User:Slave28/Hockey Eastern Ontario

Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO), formerly known as the Ottawa District Hockey Association, is the governing body of all organized ice hockey leagues and associations based in and out of the Greater Ottawa area. It also governs many other aspects of the sport such as officiating, disciplinary action, mentoring and much more. HEO is one of thirteen regional branches of Hockey Canada. The ODHA became HEO in the July 1st, 2013.

Presidents

 * (*) Have also been President/Chairman of Hockey Canada

Objectives
The objectives of Hockey Eastern Ontario are:


 * to foster, improve, and perpetuate the sport of Amateur Hockey within the territory under its control
 * to secure the enforcement of the rules of the game as adopted by the Association
 * to conduct elimination competition for the different Association Champions as well as Challengers for Inter-Branch and Canadian Championships
 * to adjudicate on all questions arising from and pertaining to Amateur Hockey within the Association

Early days of hockey in Eastern Ontario
1880 - First hockey team in Ottawa

1886 - Amateur Hockey Association of Canada

1892 - Stanley Cup

C.C.H.A. (1916-1920)
1919 Finally after some tumulus few weeks, the Ottawa leagues put an end to their feuding and join the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association on December 21, 1919. Under the instructions Quebec Branch  President Granger, Vice-President Halpin, of the Capital League, accompanied by the other four clubs, called on  Ed Archibald, president of the Ottawa Federation and handed him the individual applications of the clubs which requested they continue playing at The Arena to honor their contract. Archibald stated he could not at the for a few days and ordered the cancellation of the Capital League games. Dissatisfied with this decision, the Capital Leaguers appealed to President Granger again. Later that afternoon, he sent a wire to the league offering to sanction the games on the condition that they settle their differences with their archival club. An emergency meeting was called at the Chateau Laurier at 5:30 where George Church and other neutral sportsmen gathered and they quickly put an end to their hostilities and focused on the game of hockey. At this junction the Ottawa Federation finally approved the Capital League’s application. It was then decided to merge the Capital and City Leagues as the Ottawa Section of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.

1920 On December 12, 1920, The Ottawa district was admitted to full membership as a branch of the Union. Captain Ed Archibald's exuberant reaction easily described what the decision meant fro the greater Ottawa region.

The birth of an association
1920 Upon his return from the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (A.A.U. of C.) meeting in Winnipeg, Captain E.B. Archibald was highly optimistic for the future of amateur sport in Ottawa. He successfully secured autonomy for the Ottawa district by convincing the A.A.U. of C. that it was better suited to be one of its branches as opposed to a sub branch of the Quebec branch.

"Ottawa district is greatly indebted to Mr R. E. Melville, secretary of the Quebec branch of the A.A.U. of C., of which Ottawa was a part, for his strong presentation of Ottawa’s case and his appeal for self-government for his district. In my opinion there is no reason why the new Ottawa branch of the A.A.U of C. should not have a very successful future as they are now able to not only control, but also boost all branches of amateur sport in their district. Long delays for rulings from Quebec branch will be a thing of the past and there will be no opportunity for the old time feeling of being wrongly used by both Quebec and Ontario branches. In my humble opinion Ottawa and district, which includes the Valley and part of the Upper St. Lawrence, should be the strongest branch of the union."

The only objection from the A.A.U. of C. was in regards to the name Central Canada Hockey Association which would have to be changed to Ottawa and District Hockey Association, (O.& D.H.A.) as it was felt that the wording Central Canada gave the wrong geographical impression.

1921 It didn't take long for the newly formed association to get it's proverbial feet wet as barely had the New Year's bell rung had a squabble started between the Montcalm Hockey Club of the City Hockey League and the Hull Club of the Lower Ottawa Association. In a letter to O.& D.H.A. Secretary Frank Smith, an officer of the Montcalm Club pointed out the loss of four of his star players to the Hull Club and threaten to pull out of the league altogether if they were not returned as it would seriously weakened their club. On January 3rd, 1921, a special league meeting was called at the Y.M.C.A. where the O.& D.H.A. first ever elected president, Silver Quilty, was requested to attend the session as this was regarded as a serious matter, but it was doubtful he could do much. The constitution is there and according to the Hull Club, the four players, Decasse, Gratton, Fortier and Girouard are their property. The Hull delegates would rather keep all four players out of hockey for the remainder of the season then to surrender them to Montcalm. The bickering went on for over an hour until Frank Smith suggested each team take two players, an idea that Hull jumped at immediately but it was only after Montcalm nagged at the thought for awhile that they finally conceded. They claimed Decasse and Girouard and Hull happy to get Gratton and Fortier. They even had to deal with a team using suspended players before their inaugural first season was through.

The rise of amateur hockey in eastern ontario
1921 Prior to the start of the 1921/22 hockey season, the O.& D.A.H.A. altered its moniker slightly and began calling itself the O.& D.A.H.A..

1922 In an effort to increase amateur hockey in Eastern Ontario the O.& D.A.H.A. decided to address the issue by reducing the amount of senior leagues. They thought one senior league of six teams was quite sufficient for its geographical area and it would allow for the development of amateur leagues. This was met with great resistance from the senior leagues. At the O.& D.A.H.A. meeting at the Chateau Laurier on Wednesday 8, 1922, the delegates in attendance balked at the idea when it was brought forth. Mayor Frank Plant, who represented Group I (Rideau Group), suspected there was a conspiracy afoot to deprive his league of its identity. He demanded his group participate in the upcoming season. He then moved a motion to have the 5 best teams in the city merge into one league at the end of the season. After the delegates argued the pros and cons, the chairman had to cast the deciding vote and it was decided a six team league would be formed. Dr. J.R. Hand argued for the Capital League (Group II). Votes casted in favour came from the Upper and Lower Ottawa groups along with the Capital League and the Aylmer Intermediate loop. Those in opposition were; The Rideau League and Group I as well as the Central Ottawa and the Intermediate City League

Silver Quilty who had guided the O.& D.A.H.A. since its inception resigned and a new president was elected; P.R. Moran of the Upper Valley League. Moran had been involved with amateur hockey for several years now and seemed well suited for the position bestowed upon him.

The introduction of junior hockey in Ottawa
1927

Hockey grows but still can't accommodate the demand
1930 - St. Lawrence affiliation, Rideau accepts Kemptville, Immigration of players

The inception of juvenile and midget hockey
1937 The birth of organized Juvenile and Midget hockey happened at the old Auditorium. Twenty-three clubs came to a meeting there on November 19, 1937. The delegates discussed the idea in its entirety, a future meeting will be held where many more teams will hopefully be in attendance. The juvenile teams would be divided into zones of twelve four-team groups operating. Conveyers would be appointed for each zone and would be drawn up for each group and the group survivors would compete in a [championship]]. Indications point to roughly twenty-eight midget clubs and this calculates to seven groups of four teams each with the same championship process as the juveniles. Delegates in attendance were quite excited with the prospect of this venture as many already had juvenile teams but they were warned that they were responsible for providing proof of age restrictions.

Planting the seeds of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
1941 -

World War II and its impact on hockey in the District
1941 -

The onset of amateur hockey in international competition
1947 Between 1940 and 1947, all hockey on the world stage was suspended due to the Second World War. The Olympics of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled as well as the Ice Hockey World Championships of 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945 and 1946. It wasn’t until 1947 that the first International Hockey event took place with the World Ice Hockey Championships held in Prague, Czechoslovakia between February 15th and 23rd. As preparations were being made to decide what team to send to Prague, rumours began to surface in Britain that a riff had begun between the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (C.A.H.A.) and the International Ice Hockey Association (I.I.H.A.). With only eleven days remaining to forward a reply whether the Dominion would send a team to Europe the C.A.H.A. was quickly running out of time. Having just asked the Calgary Stampeders, the previous year’s Allan Cup Champions, and having the invitation turned down, the Edmonton Canadians, finalists in the previous season’s Memorial Cup playdowns expressed interest. The C.A.H.A. also sent invitations to the Winnipeg Monarchs who were senior and junior champions the previous year as well the Hamilton Tigers who contested for the Allen Cup and were setting a very fast pace in their respective league at the time but neither wanted anything to do with the 14 week junket. The C.A.H.A. made it clear that if they couldn’t ice a competitive team, they would pull out of the competition altogether. By December 14th, the Edmonton Canadians seemed to be the team that would be representing the Dominion but many in wondered if sending a junior club really was Canada’s best chance at the World Championships. The Canadians were even stunned at the expenses presented to them by the British Ice Hockey Association (B.I.H.A.). By December 19th, the Edmonton Canadians chances of going to Prague suddenly took a turn for the worst as they had to come up with their own way to get to New York from Edmonton as the B.I.H.A. would only cover the expenses from New York to Prague. The Edmonton Canadians made it official on December 20th, they announced that they would not make the trip to Prague. C.H. Dudley, secretary of the C.A.H.A. stated that as afr as the C.A.H.A was concerned, since the Canadians weren’t going, the matter was now closed and that there would be no representation coming from the Dominion to the World Championships. During the C.A.H.A. semi-annual meeting held in Toronto in late December, the O.& D.A.H.A.'s President Emile Brisebois, secretary Cecil Duncan, James P. McCaffrey, John Keenan and W. B. George discussed the Memorial Cup, Allan Cup, the 1948 Olympics and of course the upcoming World Championships in Prague. Dr. W. G. Hardy, President of the International Ice Hockey Association (I.I.H.A.) stated during the meeting that Canada is hockey’s main supplier of players and should have more voting power then countries who are not as active in the sport, and that the I.I.H.A. had been formed to allow the C.A.H.A. to dominate the hockey world and that is the most critical point for a merger to happen with the L.I.H.G. Based on a resolution he formed in 1941 he authorized then Hanson Dowell, then president of the C.A.H.A. to agree with a merger with the L.I.H.G. provided that;

"1. The new body recognized the definition of an amateur as understood by the C.A.H.A – an athlete no actively engaged in professional sport. 2. That in the judgement of the president that progress is being made toward a system of membership and voting in the new organization which is satisfactory to the C.A.H.A. 3. That the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States is admitted to membership in the new organization as the controlling body of hockey in the United States."

Should Dowell not be able to come to a resolution in Prague he is to report back to the C.A.H.A. on his return. Should the Federation be formed, he is instructed to forward Dr. Hardy’s name as first vice-president. As the New Year got under way, the B.I.H.A. shocked the world ice hockey community when it announced it would also not send a team to the World Championships. This was now the second country who was having questions regarding the wording of the amateur status of hockey players. Meanwhile in the United States, the Americans were in a bitter dispute of their own, sending a second team to Prague to compete in the World Championships. Already playing exhibition games was the Amateur Hockey Association (A.H.A.) while on its way was the Amateur Athletic Union (A.A.U.). Which team would represent the U.S. would be up to the International Ice Hockey Federation which would meet just prior to the Championships. By late January, news of the C.A.H.A.’s plans for the International Amateur Hockey Conference in Prague reached the shores of England and a worried B.I,H.A. started wondering what would happen should the Dominion separate from the L.I.H.G. With their source of players cut off they would find themselves with empty rinks, a situation that would more than likely see the end of the B.I.H.A.  On February 4th, Dowell and Duncan, boarded the RMS Queen Elizabeth for their journey across the Atlantic as they headed to the International Amateur Hockey Conference in Prague being held during the World Championships. Conflicting reports regarding the purpose of the meeting surfaced upon Dowell’s return when he stated that a merger was not on the agenda and that all they were concerned about was the amateur status (which Dowell requested be postponed until he had a chance to speak further with Duncan) and the admittance of the A.H.A. (which have now been admitted as members). When questioned after the meeting, he said he was unaware of Duncan’s travelling with him to Prague until he left New York. On Thursday February 20th, the L.I.H.G. stated that all teams sponsored by them must adhere their definition of amateurism, which has been accepted by the International Olympic Committee. It also said it had no objection to the C.A.H.A. continued usage of their terminology of the word, which was; “A player who has not engaged or is not engaged in organized professional hockey – for competition in the Dominion”  The L.I.H.G. preferred the term “dependent” as a player who is not “dependent” on hockey for a living although he receives payment for matches played. Cecil Duncan of the O.& D.A.H.A.. stated the next day that he had no comments regarding the Canadian Hockey developments at the International meetings and that he would be returning to Canada by plane.

New playoff format
1949 -

Creation of the O.D.M.H.A.
1949

Changes to the Constitution
1950 At the 31st O.& D.A.H.A. meeting held at the Chateau Laurier Saturday afternoon, December 2, 1950, President J.M. Flett presided over 47 delegates who represented teams from ten leagues. Several topics were discussed throughout the afternoon and some changes were made to the O.& D.A.H.A.'s constitution. In the past leagues would apply for memberships and get voting privileges, now teams could apply and send delegates to vote. Another change classified the Lower League and the Rideau League as seniors, making them eligible for the Allen Cup. Also referees became under the direct control of the O.& D.A.H.A. at this time. It was also during this meeting that the Junior Montagnards Club was given permission to affiliate itself with RCAF. Some changes were made to rules regarding players in regards to zoning. If a player cannot play for his home team, he can play for any other team so long as hi home team grants him permission. Should permission be denied, ha can appeal to the O.& D.A.H.A. and the move shall be granted unless there is proof a payment has been received. An unlimited number of players can commute to any pint within the district. And finally, players had to fill out certificates or risk being suspended if playing without one filled.

O.D.H.A.(1952-2013)
1952 On November 1, 1952, for the second time in its history the O.D.H.A. meeting will be held outside of Ottawa, and this will be the first time since the association was reorganized a number of years ago. The last meeting out of Ottawa was held in Renfrew in the 20’s.

Junior hockey on life support
1956

The difficult years of Lloyd Laporte
1966-1968 - 1965, OHA expansion, district rezoning, monties refusal, double card incident, Mustangs conflict, Finances - 1966, Hawkesbury debacle, Junior "A" contraction, Junior "B" expansion

1969
In mid October of 1969, the Rideau St. Lawrence and Upper Ottawa Valley leagues were raised from junior "C" to junior "B". Also it was decided to make helmets mandatory as of January 1, 1970. This keeps the O.D.H.A. in line with the O.H.A. junior "A" league.

Bears and Braves suspensions
1973

Western Quebec leaves O.D.H.A.
1974

Junior "B" league realigned
1974

The Alf Taylor report
1980

The final chapter of the O.D.H.A.
2003 The O.D.H.A. moved to 1247 Kilborn Place on Thursday September 18th, 2003, signed to a five year lease agreement with an option to extend its clause. An informal ribbon-cutting ceremony was conducted where several V.I.P.'s were invited as well as the media.

Jurisdiction
Empowered by Hockey Canada, Hockey Eastern Ontario has jurisdiction over the eastern part of Ontario that includes Lanark County, Renfrew County, and Leeds County, but does not include the town of Gananoque and the portion of Highway No. 32 and south of Highway No. 15 in the Province of Ontario) and that part of Quebec including the provincial counties of Pontiac, Hull, Gatineau and Papineau.

Districts
Hockey Eastern Ontario governs and oversees ten (10) districts within its boundaries:

Board Members
Current board members as of July 1st, 2014.


 * Mike Depratto - President
 * Ron McRostie - First VP
 * Raymond Renaud - VP Finance
 * Richard Waldroff - VP Development
 * Kevin Abrams - VP Junior
 * Denis Dumais - VP Minor
 * Steve Sleigh - VP Rules & Officials
 * Jeff Steele - VP Risk,Safety & Conduct Mgmt.
 * Ian Henderson - Director Jr. A
 * Raymond Lavergne - Director Jr. B
 * Ian McRae - Director Jr. C
 * Mike Pritchard - Director of Officials
 * Les Matthews - Director of Minor
 * Gerald Beuman - Director of Minor
 * Bill Vankeeken - Director of Minor
 * John Hill - Director at Large
 * Ted Ward - Director at Large
 * Hubert Seguin - Director at Large
 * Bruce Baskin - Director at Large

Active leagues under H.E.O. jurisdiction
The following leagues fall under the jurisdiction of Hockey Eastern Ontario:

Junior level
Junior "A", "B" & "C" Leagues of Eatern Ontario The Rideau Division plays 45 games, the other 3 divisions play 41.

Minor level
Minor "AAA", "AA", "A" & "B" Leagues in Eastern Ontario

Notable Alumni
Here is a list of individuals who have been part of H.E.O. in one form or another and have had other very successful achievements.

Awards
Hockey Eastern Ontario hands out the following awards annually:

Richard T. Sennott Development Award
Awarded annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the development of hockey in the Hockey Eastern Ontario Branch. The individual may be from the field of coaching, training, officiating, administration, sports medicine or sports psychology.

2014 Award Winners *Coaching - Gregg Kennedy *Training - Phil Jugo *Officiating - John Reid

Volunteer of the Year Award
A grassroots award created to recognize Hockey Eastern Ontario volunteers who exceed the normal duties and exhibit commitment and dedication to the game of hockey. Who is eligible? *Any volunteer active at the grassroots level of hockey in Ontario *Someone who puts Fair Play and Sportsmanship ahead of winning *A non-executive member of any minor hockey association within HEO *Someone who exemplifies the “Ideal Role Model” of Volunteers *A coach, manager, trainer, parent or someone you feel deserves to be recognized for their contribution to the sport of hockey *A parent who is always ready to car pool to the rink every week

2014 Award Winner *Else Godo-Desjardins

Jim Sterling Bursary
B.F. Lorenzetti & Associates Inc., the insurance brokers of Hockey Canada, will be providing the Jim Sterling $1,000.00 bursary to a Branch member enrolled in a post-secondary institution or graduating from high school in the spring of 2014.

2014 Award Winners *Michael Nellis *Scott LeBoeuf

HEO Organizational Chart
Hockey Eastern Ontario's organization breaks down as follows: