ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE COMMENDS GOVERNMENT FOR TAKING STEPS TO PROTECT AMATEUR ATHLETES
Toronto – The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) commends the Ford Government for their decision to confirm the status of League players in Ontario. This follows seven provinces and two states that have passed similar clarifications to confirm that players are not covered by employment legislation.
“On behalf of the Ontario Hockey League, I want to thank the government for its leadership in ensuring that our 17 Ontario teams can continue to be leaders in the community and contribute to the economic development of the communities in which we play,” said David Branch, OHL Commissioner. “This also allows our teams to continue to focus on our most important role and that is providing our 425 players with the best on and off-ice experience, the hallmark of which is our Scholarship Program.”
In the 2017-18 academic year there were 321 OHL graduates using their scholarship at a cost to our teams of $3.125M. Of these 321 graduates 206 are playing on U SPORTS hockey teams. In addition, this academic year our teams spent $475,000 on the Scholarship Program for current players.
OHL teams are proud members of the communities in which they play. During the 2017-18 season, through the generosity of OHL fans and with the support and cooperation of our teams, charitable groups and community organizations have raised over $4M to help support hundreds of different programs and bring awareness to critical issues.
OHL Writers 