Stephen Whyno, Associated Press Hockey Writer
A class action lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in New York alleging that major North American junior hockey systems are violating U.S. antitrust laws.
The lawsuit, brought by a local chapter of the World Federation of Ice Hockey Players' Union and two former major junior players, targets the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey, which make up the Canadian Hockey League, as well as the NHL. The plaintiffs claim that the leagues exploit teenagers in the sport by restricting their right to choose where to play and, as a result, limiting their compensation.
The NHL is named as a defendant for aiding and funding the CHL, and lawyers argue in the complaint that the NHL and its teams “exercised significant influence and control over the Major Junior Defendants, thereby facilitating the Major Junior Defendants' conspiracy.”
The lawyers call the system a “cartel that artificially suppresses and standardizes compensation by denying players freedom of choice, freedom of movement and freedom to play for the club of their choice.”
CHL did not immediately comment on the complaint.
“We have only just now become aware of the complaint filed by WAIPU, an organization not authorized to represent CHL players,” the league said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “Until we have thoroughly reviewed the document, we cannot comment on its validity.”
Representatives of the CHL and NHL received no advance notice and were not served with the complaint until Wednesday morning, after it was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Nine of the CHL's 60 teams are based in the U.S.: five in Washington state, two in Michigan, one each in Oregon and Pennsylvania. The rest are in Canada, but sports labor law experts don't think that matters, given that many antitrust issues extend beyond the U.S.
“They operate in the United States, and the end users of their most successful product would probably be NHL hockey players in both the U.S. and Canada,” said Michael LeRoy, a labor law professor at the University of Illinois. “I don't think that's an issue.”
Each state in the U.S. and province in Canada is assigned to one of three leagues – the QMJHL, OHL, or WHL – and players from those leagues cannot choose a league if they want to play in the CHL. Players are then drafted and teams own the rights to each player's entire junior career.
Junior hockey players did not have a union to collectively bargain with the league, and the move is similar to efforts by minor league baseball players to unionize in recent years, which led to a 2022 agreement with major league baseball.
LeRoy also likened the situation to the long-running battle college athletes have had with the NCAA, seeking name, image and likeness rights and changes to make it easier to transfer — something junior hockey players don't have.
“Ironically, (the lawsuit) points out that the NCAA has a much more liberal athletic labor system than is being addressed here,” LeRoy said.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction making the current geographical restrictions of the draft, contracts and agreements unenforceable, as well as damages for compensation to players and the league's profits. The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.
The two former major junior players named in the lawsuit are Isaiah DiLaura, 23, of Lakeville, Minnesota, and Tanner Gould, 19, of Calgary, Alberta.
“Teenage athletes, like me, continue to be treated like disposable objects,” DiRola said in a news release. “I hope this lawsuit will bring an end to that situation.”
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