Former OHL, WHL players can join court-approved claims over alleged abuse

Former major junior hockey players who allege they were abused, hazed, or bullied while playing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) or Western Hockey League (WHL) can now join a court-approved legal process to seek financial compensation from their former teams, their leagues, and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). According to a notice published by Koskie Minsky LLP, the Toronto law firm representing plaintiffs, players have until April 6, 2027, to opt in. Eligible players include anyone who participated with an OHL or WHL team since 1975 and claims to have experienced such mistreatment, and participants will have their identities protected from public disclosure.

The process stems from litigation launched six years ago by former players Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor, who filed a proposed class action alleging decades of ritualized hazing, racism, homophobia, sexual abuse, and physical violence in major junior hockey, and accusing hockey organizations of failing to prevent or respond to this conduct. In February 2023, Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell declined to certify the case as a class action, finding it too complex given the number of teams, provinces, and decades involved. However, he acknowledged substantial evidence of a pervasive culture of "bullying, harassment, hazing, and criminal conduct" in major junior hockey. Rather than ending the case, Perell directed lawyers to create an alternative mechanism for players to pursue claims.

Under the new process, players who opt in will be grouped with others who played for the same team, and Koskie Minsky will file a "joinder action" on their behalf, naming the team, its league, and the CHL as defendants in Ontario Superior Court. Unlike a certified class action, players must affirmatively opt in; those who do not may still pursue individual lawsuits, though limitation periods could affect their claims. Perell's findings were partly supported by an independent review panel commissioned by the CHL after the lawsuit was filed in 2020, which concluded that off-ice misconduct and an entrenched code of silence were widespread across the leagues. Former Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) players are not part of this opt-in process due to a separate ongoing class action, though QMJHL players who have opted out of that case may still join this one.

(Source：Tsn (The Sports Network))