Kevin-B Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I'm not really sure what to make of this story and I haven't seen anything posted on the WHL site relating to it but heres the article/link. http://thepipelineshow.blogspot.ca/2012/11/winterhawks-about-to-be-clipped.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklax Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Going to be hard to pin anything on them, the new ownership put in the money to run the squad like a NHL level team, and its the most desirable place to play for Americans deciding between CHL and NCAA The articel focuses on Jones, but the CHL is known as a highway to the NHL, and Seth has a much better chance of fighting for a championship with Portland than with Everett, also Portland has had an unreal draft record recently (Johansen, Nino, Pouliot, Morrow, Baerstchi all going in the first round, many others drafted) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus Alexander Cody Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Portland and Vancouver have been known to have one of the best places to develop NHL calibre players in the WHL and Jones is the most recent one. Portland has a very good program in terms of hockey and history doesn't lie, they have great players that have been drafted and will be one of the NHL elites soon. Maybe they're trying to make a case out of nothing. Maybe there's something there. Whatever the case is, Portland has a great hockey program and it would suck if this tarnished their reputation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripsh0w Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 This could be devastating. I have it by some really good sources that the Portland Winterhawks are probably in just as deep as the windsor spitfires were if not more. The article seems to focus on Jones, but from what I have heard, this whole situation could be going back years, and may or may not have anything to do with jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 How about facts not speculation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripsh0w Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 How about facts not speculation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin-B Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Although I'm not a Winterhawks fan,I certainly hope that the article is off base. The way its written leads more to speculation rather than facts but suppose we'll see what/if anything comes of this. Still haven't seen anything "official",just heasay on WHL forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Canucky Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 No word of this around here. Personally it bugs me because there is nothing to substantiate this so they could be writing bologna to make themselves feel better about their own teams. I just don't understand why you would write something like this before you knew for sure... this is kind of like writing a letter saying that your neighbor may be a pedophile then mailing it out to the entire state/prov. I kinda hope this guy is right or has a good source cause if not, i think he should be peed on. ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklax Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 This could be devastating. I have it by some really good sources that the Portland Winterhawks are probably in just as deep as the windsor spitfires were if not more. The article seems to focus on Jones, but from what I have heard, this whole situation could be going back years, and may or may not have anything to do with jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripsh0w Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 And they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklax Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Once they come out in the public i'll tell ya, but im not gonna be the one leaking their names Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripsh0w Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 so your word is as good as anyone's then Any specifics on the violations "going back years"? Or just more mere speculation like the article? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Canucky Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Course us Hawks fans are going to be more defensive, but it is a pretty big allegation. I would just be so pissed if its all bologna and tarnishing the program. Also, what exactly are they being accused of? paying kids to play here? Just seems unnecessary and risky when you have a decent program that gets kids drafted. Shouldn't that alone be enough to entice people from all walks, even Sweden? *shrugs* Guess we will wait and see... and if an investigation even happens that STILL doesnt mean its true... so Ill just go along with my day, for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Canucky Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Found this on OREGON LIVE (our newspaper) [uPDATED BELOW] From The Pipeline Show's blog:This past August the Windsor Spitfires were handed a $400,000 fine for recruiting violations. A month later it was reduced to a $250,000 fine, as well as, some draft pick relief. TPS has learned from multiple sources in the WHL that the Portland Winterhawks could be the next CHL club to face sanctions for player recruitment. Now, "could" could mean a lot of things, like there's an investigation going on, or merely that someone has made an accusation. However, the tone of the article suggests that they have some idea that something serious is coming. We'll see if that's correct. What could this be about? Under-the-table payments, basically. You can't offer a prospective recruit anything more than the CHL scholarship package and your organization's competence at developing kids educationally and athletically. It's a competitive balance thing; the WHL doesn't want the richer teams having an advantage that Moose Jaw or Swift Current doesn't have. Sort of like the major leagues enforcing a salary cap, although in this case the salary cap is $0. There's a lot of speculation about Seth Jones in that article (takes up almost half the space actually). It would really surprise me if this was about Jones. The reasons he gave for choosing Portland (he wants to be the #1 overall pick, he has more likely to do that with a high-profile contender, old regime had just left Everett) make sense, and also have to factor in that Everett's GM had just come from Portland. I'd think it's more likely about Paul Bittner, Keegan Iverson, Alex Schoenborn, Dominic Turgeon, and Keoni Texeira. All USA-based players, from the heart of NCAA recruiting territory, who would have been extremely high bantam picks if it were just about ability. The Winterhawks picked them up cheaply (or for free) and then talked them into coming here. As a result, the Winterhawks look set for a long time. Additionally, the success at recruiting has allowed the Winterhawks to almost largely eschew the bantam draft, trading a number of high draft picks to pick up Marcel Noebels and Craig Cunningham, who each helped with the playoff runs of the last two seasons. Other teams have done this before but the Winterhawks have taken the strategy to a different level, maybe even two levels. It isn't a strategy that you'd think would make you many friends. The WHL, the CHL, the NCAA, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey...for each of their own reasons, you wouldn't expect them to be thrilled. Messing with the status quo isn't pretty. So...the question is how above-board their recruiting is and I've been expecting this to come up at some point. Even if there was nothing there, sour grapes from somebody meant this would eventually become an issue. Also, more enemies could mean more potential whistleblowers if you did do something wrong. We just don't know yet. That article sound ominous, but we'll see. UPDATE 6:30 OK, I just listened to The Pipeline Show, where they talked about this in the first segment. I'm kicking myself right now for not thinking for recording it. Anyway, this is what they said: 1) Red 23 came up 15 seconds into the topic (not a good sign) 2) scouts of other teams really don't like the Winterhawks 3) most importantly, a WHL team was trying to recruit a kid, and he reportedly said he wanted the same deal that his friend, a Winterhawks player, got, which was a guaranteed four years of the CHL education package even if he only played one game. I didn't catch if #3 was the only issue they're in hot water for, though it was the only one for which they gave details. More, probably in a separate post, when I can dig up the audio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin-B Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 I thought this was a dead issue but this just came out. CALGARY, AB. - The Western Hockey League announced today the disciplinary action which has been taken against the Portland Winterhawks franchise for a series of violations of the WHL Regulations. As a result of a series of player benefit violations which have occurred over the past four seasons, WHL Commissioner Ron Robison has suspended the Portland Winterhawks from participating in the first five rounds of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft and the forfeiture of their first round selections in the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 WHL Bantam Drafts. Should the first round selection in 2014 not be available due to a conditional trade, Portland will surrender their second and third round picks in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft. The WHL also announced the Portland Winterhawks have been fined $200,000 and Winterhawks General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston has been suspended for the balance of the 2012-13 season, including the 2013 WHL Playoffs. “All WHL Clubs understand they are required to fully comply and respect our League Regulations or they will face significant consequences,” stated WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “WHL Clubs are required to fully disclose all commitments they make to a player in the WHL Standard Player Agreement. Our independent investigation in this case revealed there were multiple violations over an extended period for player benefits that are not permitted under WHL Regulations and were not disclosed to the WHL. It should also be noted through the course of the investigation there was no evidence of any payments or enhanced education benefits provided to players that would be contrary to WHL Regulations as previous media reports indicated.” The Western Hockey League will not make any further public comments on this matter http://www.whl.ca/article/whl-sanctions-portland-winterhawks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklax Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Good god, thats a lot of lost picks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Jesus. They better win the Cup in the next year or 2, cause they're probably gonna be in the dumps for a while after this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklax Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Jesus. They better win the Cup in the next year or 2, cause they're probably gonna be in the dumps for a while after this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklax Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 http://www.winterhawks.com/article/winterhawks-statement-on-whl-sanctions-suspension Today the Western Hockey League has announced disciplinary action against the Portland Winterhawks for violations related to player benefits. The WHL has forfeited the team from participating in the first five rounds of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft and the forfeiture of the team’s first round picks in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The WHL also announced the organization has been fined $200,000, and that General Manager & Head Coach Mike Johnston has been suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs. Assistant General Manager & Assistant Coach Travis Green will assume Johnston’s duties on an interim basis. What follows is a summary of the league’s findings, and a statement from Johnston: The Winterhawks were found to have committed the following violations: • A player contract signed in 2009, involving flights for the player’s family and a summer training program • Over the last five years, seven families were provided flights 2-4 times per season based on financial need and their distance from Portland • Twice in the last five years the team paid for two players to each have a one-week summer training regimen • The Winterhawks provided a cell phone for its team captain for a period of three seasons The WHL’s audit found no violations involving monetary payments made to players, their families or agents, or any violations related to the league’s educational packages. “After fully cooperating with the league’s investigation, we were extremely surprised at the excessive nature of the sanctions, and we don’t feel they are in line with the scope of the violations we were found to have committed,” said Johnston. “We believe that apart from recruiting trips and parents’ weekend, there is no prohibition in the rules governing flights for players’ parents, which were the majority of the infractions,” continued Johnston. “We are currently exploring our options on how we will proceed. Despite our objections, the league has made its decision, and our players will continue to pursue the goal of winning a WHL championship.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripsh0w Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 http://www.winterhaw...ions-suspension So many draft picks for that? Seems like the death penalty for a parking ticket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.