THE HUNTER ERA: ALL-DECOMMIT TEAM

[strohs]

Anyone else picturing this scene at the Knights game tonight ?

Hunters and Branch gathered in the private box sipping wine and eating caviar and laughing at the recently fined Burke’s in Niagara lol

Gotta love it ...




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[61jr]

Based on Stranges comments, that still doesn’t prove collusion with London. That’s him being honest in that he would only play for London. It would be collusion if London paid him to say that. I’m not saying they didn’t do that, I’m just saying so far there isn’t proof of that.

[Blacksox]

Originally Posted by strohs

Anyone else picturing this scene at the Knights game tonight ?

Hunters and Branch gathered in the private box sipping wine and eating caviar and laughing at the recently fined Burke’s in Niagara lol

Gotta love it ...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, I guess now we know the answer. Everyone is afraid of the Hunter/Branch bromance.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Marty Williamson and David Bell making those scathing post-game comments directed at the London Knights organization several years ago – was part of the witch hunt .


Thank you. I love you, David!


You're welcome. Happy Valentine Day, Dale!

***

[three dog night]

Erie up 3 to 1

[Blacksox]

League Commissioner David Branch

"The League takes our commitment to our players and their player experience very seriously, which includes ensuring a fair and competitive on-ice experience among all teams. In order to maintain the integrity of this player experience and competitiveness within the league, it is critical that all clubs operate within the league recruitment guidelines."

[conchar]

All teams except ONE...Branch is so entrenched in helping London that he forgets about all the other teams in the OHL.

[Blacksox]

To any IceDogs, OHL and London Knights fans, with a de-commitment list of players as long, as extensive and as impressive as the London Knights have managed to accumulate over the last 13 or 14 years (see post #1), is it even possible the Hunters did not commit a single recruitment violation?

Branch the entire OHL fan base is waiting for the hammer to fall on the Hunters next!

[retired/sectionJ]

Originally Posted by Blacksox

To any IceDogs, OHL and London Knights fans, with a de-commitment list of players as long, as extensive and as impressive as the London Knights have managed to accumulate over the last 13 or 14 years (see post #1), is it even possible the Hunters did not commit a single recruitment violation?

Branch the entire OHL fan base is waiting for the hammer to fall on the Hunters next!

Good job and a lot of great information Blacksox.

I am going to move on now as we are now almost in the same book.
Thanks again

[61jr]

Originally Posted by Blacksox

To any IceDogs, OHL and London Knights fans, with a de-commitment list of players as long, as extensive and as impressive as the London Knights have managed to accumulate over the last 13 or 14 years (see post #1), is it even possible the Hunters did not commit a single recruitment violation?

Branch the entire OHL fan base is waiting for the hammer to fall on the Hunters next!

Possible, yes. Probable, very unlikely.

The difficulty lies in actually proving it. If they make a commitment to someone that they aren't supposed to make and they follow through, who is reporting? The player is happy, they got what was promised to them and and the team is happy, they got the player. The player isn't going to turn them in - if they are still in junior hockey, what team is going to take a player that is going to "rat" on the team to the OHL and still, if they have a promising career, you don't want that label in any dressing room (I can't see any agent advising his player to do that if the player still has hope to make it -- rather the agent just would steer their clients away from that junior hockey program wherever possible). The team, obviously, isn't going to turn itself in. So if you make a promise and deliver on it, unless you're really stupid about how you deliver it, you're not going to get caught. You can't punish the team for something you can't prove - just because you "know" it, isn't proof.

As for possible, consider it this way. You're a player in the US and you have a really good shot at making the NHL, so you have plenty of options available, either the Canadian Hockey League or you can play university hockey in the US (in which you can choose what university you play at, it's not that you're drafted and have to report somewhere). If you told that recruit you have the option to (1) to have the choice to play at a top-notch university like the University of Michigan or the University of Notre Dame or (2) go up to Canada and play in Sudbury ... which would you choose? Then, you see a program like the London Knights, they are perennial contenders, have a history of having top players and sending top players to the NHL, it's the place "people want to be", they run a first-class operations, they have "guest" coaches of recent long-time NHL players to come in. You say to yourself "look, I'm not going up to Canada to play in Sudbury ... but I'd go there". Keep in mind their "culture" too -- in the US, the main "development" program for major team sports (NFL, NBA, NHL) is university, where you as a player have the schools come to you to try and woo you and then you get to choose what school you go to - so they are simply saying "we are going where we choose". To us, the OHL and "our" team is something we are passionate about. To many of the players, its a means to an end (a place to develop and a stepping stone in their hockey career).

For the record, just to be clear, the above is just me saying "it's possible", not "it's probable".

[three dog night]

London lost in overtime