Paid for OHL draft

[Kingpin794]

I wouldn't be surprised if in any given year the vast majority of the teams have more walk ons on the regular roster then 15th round selections.

Yeah by my count they’re were 6 players that were 15th round picks (2018-22 drafts) that played in the OHL this season. You’re looking at 1 or 2 players every draft. Which is actually more than I was expecting. With the advent of the U18 draft, I’m not sure true FA’s outnumber them by a wide margin, but I’ll check.

Edit: looks like 15(?) FA’s so a decent bit more.

 

[ohloutsider]

I wouldn't be surprised if in any given year the vast majority of the teams have more walk ons on the regular roster then 15th round selections.

Oliver Peer is a good example of that.

 

[hockeylegend11]

Oliver Peer is a good example of that.

Yes a very good example and Spits Center Noah Morneau is one of the 6
15th round players who Kingpin referenced playing in the O this season as he was drafted in 2020 by Windsor.

 

[OMG67]

There are plenty of teams that are consistently "really, really bad".

Yeah but they are rolling in the dough!

 

[HockeyPops]

 

[OMG67]

Felicity Approved!

 

[bobber]

There are actually many people in Canada with massive disposable incomes. I am sure someone gets their palm greased once in a while to push little Johnny over the finish line in some sports. GTHL is elite exciting hockey. Only the best that can afford it need apply. The average family can't hardly afford the price of hockey equipment and the fees they charge for house league hockey today.

 

[rve24]

There are actually many people in Canada with massive disposable incomes. I am sure someone gets their palm greased once in a while to push little Johnny over the finish line in some sports. GTHL is elite exciting hockey. Only the best that can afford it need apply. The average family can't hardly afford the price of hockey equipment and the fees they charge for house league hockey today.

True, but also sad. Sad how many very good athletes will never get a legit shot at excelling in "Canadas" game. The landscape has been changing and IMO not for the better long term.

Can't get behind some of the logic dismissing direct cash payments (if it occured) as ok or no big deal. Sad.

 

[bobber]

True, but also sad. Sad how many very good athletes will never get a legit shot at excelling in " Canadas" game. The landscape is changing and IMO not fir the better long term.

Can't get behind some of the logic dismissing direct cash payments (if it occured) as ok or no big deal. Sad.

Our sons played hockey for a few years and then the grandkids years later. I was shocked at the fee for a child to play house league in Kitchener when the grandkids played. Our granddaughter went with a travel team once in a while and the cost doubled to play at that level. When you look at the cost of extra curricular activities involved like power skating and ice time rentals etc. at the double and triple A level its massive. It is what it is now if you enjoy watching this level of hockey. It's not going to change anytime soon. The next Gretzky if there is one won't becoming from a blue colour family for sure.

 

[rve24]

Our sons played hockey for a few years and then the grandkids years later. I was shocked at the fee for a child to play house league in Kitchener when the grandkids played. Our granddaughter went with a travel team once in a while and the cost doubled to play at that level. When you look at the cost of extra curricular activities involved like power skating and ice time rentals etc. at the double and triple A level its massive. It is what it is now if you enjoy watching this level of hockey. It's not going to change anytime soon. The next Gretzky if there is one won't becoming from a blue colour family for sure.

Ya talking with parents n past teams i helped with it's crazy. And your right. Adding up the extras (camps, travel, skill development, trainers.......) all good that parents wanna support the kids (or theirs lol) dream but paying directly to get a kid drafted or on a team is too kuch for me. Great message n life lesson to the kid when they find out.

 

[Fergus31]

Another benefit is you can add the “drafted by an OHL team” to your LinkedIn profile so people will notice how important you are when making virtue-signalling posts on LinkedIn!

 

[EvenSteven]

Another benefit is you can add the “drafted by an OHL team” to your LinkedIn profile so people will notice how important you are when making virtue-signalling posts on LinkedIn!

Very good discussion on this topic at the beginning of this podcast.

 

[4 Bobby ORR]

Yep - father was going to buy the Spitfires, before the sale went through, the Spits drafted his 2 sons.
Sale of the team fell through after that...

And that is when I gave up my season tickets.

 

[ecraigs]

Yeah but they are rolling in the dough!

I can think of a local example, where a dad with mucho deep pockets funded ice for an entire AAA organization each year, then bought an ownership share in an OHL team, a Jr. B franchise, and a minor league team, so his kid could play at the highest level. Money was no object. Hard to say no to that.

 

[OHL4Life]

i believe it happened a few times this year

 

[DWI Dale]

anybody surprised that money buys access to hockey hasn't been near the game much.

hockey is the most cost-prohibitive, classist youth sport there is. if a kid doesn't have affluent parents they have almost no chance of accessing the extra ice/training (hockey schools, camps, clinics etc) required to hone their skills to such a high level. and even if they have next level natural abilities they may never be able to afford the 10,000-20,000 dollars a year required to be on a competitive team.

 

[ohloutsider]

anybody surprised that money buys access to hockey hasn't been near the game much.

hockey is the most cost-prohibitive, classist youth sport there is. if a kid doesn't have affluent parents they have almost no chance of accessing the extra ice/training (hockey schools, camps, clinics etc) required to hone their skills to such a high level. and even if they have next level natural abilities they may never be able to afford the 10,000-20,000 dollars a year required to be on a competitive team.

Sorry - yes hockey is very expensive but is not the most expensive sport that kids can play . I remember a list that was put out a few years back and hockey was around 7th. Once you start paying for private coaching costs really escalates. Anyway carry on.

 

[OMG67]

Sorry - yes hockey is very expensive but is not the most expensive sport that kids can play . I remember a list that was put out a few years back and hockey was around 7th. Once you start paying for private coaching costs really escalates. Anyway carry on.

It would be interesting to see how they calculate it. Tennis or golf, for example, can be relatively inexpensive but it is unlimited based on how much $$$ can be spent on individual private coaching and development. Conversely, the same can be said for hockey. A player can gain significant coaching from a team perspective through team funded coaching and extra activities. But, there is nothing stopping a player/parent from coughing up $100k per year in additional on/off ice coaching in a wide variety of disciplines whether it be physical, mental or skill development. In many ways, every sport has that private coaching.

 

[ohloutsider]

It would be interesting to see how they calculate it. Tennis or golf, for example, can be relatively inexpensive but it is unlimited based on how much $$$ can be spent on individual private coaching and development. Conversely, the same can be said for hockey. A player can gain significant coaching from a team perspective through team funded coaching and extra activities. But, there is nothing stopping a player/parent from coughing up $100k per year in additional on/off ice coaching in a wide variety of disciplines whether it be physical, mental or skill development. In many ways, every sport has that private coaching.

I can't remember all of the list but it was based on " competive " level in each sport. Golf, tennis, equestrian and figure skating were all higher but that is all off the top of my head and I can't remember the order.

 

[OMG67]

I can't remember all of the list but it was based on " competive " level in each sport. Golf, tennis, equestrian and figure skating were all higher but that is all off the top of my head and I can't remember the order.

No, what I meant was how the $$$ was spent. And what the metrics were for measuring success. Is hockey measured at simply turning pro or NHL? Is Figure Skating measured at making the Olympics? That sort of thing.

 

[ohloutsider]

No, what I meant was how the $$$ was spent. And what the metrics were for measuring success. Is hockey measured at simply turning pro or NHL? Is Figure Skating measured at making the Olympics? That sort of thing.

Ya not sure but I don't believe it was based on making it to the pros or Olympics but it would be a group that was likely trying to get to that level. Same as hockey when players have pro goals in mind.

 

[DWI Dale]

i'd love to see those numbers because I don't think i spent 15,000 on golf my entire childhood - although I definitely lost a lot of balls so maybe lol

the study i'm reading ranks average cost as follows:

1) Water Skiing
2) Hockey
3) Equestrian

 

[ohloutsider]

i'd love to see those numbers because I don't think i spent 15,000 on golf my entire childhood - although I definitely lost a lot of balls so maybe lol

It's all about the private lessons. My daughters figure skating coach cost $40 an hour. She was on the ice 10 times a week with her coach. Use to have to pay the coaches hotel and travel costs for every competition. it cost around $1000 for every weekend competition. She did 15 in one year. The last year she skated it was approximately $32,000 for that year . This was nearly 15 years ago. She never made it past south western Ontario regionals. Tennis and golf is more, usually requires heading to private schools to get the top coaching. Anyway I'm sure the list has changed but I'm pretty sure hockey is not the most expensive sport but it is out of reach for most as it is not cheap.

 

[Tarantula]

i believe it happened a few times this year

I would hazard a guess that this year is not the only time this has happened if that was the case. I wonder how often this does happen and what happens to the dough? Money set aside for incidental expenses when encouraging a player to "report"?

Half assed kidding, but minor hockey does have a disturbing side to it at times, pretty much like everything else it seems like.

 

[OMG67]

It's all about the private lessons. My daughters figure skating coach cost $40 an hour. She was on the ice 10 times a week with her coach. Use to have to pay the coaches hotel and travel costs for every competition. it cost around $1000 for every weekend competition. She did 15 in one year. The last year she skated it was approximately $32,000 for that year . This was nearly 15 years ago. She never made it past south western Ontario regionals. Tennis and golf is more, usually requires heading to private schools to get the top coaching. Anyway I'm sure the list has changed but I'm pretty sure hockey is not the most expensive sport but it is out of reach for most as it is not cheap.

The advantage for hockey is the high profile hockey athletes typically only need to pay for their hockey development until they are around 16. After that, the programs they are participating in will cover all/most expenses Including high profile coaching and off ice development. So, if you look at it as total cost to reach “level X,” then it probably isn’t as costly for hockey overall.

When do the high performance kids parents start dumping trucks of cash into hockey? I think that is around PeeWee (11-12)? How many programs at Atom that the higher profile kids parents are spending $20k per year at age 9-10? To me, it is around age 11 that the separation happens and the higher profile traveling teams start to collect $15k+ to cover the budget.

So, hockey parents are paying the big bucks for the AAA level kids for around 5 years. If they were Golfers, Tennis players, Equestrian athletes etc, the time periods where the money for development is spent is much longer, probably in the 8-10 year range.

That said, I am sure there are parents out there dumping loads of cash into their kids development at earlier ages than 11 but it really isn’t necessary to do so. That is completely optional. Most boys don’t really start to turn the corner and physically mature until around grade 5/6 and most later than that. I know some kids are great on the ice at a much earlier age but developing talent at age 7 with private coaching is usually money down the drain. They can let the kids be kids and start to get serious when the sport itself starts to get serious and that is at 11 or so.