OHL team in St. Catharines facing ‘independent investigation’ into ‘alleged offensive comments’
Published March 10, 2022 at 8:42 pm
The Niagara IceDogs are facing an investigation that appears to centre on whether members of the hockey team violated the league’s diversity policy.
On Thursday, Sportsnet hockey insider Jeff Marek reported that the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) “is launching an independent investigation into the Niagara IceDogs over alleged offensive comments made by people in senior positions on a team group chat.” Marek broke the news regarding the St. Catharines-based hockey club minutes after the OHL, a professional-environment development league for players aged 16 to 20, announced it had expelled an executive from another team.
Also, the OHL is launching an independent investigation into the Niagara IceDogs over alleged offensive comments made by people in senior positions on a team group chat.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) March 10, 2022
Flint Firebirds president of hockey operations Terry Christensen was kicked out of the league on Thursday, following an investigation into remarks that violated the league’s diversity policy. The OHL said an investigation into Christensen began after an allegation was brought forward via the OHL player communications system.
The OHL statement did not go into detail on the nature of Christensen’s remarks. Rick Westhead of BellMedia, who reports for TSN and CTV’s investigative newsmagazine W5, reported last week that Christensen was suspended after making an alleged inappropriate racial comment about a player.
Marek did not add further detail about whether “senior positions” referred to senior management, players who were entrusted as captain or alternate captains, or both.
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The investigation of conduct within the IceDogs organizations comes near the end of a retooling season in Niagara. The IceDogs are in the league cellar with a .330 point percentage after 50 games, with 18 left in the schedule.
Finishing last will not assure the IceDogs of the No. 1 pick in the OHL Priority Selection draft. The OHL has elected to use a lottery where all four non-playoff teams will have an equal chance of receiving the No. 1 pick.
The Saginaw Spirit (.343 point pct.), Sudbury Wolves (.398) and Erie Otters (.470) are the other teams that are out of the playoff picture. The regular season ends on April 17.
The NHL draft lottery uses a weighted system where the team with the worst record has the best odds. But the OHL opted for a “randomized” process to determine the top four choices because its COVID-19 protections for this season included an “expanded unbalanced schedule” with very limited interconference play.
— with files from The Canadian Press; cover photo by Terry Wilson, OHL Images
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