OHLTG
Registered User
The OHL needs to make a formal decision, either way. The longer they wait and/or go silent, the worse it looks.
The OHL needs to make a formal decision, either way. The longer they wait and/or go silent, the worse it looks.
The OHL needs to make a formal decision, either way. The longer they wait and/or go silent, the worse it looks.
So that leaves us with a bubble tournament in Erie!?!
I guess the RTP plan for 21-22 is underway.
I was wondering if some sort of age restriction changes would be warranted under the circumstances?
For the 2021-2022 season, shift the ages from 16-20 to 17-21. Make Overage 21. This would effectively push the 20-21 season to 21-22.
How to do it?:
1> Cancel the OHL Priority draft this season. Shift this season’s draft to next year and use the Under-18 draft as a means to draft what would have been this year’s eligibles.
2> Expand the under-18 draft to 10 rounds
3> Contract the 2022 OHL Priority draft to 10 rounds.
4> Move all picks between round 11 and 15 forward two seasons to ensure the integrity of existing picks in rounds 11 through 15 are respected. Teams that have extra picks keep their extra picks but since the 2021 and 2022 seasons don’t have those rounds, the picks move forward.
5> Utilize the Midget leagues as a means to develop the current 16 year old crop of players. Try to restrict the number of underage Junior aged players and allow the 21 year olds to also play Tier II jr A and Jr B.
I’d recommend doing something similar for the NHL as well. Obviously much more difficult than planned because of the CBA so probably not possible but it would be the “fair” thing to do.
Positives:
1> It would allow OHL teams to properly evaluate prospective players
2> Eliminates the double cohort of rookies this season
3> Also allows other tier II programs to offer options for fairness
4> Gives the current crop of 19 and 20 year olds an opportunity they missed out on this season.
Negatives:
1> Sets up a double cohort of rookies next season. Twenty rounds of two age groups as opposed to 15 rounds of one age group.
2> Potentially waters down the product for the 21-22 season. Teams will still see graduation to NHL/AHL while not having the 16 year olds coming in.
3> Would require buy in from all levels in Ontario as well as the CHL. The other member leagues of the CHL would need to do same otherwise the 21 year olds would not be eligible to play in the Memorial Cup.
Just spit-ballin’ here. The QMJHL did manage to get something going but is unlikely to play a playoff. WHL will fall short as well. Delaying everything one year and moving the ages seems fair for this cohort but it may hurt the future cohort to an extent. Just not sure how much or whether the future cohorts would be hurt more than it helps this cohort.
Of course, we could also have maybe a 3 round draft for 16 year olds and expand the under-18 draft. Maybe let two 16 year olds play per team? This may help soften some of the double cohort’ing that is inevitable regardless of what they do.
Thoughts?
Agreed because theO might be scared to lose elite 16 y.o. to the USHL and later NCAA. A lot of good ideas in OMG 's post though. I would still do a two round draft to secure the elite and differ the rest to under 18 next year in a ten round format as he suggested.I think from a league perspective they would rather secure the 16 year olds than give the 21 year olds one last shot at glory
One person to blame. The one who consistently ignored science
I think from a league perspective they would rather secure the 16 year olds than give the 21 year olds one last shot at glory
That’s a good point.
That said, with the double cohort, it may be tough as is. Maybe 3 rounds is a reasonable compromise but it seems like a waste to do a full 15 rounds. Talk about shots in the dark...
Most teams only sign 4 or 5 players before the season anyway. The rest are future prospects. Doesn’t make much sense going more than 5 rounds max for this draft. Let the rest play Midget and impress for the under-18 draft the following year.
I guess the RTP plan for 21-22 is underway.
I was wondering if some sort of age restriction changes would be warranted under the circumstances?
For the 2021-2022 season, shift the ages from 16-20 to 17-21. Make Overage 21. This would effectively push the 20-21 season to 21-22.
How to do it?:
1> Cancel the OHL Priority draft this season. Shift this season’s draft to next year and use the Under-18 draft as a means to draft what would have been this year’s eligibles.
2> Expand the under-18 draft to 10 rounds
3> Contract the 2022 OHL Priority draft to 10 rounds.
4> Move all picks between round 11 and 15 forward two seasons to ensure the integrity of existing picks in rounds 11 through 15 are respected. Teams that have extra picks keep their extra picks but since the 2021 and 2022 seasons don’t have those rounds, the picks move forward.
5> Utilize the Midget leagues as a means to develop the current 16 year old crop of players. Try to restrict the number of underage Junior aged players and allow the 21 year olds to also play Tier II jr A and Jr B.
I’d recommend doing something similar for the NHL as well. Obviously much more difficult than planned because of the CBA so probably not possible but it would be the “fair” thing to do.
Positives:
1> It would allow OHL teams to properly evaluate prospective players
2> Eliminates the double cohort of rookies this season
3> Also allows other tier II programs to offer options for fairness
4> Gives the current crop of 19 and 20 year olds an opportunity they missed out on this season.
Negatives:
1> Sets up a double cohort of rookies next season. Twenty rounds of two age groups as opposed to 15 rounds of one age group.
2> Potentially waters down the product for the 21-22 season. Teams will still see graduation to NHL/AHL while not having the 16 year olds coming in.
3> Would require buy in from all levels in Ontario as well as the CHL. The other member leagues of the CHL would need to do same otherwise the 21 year olds would not be eligible to play in the Memorial Cup.
Just spit-ballin’ here. The QMJHL did manage to get something going but is unlikely to play a playoff. WHL will fall short as well. Delaying everything one year and moving the ages seems fair for this cohort but it may hurt the future cohort to an extent. Just not sure how much or whether the future cohorts would be hurt more than it helps this cohort.
Of course, we could also have maybe a 3 round draft for 16 year olds and expand the under-18 draft. Maybe let two 16 year olds play per team? This may help soften some of the double cohort’ing that is inevitable regardless of what they do.
Thoughts?
I'll go on record saying 21 year olds playing against players as young as 15 years old at the beginning of the season is not a good idea. This is a developmental league and the players that are in the league as true rookies (15 and 16 years old) are the ones with the highest ceiling.Per Twitter - David Branch said the league is considering allowing 2000s to play one more season. It's a big topic of discussion among GMs.
So that leaves us with a bubble tournament in Erie!?!
Per Twitter - David Branch said the league is considering allowing 2000s to play one more season. It's a big topic of discussion among GMs.
I'll go on record saying 21 year olds playing against players as young as 15 years old at the beginning of the season is not a good idea. This is a developmental league and the players that are in the league as true rookies (15 and 16 years old) are the ones with the highest ceiling.