other 5 to the Golden Horseshoe. That could set up some new and fun rivalries. You would play 4 games against your own Conference, 2 home and 2 away, and then 2 games at the Showcase against the other Conference and bam! you got a 50 game balanced schedule.

I would expect the Golden Horseshoe to be opposed to this idea. It would cause more travel for everyone and the most travel that they have in their Conference is an hour, and I've heard there are teams that don't bother to rent buses, so then they would have much added travel expense to their budgets.

[Port hockey1]

If they do 2 Conferences, 13 teams each, they could say the top 8 in each Conference makes the play-offs, which would make the teams try harder to ice a competitive team and to compete each night.

I like that proposal. It would make the regular season worth a whole lot more.

[Caledonia Fan]

Good post I like that idea. A lot of people wouldn't like it. But with all your connection Rocket Girl don't you think something going to happen. I know you probably can't say to much. You don't want to lose the trust of your contacts. IT really got me thinking when NF and Brantford got turn down on joining the
OJHL. And Mr Brain Rizzetto post on the GHL forum about the NF, Brantford affair.It's not so much want he said it's want he didn't say.

[RocketGirl]

I don't know what's been proposed and what hasn't been. I'd heard something about possibly having 2 Conferences next year, and this is an idea that between my brother and I that we've come up with that would make sense.

By having 2 Conferences and the top 8 in each make the play-offs, it would eliminate the semi-final Sutherland Cup round. You'd have the Conference champions and then they would meet for the Sutherland Cup.

[Port hockey1]

I don't know what's been proposed and what hasn't been. I'd heard something about possibly having 2 Conferences next year, and this is an idea that between my brother and I that we've come up with that would make sense.

By having 2 Conferences and the top 8 in each make the play-offs, it would eliminate the semi-final Sutherland Cup round. You'd have the Conference champions and then they would meet for the Sutherland Cup.

It would be very similar to the old NHL format... I like it.

[Oglethorp]

"The obvious choices to go to the West would be Listowel and Stratford, and then I'd add Brantford and Cambridge as well, then flip the other 5 to the Golden Horseshoe. That could set up some new and fun rivalries. You would play 4 games against your own Conference, 2 home and 2 away, and then 2 games at the Showcase against the other Conference and bam! you got a 50 game balanced schedule."

The only way I see this type of format flying is if the GOJHL moved to a primarily weekend league. Listowel and Stratford aren't likely going to be big fans of the 4+ hr bus rides to LaSalle and Leamington for mid week games. A recruiting advantage the Midwest has now for student athletes is that most of the centers are 1 hour or less apart. Tuesday night in Kitchener no big deal. The OHL moved to be primarily a weekend league years ago, might be time for the GOJHL to follow.

[Dr. Pepper]

The only way I see this type of format flying is if the GOJHL moved to a primarily weekend league. Listowel and Stratford aren't likely going to be big fans of the 4+ hr bus rides to LaSalle and Leamington for mid week games. A recruiting advantage the Midwest has now for student athletes is that most of the centers are 1 hour or less apart. Tuesday night in Kitchener no big deal. The OHL moved to be primarily a weekend league years ago, might be time for the GOJHL to follow.[/quote]

The only problem with that is the conflicting schedule's with the teams that have major junior teams in their cities, ie London, Windsor, (laSalle), Sarnia, Kitchener, Niagra, etc,etc, all teams fighting for fan base and dollars. In Sarnia's case, not really sure the Sting would want to compete against the Legionnaires for game night fans

[jfvoll]

I'd go with 4 divisions because of the long travel.

[ILuvHackey]

Here's how I'd do it - with the mind that Buffalo is back, and all the current teams are as well.

Two Conferences: West & East - Two Conferences per: North-West & South-West + North-East & South-East

West Conference
South-West - 7 teams
-LaSalle
-Sarnia
-Lambton Shores
-Chatham
-Leamington
-Strathroy
-St. Thomas
North-West - 7 teams
-London
-St. Mary's
-Stratford
-Listowel
-Elmira
-Kitchener
-Waterloo

East Conference
North-East - 6 teams (Would likely need to find another center to add here - Stoney Creek? Grimsby?)
-Brampton
-Guelph
-Cambridge
-Brantford
-Caledonia
-Ancaster
South-East - 7 teams
-Niagara Falls
-St. Catharine's
-Welland
-Thorold
-Fort Erie
-Pelham
-Buffalo

52 game schedule - Play the other 6 teams in division 6 times, Play the other 7 teams in the conference twice, play 1 team from each of the the other two divisions at the showcase - 52 game schedule. I know people wouldn't like some of the travel, but you make the other division games weekend games for the distance/time, and go from there.

Allows the league become more of a league and not three separate leagues.

[jfvoll]

Here's how I'd do it - with the mind that Buffalo is back, and all the current teams are as well.

Two Conferences: West & East - Two Conferences per: North-West & South-West + North-East & South-East

West Conference
South-West - 7 teams
-LaSalle
-Sarnia
-Lambton Shores
-Chatham
-Leamington
-Strathroy
-St. Thomas
North-West - 7 teams
-London
-St. Mary's
-Stratford
-Listowel
-Elmira
-Kitchener
-Waterloo

East Conference
North-East - 6 teams (Would likely need to find another center to add here - Stoney Creek? Grimsby?)
-Brampton
-Guelph
-Cambridge
-Brantford
-Caledonia
-Ancaster
South-East - 7 teams
-Niagara Falls
-St. Catharine's
-Welland
-Thorold
-Fort Erie
-Pelham
-Buffalo

52 game schedule - Play the other 6 teams in division 6 times, Play the other 7 teams in the conference twice, play 1 team from each of the the other two divisions at the showcase - 52 game schedule. I know people wouldn't like some of the travel, but you make the other division games weekend games for the distance/time, and go from there.

Allows the league become more of a league and not three separate leagues.

I'm actually going to do an article on re-alignment, with distances etc