OHL Expansion

[ScoutLife4]

It’s 100% necessary to limit travel due to costs and most importantly some of them are finishing high school.

 

[Otto]

IF Youngstown and Muskegon join the OHL... and it's still a big IF... Youngstown will go in the Midwest and Muskegon will go in the West. They won't look at any division realignment until the 23rd & 24th teams are added. No point in doubt anything right away until you know what the final expansion plans are.

 

[Otto]

 

[Kingpin794]

Nothing a big truck of money can't fix probably. Help ease the pain.

 

[Nanabijou]

*IF* OHL expanded to Youngstown and Muskegon - how many of their current ushl rosters would anyone predict would be on the team next year in the OHL?

 

[Kingpin794]

*IF* OHL expanded to Youngstown and Muskegon - how many of their current ushl rosters would anyone predict would be on the team next year in the OHL?

Of the guys on those teams that won't be OA's next year, are from OHL territory states, and aren't already some other teams' prospects, there are 5 OHL quality players between them that might be worth FA spots IMO. And there's no guarantee they'd stay with Muskegon or Youngstown. They might each keep one by chance but almost the entirety of their roster would be new players.

 

[Newbie Observer]

There has been rumblings about the City of Peterborough wanting to get out of owning a hockey team and find a private owner.
With that said it was mentioned they have a long list of conditions like building a new arena and keeping the team safe from relocation.
I doubt any owner is going to agree to fund a new arena at a couple hundred million + price tag and spend 15M on a hockey team though.

City of Peterborough doesnt own the team. Its a private organization that owns it, run by Board of Directors. Only city owned team is Kitchener,

 

[donjohnson]

I still don't get why the OHL would want to expand and apparently no one else does because it's been crickets on my questions.

The OHL is the #1 junior hockey system for 16-19yo in this region. The NCAA/CHL ruling means that the talent pool will rise making it an even better level of hockey. If those two things are true, why do you need to move into the Muskegon or Youngstown markets???

There's no TV/Media markets to grab on to like when the Big10 added Maryland and Rutgers and the combined average attendance between the two arenas is like 3000-4000 people.

It's fun to debate new towns and realignment but I just don't get why the OHL all of a sudden wants to add 2 teams when they haven't added any in 25 years.

 

[Nanabijou]

I still don't get why the OHL would want to expand and apparently no one else does because it's been crickets on my questions.

The OHL is the #1 junior hockey system for 16-19yo in this region. The NCAA/CHL ruling means that the talent pool will rise making it an even better level of hockey. If those two things are true, why do you need to move into the Muskegon or Youngstown markets???

There's no TV/Media markets to grab on to like when the Big10 added Maryland and Rutgers and the combined average attendance between the two arenas is like 3000-4000 people.

It's fun to debate new towns and realignment but I just don't get why the OHL all of a sudden wants to add 2 teams when they haven't added any in 25 years.

Feels like one reason is that they are the current hot ticket for NCAA scouts, and they want to use this opportunity to crush the BCHL and widen the gap between the CHL and USHL.

 

[Otto]

I still don't get why the OHL would want to expand and apparently no one else does because it's been crickets on my questions.

The OHL is the #1 junior hockey system for 16-19yo in this region. The NCAA/CHL ruling means that the talent pool will rise making it an even better level of hockey. If those two things are true, why do you need to move into the Muskegon or Youngstown markets???

There's no TV/Media markets to grab on to like when the Big10 added Maryland and Rutgers and the combined average attendance between the two arenas is like 3000-4000 people.

It's fun to debate new towns and realignment but I just don't get why the OHL all of a sudden wants to add 2 teams when they haven't added any in 25 years.

OHL Popularity has never been higher. League is setting attendance records and two teams have shown interest in joining the league. They'd be stupid to not explore the possibility of expansion now.

 

[OMG67]

I still don't get why the OHL would want to expand and apparently no one else does because it's been crickets on my questions.

The OHL is the #1 junior hockey system for 16-19yo in this region. The NCAA/CHL ruling means that the talent pool will rise making it an even better level of hockey. If those two things are true, why do you need to move into the Muskegon or Youngstown markets???

There's no TV/Media markets to grab on to like when the Big10 added Maryland and Rutgers and the combined average attendance between the two arenas is like 3000-4000 people.

It's fun to debate new towns and realignment but I just don't get why the OHL all of a sudden wants to add 2 teams when they haven't added any in 25 years.

It is “suitable arena” based. If the suitable arenas are outside Ontario and it is viable for these two communities to join the league then it makes sense.

If Burlington, Cornwall, Chatham, and Cambridge all built new rinks suitable for OHL hockey opening in September 2025, you best bet there would be expansion. The only thing holding back expansion is suitable infrastructure in small to medium sized communities.

I think when the Senators move downtown from Kanata, I think the OHL could expand with a 2nd team in Ottawa out of Kanata if they were to demolish the existing rink and build a new 5000 seat arena. But, there wouldn’t be an appetite to build that rink. So, no new team in Ottawa. Same in the Durham Region. Oshawa holds a grip on that region but it is really just OShawa and Whitby. Ajax or Pickering could support a team as well but, again, no suitable rink.

I think under its current exposure, the OHL could support 24 teams. If the new NCAA deal does create a significant influx of players, that number could expand to 28 or even 30.

 

[ScoutLife4]

This is what hockey in Belleville looks like right now.