Why the Ontario Hockey League is concerned about Fortnite: Matt Cullen's OHL preview
The Ontario Hockey League season began Wednesday night
The Ontario Hockey League season kicked off Wednesday night. The Hamilton Bulldogs look to defend their title starting Friday. Matt Cullen from CBC Sports lets us know what to expect this season including why the league is concerned about the video game Fortnite.
Cullen spoke with the CBC's Conrad Collaco about some changes coming to the OHL this season and which players hockey fans should keep an eye on.
You can read an abridged and edited version of the interview or listen to the full audio interview by hitting the play button above.
As this OHL season starts, what are you looking forward to?
There's lots to be excited about in Hamilton with the Bulldogs hoisting the OHL championship just three years after moving from Belleville. That's quite an accomplishment. Just two wins away from the Memorial Cup.
There are a lot of new players coming in to the league. A lot of players are still in NHL training camps. This is a chance for young players to really make their mark. There are usually a couple of spots on each team with players moving on. There will be a lot of competition in both the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference.
A lot of competition in net too where for the first time in years OHL teams can draft European goalies. Why was that change made?
It puts to an end a five-year ban in the Canadian hockey leagues. They wanted to protect Canadian goaltenders. They had said you can pick import players — players from overseas — but not goaltenders. They wanted to address what you could call a Canadian goaltending crisis. People were wondering where the next generation of the Carey Prices or the Roberto Luongos and the Martin Brodeurs were.
NHL prospects have been warned not to make any references to Fortnite or other video games on social media.- Matt Cullen, CBC Sports
Other countries like Finland, Sweden and Russia are developing NHL calibre netminders faster than Canada is so they decided to ban import goaltenders. They are putting an end to that this year because they are realizing the competition will always be there. Whether it's the OHL or in professional hockey the more chances to face the best, the better a goaltender will be. The rule allowed fringe goaltenders to come in and be OHL backups when they would be better off playing more games in a lower league like Junior A or Junior B hockey.
Why has the video game Fortnite become an issue with the league?
This game is the rage among the younger players. I'll admit I have not played Fortnite. This is a very serious issue. It made it all the way up to an NHL General Manager. Jim Benning of the Vancouver Canucks had to answer a question about video games and about players in the NHL. Sometimes it can get to a point of addiction. Some of these players are playing
it so much. Jim Benning didn't brush it off. He said, "Yes. This is an issue and we're watching this very closely."
Some of the players bring their game consoles on the road with them. There have even been some injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. Things like that. Addictions can be terrible things for any career. It could be alcohol. It could be drugs. But it also could be video games. Just from talking to a few coaches in the OHL this year that's something they are really concerned about. There are a lot of bus rides.. There are a lot of chances to be on your phone. There are a lot of chances to be in hotels and to stay up late. NHL prospects have been warned not to make any references to Fortnite or other video games on social media. Ultimately, be very careful about how many hours are logged in front of the screen playing video games.
It's not something I would have thought would have been an issue a couple years ago but players are logging a lot of video game hours that's for sure.
One of the biggest stories in junior hockey last season was the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. How do you think that will affect how OHL teams travel across the province?
I think a lot of OHL teams will be honouring Humboldt if they haven't done so already. That's how teams get from one city to the next. It's a bus. There's really no other way to do it. I asked them about how they feel getting on a bus and a lot of them said they were very sad about what happened but they don't think twice about getting on a bus. There's no anxiety about these long road trips. If you look at the stats from the Canada Safety Council less than one percent of road fatalities are in buses. It's a very safe way of travelling. It was a terrible tragedy in April. There was another bus crash in 1986 with the WHL's Swift Current Broncos where four players tragically died. It's on player's minds but there's no hesitation to get on a bus. Hamilton is up in North Bay of Friday.
Which teams and players have you most excited to watch this season?
I'm interested to see the Bulldogs and how they will come back being the champions. No one is going to take an off night when they play the champions. There's a new coach this year for the Bulldogs. Dave Matsos was the coach of the Sudbury Wolves for a time. He was the assistant in Hamilton last year. John Gruden did a great job with the Bulldogs last year but when you are good other clubs take notice and he's now an assistant with the New York Islanders of the NHL.
Matthew Strome is the guy I'm watching for the Bulldogs this year. He's a Philadelphia Flyers prospect. Great hockey family with his brothers Dylan and Ryan. Last year he had 37 goals. Second year in a row that he's put more than 30 on. This year he's bigger. He's stronger. He's more motivated. He knows what it takes to win a championship.
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