Yesterday’s World Junior news could be the equivalent of rock bottom for hockey in Eastern Canada, but it’s definitely a wake up call. The don’t worry it’s “just an off year,” mantra doesn’t hold water either, it’s far too late for that too.
You see it’s that mentality that has gotten everyone to this point while the rest of Canada is passing us by at warp speed. Hockey’s governing bodies in Quebec and Atlantic Canada have been the guardians of the game and they have done an amazing job over the years. They are quick to celebrate their accomplishments, but very timid and reluctant to discuss their shortcomings. It’s far too late to try to get out ahead of things right now. One has to admit the depth of elite level talent in the region of the country isn’t good enough to compete right now on the international stage.
You can argue that injuries to key players have undoubtedly caused this reduction of players at the World Junior stage which is an incredibly valid excuse and explanation, but it still doesn’t explain the lack of depth of that type of talent or skill set.
Hockey Quebec and all of the governing organizations here in Atlantic Canada have tremendously passionate and dedicated people who would do just about anything to make the game better.
Life isn’t easy for those governing bodies and a matter of fact they deserve a ton of credit for the impact that they have had, but clearly this region of Canada needs to make some changes and perhaps the announcement yesterday will be the push to do it.
How do you catch up? How do we level the playing field? The “off year” explanation might have worked in the past, but shit just got real. Admitting there’s an issue will no doubt be the toughest thing for governing bodies to do. Organizations on a whole hate change, a matter of fact no one likes it, but something has to give.
The “off year” argument is what it is. Over the course of hockey history every league in the CHL have had them, questions were asked and potentially answered, but this is different because the writing has been on the wall and things have been trending this way for awhile now.
You can try to sugarcoat it and make a shit ton of excuses, but when it comes right down to it, the provinces aren’t producing the amount of players and the old arguments and rationale that people have tried to use to justify things in the past aren’t going to cut it anymore.
This isn’t an attack or a massive criticism of the people on the frontlines or behind the scenes of the game this should be as raw as a wake up call as people need to realize the status quo isn’t good enough right now and that changes need to be made.
Now this is the game of hockey and we all know the traditional aspects or mindsets that entails so will change happen, that’s highly unlikely so the status quo yet again prevails.
What if the Bill Zonnon’s or the Spencer Gill’s of the world weren’t hurt right now and let’s say they were invited would people be up in arms that the QMJHL only have three representatives? Probably not.
What if the Q had sent three players, could we justify that, could we all get behind that notion, “oh well, it’s just an off year right.”
Hopefully people or the right people can see the forest for the trees. Hell, you catch a shit ton of criticism whenever you ask questions surrounding the game, so you know what, the people that have valid questions about certain aspects of the game keep those questions to themselves and quietly sit back to watch things play out.
The people that write about those questions more than often get ridiculed or labeled as “shit disturbers” or “hockey radicals” for their views on the game and development.
You see in this neck of the woods, discussions surrounding the game and trying to advance it appear to hit the proverbial brick wall of tradition or “that’s how we have done it in the past” mentality.
How many times over the last let’s say five years have the governing bodies in this region gathered in the same room in person to discuss development, refinement or alignment? I don’t know the answer to that one, but I have a pretty good idea.
You see it’s the competitive spirit within the governing bodies that are ultimately holding the entire process back.
The “we can do it better, we will show you” mentality isn’t working and a matter of fact it may have never worked or served its purpose.
I don’t have all the answers, I have asked a lot of questions over the years and have made some suggestions privately and publicly, but we aren’t at the crossroads anymore we are well past that and yesterday’s announcement should be a wake up call, or a massive kick in the arse but I’m afraid it won’t illicit the kind of response that’s warranted, and you know something that’s about as status quo as it gets.
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