Quebec’s major junior hockey league bans fighting as part of intended culture change
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By Marc Antoine Godin
Mar 16, 2023
New Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) commissioner Mario Cecchini expressed Thursday the need for a culture change, and a ban on fighting will be a part of that change. Here’s what you need to know:
Cecchini, who is replacing Gilles Courteau after his 37-year tenure ended amidst the hazing scandal that shook the Canadian Hockey League, addressed the topic during his introductory news conference, saying, “I think we just need to adjust, at least on the things that have been discussed, like fighting and hazing.”
The QMJHL governors voted two weeks ago on a new rule that would see players involved in a fight given a game misconduct. While details still need to be finalized, there will be consideration given if one player defends himself against an obvious instigator.
The president of the QMJHL executive committee Richard Létourneau, who headed the search that led to Cecchini’s hire, confirmed that the league was going ahead with a fighting ban after years of political pressure.
What they’re saying
“We obviously have to improve on these situations, and even eliminate them in some cases,” Cecchini said about instances of fighting and hazing. “How do you make a culture change? With a lot of determination, with a lot of conviction, and with a lot of precision and clarity in how you expect everyone to behave. For me, that’s going to be paramount.”
On Thursday, Létourneau confirmed that the QMJHL members’ assembly endorsed the ban on fighting on Feb. 23.
“Yes, fights are prohibited,” Létourneau said. “Now the details have to be finalized. We have an expanded hockey committee, made up of general managers, coaches and owners, to come up with a way to apply this rule and have it accepted by the minister and have it ratified at our June members’ assembly.”
Backstory
In September 2020, the QMJHL changed its rule on fighting, adding a 10-minute misconduct to the usual five minutes for a fighting penalty, and a one-game suspension for any player who has accumulated three fights in the season. This change was in reaction to pressure from Quebec’s Minister for Education at the time, Isabelle Charest, who was threatening to withhold financial aid to the league’s 12 teams based in Quebec.
Despite the recent vote, Charest, who is now Quebec’s minister of sports, recreation and the outdoors, is asking for a suspension to be added to the game misconduct. She has not ruled out the possibility of forcing the league to adopt it through the provincial act respecting safety in sports.
“We don’t want to get to that point,” Charest told Le Journal de Québec on March 7. “The application of such a measure is their decision. They have the expertise and experience to implement the various regulations. But I still reiterated the need for something that, in my opinion, and that of many other leagues in the world, is non-negotiable.”
Cecchini intends to meet with Charest soon.
Marc Antoine Godin est directeur de la rédaction et journaliste principal à Athlétique Montréal. Autant passionné de sports que d’écriture, il a décroché une maîtrise en création littéraire à l’Université McGill avant de travailler pendant 17 ans au journal La Presse, dont les dix dernières à la couverture du Canadien de Montréal. Il trouve qu’on parle beaucoup trop de ce qui nous divise et pas assez de ce qui nous rassemble. Follow Marc Antoine on Twitter @MAGodin
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