DRUG POLICY AND SCHEDULING THE LATEST OFF-ICE NEWS COMING OUT OF THE
WHL

The Western Hockey League's new drug policy is firmly in place and
only time will tell if it is an effective deterrent for players.

WHL players were all involved in a presentation via conference call
late last month to get them up to speed on the new policy.

"Before we begin the testing phase of the overall anti-doping policy
the Canadian Hockey League has introduced this year, we've made a
commitment to make sure our players are fully aware of the various
banned substances and the various parts of the policy that apply to
them," said WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. "We're just in the throws
of the final stages of the review of the policy itself and once
that's completed, the testing will commence."

While the implementation of an anti-doping policy might lead some to
think there's a problem in the WHL, that couldn't be further from the truth.

"We monitor that through our clubs the best we can but until you are
really in the process of testing and validating that, you can't say
for certain," said Robison, "But based on our information and
tracking that we've done to that, we don't have any reason for concern."

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has been running a similar
pilot program since 2004 with just one positive test for ephedrine
and more than 60 tests conducted. That player received an eight-game
suspension.

The CHL program is different than the one currently in place in the
National Hockey League in that there will be a major focus on
education and providing players with the tools to make the right decisions.

In addition, there will be full disclosure of names in the event of
positive tests (with the exception of cannabis) and testing will be
random and without notification.

Meanwhile, the WHL's board of governors met last week and among the
topics of discussion was the unbalanced schedule currently in use by
the league.

We here in Brandon may not notice it that much because the Wheat
Kings' schedule is relatively normal, playing each of their East
Division opponents eight or nine times (42 total games), each Central
Division opponent four times (20 games) and each of the teams in the
Western Conference once (10 games).

Unbalanced scheduling will be back next season although probably not
to the extreme that it is currently in use in the WHL.

For example, the Calgary Hitmen play each of their Central Division
opponents eight times (32 total games), East Division teams four
times (24 games), the B.C. Division 11 times and the U.S. Division five times.

There has been an outcry in the NHL since the current scheduling
system has some teams visiting others just once every three years,
denying fans the opportunity to see star players from the other
conference (namely Crosby and Ovechkin) in their own building at
least once per season.

The WHL's schedule, which has been in place since the league moved to
a four division format prior to the 2001-02 season, means Brandon
fans only get to see Western Conference teams once every two years,
which can be extremely disappointing for some Manitoba-based kids
playing in the Western Conference that come back to their home
province and play in front of friends and family just once or twice
during their entire WHL careers.

The board of governors also discussed the possibility of changing the
playoff format next year, although the matter was tabled until the
annual general meeting in June after the general managers discuss the
issue next month.

The discussion is centred on the possibility that a fifth or sixth
place team in one division could miss the playoffs even though they
have more points than teams in the other division in the same
conference that qualify for the post-season.

It's expected a crossover format - similar to the one in place this
year that if the fifth place East team happened to finish with more
points than the fourth place team in the Central Division, a
crossover would take place - could be implemented both ways next
season or, perhaps we'll see the top eight teams in the conference
ranked one to eight with a first-against-eighth,
second-versus-seventh, etc. format.