This page is to illustrate the historical cultural significance of junior hockey, specifically the Memorial Cup, over the history of Canada, and the many municipalities in Canada (and the U.S.A.) who’ve been involved in the tournament since 1919 with a participating team or host city.

Despite the significant economic and community-building benefits junior hockey brings to small to mid-size urban centres in all 10 provinces of Canada, I, Jonathan M.W. Klassen, believe the current model is exploitative in that players are age 16 to 20 and are not paid a salary or wage (at least publicly) despite their name, likeness, and labour playing hockey used to make significant profit for team owners, league executives and sponsors.

Not to mention the many unethical conduct issues (sometimes criminal) by players towards members of the communities they play in, by adult players towards younger players (including minors), and by coaches and executives towards players.

As well as corruption of executives, collusion with local and national police forces to shut down any allegations against players and executives, unethical ties between certain team owners with junior league and NHL league executives, and breaking written & unwritten recruitment/drafting/compensation rules that doesn’t get enforced and benefits specific teams and cities.

These issues are reported on in detail in Rick Westhead of The Sports Network (TSN)’s 2025 book We Breed Lions: Confronting Canada’s Troubled Hockey Cultureand in his reporting on tsn.ca and his X account. There are also several class-action lawsuits against the CHL and its member teams that are ongoing and attempts in the past have been thwarted:

• https://www.charneylawyers.com/chl-class-action-lawsuits/home

• https://kmlaw.ca/cases/chl-hockey-abuse-class-action/

• https://www.callkleinlawyers.com/class-actions/canadian-hockey-league/

• https://clg.org/Class-Action/List-of-Class-Actions/QMJHL-Hockey-Players-Minimum-Wage-Violations-Class-Action

• https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29330583/daniel-carcillo-leads-class-action-lawsuit-canadian-hockey-league-physical-sexual-abuse

My stance is it would be best for everyone involved and would allow for more economic benefit for most urban centres who have major junior teams and the country of Canada as a whole, if the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) transitioned to become a minor-professional hockey league and affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) where players are over 18 years of age and are paid salaries. Or for the Canadian Hockey League to merge with an existing minor-pro league such as the Tier 1/Triple A American Hockey League (AHL), or Tier 2/Double A East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).

This may mean some cities with CHL teams may have to cease operations but if that is the case, it is likely because they weren’t treating players well or providing enough economic benefit to their municipalities in the first place.