QMJHL Commissioner Mario Cecchini was well aware that changing the name of his 55-year-old league was a perilous exercise. And he believes his organization met the challenge with flying colors.
From now on, the league will be known as the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League. The French logo remains unchanged. This change in nomenclature aims to integrate the six concessions located in the Maritime provinces into the league’s brand identity.
Thus, during a meeting held in Pointe-Claire, the QMJHL Members’ Assembly adopted a resolution aimed at ratifying the new name of the league and unveiling a logo in English.
“Most of the teams in the Maritimes section have been part of the circuit for over 20 years, contributing significantly to its success since expansion into this region of eastern Canada,” reads the press release explaining decision.
“Out of respect for our teams in the Maritimes and their fans, it was a priority for me, upon taking office, to include them in the designation of the circuit. It was a unanimous decision on the part of the membership office,” Cecchini said.
Aware that this new name could irritate some, Cecchini indicated that he was not going to hold it against those who would prefer to keep the original one, that is to say Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“I think that the fact that we can continue to say “LHJMQ”, and that the logo remains the same, is something reassuring for people, he said. But yes, I can understand that people will react, and that is very correct.
“Even if people bother for several months and several years to say Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, we won’t have a ‘bacon’ fit with that,” he continued.
The commissioner also indicated that other names had been studied, including the Eastern Major Junior Hockey League, but that they had not been retained. Also asked if he was going to make another name change, in the event that new QMJHL franchises were established in the United States, for example, Cecchini quickly put the brakes on this suggestion.
“No, I wouldn’t think so. If we look at the OHL and the WHL, which have clubs there (in the United States), it’s different. If we had two clubs out of 20 in the United States, it wouldn’t be equal representation… But again, the Maritimes have brought so much to our league over the last 30 years, I think it was recognition that was deserved.” he mentioned.
Furthermore, Cecchini maintained in his mid-season report that the downward trend in the number of fights observed during the preparatory calendar continued in the regular season.
“The (new) regulation has done its work; we’re at 13 fights so far, Cecchini said. To make it easier for you, we were one fight per seven games last year, while we are more like one fight per 21 games this season. This means that there are three times fewer fights this season.
“Moreover, some feared that this regulation would lead to more dirty tricks,” he continued. We didn’t get it. In terms of suspensions, we are approximately at the same point as last year at this time. »
Cecchini also highlighted that the league had noted a 4% increase in ticket office attendance since the start of the season on September 22.
” This is good news. We are on the right track, because we all know that it is a challenge to sell tickets in Quebec and the Maritimes in a post-COVID period,” he summarized.
Finally, Cecchini said he was very happy that seven players from his circuit, as well as a coach, had been selected for Team Canada, with a view to the World Junior Hockey Championship which will begin on December 26 in Gothenburg, in Sweden.
“It feels good, because the last few years have been difficult. They will be key players, who will play important roles, so I think we can be very happy at that level,” concluded Cecchini.
