Concerns Over Niagara IceDogs Ownership

[OMG67]

The league is using this investigation as a tool to force a sale.
You have to wonder if DD just throws in the towel and sells it.

Honest conspiracy theory question. Do you think it is possible that the league has made this public in an effort to force the sale or did it become public, then the league found out and is now trying to do something about it?

To me, this screams that the LEague may have viable offers and the new Commissioner has leveraged his contacts in media etc to stick a last nail in that coffin. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is what is going on. I know it is a black mark for the league but it could also be their version of trying to rip off the bandaid quickly as opposed to suffering drips and drabs of bad press for a few more years.

 

[ScoutLife4]

Honest conspiracy theory question. Do you think it is possible that the league has made this public in an effort to force the sale or did it become public, then the league found out and is now trying to do something about it?

To me, this screams that the LEague may have viable offers and the new Commissioner has leveraged his contacts in media etc to stick a last nail in that coffin. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is what is going on. I know it is a black mark for the league but it could also be their version of trying to rip off the bandaid quickly as opposed to suffering drips and drabs of bad press for a few more years.

I think this is the league making their case to force him out because he doesn't want to sell / is holding up a sale because of his outrageous evaluation of the team.
I have heard from a reliable source that the last asking price thrown around was over double what its actually worth which has scared all the potential buyers away.
I would not be surprised if following the investigation if the league takes over operations of the team.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Nearly everyone who wants to own a junior hockey team also wants to run it. A small number are actually capable of doing so. In fairly recent times, guys like Bobby Smith, Patrick Roy, the Hunters, the Sutters, and a handful of others come immediately to mind.

But think about the owners who really didn’t have a clue, surrounded themselves with sycophants, and failed spectacularly. Rolf Nilsen in Flint isn’t the first and Darren DeDobbelaer surely won’t be the last. I’m old enough to remember when Richard Peddie (mercifully, briefly) owned Windsor in the late-80s and tried to run it like a corporate business. The team stunk and had a carousel of coaches. Or maybe worse, Ricky Brodsky with Tri-City in the Dub, who single-handedly created a horrifically toxic environment for a dozen years and repeatedly publicly clashed with his own players and multiple coaches. I could name many more (Russ Parker, Bill Yuill, agent Gus Badali) who were absolutely unqualified to run hockey teams and damn well proved it.

When I look at various allegations coming out of Niagara, I immediately think of the players and how what should be an amazing junior hockey experience is being ruined by an incompetent, meddling owner who cannot even follow the rules of his own suspension. What kind of example does this set for the boys? I’ve always believed that the biggest competitive advantage a junior hockey team can have is ownership, and it sure seems that Darren DeDobbelaer is proving that the reverse is also true.

The other 19 owners should want him out of their league. He clearly does not understand what “community trust” means and he sullies the brand.

Damn shame. Niagara is such a wonderful part of the country, the fanbase is strong and the building is integral to a revitalized downtown St. Catharines. The IceDogs Circus needs to end.

 

[Kingpin794]

I also think the league wants to have Niagara be a viable host site for 2027 and that isn't happening as long as DeDobbelaer is the owner. Maybe trying to speed run his removal before the start of next year?

 

[DWI Dale]

a successful team on and off the ice in Niagara should be a home run for any owner.

why does the league seem intent on bringing in such unreliable partners?

 

[BadgerBruce]

a successful team on and off the ice in Niagara should be a home run for any owner.

why does the league seem intent on bringing in such unreliable partners?

I’m going to be very blunt here. The league board is made up of existing owners, and they are loathe to deny “one of their own” a financial windfall, largely because a high sale price increases the value of their franchises.

In terms of the Niagara IceDogs, it is relatively common knowledge that DeDobbelaer’s offer was significantly higher than the others. The other league owners were, to be polite, not at all opposed to the Burke family leaving the fold. Had the Board rejected DeDobbelaer as an owner, they would be telling the Burkes that they could not extract full market value from a sale, a stance that would negatively impact franchise values for 19 other franchises. They’d also be stuck with the Burkes as owners, which was not exactly a tenable option at that time, given the heavy sanctions already imposed.

If one wishes to purchase a CHL team, simply outbid everyone else (and say all the right things) and you’re in.

 

[dogs777]

I think this is the league making their case to force him out because he doesn't want to sell / is holding up a sale because of his outrageous evaluation of the team.
I have heard from a reliable source that the last asking price thrown around was over double what its actually worth which has scared all the potential buyers away.
I would not be surprised if following the investigation if the league takes over operations of the team.

The league has to AT A MINIMUM do what they did with flint and take over for X amount of time if they just do what they did the last time he got in trouble then they learned nothing and everything stays the same

 

[knowescape]

I’m going to be very blunt here. The league board is made up of existing owners, and they are loathe to deny “one of their own” a financial windfall, largely because a high sale price increases the value of their franchises.

In terms of the Niagara IceDogs, it is relatively common knowledge that DeDobbelaer’s offer was significantly higher than the others. The other league owners were, to be polite, not at all opposed to the Burke family leaving the fold. Had the Board rejected DeDobbelaer as an owner, they would be telling the Burkes that they could not extract full market value from a sale, a stance that would negatively impact franchise values for 19 other franchises. They’d also be stuck with the Burkes as owners, which was not exactly a tenable option at that time, given the heavy sanctions already imposed.

If one wishes to purchase a CHL team, simply outbid everyone else (and say all the right things) and you’re in.

I've been saying this from the start. As much as DD looked inept on paper, given his track-record in other leagues - he ponied up more coin than any other offer. So who owns that decision? I hear what you're saying, it's hard to deny Bill and Denise Burke their due (and personally, I sleep fine at night knowing they got it), but there's another aspect to consider. The league itself owes it to the other teams, the players and the fans, to properly vet any potential new owner.

What does this mean? Two options actually: 1) Prior to any bid being passed along to a current owner, the OHL vets their candidacy and approves a business plan, training, and operations model; 2) The league appoints a monitor for the first three years of operations.

The OHL has mud on their hands in this transaction because they essentially rubber-stamped the deal, then stood back and watched it burn. There is no plausible deniability here, they knew it was bad, they had evidence it was worse and they ignored it.

 

[OMG67]

I've been saying this from the start. As much as DD looked inept on paper, given his track-record in other leagues - he ponied up more coin than any other offer. So who owns that decision? I hear what you're saying, it's hard to deny Bill and Denise Burke their due (and personally, I sleep fine at night knowing they got it), but there's another aspect to consider. The league itself owes it to the other teams, the players and the fans, to properly vet any potential new owner.

What does this mean? Two options actually: 1) Prior to any bid being passed along to a current owner, the OHL vets their candidacy and approves a business plan, training, and operations model; 2) The league appoints a monitor for the first three years of operations.

The OHL has mud on their hands in this transaction because they essentially rubber-stamped the deal, then stood back and watched it burn. There is no plausible deniability here, they knew it was bad, they had evidence it was worse and they ignored it.

This is accurate. 100%, the League needs to approve an ownership group prior to any ownership group being able to convey bids. Had this step been processed, there would never have been a bid to begin with.

Part of any qualified owner is to ensure they have adequate access to resources, not only to purchase the team, but to adequately cover operational expenses in the first year or two. They also have to have a business plan that shows their demonstrated ability to operate the business or the ability to hire adequate people to operate the business. This is separate from the Hockey Operations. That is a completely different capability.

For Hockey Operations, they should have either someone within their ownership group that is initiate lay familiar with Professional Hockey and/or Major Junior Hockey. Alternatively, they need to agree to have the league as an advisor through the process. There will be potential owners that aren’t really familiar with junior hockey enough to understand the process of how to identify capable hockey operations management. Usually, a new ownership group would have someone already involved that provides the advice and consults on hockey operations recruiting but if they do not have that component as a part of their bid, then the League should stand in as that consulting authority.

This is no different than buying a McDonald’s franchise. They approve the owners based on multiple factors. You cannot just walk up to McDonalds, throw cash at them and buy a franchise. You first need to be approved. The OHL should be no different.

The challenge is this would need to be agreed upon with the Board of Governors. It is not like the commissioner, who works on behalf of the Board of Governors, can unilaterally change whatever current process they have for approving new owners. This would need to be agreed upon by the Board of Governors because if/when they want to sell their team, they have to follow that process. Effectively it would mean if they want to sell their team, they would petition the league to start a process of vetting potential owners. The league would put a call out to inform there is an available franchise, compile interested parties, have those parties submit their vetting package documents, and then review and pre-approve the potential owners. That pre-approved group of candidates then have the right to negotiate a price with the existing owners based. IF they cannot agree on a price, the owner simply cannot sell the team. They can’t then work outside the guidelines.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Question for @knowescape and @OMG67: when you write “the league” (as in “the league should …”), who, exactly, do you mean? The OHL under Branch did not have much of a league office staff, and I don’t know if it has grown at all since Crawford took over. They’d need to directly hire some folks for the job.

Having said this, I completely agree with your viewpoints. I remember when the league appointed George Burnett to run Flint, and perhaps the league should have a few guys like that at the ready, given that most years there is at least one (and often more) ownership changes.

 

[knowescape]

Coincidental that you chose the McDonald's franchise as your example. I had an earlier draft that included that company and the fact they have their own "university" to train affiliates. Grandfather the existing owners and push it forward on a go-forward basis that the OHL remains a party to any sale (which they are) but that a new owner agrees to certain provisions and a league appointed monitor for three years. The icedogs are are perfect example of why it's necessary.

 

[OMG67]

Question for @knowescape and @OMG67: when you write “the league” (as in “the league should …”), who, exactly, do you mean? The OHL under Branch did not have much of a league office staff, and I don’t know if it has grown at all since Crawford took over. They’d need to directly hire some folks for the job.

Having said this, I completely agree with your viewpoints. I remember when the league appointed George Burnett to run Flint, and perhaps the league should have a few guys like that at the ready, given that most years there is at least one (and often more) ownership changes.

The League itself doesn’t need staff for this. They can hire a firm to do anything they need done. they need bylaws to address ownership transfer and the process by which it happens. The pro sports have a model already in place that can be duplicated. The NHL has a very strict protocol in place for prospective buyers.

It cannot be highest bidder wins. I know teams are owned by investors but the teams operate as part of a League. The League is the institution that should govern sales of teams because they need to ensure the owners are capable and willing to abide by the bylaws in place. Owners cannot do whatever they want. They need to maintain certain standards and adhere to league policies. They cannot just assume a new owner will follow them and/or is capable of following them.

 

[knowescape]

Question for @knowescape and @OMG67: when you write “the league” (as in “the league should …”), who, exactly, do you mean? The OHL under Branch did not have much of a league office staff, and I don’t know if it has grown at all since Crawford took over. They’d need to directly hire some folks for the job.

That may have been true under Branch, but I've noticed lately there is a Director of This and Director of That on every OHL promo video, so I do believe they have expanded their staff. Whether they hire folks into the role or contract it out, the remedy is the same. Put it on the bill for the sale transaction and make it part of new ownership. It can only enhance the reputation of the conglomerate partners that form the Board of Governors. What better than to say "Yes, we have standards, checks and balances", rather than just locking the barn door after the cows get out.
It isn't sufficient to say to the players, families, local staff and fans - "there was a problem but don't worry, we've lined our pockets with a fine and left them in place."
The actions have to be proactive, meaningful and defensible or one day the consequences of a lawsuit will make those measures look like a bargain.