This afternoon, the Ontario Hockey League announced hefty sanctions on the Niagara IceDogs, citing failure to meet the league’s Maltreatment, Bullying and Harassment Protection and Prevention Policy, and the league’s Code of Conduct. The investigation was performed by a third party and was conducted over a period of several months.
Approximately 15 team members, including former players, coaches, staff, and team officials, were investigated. To maintain the integrity of the investigation, team Owner, Governor, and General Manager Darren DeDobbelaer was asked to keep the investigation private and to not make discussions regarding any information related to the investigation.
After the investigation finished, the Commissioner of the OHL, David Branch, announced his disciplinary actions regarding the IceDogs:
- In relation to the 2022/2023 season, the Niagara IceDogs are hereby fined $100,000.
- The Niagara IceDogs shall forfeit their first selection in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection draft.
- Effective immediately, Darren DeDobbelaer is suspended from acting as team General Manager for two seasons to June 1, 2025.
- Niagara IceDog players Joshua Rosenzweig and Landon Cato have permanently lost the privilege to participate in the OHL.
For context, although instructed to keep the contents of the investigation confidential, DeDobbelaer was found to have breached that agreement, and will now be suspended for two seasons in the OHL. The players listed, Joshua Rosenzweig and Landon Cato, were found to be in serious violation of the league’s Player Maltreatment Policy and will therefore be banned from the OHL for the rest of their playing careers.
This will not be the first sanctions given out to the IceDogs, as former General Manager Joey Burke and head coach Billy Burke were suspended in 2022 after an investigation concluded they had used inappropriate and profane language to describe a female colleague. The team was sold shortly thereafter to DeDeobbelaer, as the former owners, Bill Burke and Denise Burke, were the parents of the suspended individuals.
Not a fan of taking away draft picks in this case
Lol the worst ran team in junior. How this crap keeps happening is beyond me.
Wrong JR is linked.
link to eliteprospects.com
A certain degree of wokeness was required here, I am sure……
If that’s what you call not being a bully then you are just as bad as the ones who did it.
Hazing and bullying doesn’t do anyone or anything any good.
Have went to a school here in the states I watched a girl get killed as a result of a fight during a hazing incident.
There just isn’t a reason for it ever.
“Wokeness” now just means not being a complete piece of human **** to everyone else you meet…evidently.
Too funny.
People need to get tougher and stop letting words upset them. They’re nothing but constants and vowels strung together to form a word. How you interpret the word is your problem.
Should I interpret your word “constants” to mean “consonants”? lmao
Exactly, Incel.