Abstract
This project positions the professionalization of youth hockey as a small component of a much larger process of the “globalization” of sport. Youth hockey players have moved to Canada internationally and among Canadian provinces locally. This study traces the movement and advances of young players (ages 16-20), 1980-2012, of the London Knights (London, Ontario), tapping into already compiled data on players’ team affiliation that many historians might overlook. This database shows an emerging pattern of transnational and internal migration among professional youth players.
Highlights
This project positions the professionalization of youth hockey as a small component of a much larger process of the “globalization” of sport
My project will build upon Maguire and Bale’s work, and highlight how migration can be used as a professionalizing tool in young development leagues that mirror the actions of adult, professional leagues
I focus upon only the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and, within the OHL, my data collection is limited to a single team, the London Knights from London, Ontario
Summary
Recognising migration as a feature of professionalization is a relatively new trend in academic scholarship concerning sports. Joseph Maguire and John Bale, renowned sport sociologists, published a collected volume of essays entitled The Global Sports Arena: Athletic Talent in an Interdependent World In it, they examine the recent trend of athletic migration, and conclude that the movement of athletes internationally highlighted the intensification of sporting industries within a capitalistic society. The ability, and want, to travel in order to play sport, was a new feature of professional athletes who grew up competing in an international marketplace.[5] My project will build upon Maguire and Bale’s work, and highlight how migration can be used as a professionalizing tool in young development leagues that mirror the actions of adult, professional leagues. More so than the minimal compensation afforded to the young hockey players, migrating to compete in hockey reveals a fervent desire to become professional, to be considered “the best.” The increasing need for young players to travel from their home in order to gain ice time, or play with a stronger team mirrors the changes occurring within the NHL
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