Jack Devine (ice hockey)

Devine succeeded Joe Kryczka as president of the CAHA, at the annual meeting on May 25, 1973.[23] Devine aimed to put the fun back into hockey for children, and felt that hockey parents in Canada put too much emphasis on winning.[24][25] He and the technical advisory committee of the CAHA shared the same stance against competitive hockey below age ten, and he spoke against parents that attempt to circumvent rules designed for balanced teams and fair play.[24][25] He also felt that there were too many minor ice hockey organizations that were giving into parents' desires at younger age groups.[26]

In 1973, Devine announced that the CAHA sanctioned a new national midget hockey tournament for the top 12 teams in the country, which became known as the Wrigley Cup due to Wrigley Company being the initial sponsor. The 1974 event was scheduled at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium, with the winning team to earn a trip to the Soviet Union, and future events would be rotated around Canada.[27] He also responded to an Alberta government report about junior hockey, and said its recommendation to eliminate player contracts would defeat the purpose of the CAHA, to provide a competitive structure in hockey. If player movements were unrestricted, the balance of power would shift to teams with more money.[28]

During the 1974 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Devine and Gordon Juckes were approached by Andrey Starovoytov of the Soviet Union, regarding having another Summit Series.[29] On April 29, 1974, Devine represented the CAHA at an agreement for Team Canada to play the Soviet Team in a six-game series, and that Canada would be represented by players from the World Hockey Association (WHA).[30] He became part of the directing committee for the 1974 Summit Series, and later extended it to eight games.[31] Before the games in the Soviet Union, he announced that Team Canada would depart early, and play exhibition games versus Finland, Czechoslovakia, and hopefully Sweden.[32]

The remainder of his first year as president was consumed by negotiating development and draft agreements for CAHA players, with the NHL and the WHA. In May 1973, Devine met with the NHL to review details of the current agreement up for renewal on June 30, 1973, and prevent efforts by the WHA to deal independently with the WCHL.[33] The WHA had recently signed junior-age players Mark Howe and Marty Howe, despite two letters from the WHA to Kryczka that the WHA would not do so.[34] The WHA felt that development fees for the CAHA were too high, and took the stance that CAHA players were already professionals since they received a weekly stipend to cover living expenses.[34]

The existing agreement with the NHL provides education for players, and development funds for the junior teams. Devine doubted that the NHL would begin drafting players below the age of 20, despite internally discussing whether to renew the existing agreement with the CAHA, in response to the signings supported by WHA president Gary Davidson.[35] Devine cautioned that a bidding war between the NHL and the WHA for junior players, would be detrimental to the amateur hockey system in Canada.[36] Devine and the CAHA met with Davidson and the WHA in Toronto on September 7, 1973, along with Canadian Minister of Health and Welfare Marc Lalonde, and Sport Canada director Lou Lefaive to discuss long-term solutions.[37][38][39]

Devine announced a tentative draft agreement with the WHA on September 8, 1973, but he did not disclose amounts, pending ratification by both bodies. Payments were expected to be retroactive, and a clause was included for exceptional underage players to be drafted.[40] On September 17, 1973, Devine announced that the CAHA and the NHL were close to a new draft agreement, also with a clause inserted to allow drafting players 18 to 20 years old of exceptional status.[39] On March 29, 1974, the CAHA and the WHA signed a one-year draft agreement allowing for one exceptional player per WHA team to be drafted in the first or second round only.[41]

Devine was re-elected to a second year as CAHA president by acclamation, on May 24, 1974.[42] The CAHA gained another branch when it approved splitting the Maritime Amateur Hockey Association into the Nova Scotia Hockey Association and the Prince Edward Island Hockey Association.[43] At the same meeting, Devine announced that the CAHA would shift the decision making to each individual province on how to rank its leagues within the pyramid of play, but also expressed reservation that too many leagues might rank themselves at too high of a tier.[44] Also at the 1974 general meeting, he announced that the 1975 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships would be co-hosted in Manitoba and Minnesota.[45] It was decided later that, an all-star team from the WCHL would represent Canada.[46]

On June 3, 1974, Devine announced that a meeting among Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Sweden, and the Soviet Union, resulted in an agreement in principle to have open competition in IIHF World Championships, and be within Olympic regulations, which later became the basis for the Canada Cup.[47] It was a welcome development, as he had previously stated it was difficult for Canada to field a competitive international team due to professional leagues controlling too many players.[24] The announcement foreshadowed a potential World Cup of Hockey, and the possibility of Canada's return to international competition.[47] In December that year, the CAHA proposed making its own international council independent of Hockey Canada, because Devine felt that one organization with its subcommittees was more streamlined.[48]

In August 1974, the report Investigation and Inquiry into Violence in Amateur Hockey was made public by René Brunelle, the Ontario Minister of Social and Family Services. The report was commissioned after the Bramalea Blues withdrew from the OHA due to violence in the 1974 playoffs.[49] In response to the report, Devine said that the recommended financial support from the government to better instruct coaches and referees would only be beneficial.[50] The CAHA later followed up on safety recommendations, and endorsed its first brand-name helmet in January 1975.[51]

In November 1974, Devine and the CAHA requested a follow-up meeting with the NHL, the WHA, and government officials to find long-term solutions to protect amateur hockey in Canada.[52] Devine had been criticized by Ed Chynoweth of the WCHL, for failing to pressure the NHL and the WHA on the late payment of development money, and threatened to pull the WCHL out of the CAHA.[53] Devine also came under fire from the new WHA president John F. Bassett in February 1975, when Bassett stated that his league will resume signing players 18 years of age and older when the one-year contract expired with the CAHA, until the legal age laws in Canada were changed.[54] The agreement with the NHL regarding drafted players expired in May 1975, and Devine was unable to reach agreement on a renewal.[55] He was succeeded by Don Johnson as president of the CAHA, at the annual meeting on May 22, 1975.[55]