WHL Sanction Portland Winterhawks
 

CALGARY, AB. - The Western Hockey League announced today the disciplinary action which has been taken against the Portland Winterhawks franchise for a series of violations of the WHL Regulations.

As a result of a series of player benefit violations which have occurred over the past four seasons, WHL Commissioner Ron Robison has suspended the Portland Winterhawks from participating in the first five rounds of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft and the forfeiture of their first round selections in the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 WHL Bantam Drafts.

Should the first round selection in 2014 not be available due to a conditional trade, Portland will surrender their second and third round picks in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft. The WHL also announced the Portland Winterhawks have been fined $200,000 and Winterhawks General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston has been suspended for the balance of the 2012-13 season, including the 2013 WHL Playoffs.

“All WHL Clubs understand they are required to fully comply and respect our League Regulations or they will face significant consequences,” stated WHL Commissioner Ron Robison.

“WHL Clubs are required to fully disclose all commitments they make to a player in the WHL Standard Player Agreement. Our independent investigation in this case revealed there were multiple violations over an extended period for player benefits that are not permitted under WHL Regulations and were not disclosed to the WHL. It should also be noted through the course of the investigation there was no evidence of any payments or enhanced education benefits provided to players that would be contrary to WHL Regulations as previous media reports indicated.”

The Western Hockey League will not make any further public comments on this matter.

holy ****!!!! i thought windsor got levied something big, but this takes the cake.

Today the Western Hockey League has announced disciplinary action against the Portland Winterhawks for violations related to player benefits. The WHL has forfeited the team from participating in the first five rounds of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft and the forfeiture of the team’s first round picks in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The WHL also announced the organization has been fined $200,000, and that General Manager & Head Coach Mike Johnston has been suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs. Assistant General Manager & Assistant Coach Travis Green will assume Johnston’s duties on an interim basis.

What follows is a summary of the league’s findings, and a statement from Johnston:

The Winterhawks were found to have committed the following violations:

• A player contract signed in 2009, involving flights for the player’s family and a summer training program
• Over the last five years, seven families were provided flights 2-4 times per season based on financial need and their distance from Portland
• Twice in the last five years the team paid for two players to each have a one-week summer training regimen
• The Winterhawks provided a cell phone for its team captain for a period of three seasons

The WHL’s audit found no violations involving monetary payments made to players, their families or agents, or any violations related to the league’s educational packages.

“After fully cooperating with the league’s investigation, we were extremely surprised at the excessive nature of the sanctions, and we don’t feel they are in line with the scope of the violations we were found to have committed,” said Johnston.

“We believe that apart from recruiting trips and parents’ weekend, there is no prohibition in the rules governing flights for players’ parents, which were the majority of the infractions,” continued Johnston. “We are currently exploring our options on how we will proceed. Despite our objections, the league has made its decision, and our players will continue to pursue the goal of winning a WHL championship.”

Wow. I really don't know what to say. Pretty damn excessive if you ask me. Of course I don't know the complete story behind the scenes but it must be pretty serious and legitimate. Losing all these picks could really hurt the Hawks down the road. As if they haven't had enough rough seasons over the past five to ten years. :B)

Puck Fortland.

That's insane!

Oh you bird fans just forgot what quality hockey looks like.

Nonsense. We play up there several times a year to remind them. :evil:

The ACTUAL violations will not be released by the league likely because of a confidentiality rule the league has in place. This is between Portland and the WHL and the WHL is keeping it that way, and honorably so. If Portland so chooses to release information about the organizations violations then that is their choice. Johnston chose to release information, likely to save SOME face. However, IT IS Johnston's choice to release any, part, or all of the violations they committed. I can hardly believe for a second that he fully disclosed ALL of the violations committed. There is NO WAY (IMO) the league dished out this harsh of a penalty because Portland flew some parents out for a weekend game or gave a cell phone to their team captain. There is much more to this story, and I'm trusting the league on this one. Back to the basement Portland! Now mismanaged teams like mine may have a chance at 8th seed! maybe even 7th!

CALGARY, AB. - The Western Hockey League has released the following statement to provide further clarification on the sanctions imposed yesterday on the Portland Winterhawks.

After the WHL became aware that the Portland Winterhawks had entered into an undisclosed player agreement which contravened WHL Regulations, the WHL commissioned international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct an independent investigation to determine whether there were any additional benefits extended to players during the past five seasons. The independent investigation identified 54 violations involving 14 players which have occurred over the past five seasons.

The violations all relate to providing players with benefits not permitted under WHL Regulations. The violations include additional parent travel, off-season training and other benefits. These additional benefits, which were not disclosed to the WHL, are strictly prohibited under WHL Regulations.

All WHL Clubs and General Managers are required to fully disclose to the WHL all benefits provided to players and to ensure their Club is fully aware of and in compliance with WHL Regulations at all times.

“We believe the sanctions are not excessive given the repeated and systemic nature of the violations,” stated WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “The independent investigation discovered an unprecedented number of violations. It is the responsibility of each WHL Club and General Manager to be fully aware of the WHL Regulations and to be in compliance at all times. These sanctions are necessary in order to protect the overall welfare and integrity of our League and to preserve a level playing field for all of our member Clubs and our players.”

So how will Portland restock their player roster in future seasons? Do they just sign undrafted (by WHL teams) players from the midget leagues?

Each team has a 50-player protected list (may vary slightly in numbers between the leagues) so there will be enough players for a roster.

They just won't be able to bring in highly touted prospects from the draft but can sign free agents (passed over in a draft twice).

The league may have shot themselves in the foot by maximizing the punishment from the onset. On top of the 200k fine, it puts at risk a multi-million dollar renovation of the Memorial Coliseum. Portland can force the issue as much as they want and whats the worst thing the league can do? Oust a GM and increase the fine? Johnston was already a year or two away from moving on, and $$$? Well this ain't no family run organization here.

Pretty good article IMO link

Everyone else already hated Portland before the sanctions. The fans are behind Johnston and the team more than ever. Its us against them baby. Now give me some Twisted Sister music!

Apologies to Portland fans but how can this be defended? This is the ULTIMATE penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and is well deserved IMO. I am very proud of the WHL on this one and I hope Portland struggles for a long time. Just because you have the largest fan base doesn't give you the right to use your dollars to win games. That's not what this league is about! Not all teams can do this and it's a low blow. Ah well, at least their spending got them two lost championships and a huge sanction. LMAO.

Excellent article, thanks for posting it. The sanctions and article confirm what was already apparent to anyone who keeps an eye on WHL suspensions: The Winterhawks have a bullseye on their back and are going to get screwed on every possible occasion by the league. And then you consider the penalties to Johnston, which look an awful lot to me like the league trying to place a scarlet letter on him... it's downright vindictive.

As I see it the team was being generous to the families of its financially needy players with its own money. Yes it violated some rules and should be punished accordingly for it (namely paying for training and the cell phone), but hammering them for the flights is ridiculous when you look at how that rule is worded. This strikes me as the equivalent of the police raiding a suspected drug house and only finding a building code violation, but condemning the house and charging the owners with drug crimes anyway because that's what they thought/hoped they'd find.