Crawford focused on growth and stability as OHL looks ahead
For Ontario Hockey League commissioner Bryan Crawford, his job comes with plenty of responsibilities, but one of the biggest is keeping an eye on the changing landscape of junior hockey.
As the OHL looks toward its next five-year plan, Crawford says growth and stability will be among his top priorities.
"We've had incredible growth on our attendance, on our partnerships, on our players moving on to the next level," he said.
While there have been significant changes to the junior and college hockey landscape over the past two seasons, Crawford believes the OHL has benefited.
"We’ve been a beneficiary of this," he said. "We’ve had 188 players come into our league last year, a record number of Americans each season, international players, which has led to record numbers of draft choices and all of these great metrics."
With more players, Crawford sees an opportunity for the OHL to expand in the feature.
"We’ve got a number of communities that have grown to the point where they could be very good, very viable, very strong host markets for the league," he said.
For the OHL, the next few years could be defined by finding the right balance between managing the ever evolving landscape of junior hockey and taking advantage of opportunities for growth.
"So a lot to accomplish," Crawford said. "But it’s a real unique time in the OHL where we have all these opportunities that we just need to make sure that we grab a hold of and capitalize on."
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