OMHA announces co-championship titles for teams after seasons vetoed

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

After the cancellation of Ontario Minor Hockey Association finals in March due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the OMHA is trying to make the best of a difficult situation.

The pandemic brought an abrupt end to the hockey season which meant leagues could not continue to crown a season champion team.

The Association has decided to award co-championship titles to teams that were in their final series.

“Our goal is to be positive and proactive in a trying environment by rewarding the players an teams who deservedly made it that far through the highly competitive playdowns,” said Ian Taylor, OMHA executive director. It's a simple gesture, but hopefully a meaningful one as well.”

Each of the finalists – 110 teams from 55 playdowns – will receive a team set of #RedHats.

Egg Farmers of Ontario is helping fund the additional #RedHats to provide players with a symbol of their achievements from the season.

“As a proud partner of the OMHA playdowns, Egg Farmers of Ontario is pleased to recognized the co-champions and provide the dedicated, hardworking players with ah OMHA Champions Red Hat,” said Scott Helps, chair of Egg Farmers of Ontario. “Teams should take pride in reaching this mark and for everything they accomplished this season.”

The OMHA Red Hats have represented excellence, perseverance, and a will to challenge some of the best the game has to offer for over 20 years.

The OMHA likes to point out that several NHL players have previously worn the prestigious Red Hat during their minor hockey careers.

All 2020 co-champions will be recognized on the OMHA website and added to the OMHA champions database.

The Red Hat will be distributed over the coming weeks.

All hockey activities came to a sudden stop this when when Hockey Canada made the decision to pull the plug based on information regarding the pandemic.

That left leagues without a conclusion to their season and no official championship teams.