New Carding Rules Will Impact GOJHL Competition
Connor Annett, a Petrolia resident, would have traditionally been an import with the Chatham Maroons in his first season with the team. With new rules, players following in Annett’s footsteps, playing outside traditional drawing areas will no longer be imports – Photo by Helen Heath
Previously, teams were restricted to signing players from within their own, and often an adjoining area.
Now, teams will be allowed to sign players residing anywhere within their conference boundaries without being charged an import card. This means the Chatham Maroons will be able to sign players from anywhere within LaSalle, Leamington, London, St. Thomas, Strathroy, Lambton Shores, Sarnia, or St. Marys’ drawing areas.
While this opens up areas for all teams, it also fosters competition between teams for the same players. Chatham’s traditional drawing area were Chatham-Kent and Essex County’s.
Import cards can now be used from players outside the GOJHL Western Conference area, such as players from Northern Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe, the GTA, the Midwestern Conference, or the United States.
Next season, teams can sign non-import players from anywhere within the geographic area of their conference. That means the Maroons can sign non-import players from anywhere covered by the Western Conference.
Another carding change for the upcoming GOJHL season will come in the form of underage 16-year-old cards. Previously, these cards were allowed to be traded as part of player movement deals.
As of next season, 16-year-old cards will not be tradeable.
While those in favour of the changes say that it will allow more teams to field competitive teams without worrying about imports, opponents also argue it will allow powerhouse centres to load up on players from across the region, and fill their rosters with a higher percentage of players from outside Southwestern Ontario.