As the hockey season nears and teams start to sign players, a warning today from a veteran of the hockey wars...Moe Mantha Jr.
He's played a lot of years and coached in the OHL, AHL and last season with the French River Rapids. Mantha was a member of the U.S. team in the 1981, 1985, and 1991 World Championships as well as the 1992 Winter Olympics.
And he wants parents to keep a sharp eye out when their children commit to junior hockey.
"Make sure you're getting what you're signing for," says Mantha. "Parents will pay $5,500 to an organization to play, then $1,000 for equipment like hockey sticks, helmets, sweat suits. Then with $500 a month for room and board, you're well into $9,000."
Mantha says not all teams will honour the contracts they sign or fulfill the agreements they have with parents.
How can you protect yourself?
"Read the fine print. You won't get much help from the commissioner, I can tell you that much. You're signing a document in good faith that people will honour it. "
Mantha has experience with a team not meeting its commitment to players.
"The league will come back and say the kids never paid their money, but I know kids that paid their money and never got what they were promised. The league swept it under the carpet."
Mantha says teams can get away with it because the players are afraid of the consequences.
"They are under pressure not to do anything. They don't want to say anything because they are afraid of being blackballed."
Mantha says the players can't say anything on social media about the situation or they'll be suspended.
He doesn't know the solution but hopes parent pressure on hockey leagues will force them to do the right thing.
"When the players sign a contract, one copy goes to the league, one to ownership and one to the parents, so if the ownership doesn't honour it then the league has to step in and make sure the team is honouring what they signed for. It's up to the league to look out for the benefits to the player."
But NOJHL league commissioner Robert Mazzuca sharply disagrees.
"Moe needs to get up to speed with reality," said Mazzuca. "Moe should know the facts."
The commissioner admits the league has had complaints in the past.
"We've dealt with them. From where I sit where Moe is talking about where kids who didn't get what they were supposed to get still owed the team money. Moe needs to find out his facts."
Mazzuca says one parent who initially complained about the contract in French River, actually thanked him for resolving the matter.
"A cheque was mailed. Here's the email 'Thank you very much for all your help. I received the cheque,' Mazzuca read. Mr. Mantha should stick to the facts and know the facts before he says anything," Mazzuca added.
Mantha says he is suing the league.
In the meantime he'll spend this winter as the head coach and general manager of the junior hockey Brookings Blizzard in the North American Hockey League.
