The ongoing saga between the Ontario Hockey Association and a group of concerned member teams may be coming to a head next month.
A number of member teams under the OHA have been attempting to cause sweeping change at the OHA board level, starting back in June of this year. The Ontario Hockey Federation stepped in to try and find some common ground and an initial agreement was reached, but a group of concerned member teams became upset with a perceived lack of faith from the OHA, and called a special meeting, rumoured to be for September 15th, to remove OHA President Karen Phibbs and board members Gary Moroney, Tim Simmons, Shawn McKelvie, Jeff Beatty and Brad Grant. Now, those concerned member teams have called for another special meeting in yet another attempt to reshape the OHA board. Papers were filed September 24th, according to numerous sources wishing to remain anonymous, for a meeting to be held no later than October 15th.
In recent weeks, a number of OHA members have stepped down. Don Killgallen, a former board member, stepped down a couple of weeks ago after he said he couldn't see any point in working with people who weren't receptive to his ideas or in helping the member leagues.
In a past article published by CKNX News, Killgallen was quoted as saying “the powers that be, I find that there is a lack of transparency, integrity, and there’s a lot of manipulation, and really just outright lying going on. Which, quite frankly, until something quite drastic is done with the OHA board of directors, the problem that the OHA is creating within their membership is going to continue. I felt like, quite frankly, until those major changes happen, that people like me are just wasting their time.”
OHA Chair Tom Strauch recently resigned, as well as Administrative Director Wendy MacDonald. Former Executive Chair Mark Ellis left for another job this past spring, and he has yet to be replaced. Sources wishing to remain anonymous confirmed to CKNX News that Strauch met with OJHL Commissioner Marty Savoy and Waterloo Siskins President/Director of Hockey Ops Curtis Clairmont in early September to try and reach a deal that would benefit both sides; the OHA, and the concerned members, which total over 40 teams in the OJHL, GOJHL, and PJHL. An acceptable deal was reportedly reached, but sources say when Strauch presented it to the OHA board at their meeting September 12th, it was voted down, causing Strauch to resign his position. Longtime PJHL League Convener Steve Coulter also resigned this year, citing numerous issues with the OHA.
Again, it's important at this stage to stress that CKNX News has made numerous attempts to contact the OHA, and President Karen Phibbs, a number of times over the past 3 weeks, but to no avail.
According to sources, as part of the conditions of the rumoured deal that was discussed between Tom Strauch, OJHL Commissioner Marty Savoy, and Curtis Clairmont of the Waterloo Siskins (representing the group known as GOJHL Inc.), the member teams were willing to make some concessions in regards to the OHA board. Some of the terms allegedly discussed included but were not limited to:
1. The OJHL would agree to not proceed with its pending arbitration hearing against the OHA in exchange for the approval of the Jr. A Milton IceHawks’ relocation to Brantford. A recent Brantford 99ers OJHL Jr. A game was cancelled because the OHA refused to provide officials. 99ers owner Darren DeDobbelar bought the Milton Icehawks in 2017 and wanted to move them to Brantford. The OHA did not respond, and the team moved anyway. Games are still being played in Milton, and the dispute is a major area of friction for the OJHL.
2. If the Milton transfer was approved by the OHA , the “concerned members” would pull their requisition for a special meeting, which was allegedly to be held no later than Sept. 15.
3. Replacing OHA first vice-chairman Gary Maroney as liaison between the OHA and OJHL. Maroney has since taken over as chair in place of the departed Tom Strauch.
4. Putting OHA president Karen Phibbs’ contract to tender, with Phibbs allowed to reapply. Rumours of removing Phibbs outright have been included in previous calls for the special meeting, but it appears, according to CKNX sources, teams were prepared to allow Phibbs to reapply if this rumoured deal went through.
5. Junior B teams would discontinue their appeal to Hockey Canada over splitting the league into conferences of 15 and 10. Numerous sources have told CKNX News that splitting the GOJHL into two conferences was never an issue. The league simply wanted all member teams to agree to comply with the leagues new player fee rule, instituted by GOJHL Inc. and allegedly agreed upon by all member teams, an agreement that the OHA allegedly endorsed, then backed out on. This was a major reason the annual GOJHL Showcase, which has been organized by GOJHL Inc. since 2015, was cancelled.
6. Removing director Tim Simmons from the board.
Once again, in a recent article CKNX published, now-resigned OHA board member Don Killgallen confirmed to CKNX News that the meeting that was held by all the GOJHL member teams was endorsed by the OHA until recently, allowing teams that refused to pay the agreed upon $750 player fees into the league to still participate. Killgallen was also quoted as saying that the OHA then refused to recognize the GOJHL Inc. group as a sanctioned body, which it had initially done.
“It’s true, it’s all true, and I believe that the certain individuals on the OHA board of directors went out of their way over the last, I’d say 6-8 months, to divide the GOJHL, and they’ve been successful. It started with 3 teams. My understanding, to back up a bit, is that a few years ago, the GOJHL developed a group that’s called the GOJHL Inc. They did this with the support of the OHA. At the time, 26 teams sat down and signed an agreement. That went along for 2 years. At some point, it’s pretty obvious to me that the executives at the OHA decided that they were no longer going to support this agreement. The reason why, I have no idea. 3 teams decided last year, that they didn’t want to pay their dues. They collected the money from the kids, but they didn’t pay it. The OHA told the GOJHL that they are not a sanctioned body, and therefore, they’re not about to help the league collect money. I’ve heard people within the OHA say ‘we’re not a collection agency’, or ‘that’s your problem.’ They promoted this division that’s happening, and it all started with those 3 teams.”
More details to come as they are made available.