OT: Entire OHL team quits after coaching staff fired
Report: Drama after comeback win in Flint - Coaching staff fired over nepotism https://t.co/BTi6t2syyg pic.twitter.com/us7RP6Iplp
— Winging It In Motown (@wingingitmotown) November 9, 2015
Dude.
The Flint Firebirds, the team once known as the Plymouth Whalers, just scored a comeback victory against the defending champion Oshawa Generals.
After the win, the owner fired all of the coaches... because his son wasn't getting enough playing time.
In response, the entire team quit. Including, apparently, the son in question.
The OHL isn't some scrub league, here--these are players with pro prospects and (questionable) education packages at stake, on a team in a new city, in a league that isn't insignificant. As far as I can tell, this sort of revolt is unprecedented in Major Junior (or pretty much everywhere else before Missouri this weekend).
Not the same issue at all, but clearly some similarity with Missouri. This... well, we might remember this weekend for a long time.
Wow.
November 8th, 2015 at 11:54 PM ^
If you're firing the coach because of your son and he sides with the coach, that's definitely concerning.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:10 AM ^
The son is in a no-win situation here. Dad is putting his son above the team; his son can either alienate his teammates and be known as the reason the team is a horrible place to play, or he can show up his father.
And what coach will want to work for this owner now?
November 9th, 2015 at 10:01 AM ^
The concerning part is the father putting his son in an obvious no-win position where he'll probably side with the coach anyway.
November 8th, 2015 at 11:54 PM ^
People in charge of things just because they're in charge of things.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
People in charge of things because they have a lot of money and hope they can buy their son into the NHL*
(I feel bad for the kid)
November 8th, 2015 at 11:57 PM ^
I remember the Flint Spirit. What happened to them?
November 9th, 2015 at 12:04 AM ^
November 9th, 2015 at 12:08 AM ^
The Saginaw Spirit, still playing in Saginaw.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:31 AM ^
Cool. Maybe it was the Flint Generals, memory is hazy.
November 9th, 2015 at 1:10 AM ^
Yeah, I grew up around Flint and the Flint Generals were definitely there. However, I don't follow hockey, especially minor league hockey, so I wasn't even aware they don't exist anymore.
November 9th, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^
The Flint Generals played in the IHL and are no more.
November 8th, 2015 at 11:57 PM ^
I remember the Flint Spirit. What happened to them?
November 8th, 2015 at 11:59 PM ^
I had a car stolen in Ludington Michigan. It was found in Flint 3 weeks later. Just sayin'. This is straight up nutz.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:02 AM ^
I blame the owner's son.
November 9th, 2015 at 10:23 AM ^
Turns out I'd left it at my friends then walked home inebriated. Couldn't find for a week until he texted me about it being in the way.
Good story brah.
On a real note. Hot damn, this story is Jed York quality.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:01 AM ^
I wonder if the OHL might step in and force the sale of this team. (Not sure if they have that power but I have to imagine they do). Horrible look for the league. This sort of little league dad crap makes it look like 4th tier hockey when it's actually the best junior league in the world.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:08 AM ^
The franchise was just bought and moved this year after years of being in Plymouth under the ownership of Peter Karmanos. Frankly, the OHL can't afford to alienate potential owners by stripping them of their franchises. The teams aren't money holes but they aren't exactly revenue engines either, except in some cities that already have established franchises.
For what it's worth, the owner in question appears to be Rolf Nilsen, who was said to have "no hockey ownership experience" when he bought the team. His son is Hakon Nilsen, who was just drafted out of the Little Caesar's program. Rolf works for the US branch of a Norwegian manufacturer. And, for what it's worth, when he bought the team they made a big show of putting Costa Papista, apparently a well known hockey guy, out front of the franchise.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:23 AM ^
Major Junior Teams fall into two categories. Teams like London, Halifax, Kelowna with beautiful buildings (London seats about 10k per home game and their arena is managed by Global Spectrum from Philly). Those teams make ridiculous amounts of money, millions. On the other side are small market teams with smaller facilities usually less than 5k (Owen Sound comes to mind) that scrape by year in and year out mostly dependent on making playoff gate (if possible).
November 9th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^
Interesting story and all but I don't really see it quite being on the scale of making this weekend memorable for me.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:14 AM ^
It may not be.
However, if there is a sea change in how athletes treat and are treated by their teams, especially in semi-amateur sports, prompted by an outbreak of player walkouts and strikes, this might be the place it started.
Honestly, I have a hard time believing this goes down in Flint if Missouri didn't just strike yesterday.
Could we see a college team strike for player-pay related issues this year? We might not, but suddenly it seems like it's about to happen.
November 9th, 2015 at 3:26 AM ^
I believe the opposite. It's completely coincidental. There will be no sudden rash of strikes. I don't see any way that this hockey team in Flint was somehow inspired by the Missouri football team. It was spontaneous. They quit immediately after their coaches were fired after a game. They quit for reasons that have absolutely nothing in common with what is happening at Missouri. I can't imagine they thought it through any further than, "That ******* fired our coaches."
November 9th, 2015 at 8:13 AM ^
story. The owner firing the entire coaching staff for such a spurious reason is. The reaction of the players doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, I'd be more surprised if they didn't do something like that. I'm skeptical there's any connection to what's happening in Missouri.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:15 AM ^
/smh
That's pure homer.
I did not approve of the limits that the OHL formerly put on the education package prior to changes in 2014 (18 months post last game and rescinded if player signs with NHL/AHL)
Changes in that to 18 months following the end of the overage year and not rescinded if the player signs and plays in the AHL is more reasonable. If a player signs and plays in the NHL then the scholarship is lost which makes sense given the economics at that level.
The OHL (Major Junior) is the best development league for NHL calibre players in the world. It is absolutely a meat market for players who, in some ways, are treated like 1950's NHL players (pre union). The numbers bear this out year in and year out in NHL draft. What kids don't get going that route is a prestigious degree but, for many, academics are not a priority and getting to the league (a dream of any number of families I have known) supercedes all. That said, i do know a number of former players who have used the OHL (Major Junior) education package and, it may surprise you, but there are excellent universities in Canada and their hockey teams are now almost universally populated by former Major Junior players who didn't have the game for the NHL or the desire to slog it out in the AHL.
The revolt thing is a whole other question. Never seen anything like that...(except in Missouri, of course)
November 9th, 2015 at 12:24 AM ^
Whoa there, Mr. Sensitive, this isn't a thread about OHL vs. College Hockey. You may be surprised to learn that I actually enjoy OHL hockey and, when I lived in the area, attended a fair number of games in at least four different venues. I prefer college hockey, which isn't surprising on this board, but I recognize that the OHL is a good option for future long-running pros.
The education option provided by the NCAA is still vastly superior, even after some (good!) changes made by the OHL. It's not really a point of contention here: good for the players who go that route.
You may be surprised to hear that it does not surprise me that there are excellent universities in Canada; my Dad graduated from York University before earning his Ph.D at Michigan, and my Grandfather went to U of T. Most of my Dad's family attended University at good institutions.
And those schools have had ex-major junior players for decades. Perhaps you should focus on the fact that I'm giving an OHL team such credence, and not the fact that I might find NCAA hockey preferable in a respect or two.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:32 AM ^
Point is, the education packages are not questionable, as you had noted (this line of thinking is generally par for the course on the blog for obvious reasons). The OHL's policy pre 2014 was complete garbage though as any reasonable observer would point out.
Post 2014 changes to their approach on education are quite reasonable.
Not clear on what you might prefer in NCAA hockey v Major Junior though. NCAA is enjoyable to watch but top to bottom Major Junior is better hockey.
November 9th, 2015 at 12:49 AM ^
Questionable in value, not questionable in existence.
As far as what parts you are "not clear" about: you are welcome to continue to prefer half-empty Steelheads games to crackling college student atmospheres, and the appeal of seeing highly-skilled players scything through woefully overmatched (read: young and untalented) defenses is understandable.
I've seen great, up-and-down games in front of buzzing fans at Windsor Arena. It's awesome. But it falls short against the even better atmospheres at places like Yost, and the depth and quality of play in college hockey is unmatched by Major Junior clubs. Yes, they have some terrific players; they also have a lot of guys that are just guys.
Perhaps the best way I can put it is that Michigan's hockey program is experiencing a dearth of quality and success unheard of since the first building years of the Red Berenson era. They've had some high draft picks with great skill; they also suffer from bewildering defensive breakdowns and have an unusually high number of team members that are "just guys." The goaltending shows flashes of sharpness and fairly noticeable stretches of mediocrity. Some players have seemed to be more interested in their own games than in the welfare of the team. The atmosphere at Yost is crimped, and there are games where the fans just don't seem engaged.
In other words, they are the closest thing to a Major Junior team they've been in my lifetime.
November 9th, 2015 at 1:00 AM ^
I'd agree that over the past few years Michigan hockey has not been as enjoyable and while they have had some great talent it hasn't seemed to work at a team level.
As to major junior, I think you need to try attending at London, Kitchener or Sault Ste. Marie (a bit of a drive, I know) and look into those environments/fanbases which in their own way are as passionate as any in the college ranks. The Canadian fans (because *every* town is hockeytown) are very knowledgeable in those environments
I think you'd enjoy.
November 9th, 2015 at 1:15 AM ^
November 9th, 2015 at 1:12 AM ^
hockey at all, but it's odd you would question how anyone could favor college hockey over junior hockey. This is a blog focused on the beauty of college football, which is clearly "inferior" football compared to the NFL skill level (see also college basketball:NBA).
It's pretty obvious that there are a ton of reasons why one might prefer one tier of a sport over others, not based solely on the skill of the product on the field (rink...court... pitch).
November 9th, 2015 at 12:29 AM ^
It's not. While there are more draft picks in the OHL the players are on average much younger. College hockey provides a slightly tougher competition environment, as point transition studies demonstrate.
http://hockeyanalytics.com/Research_files/League_Equivalencies.pdf
November 9th, 2015 at 1:32 AM ^
It's interesting but this sort of analysis is limited at best in terms of isolating level of competition and really doesn't speak to the real reason why parents are so eager to have their young person play in the CHL (aside from 17 first round picks this year being CHL and >50% of NHL rosters sourcing there).
That is, parents in Canada (and apparently in the US given the year in/year out increase in CHL participation) see the CHL environment, particularly if their child is a physically gifted and upper echelon talent at 15 or 16 years old as an opportunity to maximize competitive ice time (about twice as many games), high level coaching and competition against the best same aged players (and those older...particularly given the overage year).
I think it boils down to this: if you have a kid who you think can make the show (and most parents with elite kids believe this despite only about 1 per CHL roster making the NHL) then you're not going to limit their development in Junior B etc. waiting out the college route regardless of the value of the degree. The CHL not screwing up the education package is probably a help to them now also but, really, among the parents I have known who make the CHL decision with their kid the whole view is about making the league and development.
Really enjoy the blog (and as feedback I am a podcast convert...more of that).
November 9th, 2015 at 12:19 AM ^
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November 9th, 2015 at 12:41 AM ^
BOOOOOOOOO
You can't step to Flint!
November 9th, 2015 at 12:40 AM ^
November 9th, 2015 at 1:12 AM ^
Yeah, seriously. Around the globe? I guess this guy once took trips to the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls and Paris or something.
November 9th, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
November 9th, 2015 at 12:25 AM ^
people suck
November 9th, 2015 at 12:32 AM ^
I've followed the move to Flint, as I went and saw the (formerly) Plymouth Whalers a few times. All the stories were about how they were fixing up the arena, hoping it would be a small, but meaningful, catalyst in helping turn around Flint.
This story will have all sorts of local politicians and local mucky-mucks commenting. Should get real interesting.