I have enjoyed the CHL in almost every respect. However, the discipline leaves much to be desired.
Check out this story today from The Monitor, delving into the aftermath of Aaron Boogard punching a photographer, which earned Boogard a laughable six-game suspension.
(To see my thoughts on that suspension, click here.)
In Brian Sandalow's story, the CHL's disciplinarian, Jim Wiley, said this:
"We've kind of made it a policy not to talk about our determining factors. They are well-stipulated and spelled out within the notice of action itself. So all the teams understand the variables that were considered.
"Respectfully stated, we're looking just to move forward. We're not discussing this publicly. It's just fully designed for the idea of what people needed to know from each organization's standpoint is exactly what was stated in the notice of action."
Essentially, what Wiley said was: The people who need to know how we make our disciplinary decisions are informed (maybe), and to everyone else (fans included), butt out.
Isn't it amazing that the greatest hockey league in the world, the NHL, goes to great lengths (even posting videos online) to explain how suspensions are determined.
As much as some people complained about Brad Jones, who was the IHL's disciplinarian, he wanted you to understand how decisions were reached. He felt it was important that the fans had an understanding of what their money was going to, and that the players knew what would and would not be considered acceptable behavior.
Is there a Fort Wayne fan that wouldn't rather have Jones making these decisions, in light of the events affecting the Komets against Rapid City and Bloomington in the last year?
The more the CHL tries to bury its head in the sand about things like this, the more fans will be peeved.
I encourage you to check out Greg Rajan's podcast with Sandalow, in which they discuss the incident. It's the second one there, and it's pretty good.
By the way, I received a great question from a reader who wanted to know if when we receive press credentials from teams, are we informed the proper protocol on our behavior or not?
In short, not usually. While in the major leagues, you often get a batch of paperwork explaining what rules you are expected to follow -- sometimes you have to sign one -- things are typically looser in the minors. However, that doesn't mean that the onus isn't on the reporter to know that he or she has been extended a courtesy and should act accordingly.
No one is claiming Keith acted properly. The above photo is the back of the Komets' press pass. But they vary from team to team. And in my experience, there are some teams that are vigilant in making sure people act properly. Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo are two that immediately come to mind. Obviously, it wasn't that way in Texas last Friday.
