NEWS

The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) Annual General Meeting wrapped up this past weekend with 3-on-3 Overtime and the addition of an extra round of games at the Governors' Showcase weekend highlighting the agenda.

After testing the concept as a pilot project during the 2013-14 pre-season, the main discussion point this weekend was the elimination of the shootout and the addition of a five minute, 3-on-3 overtime period that now follows the five minute, 4-on-4 overtime period.  If the game remains tied after both extra frames then the game will finish as a tie.  

Due to a number of requests from scouts, another set of games has been added to the OJHL Governors' Showcase, so that each member club will play two games over the course of the weekend, instead of just one.  The Oakville Blades were approved as the Showcase host after running a successful event in October of 2013.

The Ontario Hockey Association launched their SafeTALK program last year and the OJHL officially approved the same program that will serve to educate players on mental illness and provide confidential assistance for those in need.  All OJHL players will go through the program each season.  

The OJHL Board of Governors also unanimously approved an updated version of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) that will see all 22 member clubs audited throughout the 2014-15 season.  The SOP’s have been developed to drive operational improvement of all clubs and with this approval the OJHL continues to support their commitment to the OHA’s Tomorrow’s Game initiative.

Following their two year tenure as the OJHL Board of Directors, the current group was ratified and will each serve an additional two-year term.  Scott McCrory (Whitby Fury) will continue to lead the OJHL as Chairman of the Board, with the following directors in place: 1st Vice Chair – Lloyd Stockley (Mississauga Chargers), 2nd Vice Chair – Stuart Hyman (Hamilton Red Wings), North-East Conference Director – Kenneth J Burrows (Stouffville Spirit) and South-West Conference Director – Rob DeVincentis (Milton Icehawks).

OJHL Commissioner Marty Savoy lauded the Governors for their continued foresight, “The OJHL Board of Governors continues to be on the leading edge of innovation in Junior 'A' hockey in Canada and the new initiatives approved for the 2014-15 season will make for one of the most exciting OJHL seasons in recent memory, while providing our players with more opportunity to showcase their skills and achieve their goals."