For decades, hockey has been at the heart of Canadian identity. From Olympic gold medals to Stanley Cups, the sport has brought international acclaim to the country thanks in large part to the players and teams that represent it on the world stage.
But where does that journey begin?
For many of Canada’s top NHL players, the path started in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) one of the Canadian Hockey League’s major junior circuits, often described as the NHL’s developmental league. The OHL has produced some of the game’s greatest talents and continues to shape future stars.
But before the bright lights of OHL arenas, players often go through years of competitive minor hockey.
Mike Stubbs, play-by-play host for the London Knights, says that beyond practice, there’s something else that truly helps a player reach the OHL level.
“Well, I mean, overall talent. You get to that level, and you are good. People always like to look and say, ‘Oh, I could have scored that.’ No, no you could not have, or you would have been playing at this level.
It’s a really high level of hockey. So obviously, you need that skill. You need that determination.
The other thing, believe it or not—maybe one of the hardest adjustments to the Ontario Hockey League is that you need to simplify your game. You need to look for the simple play more than you look for, ‘I think I can make my way through three guys, put the puck through my own feet, and roof it.’
You need to be able to say, ‘No, this is as much of a team game as it gets right now.’ I’m going to make it safer. I’m going to make the smarter play. But certainly, I’m going to make the simple play.”
So where do hockey players develop these skills that turn them into great future athletes? What are the advantages of playing more advanced hockey at a younger age?
“Well, I think the coaching at both the double-A and certainly the triple-A levels of minor hockey has improved drastically over the years. Most of the players end up coming out of triple-A programs.
It used to be, ‘Whose dad wants to do this?’ Now, you’ve got former National Hockey Leaguers coaching.
That is a big, big help just the understanding of the game and what it takes. A lot of players think they know what it takes to play at the OHL level or even the next level, professionally and then they go to a training camp and realize, ‘I was totally wrong.’
You have to be in much better shape. You have to be more committed to your game. You’ve got to be willing to do the work outside the rink. You’ve got to go to bed on time, get your sleep, eat right.
All of those things need to be in place, because so many other players are doing it. If you’re not, you’re putting yourself behind.”
Now that we understand how a player gets to the OHL, former London Knight and New York Islander Dave Simpson shares what it was like entering the league back in his day and how it compares to today.
“Every era has its own opinions on the quality of play. One thing I’ve noticed about junior hockey today is that you basically can’t touch anyone without getting a penalty. If your stick goes anywhere near someone’s hands that’s a power play.
I always laugh and say, ‘It would’ve been much easier for me to play now because I just got physically abused.’
Slashing wasn’t a penalty. Cross-checking wasn’t a penalty. So in that sense, it was harder.
On the other hand, I remind people that when there was a big, strong defenseman in my day, they usually weren’t fast skaters. So I was never really intimidated. I could just dance around them.
But if you watch junior hockey today everybody can skate.
In our day, we went to training camp to start getting in shape. Now, these kids have 0% body fat and work out all year.
We didn’t exactly ‘work out’ , we played golf and had a little fun in the summer. So, in that sense, I’d say it’s tougher now.”
Many great players have made it to the OHL but didn’t advance beyond it, aging out of the league. So what happens to those players and how does that affect them? Dave Simpson, who chose to leave the NHL and pursue other ventures, offers advice for players who may be facing that same decision.
“First of all, I always felt like I was in a hurry because my friends were graduating and getting their first jobs.
You get into your twenties and start worrying about falling behind everyone else. But now that I’m in my sixties, I realize life is long.
It goes by quickly, but don’t stress about being ‘behind,’ because you can only physically play this sport when you’re relatively young.
If you’re enjoying yourself and not setting yourself back, then keep going. In my case, I always went to summer school to make sure I was getting my undergraduate degree.
If you haven’t finished school while playing junior hockey, make sure you keep going. I took correspondence courses when I lived in the U.S. with the Islanders, worked in hotels, and made sure I got all my grades so that when I decided to come back, I was ready to go to professional school like business.
So, keep up your studies so you have lots of options.
Don’t make as quick a decision as I did. I wasn’t old at 24, but I thought I was because I wanted to ‘get on with my life.’
But there’s a lot of life to be lived. You can probably only reasonably play hockey until your early thirties, maybe a bit longer nowadays since there’s not as much bad hitting.
Anyway, play while you’re young, don’t miss that opportunity. But as my mother always told me: keep all your doors open. That means education, so you’re ready to jump into something else, too.”
Interested in this story?
Check out the Almost 107 Podcast episode, where I dive even deeper into the journey to the OHL.
