The Canadian Hockey League, which last week announced it had agreed to pay $30 million to settle a minimum wage-related class-action lawsuit, is lobbying Canada’s 
federal government for financial aid to help it and its 52 Canadian teams through these trying pandemic times.
Marco Vigliotti of ipolitics.ca reports that “Susan Smith, Raphael Brass and Tim Barber of Bluesky Strategy registered” as lobbyists on behalf of the CHL.
According to its website, the Ottawa-based Bluesky Strategy Group delivers “public affairs, strategic communications, government relations, and media relations advice and execution.”
Smith and Barber are co-founders of Bluesky; Brass is a senior consultant.
On Friday, the CHL brought an end to a lawsuit that had been filed against it in 2014 by agreeing to pay $30 million. In that lawsuit, former players were asking for major junior hockey players to be declared employees, rather than student-athletes, and as such fall under various employment standard regulations including minimum wage and overtime pay.
In its statement on Friday, the CHL stated: “This settlement does not mean that we agree with the plaintiffs. It means that we wanted to end the lawsuits so we could continue to focus on being the best development league in hockey.”
From the other side, Ted Charney of Toronto-based Charney Lawyers PC, told Ken Campbell of The Hockey News: “This has been a very long, hard-fought battle, effectively gloves-off litigation for several years. We had to fight the (political) lobbying, which we lost miserably on, but we won in all the court rooms.”
The CHL and the three leagues that operate under its umbrella — the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League — aren’t strangers to lobbying governments.
In the early years of the lawsuit, they all worked to get provincial and state governments to provide exemptions from minimum-wage legislation.
Exemptions were provided by the governments of Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Washington state, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Michigan. Oregon legislators refused to provide an exemption.
David Branch, the OHL commissioner and at the time the CHL’s president, registered as a lobbyist with the Ontario government on Sept. 11, 2018. Two months later, the government announced that it was excluding OHL players from employment standards legislation.
That came two years after B.C’s cabinet, then under Liberal control, had done the same thing for the WHL.
Vaughn Palmer, a political columnist with the Vancouver Sun, wrote on Oct. 22, 2016:
“The Liberals made the change after extensive lobbying from the league, which was facing a court challenge on the failure to pay minimum wage and concerned about economic pressures on its teams were they obliged to pay up.
“The Liberals bought the argument but did so in the quietest fashion. The waiver was approved by cabinet order on Feb. 15, with no followup press release nor much else to draw attention to what they’d done.”
Five days after Palmer’s column appeared, The Sun’s Ian Mulgrew reported that the WHL “did not register as a lobbyist before leaning on B.C.’s cabinet to exempt major junior players from the minimum wager law . . .”
According to Mulgrew, Erin Beatty, communications director for the B.C. Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists, said the regulator was “acting on the potential incident of non-compliance in this case.”
It would seem that whatever investigation was held didn’t go anywhere, and The Sun never followed up.
The $30-million settlement revealed on Friday won’t become official until it is approved by the court, which should happen later this summer. It’s believed that $15 million of that sum will be covered by insurance, leaving the CHL’s 52 Canadian teams each to pay about $288,000.
On April 17, Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault announced that the government was committing $500 million to arts, culture and sports sectors.
The CHL joins other sports groups including the CFL, soccer’s Canadian Premier League, the Canadian Elite Basketball League and various hockey leagues in working to get financial aid from government.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, announced Tuesday that the U.S.-Canada border will remain closed to non-essential travel for another month, taking it to around June 21. In April, the closure had been extended to May 21. . . . The border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 18. . . . Adrian Dix, B.C.’s health minister, said later in the day that he believes the closure will be needed long past June 21. . . . “I’m not convinced there is much chance that it will clear sufficiently in the next month to change at least my mind about whether we should open the border,” Dix said. “I think it’s going to be significantly longer than that for visitors.”
Some NCAA hockey teams are beginning to make adjustments to their schedules brought on by budget cuts implemented because of the pandemic. . . . Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that “college hockey teams are already starting to call of non-conference road trips that require airplane flights because of anticipated budget crunches due to the coronavirus pandemic.” . . . His complete story is right here.
With our annual Kidney Walk having been cancelled, my wife, Dorothy, is raising funds in support of a ‘virtual’ walk that is scheduled for June 7. All money raised goes to help folks who are dealing with kidney disease. . . . You are able to join Dorothy’s team by making a donation right here. . . . Thank you.
The Triangle Hockey League, long a fixture on the Saskatchewan winter sports scene, is no more. According to the league, the decision was made at a meeting on Saturday. . . . The league had five teams last season — the Bredenbury Cougars, Esterhazy Flyers, Hudson Bay Hunters, Ochapowace Thunder and Theodore Buffalos. The Rocanville Tigers were a league member although they sat out last season. . . . The THL had been without an executive board since February; it also looked like there may be issues getting on-ice officials for a 2020-21 season.
Here is Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, with his Thought for the Day, this one from H.L. Mencken: “Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.”
Soccer’s English Premier League, idle since March, is slowly resuming training in the hopes of resuming its season. On Tuesday, the results were announced from the 748 people who were tested for the coronavirus on Monday and Tuesday. Six people were found to be positive and will be self-isolated for a week. More test results are expected to be announced on Tuesday. . . .
The Belmont Stakes, normally the third event in thoroughbred horse racing’s Triple Crown, now will be the first leg. It is scheduled for June 20 and will be run without spectators. . . . The Kentucky Derby, usually the first leg, was postponed to Sept. 5 and the Preakness, normally No. 2, is scheduled for Oct. 3. . . .
The Western Lacrosse Association and the Major Series Lacrosse have both cancelled their 2020 seasons. The WLA is based in B.C.; MSL is an Ontario-based league. . . . That means that the Mann Cup, which goes annually to Canada’s top senior men’s lacrosse team, won’t be contested. . . .
The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame has cancelled its 2020 induction dinner and ceremony that had been scheduled for Sept. 26. According to a news release, “The 2020 induction class will be carried forward as the Class of 2021.” It will take place at some point in September 2021.
Hlinka Gretzky Cup that runs from Aug. 5-10 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia. . . . The roster was revealed Tuesday after a five-day selection camp in Calgary. . . . Here are the WHL players named to the team: F Ozzy Wiesblatt, Prince Albert Raiders; F Justin Sourdif, Vancouver Giants; F Ridly Greig, Brandon Wheat Kings; F Connor McClennon, Winnipeg Ice; F Jake Neighbours, Edmonton Oil Kings; F Seth Jarvis, Portland Winterhawks; D Daemon Hunt, Moose Jaw Warriors; D Kaiden Guhle, Prince Albert; and G Dylan Garand, Kamloops Blazers. . . . WHLers who were in camp but weren’t selected: F Jakob Brook, Prince Albert; F Kyle Crnkovic, Saskatoon Blades; F Jack Finley, Spokane Chiefs; F Ryder Korczak, Moose Jaw; D Tyrel Bauer, Seattle Thunderbirds; D Luke Prokop, Calgary Hitmen; and D Ronan Seeley, Everett Silvertips. . . . Canada will open against Finland on Monday in Breclav. . . . Michael Dyck, Vancouver’s head coach, is the head coach of Canada’s team, with Dennis Williams, the head coach of the Everett Silvertips, one of the assistant coaches.
17, both of whom were picked in the CHL’s 2019 import draft. . . . Peterek had two goals and seven assists in nine games with HC Ocelari Trinec’s U-19 team last season, then added two goals and nine assists in 41 games on loan to HC Frydek-Mistek (Czech2). He also had five goals and eight assists in 29 games with his country’s U-18 side. . . . Krajc had eight goals and six assists in 14 games with HK Dukla Trencin’s U-18 team, and also had 11 goals and eight assists in 27 games with the U-20 side. In seven games with Slovakia’s U-18 team, he had two goals and an assist.
Region. He is the head coach of the Burnaby Winter Club’s bantam prep team. Mack had been scouting for the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . The Cougars also have added Tim Mills, David Reekie, Rob Rogers and Trevor Sprague to their scouting staff. . . . Mills moves over from the Swift Current Broncos and will be the Cougars’ Okanagan scout. . . . Reekie, a goaltender in his playing days who suited up with the Regina Pats and Everett Silvertips (2004-07), will work Regina and southern Saskatchewan for the Cougars. . . . Rogers, who had been working with the Spokane Chiefs, will focus on B.C. . . . Sprague, the general manager of the major midget Cariboo Cougars, will keep an eye on the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League and northern B.C.
. . . “In 1,271 regular-season games in 2018-19,” he writes, “there were 224 fights in which at least one player received a fighting major. That’s down from 280 fights in 2017-18.” . . . Also: ”The rate for 2018-19 was 0.18 fights per game, which marks the first time that the average fights per game has dropped below 0.20.” . . . And: “In 2018-19, 15.3% of regular-season games had a fight. In 2008-09, that number was 41.4%.” . . . Let’s compare a couple of those numbers to the WHL’s 2018-19 season, using numbers available at hockeyfights.com. In 748 regular-season WHL games, there were 272 fights in which at least one player received a fighting major. (That number was 345 in 2017-18, when each team played 72 games; last season, each team played 68 games.) The rate for 2018-19 was 0.36 fights per game, down from 0.44 in 2017-18. . . . Yes, there are more fights in the WHL than in the NHL these days. . . . Wyshynski’s complete story is 
team that now is the Winnipeg Ice had said they would spend $400,000 on dressing up Wayne Fleming Arena, the 38-year-old arena on the campus of the U of Manitoba. On Thursday, Matt Cockell, the Ice’s president and general manager, announced that figure will be closer to $1.2 million. . . . As Paul Friesen wrote in the Winnipeg Sun: “You can buy a lot of lipstick for $1.2 million.” . . . That will allow them, Cockell said, to increase the arena’s capacity by 200, to 1,600, and to add such things as a new clock with video boards, as well as new glass and netting. . . . The Ice has said it will spend two seasons playing in the Wayne Fleming Arena as it awaits construction of a new facility. That new arena is to be built in the Rural Municipality of Macdonald, but a shovel has yet to be put in the ground because some rezoning apparently has yet to be done. . . . Friesen’s complete piece is 
has committed to the U of Michigan Wolverines. From North Vancouver, B.C., he was a third-round selection by the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL’s 2018 bantam draft. In fact, he was the the Broncos’ only selection in the draft’s first five rounds. You will recall that the Broncos sold the farm and everything on it in order to make what was a successful run to the WHL championship. . . . This season, with the Burnaby Winter Club prep team, Williams has 12 goals and 30 assists in 32 games. He was pointless in four games with the BCHL’s Prince George Spruce Kings.
League scoring title. He finished with 103 points, including a record 49 goals, in 38 games. . . . F Tyler Cristall of the Vancouver North West Hawks was second, with 63 points in 39 games. . . . Stankoven had a goal and three assists on Sunday as the Blazers closed out their regular season with an 8-4 victory over the Vancouver North East Chiefs. . . . The only other 15-year-olds to have surpassed 100 points in the BCMML were F Mat Barzal, who had 103 points in 34 games with the Chiefs in 2012-13, and F Jordan Weal, who had 100 points in 40 games with the Hawks in 2007-08. . . . The BCMML’s previous goal record was held by F Tyson Jost, who scored 44 times in 36 games with the Kelowna-based Okanagan Rockets in 2013-14.
the third time in a week, this time winning 6-0. . . . Prince Albert (53-9-4) has won three in a row. It will finish atop the WHL’s overall standings. . . . Swift Current (10-49-6) has lost 18 straight games (0-15-3). . . . The Raiders won the season series, 7-0-1; the Broncos were 1-7-0. . . . The Raiders had a 44-15 edge on the scoreboard. . . . Earlier in the week, Scott and Raiders beat the Broncos, 6-0 and 8-0, in Prince Albert. . . . The Broncos were outscored 20-1 as they went 0-3-0 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours. They were beaten 6-1 by the Blades in Saskatoon on Saturday night. . . . With three games remaining, the Broncos, who are the WHL’s defending championship, still have won only four times in regulation time. . . . On Sunday, the Raiders held period leads of 1-0 and 5-0. . . . They got two goals and an assist from F Parker Kelly, who has 34, and one score each from F Brett Leason (36), F Noah Gregor (40), D Sergei Sapego (10) and F Sean Montgomery (28). . . . Leason also had two assists. . . . Scott has a franchise-record eight shutouts this season — he leads the league — and 11 in his career. . . . This season, he now is 37-7-3, 1.82, .932. . . . G Riley Lamb blocked 51 shots for the Broncos. He has a .906 save percentage in 13 appearances. . . . The visitors held a 57-14 edge in shots, including 22-2 in the second period and 16-3 in the third. . . . The Broncos lost F Tanner Nagel to a charging major and game misconduct at 1:24 of the third period. F Dante Hannoun, who took the hit, wasn’t injured on the play. . . . F Cole Fonstad was scratched by the Raiders.
Warriors, 5-3. . . . Saskatoon (44-14-8) has won seven straight. . . . Moose Jaw (37-20-8) had won its past two games. . . . The Blades won the season series, 5-1-0. . . . The Warriors went 2-1-0 in playing three games in fewer than 48 hours. . . . The Blades and Warriors will finish second and third, respectively, in the East Division. They will open a best-of-seven series in Saskatoon with games on March 22 and 23. These will be the Blades’ first playoff games since the spring of 2013. . . . On Sunday, the Warriors grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from D Daemon Hunt (5), at 6:36, and F Tristin Langan (49), at 18:07. . . . F Max Gerlach got the Blades on the scoreboard at 12:03 of the second period, but Langan got that one back when he scored No. 50 just 20 seconds later. . . . D Dawson Davidson (13) got the Blades to within a goal, on a PP, at 15:29. . . . F Gary Haden tied the score at 1:51 of the third period and Gerlach gave the Blades the lead with his 40th goal at 5:24. . . . Haden scored his 31st goal into an empty net at 19:04. . . . Saskatoon was 1-6 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-2. . . . The Blades held a 50-24 edge in shots, including 18-7 in the second period and 17-9 in the third. . . . Gerlach and Haden added an assist each so had three-point outings. . . . Saskatoon F Kyle Crnkovic came up shot on a first-period penalty shot. . . . Saskatoon scratched D Nolan Kneen for a second straight game. . . . The Warriors now have had a 50-goal man in four straight seasons. F Dryden Hunt, who scored his first NHL goal for the Florida Panthers on Sunday, did it in 2015-16, and F Jayden Halbgewachs got there in each of the past two seasons.
dumped the visiting Kootenay Ice, 4-0. . . . Edmonton (39-18-8) has won eight in a row. The Oil Kings are tied with the Lethbridge Hurricanes atop the Central Division. Edmonton has three games remaining; Lethbridge has two. No, they aren’t scheduled to play each other. . . . The Oil Kings are to play in Red Deer on Tuesday, then go home-and-home with Calgary in a pair of afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday. . . . Lethbridge is to play in Red Deer on Friday and Medicine Hat on Saturday. . . . Kootenay (12-44-10) has lost five straight. . . . This was the final road game in the history of the Kootenay Ice. The Ice has two games left, both in Cranbrook, before the franchise turns into the Winnipeg Ice. . . . This season, the Ice was 4-23-7 on the road, including 0-13-2 in the Central Division. Each of the other five Central Division teams won at least 15 road games. . . . Edmonton went 5-0-1 in the season series; Kootenay was 1-5-0. . . . F Quinn Benjafield (15) scored Edmonton’s first goal, shorthanded, at 8:00 of the second period. . . . F Trey Fix-Wolansky (36) made it 2-0 at 14:01, and F Scott Atkinson (13) upped it to 3-0 at 17:43. . . . D Conner McDonald (18) got the game’s last goal, on a PP, at 10:02 of the third period. . . . McDonald set a single-season franchise record for goals by a defenceman. The previous record had been set by Cody Corbett in 2013-14. . . . Fix-Wolansky became the fourth WHLer this season with 100 points — he also has 64 assists. He is the second player in franchise history to get to 100; F Michael St. Croix finished 2011-12 with 105. . . . Scott finished with 18 saves. . . . Kootenay G Duncan McGovern, in his first appearance since Jan. 6, blocked 24 shots. This was his 24th appearance this season, with 21 of them coming prior to Dec. 3. . . . McGovern stopped 24 shots in a 6-0 loss to the visiting Vancouver Giants on Jan. 6. Between then and Sunday, he dressed once as the backup (Feb. 18). . . . Edmonton F Vince Loschiavo had a five-game goal streak come to an end.
the 10th head coach in Calgary’s history on Tuesday morning.
a couple of days — they have added Ryan Smith to their coaching staff. . . . Smith, 44, spent the past three seasons as associate coach with the Swift Current Broncos, helping them win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions last season. He left the Broncos after Dean Brockman was named director of hockey operations and head coach. . . . With the Tigers, Smith fills the void created when assistant coach Bobby Fox was named director of player personnel to replace Carter Sears.
and isn’t that often the case in minor league baseball, which is something to which major junior hockey teams should be paying more attention. . . . You see, they are giving away a funeral package at tonight’s game. Yes, they are. . . . Jim Swanson, the former sports editor of the Prince George Citizen, now is the HarbourCats’ managing partner. . . . “He’s the one who came up with the idea of holding a prize draw for a funeral package,” writes Jack Knox, the Victoria Times Colonist’s terrific columnist. “Actually, he borrowed the notion (or, more accurately, stole it like Ricky Henderson) after googling weird and wonderful promotions when he became the team’s general manager in 2014.” . . . As Knox points out, though, there also is a serious side to Swanson’s idea. “When Swanson’s uncle drowned off Salt Spring Island a year and a half ago, the grieving family had the additional burden of figuring out what to do in the absence of a will or other arrangements. “He did not have his affairs in order,” Swanson says. So, the draw (fans just have to fill out an entry form at the game) is a gentle (or not so gentle) reminder to prepare for what, ready or not, awaits us all.” . . . Still, this is a promotion that fits right in what all the wonderful and whacky things that go on in minor league baseball. . . . Knox’s column is 
the WHL’s 2017 bantam draft.
assists in 29 games with the midget AAA Yorkton Maulers.
TAKING NOTE 