NOJHL AGM: Player safety & development key topics

The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and its Board of Directors held its 2024 Annual General Meeting July 11-12 in Sudbury.

As part of the two-day collaborations between the league and its 12-member clubs, a number of new regulations have been implemented for the upcoming 2024-25 season.  

With that, each of the 12 teams share a common priority – Player safety and the development players, on and off the ice.  

Among the agreed-upon regulations are the following:
 
I: 16-year-old players cannot be a healthy scratch within team lineups.

II: A minimum of four (4) hours of practice will be held per week.

III: A minimum number of minutes played per game will be implemented.

IV: 16-year-old players cannot have their Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) playing rights dealt, or released, without consent of the player, parent/guardian, team and league; subject to Ontario Hockey Federation 16-year-old policy.

V: Educational, emergency, disciplinary and medical reasons are the only considerations on why a 16-year-old may not be included in a teams’ game-day lineup.  

VI: 16–17-year-old goaltenders must play in a minimum of 30% of the total number of games in a regular season.

VII: 17-year-old players must participate in a minimum of 80% of the regular season games and have a minimum of four hours of practice time per-week.

VIII: 16–17-year-olds cannot have their CJHL playing rights transferred after they are signed with a team in their first season with a NOJHL Team; subject to OHF & Hockey Canada regulations and league approval.  

IX: The NOJHL has implemented a reporting system based on the NOJHL Analytical Program that will be sent each and every game to the respective team & league office.

X: The NOJHL will verify and monitor the regulation.
 
XI: Any extenuating circumstances involving 16 or 17-year-old players, that contradicts this regulation, will require approval of the NOJHL commissioner.  

In discussing the implementations, NOJHL commissioner Robert Mazzuza said: “With all choices players and parents have today in deciding where the best opportunities for their development, both on and off the ice, we believed it is necessary to clearly declare what this regulation is."   

"I am going to state the obvious; we are a Junior A Hockey Development League," offered the commissioner. "The NOJHL has a proven track record and foundation for developmental opportunities for athletes across Ontario, in particular Ontario Hockey League draft selections, as well as in NCAA and USPORTS programs.”
 
“Also of note, over the past five years, four NOJHL alumni have gone on to be drafted by National Hockey League clubs. With the ever-increasing number of NOJHLers moving on to compete at the next levels, it shows our development model is indeed working.”

The following is the number of NOJHL alumni, who competed in the OHL, USPORTS, NCAA and professional levels during the course of the 2023-24 campaign, as well recent NHL Draft selections:   

OHL: 20
USPORTS: 33
NCAA: 129
ECHL: 8
SPHL: 6
AHL: 6
NHL: 2

TOTAL: 204

RECENT ALUMNI NHL DRAFT SELECTIONS:

2024: Landon Miller, (G) Soo Thunderbirds
CHL Team: Soo Greyhounds
Drafted by: Detroit Red Wings (4th round – 126th overall)

2023: Andrew Gibson, (D) Soo Thunderbirds
CHL Team: Soo Greyhounds
Drafted by: Detroit Red Wings (2nd round – 42nd overall)

2023: Cooper Foster, (F) Soo Thunderbirds
CHL Team: Ottawa 67’s
Drafted by: Nashville Predators (6th round – 174th overall)

2020: Philippe Daoust, (F) French River Rapids
CHL Teams: Saint John Sea Dogs/Moncton Wildcats
Drafted by: Ottawa Senators (6th round – 158th overall)

REGULAR SEASON: The league’s 2004-25 regular season gets underway September 12 and will see each team play 25 games at home and another 25 on the road.

They will also suit-up twice during the league’s annual Showcase event, which goes October 1-2 at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury.

With one division of 12, with the Top 8 clubs in the final standings qualifying for the playoffs.

Secondly, the shootout has been eliminated and will see games that are tied after regulation go to a seven-minute overtime period, skating three players aside.

Should contests remain without a winner being decided after OT, the game will end in a tie and each squad will earn one point.

Teams will still receive two points for wins in regulation and OT as well as one for extra time defeats.

Of note, should a team pull its goaltender in overtime, in favour of an additional skater, the following rule will apply:

1. In the OT period, should a team lose the game while its goalkeeper is on the bench for an extra skater, they will forfeit the point awarded after regulation play.

2. This rule does not apply when a team pulls a goalkeeper as a result of a delayed penalty against the other team.

PLAYOFFS: The revamped NOJHL playoff format will feature the top eight teams, following regular season play, competing in the postseason.

This will feature four quarter-final, best-of-seven series in the opening round. (1 vs. 8; 2 vs. 7; 3 vs. 6 and a 4 vs. 5)

From there, the four surviving clubs will meet in a pair of best-of-seven affairs, with the highest remaining seed meeting the lowest in one match-up, while the other two sides will face-off in the other.

The two remaining teams after the semifinals will square-off for the Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy and the NOJHL championship in a final best-of-seven affair.

CENTENNIAL CUP: The NOJHL champion will advance to represent the league at the 2025 Centennial Cup Canadian National Junior A Championship against a host side and the eight other CJHL league title holders.

The dates and location of the event will be announced at a later date.

SCORING REVIEWS: Once again, the NOJHL will be providing in-depth reviews on all scoring plays throughout the regular season and playoffs.

With that, each tally will be reviewed online following games via to confirm that the correct players receive the appropriate credit for every goal and assist registered.

Also, as part of the NOJHL analytics system, goaltender shots faced and saves made will be accumulated following each contest.

This will help ensure a more consistent and factual statistical output throughout and updated in its current LeagueStat system.

Each team will receive a post-contest reports highlighting the updated game summaries, after each match-up.

RINKNET: The NOJHL has engaged to make use of all RinkNet online services this season.

RinkNet is the go-to technology for players, scouts, coaches, and managers at elite levels around the world for hockey. Trusted by over 30 teams in the NHL and across leagues across all levels of hockey, they are the leader in software for optimizing hockey operations.

Their flagship player management system is used by over 3,500 hockey executives, including every NHL team, every CHL, USHL, CJHL and NAHL club as well as a host of junior teams and leagues across North America plus many NCAA schools and prep schools as well as Hockey Canada and USA Hockey.

FLOHOCKEY: Each NOJHL regular season and playoff game will be streamed live, and on demand, via FLOHockey, the official broadcast partner of the league.

Visit flohockey.tv to register for the 2024-25 season.

THE COMMISSIONER: Robert Mazzuca is embarking on his 14th season as commissioner of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, making him the longest-serving individual in this role.

An alumnus of the NOJHL, Mazzuca has played a pivotal part in league expansion as well as implementing its Talk Today initiative, one of the most comprehensive mental health education programs for amateur sports in Canada. Talk Today, is aimed at helping the players in the NOJHL, as well as the individuals that support them, to identify mental health issues and address suicide.

He was also recently acclaimed to continue his tenure as the Canadian Junior Hockey League's (CJHL) Chair of the Board for another season.

ABOUT THE NOJHL: A true and committed partner of the CJHL and Hockey Canada, the NOJHL features 12 member teams, with 11 based in northern Ontario and one in upper Michigan.

First beginning play in 1962, the league has sent hundreds, upon hundreds, of players, coaches, officials on to the next level in its existence.

Among its notable alumni is Hockey Hall of Fame honoured member, Tony Esposito.