The International Hockey League (IHL) wrapped up the first day of its Annual Meetings this afternoon. The following items were discussed during the Board of Governor's meeting:
* The Executive Committee voted Michael Franke-Fort Wayne Komets, as Chairman of the Board and Frank Kinney- Port Huron Icehawks as Vice Chairman for the 2008-09 season.
* The IHL Board of Governors unanimously approved a proposal for the supervisor of officials, increasing supervision of all on-ice officials with additional staffing of supervisors so more IHL games will be supervised during the 08-09 season.
“This will provide support to Brad Jones, Vice President of Hockey Operations, and improve the accountability of our on-ice officials” stated Paul L. Pickard, President/CEO of the International Hockey League. “This approval demonstrates the commitment of the Board of Governors to increasing the quality of officiating in our league.”
* The trading deadline will be moved to thirty (30) days prior to the final day of the regular season.
* The IHL will eliminate the 7, 10, and 14 day injured reserve (IR). The league will implement a 30-day IR, a season-ending IR and continue to have a non-roster spot.
* The Board of Governors will continue the meetings Tuesday and Wednesday.
Comments
what does the IR change mean, can someone explain it to my like i'm a 6 year old?
IR ~ stands for injured reserve.
It means you no longer have to create injuries to hide a healthy player on IR. There's just a 22-man roster and a player can now be a healthy scratch without having to go on IR. If a guy dogs it on Friday, he can sit on Saturday without having to come up with an injury.
I think what burgee is trying to say is...how is this change going to impact the coming season? In the past a team could carry 24 players. 19 active skaters for each game, one healthy scratch, up to 3 players on IR (7, 10, 14), and one non-roster spot.
When players are on IR they do not count against the roster, therefore some teams use the IR to keep players at certain levels of play (rookie, veteran, tweener). I see this move as a way to keep that from happening.
I am not sure I agree with this move, unless the league is going to increase the roster size or eliminate roster size limitations all together. Otherwise players would have to be placed on waivers when injured to make room for healthy players.
Will this mean a player will have to remain on IR for the entire 30 days, even if the player is ready to play again after say, 7 to 10 days?
Having more supervisors at the game is a good idea. I realize that there are financial considerations, but in a 6 team league there should be a supervisor at nearly every game.
I think it is a good idea; When a player has an issue like Chaulk did last year, they no longer have to put him on IR for something that might take a day or two.
I wish they would explore the idea of having two refs. I know there is the cost issue. Maybe they could do it in the playoffs. I guess they would have the problem of too many calls or conflicts between the two refs.
I have been wanting to try the two referee system for several years now.....I'm not holding my breath on that one.....
Actually, I'm on vacation and won't be back for two weeks. My guess is it won't matter. Most teams will keep the 19-man game night roster and one or two extra players. There was no one healthy scratch last year. Either you were on the IR or you played. This way there can be a healthy scratch or two or maybe three. It depends on how big they want the roster to be.
The real change is going to be against the salary cap which is not going up, meaning all 21 or 22 active players will count against the cap since they can be eligible to play in any game. You'll only use the 30-day list if someone faces a serious long-term injury.
Two refs will never happen, in part because the owners don't believe it actually makes much difference. It's minor league hockey, it's flawed. Besides, what would everybody have to gripe about? KIDDING.
2 Ref's would put me over the edge, if Hawthorne and Mondalek showed up for the same game i'd have the big one!
Any news on Youngstown joining the league?