Conflicting reports regarding the removal of body-checking in the OHL
There was a buzz on social media Friday afternoon after Sportsnet released an article stating the Ontario Hockey League would be returning next season with body-checking.
"Lisa MacLeod, Ontario's minister of sport, confirmed the decision on Friday afternoon," said the Sportsnet article, which was written by the Canadian Press.
"She said that removing purposeful physical contact from the game was a necessary step to preventing the spread of COVID-19."
However, according to TSN's Darren Dreger, no such decision has been made.
"Sources say there has been no official decision on removing bodychecking from the OHL," wrote Dreger on Twitter. "There has been a number of discussions between the league and the provincial government. Talks and negotiations are ongoing."
There have been rumours regarding the potential removal of body-checking from the OHL next season for several weeks now. Fans and hockey lovers are balking at the decision and it's difficult to blame them. Players in the OHL are usually aiming for an NHL career-some have in fact already been drafted-and playing without body-checking wouldn't just water down the game, it would stunt the development of those hoping to make the big leagues some day.
The OHL and several other leagues are rumoured to be returning the first week of February. While an official decision on hitting appears to have yet been made, there is still the possibility it could happen. Ontario has been a hotspot for COVID-19 the last few weeks and the province has been taking several measures in an attempt to stop it.
The league has released a statement on the matter.
“Until such time as we arrive at an agreed upon Return to Play protocol with the Government of Ontario, the League will have no further comment on the matter of body contact.”
| G | A | PTS | ||
| William Nylander | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Alex Tuch | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Nic Dowd | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Connor McDavid | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Mikhail Sergachev | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Auston Matthews | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Shane Wright | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sam Bennett | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Bowen Byram | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Macklin Celebrini | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Knies | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Andrew Mangiapane | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Aliaksei Protas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Provorov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 55 | 38 | 14 | 3 | 79 | |
Capitals | 53 | 35 | 11 | 7 | 77 | |
Oilers | 53 | 33 | 16 | 4 | 70 | |
Stars | 53 | 34 | 18 | 1 | 69 | |
Hurricanes | 54 | 32 | 18 | 4 | 68 | |
Golden Knights | 54 | 31 | 17 | 6 | 68 | |
Panthers | 55 | 32 | 20 | 3 | 67 | |
Maple Leafs | 53 | 32 | 19 | 2 | 66 | |
Wild | 54 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 66 | |
Devils | 55 | 30 | 19 | 6 | 66 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||