It’s been a longer regular season for all players, with more teams extending their season on both the start and end of the year. Through conversations with our Associations, parents and players on what’s working and what isn’t, the OMHA is constantly looking at ways to create the best experience and trying new things.
One of the major changes over the last few seasons has been OMHA Championships presented by Egg Farmers of Ontario. Many teams are in the thick of Qualifiers, with everyone playing meaningful hockey until the beginning of March. It’s a change that has brought on a new format for those Championship weekends, now in their second season.
“From our side, it’s a necessary change. We’ve been challenged by the OHF to have all our teams playing until March 1st. Based on our size, we can’t run series the old way,” said Michael Dundas, Manager of Hockey Development at the OMHA. “We used to have to start those January 5th to get those to the middle of March ending with two teams in a traditional playoff, best-of series format. Just based on the fact we have to have all of our teams going until March 1st, we can’t pare down to two teams within four weeks.”