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OHL Expansion

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As of right now I believe expansion is still something that will be a bit more of a distant future situation for the OHL if at all for the moment.

Adding in the fact that the new CHL/NCAA agreement is still very much a work in progress situation since its announcement, the idea that expansion is on the mind of the league is something that might be a long time coming if at all for right now. There are still a lot of cogs in the OHL working on different aspects of the league as a whole.

That is not to say that this resurrected idea isn't at all out of play but more when/if at all possible destination(s) are sorted out.

There's been definitely some locations that have tire kicked around in discussions of fans and media alike but nothing concrete as of yet to say if or when this may take place. In reading different articles and media we call all sort of agree that there is a rumored short list that could be in play for when and if this happen.

Chatham, Cornwall, Muskegon, Niagara Falls, and Youngstown have been locations that have come up in discussion circles amongst fans across the league in the past season and a half about the possibility of being expansion locations in the eyes of the OHL at some point or another.

At the moment there's nothing that would indicate one way or another that these places are or aren't in talks with the OHL about the possibility of being one if not a few places to join the OHL in the near future but until we see concrete evidence that this is going to happen these places are nothing more then rumors floating around. That's not say one day one if not more of these places are potential candidates for relocation or expansion.
 
What? There are confirmed conversations and statements from each party being quoted in the media between the OHL and these locations. There are lawsuits launched. This is far more than just rumours and speculation. The OHL has been very clear that they are pursuing aggressive expansion. I would not be surprised to see some agreements in place prior to next season. That does not mean there will definitely be new teams in the league next season; they might be years away from playing as they get all their pieces in place.

But we are not just spitballing about some theoretical future here. It seems they are busy hammering out agreements and details as we speak.
 
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I've asked this question on the Kitchener site already and got a couple of opinions, so I'll ask it here as well.

Suppose both Youngstown and Muskegon are eventually granted admission to the league. What would happen with the status of OHL-drafted players currently playing on these two rosters?

As an example, Jack Hextall (a highly skilled player) currently plays for Youngstown. Would he continue to be their property or that of the Kitchener Rangers - the OHL team that drafted him in this past draft? Would it be his choice, or the league's.......or do we even know at this point? Perhaps a subject of discussion if / when these teams enter the league (?)

Just throwing it out there in case anyone has an opinion one way or the other.
 
Gondrex said:
I've asked this question on the Kitchener site already and got a couple of opinions, so I'll ask it here as well.

Suppose both Youngstown and Muskegon are eventually granted admission to the league. What would happen with the status of OHL-drafted players currently playing on these two rosters?

As an example, Jack Hextall (a highly skilled player) currently plays for Youngstown. Would he continue to be their property or that of the Kitchener Rangers - the OHL team that drafted him in this past draft? Would it be his choice, or the league's.......or do we even know at this point? Perhaps a subject of discussion if / when these teams enter the league (?)

Just throwing it out there in case anyone has an opinion one way or the other.
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Would assume he would be property of the OHL club who drafted him in the first place. I can't see the OHL saying that "okay you have a player playing for you that belongs to someone else in the same league who isn't traded there and now he gets to play for your team just because he's on your roster but someone else's property "

If this so called expansion happens the OHL would have to do similar to what the NHL did with expansion teams. Hold a expansion draft after the league drafts.

Which would make the most sense so every team would submit their draft list of expansion players say for the 17, 18, 19 and OA(20) players. Each team would submit their players list that would be what I would assume to be interchangeable players in the league for a team to pick from for the expansion team to select from to build their roster. Unless the current OHL member club releases his rights I would think that the players playing right would be held by the draft team.

If they were to trade for that players playing rights then I would think it would be fair game but I can't see another OHL organization doing a favor to an expansion team just because a player that is coming in from a different wasn't to continue to play in that city when some else holds that players rights.
 
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AttackSound said:
Would assume he would be property of the OHL club who drafted him in the first place. I can't see the OHL saying that "okay you have a player playing for you that belongs to someone else in the same league who isn't traded there and now he gets to play for your team just because he's on your roster but someone else's property "

If this so called expansion happens the OHL would have to do similar to what the NHL did with expansion teams. Hold a expansion draft after the league drafts.

Which would make the most sense so every team would submit their draft list of expansion players say for the 17, 18, 19 and OA(20) players. Each team would submit their players list that would be what I would assume to be interchangeable players in the league for a team to pick from for the expansion team to select from to build their roster. Unless the current OHL member club releases his rights I would think that the players playing right would be held by the draft team.

If they were to trade for that players playing rights then I would think it would be fair game but I can't see another OHL organization doing a favor to an expansion team just because a player that is coming in from a different wasn't to continue to play in that city when some else holds that players rights.
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If a player is playing in Muskegon or Youngstown and is property of an existing OHL team, He would be property of the OHL team. That said, unless he is a budding superstar, a deal would probably be worked out to keep him on his current team. The expansion team would send future draft picks for the player or they would trade a player they picked up in the expansion draft for that player. Many possible scenarios since we all know that "wink-wink" happen.
 
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AttackSound said:
As of right now I believe expansion is still something that will be a bit more of a distant future situation for the OHL if at all for the moment.

Adding in the fact that the new CHL/NCAA agreement is still very much a work in progress situation since its announcement, the idea that expansion is on the mind of the league is something that might be a long time coming if at all for right now. There are still a lot of cogs in the OHL working on different aspects of the league as a whole.

That is not to say that this resurrected idea isn't at all out of play but more when/if at all possible destination(s) are sorted out.

There's been definitely some locations that have tire kicked around in discussions of fans and media alike but nothing concrete as of yet to say if or when this may take place. In reading different articles and media we call all sort of agree that there is a rumored short list that could be in play for when and if this happen.

Chatham, Cornwall, Muskegon, Niagara Falls, and Youngstown have been locations that have come up in discussion circles amongst fans across the league in the past season and a half about the possibility of being expansion locations in the eyes of the OHL at some point or another.

At the moment there's nothing that would indicate one way or another that these places are or aren't in talks with the OHL about the possibility of being one if not a few places to join the OHL in the near future but until we see concrete evidence that this is going to happen these places are nothing more then rumors floating around. That's not say one day one if not more of these places are potential candidates for relocation or expansion.
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I personally would love to have Chatham get a team. However, I am not sure it is viable. The current rink is not OHL caliber. Chatham has said that they want an OHL team but will not build a rink until they are guaranteed a team. The league has said that they want a rink before they add a team there. I also don't know if there is a potential owner for a team in Chatham.

The other problem is a limited drawing area. They are about 1 hour from Sarnia, London and Windsor. So assuming that most fans will support the team nearest to them, that gives Chatham about a 50 KM radius to draw from. That circle would also Lakes Erie and St. Clair. That area is fairly rural, other than the city that used to be just Chatham. I have no idea of the population of "Old Chatham", but Chatham-Kent's population is 100,000. That population is bigger than some OHL cities, but other that is spread over all of what used to be Kent County.

As I stated above, I would love Chatham to have a team and be profitable. I just question if it is viable.
 
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Gondrex said:
I've asked this question on the Kitchener site already and got a couple of opinions, so I'll ask it here as well.

Suppose both Youngstown and Muskegon are eventually granted admission to the league. What would happen with the status of OHL-drafted players currently playing on these two rosters?

As an example, Jack Hextall (a highly skilled player) currently plays for Youngstown. Would he continue to be their property or that of the Kitchener Rangers - the OHL team that drafted him in this past draft? Would it be his choice, or the league's.......or do we even know at this point? Perhaps a subject of discussion if / when these teams enter the league (?)

Just throwing it out there in case anyone has an opinion one way or the other.
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theres no way they would let a player with chl rights stay on the ushl team without a trade happening.

AttackSound said:
As of right now I believe expansion is still something that will be a bit more of a distant future situation for the OHL if at all for the moment.

Adding in the fact that the new CHL/NCAA agreement is still very much a work in progress situation since its announcement, the idea that expansion is on the mind of the league is something that might be a long time coming if at all for right now. There are still a lot of cogs in the OHL working on different aspects of the league as a whole.

That is not to say that this resurrected idea isn't at all out of play but more when/if at all possible destination(s) are sorted out.

There's been definitely some locations that have tire kicked around in discussions of fans and media alike but nothing concrete as of yet to say if or when this may take place. In reading different articles and media we call all sort of agree that there is a rumored short list that could be in play for when and if this happen.

Chatham, Cornwall, Muskegon, Niagara Falls, and Youngstown have been locations that have come up in discussion circles amongst fans across the league in the past season and a half about the possibility of being expansion locations in the eyes of the OHL at some point or another.

At the moment there's nothing that would indicate one way or another that these places are or aren't in talks with the OHL about the possibility of being one if not a few places to join the OHL in the near future but until we see concrete evidence that this is going to happen these places are nothing more then rumors floating around. That's not say one day one if not more of these places are potential candidates for relocation or expansion.
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what are you talking about? first, you dont need 1000 words to say its just rumours, half of your post is just words for the sake or words. second, your wrong that its jsut rumours, as hockey pops said, theres reports from legit hockey people that this is real (elliott freedamn).
 
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bigsportsfan said:
Would this not infringe on the territorial rights of the IceDogs. I could definitely see some IceDogs fans going to games in Niagara Falls NY instead of IceDogs games.
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If the Ice Dogs were smart they would welcome a rival in very close proximity.

I'll defer to Ice Dogs fans, but I also think a regular border crossing + the value of the Canadian dollar would be a deterrent to attending games in NY regularly.
 
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Otto said:
If the Ice Dogs were smart they would welcome a rival in very close proximity.

I'll defer to Ice Dogs fans, but I also think a regular border crossing + the value of the Canadian dollar would be a deterrent to attending games in NY regularly.
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Although not Chl but there is a very large group of Windsor fans that have season tickets to the major sports teams in Detroit. Lions reported that 17% of their season tickets are Windsor fans. I have friends that have season tickets to the Redwings and the Tigers. Not sure of any that have them for the Pistons but that is understandable. Be safe.
 
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ohloutsider said:
Although not Chl but there is a very large group of Windsor fans that have season tickets to the major sports teams in Detroit. Lions reported that 17% of their season tickets are Windsor fans. I have friends that have season tickets to the Redwings and the Tigers. Not sure of any that have them for the Pistons but that is understandable. Be safe.
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Ya... there's a huge difference between junior hockey and major sports. Especially when junior hockey is available on your side of the border
 
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Otto said:
Ya... there's a huge difference between junior hockey and major sports. Especially when junior hockey is available on your side of the border
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True enough but as a junior hockey fan I use to head to Plymouth a couple times a year to watch Plymouth play other teams, mostly Knights and Kitchener. But as you say it would not be a " big" draw like the pros.
 
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