(Montreal) No, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will not be soft. At least that’s what QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini believes after presenting the broad outlines of his plan aimed at strengthening the safety and well-being of players and league staff on Thursday morning.
Cecchini had to come to the defense of the Quebec circuit after several people publicly criticized during the summer – notably through podcast shows – the new rules that were adopted for the 2023 season. 24. He did so as part of the traditional press conference kicking off the QMJHL season.
Among those which have provoked the most reactions is the regulation aimed at stopping fights. Thus, from this season, a player involved in a skirmish will be automatically expelled from the match, and he could also receive a suspension of one match or more.
And this regulation seems to be working. Cecchini pointed out that there was only one fight recorded during the entire preseason schedule this season. By comparison, the league had 19 and 20 fights, respectively, during the preparatory schedules of the previous two seasons.
“We’re talking about hockey, changing culture and mentality, so I expect this kind of resistance there,” Cecchini first mentioned in reference to the negative reactions. My first reaction (when I’m told that the league will be soft) is to get my hands on the Memorial Cup. We saw the size of the Seattle Thunderbirds players… However, I didn’t see much softness on the side. from Quebec. At all. And they [the Remparts] controlled the match from A to Z.
“Is it fun to be called soft? I think I will answer as a former army general once did: “I will answer with the mouth of my cannons.” And I think that’s the best way we can do it,” he added.
Cecchini now hopes that the adoption of these new regulations will have repercussions on the rest of the Canadian Hockey League, which oversees the three major Canadian junior circuits (QMJHL, OHL and WHL). The commissioner also plans to raise the subject of fights with the leaders of the other major circuits in view of the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament in Saginaw, Michigan.
“The regulations on fighting have made their way, and I felt support for this regulation,” Cecchini said. I think it will make the other two leagues think about it. We are at a juncture… And I think it is the new generation that is taking us there. Young people bring us there. I think they no longer want to stand out in that way (by fighting). »
Furthermore, the Memorial Cup tournament will return to Quebec in 2025. Cecchini indicated that he was convinced of being able to announce the identity of the city which will obtain the prestigious tournament “by the end of 2023”.
The 2023-24 QMJHL season will officially get underway on Friday evening with the presentation of seven games.
The reigning Memorial Cup champions, the Quebec Remparts, will begin their regular schedule the next day, at home, against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
Cecchini, who officially took office on May 8, 2023 following the resignation of Gilles Courteau, took advantage of the press conference held in the morning in Montreal to highlight the work accomplished by the Office of the commissioner this summer.
The former president of the Montreal Alouettes hopes that his circuit can turn the page on one of the darkest years in the history of the QMJHL.
Should we remember that Cecchini succeeded Courteau after the latter left last March, at a time when the league he led for 37 years was splashed by allegations of sexual violence perpetrated against players for initiation activities.
Cecchini also highlighted his league’s response to the recommendations issued after the Parliamentary Commission hearings which took place earlier this year. In this sense, the league has applied a series of 10 recommendations in order to prevent slippage, or deviant behavior. Cecchini is, however, aware of the limits of the approach.
“You’re doing everything right, but there’s still going to be deviant, or unacceptable, behavior. We can adopt all the regulations you want, or all the penalties you want to combat drunk driving, unfortunately there will still be people who do it. So we chose to go there with a lot of awareness,” Cecchini explained.
Among the initiatives put in place is the establishment of a locker room code and a code of conduct.
The Code of Conduct sets out the league’s core values and the expected behaviors consistent with those values. These values include respect for self, others and the rules, integrity, safety, dignity, sportsmanship, self-improvement, commitment, perseverance, honesty and kindness.
In a similar vein, the locker room code represents a formal commitment to the behaviors expected of players and staff. Each QMJHL player and staff member will be required to sign this document as a commitment to respect it.
“It all comes back to respect. If you respect yourself and the people around you, then the rest will follow from that, Cecchini said. You will be polite to authority, you will respect authority. You have the right to ask questions, but at the end of the day, you can’t have 25 different codes of conduct. For me, it all comes down to respect. That’s the important thing. »
In the event of slippage, the league has entered into an agreement with the Complaints Officer whose role is to analyze complaints related to abuse, harassment and violence. The initiative creates an independent pathway for players and staff to report any concerns, a response to a key recommendation from MPs sitting on the Parliamentary Commission.
“The league, and the commissioner, will be the last to take notice of a complaint. In this way, we want to ensure the independence of the process of handling any complaints that may arise, explained Cecchini. We will see how it will be used, but we hope that it will be used as little as possible. »
