Q & A with NOJHL commish
Questions and answers with HockeyNewsNorth.com and Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League commissioner Robert Mazzuca.
RUSSON: As the NOJHL gets set for the 2016-2017 campaign, this will mark your sixth season as commissioner. Many changes have occurred since you have been at the helm but at the top of the list I would say the attention to player safety and well-being has really stood out. Your thoughts?
MAZZUCA: It really was/is a conscious effort by the Board of Directors to implement the player safety initiatives we currently have — Concussion Management Programming, Canadian Mental Health Programming, Safe Talk, Anti-Doping Education, Junior A Supplement and Officials Development/ Supervision Program. The Board of Directors of the day need to be commended for their leadership on having these programs and continuing with these programs today. I would like to add with respect to player safety is the CJHL supplement, which was created to protect junior-aged hockey players. The supplement brings accountability to coaches and players. Finally, equally as important I believe, is the commitment by the Board of Directors to allocate resources to for the development and supervision of officials. Officiating and player safety I believe go hand in hand and we need to develop and ensure the best officials are on the ice. The NOJHL is responsible for the development and supervision of officials for the NOJHL and we are very fortunate to have the guidance and direction of this program by Dan McCourt, National Hockey League officiating manager. When you package everything all together, player safety is first and foremost. A commitment has been made by the owners to ensure a better development opportunity for the players to develop their skills without the fear of needless injury through needless acts.
RUSSON: This marks the second straight year that the NOJHL has remained at a high of 12 teams. Is it safe to say that the NOJHL is in decent shape throughout?
MAZZUCA: We had a very successful first year with 12 teams. From the hockey operations side of things, from September to the end of the regular season, on average three to four teams rated in the top 20 out of 133 teams that comprise the Canadian Jr. Hockey League. With three teams being expansion teams last year although the operators were definitely seasoned vets, they vastly improved over the course of the year, which tells me going into this upcoming season, expect big things. We had record number of developing players move on to the next level, coaches and officials moved to the next level, so all around, from the hockey ops side of things, it was a successful year.As you are aware, Randy and you have written about several times, Jr. A hockey is a business. We are looking at how we operate as a league, whether that is reducing costs, re-formatting our schedule, increasing corporate sponsorship, everything is on the table and open for discussion. We as a league need to evolve as the game does and challenge ourselves on how to make our product better on the ice, which we have, and attract more people to come to our games. I am a big proponent of research and duplicate and you’re going to hear it here first. I am sure my phone will be ringing off the wall but here it goes — I believe as a league we need to investigate the operational and business side of each team. Each team is required to report financially and the league gets that information and grades each team according to an average. This has worked successfully in the British Columbia Hockey League and if it worked and helped that league become better in this respect, maybe it is something the NOJHL should investigate next? Just asking.
RUSSON: Looking ahead, are there plans for future expansion or is 12 teams a good number for the NOJHL?
MAZZUCA: The league recently developed a strategic plan over the course of the spring/summer and it is a working document that will continue to evolve over time, which I believe lays the direction for the league going forward. We have 12 member clubs, committed to being the best they can be, delivering best hockey programming possible and every year it gets better. Is 12 the right number? Right now it is, and we should never say never, because you never know, if, when, an opportunity comes knocking, you have the right ownership group, at the right location, that fits and meets all the criteria, and they want to be a member of the NOJHL. Again, if it makes economic sense for all the league members, you have to seriously consider it. You will recall Randy, it was not so long ago that some of your followers were writing the obituary for the NOJHL. It has a storied history, it has had its ups and downs, we are not perfect, nor do we profess to be, but it will be around to provide the opportunity for players to come and play junior A in northern Ontario.
RUSSON: It seems to me that the reputation of the NOJHL is improving with regards to overall caliber of play with so many players from outside northern Ontario making it their league of choice. Your thoughts?
MAZZUCA: The caliber of play has certainly improved over the past few years. One reason I believe is more players from outside northern Ontario are coming to the NOJHL as I said before, the NOJHL has created a climate and conditions under which our players can perform and develop both on and off the ice and get to the next level. Another reason and equally important is the quality of the programs being offered, quality of the coaching and the real experience of playing in northern Ontario and if you believe there is not a difference, you’re only fooling yourself. You can say what want but you get it all here in the NOJHL — quality ownership, quality program, quality coaching, and the real junior hockey experience.
RUSSON: Anything else you would like to add?
MAZZUCA: I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak about the NOJHL.
Sturgeon Falls seems like a potential location. The Metro entry there folded last year and the population base is better than several other NOJHL centres. It seems like a good fit from a travel point of view since it doesn’t add much to anybody’s budget being where it is. It has English and French high schools and a campus of College Boreal. Don’t know the details of why the Lumberjacks failed but it seems to me that fans there would be more inclined to watch their team play neighbouring teams than the ones from mostly southern areas. I guess its a matter of some group being interested enough.
Two great locations would be sturgeon falls and Teniscaming Quebec both have nice rinks. However I think sturgeon is a “relocation” rather then expansion
There is still a GMHL team in Sturgeon, the West Nippissing Lynx. New ownership, same league. I would love to see them rejoin the NOJHL some day, along with Temiscaming if they so desired. I would think any future expansion has to be taken seriously on a case by case basis. There are certainly markets that can support the level of hockey out there, but I’m glad to hear it’s not a money grab priority for the league. I’m excited for another season of Jr A hockey with season tickets in hand.
Robert has made this league a huge success. Whether you agree with the man or not the proof is in the pudding. He’s weeded out riff raff and made this league what it is.