The Ontario Hockey League is considered Major Junior: the top level of the sport for players aged 16-21. Seven of the 31 first-round picks in this year’s NHL Draft came from the OHL. That includes center Quinton Byfield of Sudbury, who went second overall to Los Angeles.
It’s serious hockey — until now, anyway.
If the OHL begins its truncated season in February as planned, it will be without hitting. Body-checking will not be permitted. Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s minister of sport, is adamant contact is banned, the better to stop the spread of covid.
No hitting, no fighting, no post-whistle scrums, no fun of any kind.
The intent is noble. The reality is stupid.
This isn’t rec league. These young men are trying to build careers. How can they develop their talent properly, and how can that talent be accurately evaluated?
Can covid actually be transmitted by a body-check? Is hitting with purpose any riskier than players being in close proximity and making casual contact, which is bound to happen?
What about sitting jammed together on the same bench? Hockey isn’t given to social distancing.
How will the referees call the game? Will every small collision be whistled down? There’s more potential for farce than action.
The OHL’s version won’t be hockey. It would be better not to play.
Putting safety first is fine. But if that means changing the game’s premise, don’t play. It’s like the NFL playing flag football.
Much can happen between now and February. But if the OHL (or any other serious hockey league) isn’t going to permit hitting, it shouldn’t play until it can.
