Fans of the 'new' Kilty's must (like me) wonder what's happening...

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Ron
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:10 pm

Fans of the 'new' Kilty's must (like me) wonder what's happening...

Post by Ron »

First no local derbies versus the Corvairs. rumours that the Falcons are switching Divisions and now as of August 9 with the regular schedule less than a month away and the exhibition schedule presumably on the horizon nothing posted re any games on the GOJHL website. New owners made a strong start with good publicity and everything looked very positive but will the fans come out when no-one seems to know what the heck is going on? How much of a draw will Lockport, Pelham and Fort Erie be? Those people who remember the enthusiasm of the old Kilty fans must be wondering if this move will draw any more fans than the pitifully few who attended Avalanche games. I would love to see this venture be a success but when you go on to the GOJHL twitter page and see the last post was July 15 you have to wonder is this the 'last post' for the League!
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RocketGirl
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Re: Fans of the 'new' Kilty's must (like me) wonder what's happening...

Post by RocketGirl »

To be fair Ron, the league isn't good at social media. I wrote an article a couple years ago saying that the league needed to step up their social media game. I compared it to the OJHL, our direct competition, and the OJ had more posts on Facebook in 1 month than the league had on it's Facebook for an entire season.

I would assume that this season will proceed as it has for the last 10 years, with the 3 Conferences, and perhaps the Commissioner and others will work behind the scenes this season to do a split next year. That's just my opinion, as you and the many others, I have no idea what is going on right now.
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RagingBS
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Re: Fans of the 'new' Kilty's must (like me) wonder what's happening...

Post by RagingBS »

I suspect the league will appear similar as it has in the past. A change in structure this late in the summer is in no one's best interest. I expect that this split in philosophy will not end until the league partners accept that junior hockey is not the same as it was in past years. Not long ago when players came out of minor midget the GOJHL was a players 1st choice if not going OHL at 16. With the Hockey Canada Development model teams became limited to an average of 2 per team. More recently players are being convinced that they are better off to go to major midget and stay eligible for the U18 draft. This keeps players out of junior hockey until they complete high school. With some teams wanting players parents to fork out the same money as major midget costs parents are choosing to stay in midget because it appears to provide better value because the players will be seen more. Once a player turns 18 ( after high school) players are no longer restricted to play in Ontario. That means in some cases the GOJHL can be competing with all 10 jr A leagues in Canada plus several premier US leagues. Now that Hockey Canada does not allow club to club affiliations teams must learn to live with the reality that they no longer have a way to get territorial rights to any players unless already signed. The league members need to use social media to sell themselves as a viable option more than before, it's no longer just a given that players will show up to only play for one local team. There are alot of competitors out there.

The commissioner and allies might want to reconsider if 2 squabbling and competing JrB leagues in Southwestern Ontario under the OHA is a good business plan going forward or is one united league selling itself as the place for players going to be more successful.
richard
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Re: Fans of the 'new' Kilty's must (like me) wonder what's happening...

Post by richard »

I agree us old timers can remember. Trying as oha may to maintain same status with a jr b league in Ontario is doomed to future failure.
Southern Ontario needs an elite junior league to showcase southern Ontario players young and old plus a decent amount of imports.
A premier junior league below major junior a is a necessity not a luxury for southern Ontario now.
These teams must fully fund there players, teams etc and players be properly showcased.
Ron
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Re: Fans of the 'new' Kilty's must (like me) wonder what's happening...

Post by Ron »

The Kilty Bees, according to their website, are playing Friday at 5pm at the Gale Centre in St. Catharines..I believe this should read Niagara Falls.. against Thorold, the Canucks at the same place Saturday at half past twelve and Sunday at 11 against Welland. The Kilty B's open the GOJHL regular-season in 'early September', presumably the tenth, since the third is Labour Day. Home games will be played Monday nights at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena. Well at least we know where!
GOJHLfan1
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Re: Fans of the 'new' Kilty's must (like me) wonder what's happening...

Post by GOJHLfan1 »

Ron wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:13 pm The Kilty Bees, according to their website, are playing Friday at 5pm at the Gale Centre in St. Catharines..I believe this should read Niagara Falls.. against Thorold, the Canucks at the same place Saturday at half past twelve and Sunday at 11 against Welland. The Kilty B's open the GOJHL regular-season in 'early September', presumably the tenth, since the third is Labour Day. Home games will be played Monday nights at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena. Well at least we know where!
You are right think thats just a typo. Hamilton is in Niagara Falls pre season tournament this weekend

FRIDAY AUG 24 5:00 PM GALES 1 HAMILTON vs THOROLD
FRIDAY AUG 24 7:30 PM GALES 1 WELLAND vs NIAGARA FALLS

SATURDAY AUG 25 12:30 PM GALES 1 HAMILTON vs NIAGARA FALLS
SATURDAY AUG 25 3:00 PM GALES 1 THOROLD vs WELLAND

SUNDAY AUG 26 11:00 AM GALES 1 WELLAND vs HAMILTON
SUNDAY AUG 26 1:00 PM GALES 1 THOROLD vs NIAGARA FALLS
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