Post by Score on May 22, 2007 17:19:31 GMT -3
Article from the T and T
Neil Hodges
The only thing Quebec Major Junior Hockey League commissioner Gilles Courteau is certain of at this point is there will soon be a new rule which regulates the use of out-of-zone players.
``I'm confident we'll have some kind of a rule in place for next season to address this situation," he said.
There's currently nothing that governs the number of out-of-zone players that each Canadian Hockey League club is allowed to carry, but that's about to change. If you listen to the talk, the limit will be five per team in the QMJHL, Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
This topic will be discussed during the CHL board of directors meeting on June 21-22 in Toronto. The three league commissioners and one governor from each league will attend the meeting.
Moncton Wildcats governor Jean Brousseau will join Courteau in representing the QMJHL during these talks. Brousseau, who's in Vancouver for the 2007 Memorial Cup, couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
The QMJHL owns the territorial rights to players in the four Atlantic provinces, Quebec and New England States.
Moncton used 10 players from outside that zone this past season and six were still with the club in the playoffs - Matt Marquardt, Phil Mangan and Jhase Sniderman (all Ontario), Brad Ouskun (Manitoba), Joe Tolles (Ohio) and Marcus Watson (California). All of them are expected back when the Wildcats open training camp on Aug. 12.
"What we've done a few years ago is establish some ruling in the CHL," said Courteau. ``We split North America among the three leagues. We have good and fair player territories now and we should stick to it.
``I don't want to say that teams are going overboard, but I think we have to clarify or reinforce our actual rules. There's one thing that we don't want. Let's say, for example, the Moncton Wildcats have a player on their protected list. He belongs to them and he's playing junior A to develop, but he will be ready for major junior the next season.
``We don't want to see a team from the OHL or WHL come in and offer him the chance to play major junior for them right away. It's not allowed, but sometimes maybe these things happen through parents, friends or agents. They don't talk to the player directly, but they get their message to him indirectly."
A new rule that limits the use of out-of-zone players would obviously hurt some QMJHL clubs far more than others.
Moncton, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Gatineau Olympiques, Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs had the most success in landing free agents from outside the league's territory this past season. Moncton, Cape Breton and Gatineau have been the best in the league in this department if you look over the past few years.
Some QMJHL teams work harder and have more financial resources to be able to look for free agents across Canada and the United States. It would be a shame to see a new rule that penalizes teams who are ambitious in this area while trying to get the upper hand on others and ice the best team possible.
For the sake of argument, let's say teams are allowed five out-of-zone players next season.
Does this mean five new out-of-zone players? Are the returning players who fit this description included or excluded from this number?
Does this mean teams can only invite five out-of-zone players to training camp? Or, can they bring in any number and then choose which ones to keep?
``There's nothing confirmed yet," said Courteau. ``We need to go a little deeper on this subject and that's why before I say too much I want to discuss this with my other two league partners. It's going to be a CHL rule, not just a QMJHL rule."
The CHL should be confirming all the details of this new rule during this week's meetings at the 2007 Memorial Cup. It makes no sense to wait until June 21-22 to finalize this matter.
Consider this: The 2007 QMJHL draft will take place on June 2 in Drummondville. The day before that all teams will be given a package that includes their forms for signing free agents.
How can teams possibly start signing free agents from outside the league's territory if they don't even know the guidelines of the new rule?
``It's hard at this point because much of it is speculation," said Moncton head coach and director of hockey operations Danny Flynn. ``For a team like the Moncton Wildcats who have worked hard and had good success in the free agent market, we will watch closely for the results of this meeting because it could have far reaching implications on us.
``We've had some outstanding free agents from outside the league's zone and we're hard at work on a couple of others right now. So, we're obviously very interested to see how this new rule is going to play out."
There were numerous out-of-zone players who made significant contributions in the QMJHL this past season. Here's a small sampling:
Moncton - goaltender Jhase Sniderman and forwards Matt Marquardt and Phil Mangan;
Cape Breton - goaltender David Davenport, defencemen Jason Swit and Beau Prokopetz and forward Cam Fergus;
Acadie-Bathurst - goaltender Brant Miller and forward Spencer Jezegou;
Saint John - forward Christopher Di Domenico;
St. John's - defenceman T.J. Brennan;
Drummondville - forward Scott Howes;
Gatineau - forward Claude Giroux.
Giroux was passed over in the OHL draft and never received a free agent invite from anyone in that league. That paved the way for him to become a QMJHL star, a first-round NHL draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers and an invitee to the Canadian national junior team's selection camp last December.
Marquardt, Di Domenico and Brennan were all ignored by the OHL also. Marquardt went on to become a 44-goal scorer in the QMJHL and an NHL draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Di Domenico and Brennan are in the rankings for this year's NHL draft.
Someone who never had an opportunity to play in the OHL or WHL might fall through the cracks and not get the chance in the QMJHL either under the new out-of-zone rule.
``For sure, that could happen," said Flynn. ``That would be an unfortunate scenario if you had a young player who had the ability to play in our league, but he was turned back because of eligibility regulations."
Neil Hodges
The only thing Quebec Major Junior Hockey League commissioner Gilles Courteau is certain of at this point is there will soon be a new rule which regulates the use of out-of-zone players.
``I'm confident we'll have some kind of a rule in place for next season to address this situation," he said.
There's currently nothing that governs the number of out-of-zone players that each Canadian Hockey League club is allowed to carry, but that's about to change. If you listen to the talk, the limit will be five per team in the QMJHL, Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
This topic will be discussed during the CHL board of directors meeting on June 21-22 in Toronto. The three league commissioners and one governor from each league will attend the meeting.
Moncton Wildcats governor Jean Brousseau will join Courteau in representing the QMJHL during these talks. Brousseau, who's in Vancouver for the 2007 Memorial Cup, couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
The QMJHL owns the territorial rights to players in the four Atlantic provinces, Quebec and New England States.
Moncton used 10 players from outside that zone this past season and six were still with the club in the playoffs - Matt Marquardt, Phil Mangan and Jhase Sniderman (all Ontario), Brad Ouskun (Manitoba), Joe Tolles (Ohio) and Marcus Watson (California). All of them are expected back when the Wildcats open training camp on Aug. 12.
"What we've done a few years ago is establish some ruling in the CHL," said Courteau. ``We split North America among the three leagues. We have good and fair player territories now and we should stick to it.
``I don't want to say that teams are going overboard, but I think we have to clarify or reinforce our actual rules. There's one thing that we don't want. Let's say, for example, the Moncton Wildcats have a player on their protected list. He belongs to them and he's playing junior A to develop, but he will be ready for major junior the next season.
``We don't want to see a team from the OHL or WHL come in and offer him the chance to play major junior for them right away. It's not allowed, but sometimes maybe these things happen through parents, friends or agents. They don't talk to the player directly, but they get their message to him indirectly."
A new rule that limits the use of out-of-zone players would obviously hurt some QMJHL clubs far more than others.
Moncton, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Gatineau Olympiques, Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs had the most success in landing free agents from outside the league's territory this past season. Moncton, Cape Breton and Gatineau have been the best in the league in this department if you look over the past few years.
Some QMJHL teams work harder and have more financial resources to be able to look for free agents across Canada and the United States. It would be a shame to see a new rule that penalizes teams who are ambitious in this area while trying to get the upper hand on others and ice the best team possible.
For the sake of argument, let's say teams are allowed five out-of-zone players next season.
Does this mean five new out-of-zone players? Are the returning players who fit this description included or excluded from this number?
Does this mean teams can only invite five out-of-zone players to training camp? Or, can they bring in any number and then choose which ones to keep?
``There's nothing confirmed yet," said Courteau. ``We need to go a little deeper on this subject and that's why before I say too much I want to discuss this with my other two league partners. It's going to be a CHL rule, not just a QMJHL rule."
The CHL should be confirming all the details of this new rule during this week's meetings at the 2007 Memorial Cup. It makes no sense to wait until June 21-22 to finalize this matter.
Consider this: The 2007 QMJHL draft will take place on June 2 in Drummondville. The day before that all teams will be given a package that includes their forms for signing free agents.
How can teams possibly start signing free agents from outside the league's territory if they don't even know the guidelines of the new rule?
``It's hard at this point because much of it is speculation," said Moncton head coach and director of hockey operations Danny Flynn. ``For a team like the Moncton Wildcats who have worked hard and had good success in the free agent market, we will watch closely for the results of this meeting because it could have far reaching implications on us.
``We've had some outstanding free agents from outside the league's zone and we're hard at work on a couple of others right now. So, we're obviously very interested to see how this new rule is going to play out."
There were numerous out-of-zone players who made significant contributions in the QMJHL this past season. Here's a small sampling:
Moncton - goaltender Jhase Sniderman and forwards Matt Marquardt and Phil Mangan;
Cape Breton - goaltender David Davenport, defencemen Jason Swit and Beau Prokopetz and forward Cam Fergus;
Acadie-Bathurst - goaltender Brant Miller and forward Spencer Jezegou;
Saint John - forward Christopher Di Domenico;
St. John's - defenceman T.J. Brennan;
Drummondville - forward Scott Howes;
Gatineau - forward Claude Giroux.
Giroux was passed over in the OHL draft and never received a free agent invite from anyone in that league. That paved the way for him to become a QMJHL star, a first-round NHL draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers and an invitee to the Canadian national junior team's selection camp last December.
Marquardt, Di Domenico and Brennan were all ignored by the OHL also. Marquardt went on to become a 44-goal scorer in the QMJHL and an NHL draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Di Domenico and Brennan are in the rankings for this year's NHL draft.
Someone who never had an opportunity to play in the OHL or WHL might fall through the cracks and not get the chance in the QMJHL either under the new out-of-zone rule.
``For sure, that could happen," said Flynn. ``That would be an unfortunate scenario if you had a young player who had the ability to play in our league, but he was turned back because of eligibility regulations."