BC Hockey and Hockey Canada are telling young athletes and hockey officials not to associate with "outlaw leagues" such as the newly formed World Hockey Association (WHA), which recently announced its new Squamish team, the Cougars.
"Upstart or breakaway leagues can no doubt service certain special interest groups very well," says BC Hockey executive director Barry Petrachenko. "But they rarely survive over the long haul because they are focused solely on the products of our system while failing to contribute to the development of those individuals."
BC Hockey sent out a press release June 30 denouncing so-called outlaw leagues, otherwise known as non-affiliated leagues, choosing to set up shop within British Columbia. The press release, entitled "Ramifications of Participation in Outlaw Leagues", warns players that while registered with such leagues, they won't have Hockey Canada insurance, registered officials, coaches or referees, and will be excluded from BC Hockey provincial and national teams, and from BC Hockey or Hockey Canada programs.
WHA VP of Operations Gary Scott said regulations stating that only BC Hockey registered players and officials have access to their own programs are well established since BC Hockey is essentially a "private club". He said he's surprised at the tone of the press release, which is simply meant to intimidate.
"It's always been that way, you've never been able to participate in those programs if you weren't registered in minor hockey," he said. "All of sudden they blasted this thing out with this headline to intimidate and scare people."
Scott said that the WHA is very much focused on the development of young players, which is one reason they declined to adopt BC Hockey's rule of rejecting all players under 16 years old. He also said that the term "outlaw league" does not apply to the WHA."We're not an outlaw league, we're a junior hockey league," he said. "I guess they can call us what they want, but we're a junior hockey league and that's what we're calling ourselves."
Mayor Ian Sutherland said he is very familiar with minor hockey league politics, and BC Hockey's announcement is not surprising.
"I've been involved in hockey for a long time and these turf wars always happen, it's part of the petty politics of minor hockey in all provinces," he said. "We tried to get a Junior B team in Squamish this past year and they [BC Hockey] wouldn't give us one. They can't have it both ways, they can either say they're representing all hockey in BC and make those franchises happen or they have to let other leagues fill that void."
BC Hockey is also warning officials, referees and coaches that if they work within the WHA, they'll lose their registered Hockey Canada status and will no longer have Hockey Canada assignments.
"Basically, our approach is that we are not telling anyone what they should do," said Petrachenko. "But too often people make decisions without knowing the whole story. Our goal here is to provide that information to our members prior so that there are no surprises down the road."
Scott said the WHA is upfront about broader hockey league regulations when contacted by potential players and officials. He added that despite the warnings, the WHA is attracting the interest of a number of high-level officials as well as players who disagree with the Hockey Canada restrictions.
"We don't need the battle, we're going to move forward with our league with players that want to play with us in communities that want us there," said Scott. "It's hockey. That's what we're looking to offer. We're looking to provide a place for players to develop and there's nothing wrong with that. We're a new choice out there and certainly the new cities we're going to are happy to have us."
Squamish is certainly one of those communities, said Sutherland. "It hasn't changed anything," he said. "Our town's still very excited about junior hockey coming town and we look forward to an exciting year of hockey and I'm going to be the first person to buy a season ticket."
The WHA is quickly progressing towards its September schedule, said Scott. The league is holding an open evaluation camp in Langley this weekend (July 7, 8 and 9) and going as far as Ontario to find prospective talent. The Squamish Cougars will begin practice at the Brennan Park ice arena in September, joining five other BC and the Washington State teams for the WHA's inaugural season.
