Hey everyone, your friendly commissioner is back with another one of these columns to discuss the happenings of the CCHL.
1) The first-ever CCHL prospect tournament has been a pretty fun experience thus far. Going into the tournament the top three teams on paper in my eyes proved to be the top three in the tournament so we at least know that the rating system is accurate. I'd love to know the feedback from everyone that participated in it as well. Did you like it? Hate it? Would rather just run regular games from the 21st to the 31st?
I know I did not receive as many lines as I thought I might have received for it. I'm not sure if that's a product of injuries being off, the holidays, or both. It does not really matter to me as life is easier in the set up I run not to have them but I never mind getting them.
If we do run it again I would definitely like to be a little less last minute so we can have a better website for it rather than just using the file directory as it has proven challenging for a few people to find what they are looking for.
2) A lot of post-Christmas break trade activity is rolling in. The Halifax Norsemen are really diving deep on a rebuild after a slow month caused Mr. Wendt some concerns about his team's construction this year. Seeing Claude Giroux, Nicklas Backstrom, Tavares, and Voracek move out in one day could be concerning for their fan base but Blake will have them back in little time I'm sure.
3) Still on the trade front, I have never seen so many minor deals made at one time. It seems like people are just making trades for the sake of making trades! I know that's not the case but I was surprised at the volume of trades that have come in since the trade freeze was lifted. I thought everyone would be enjoying time with their families but they were working the phones. If Santa did not put the player under the tree for you, you're going to go out and get it!
4) Game 41 is coming up very soon for everyone so I'm expecting a flurry of trades after that point in time as well. I really do personally think that we are going to need to look at that rule as the intent was to ensure financial sacrifice was needed but it's led to just a lot of backlogged transactions and pre-arranged trades. Just speaking for myself I'd much rather see that rule turn into you can trade them before game 41 but the team that signed the UFA should be responsible for paying the first full year of the salary regardless if it's a trade in the preseason or game 7. This would eliminate the roster inflexibility while keeping that financial implication in place.
5) I'll leave you with my wishes for a Happy New Year. I don't think I need to tell everyone how tough 2020 was as everyone experienced it in their own way. The one thing I can honestly say is that when we started 2020, I did not think I'd be at the helm of this CCHL ship. I thought we had a good group at the top and I was sad to see Bill leave the league. I can only hope one day he'll be back as a GM of the Dayton Musicmen however that time does not appear to be anytime soon.
What I wanted to do is just say thanks to those that have stepped up to help the league run on a daily basis and to those that have for years. Of course, thank you to each member of the league as well for the time you spend making it fun for everyone. I'd like to think that the prospect tournament, moving to an online site draft and auto submitting the lineups have made your lives a bit easier as well. I would say it has based on the pace we're on for lineup submissions this year and it's exciting to see. I'm happy we have the group of hockey fanatics we have and look forward to this season and beyond.
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