A group of disgruntled Ontario Hockey Association teams are attempting a power play that could result in the removal of the OHA’s president and part of its board.

In a memo sent Tuesday to the OHA, those unnamed teams – referred to as “concerned members” – requested a special meeting be held no later than Sept. 15 with the intention being to remove OHA directors Gary Moroney, Tim Simmons, Shawn McKelvie, Jeff Beatty and Brad Grant, as well as president Karen Phibbs. At least 12 teams were needed to support the requisition and meet the minimum of 10 per cent membership approval.

It’s believed the Ontario Junior Hockey League is leading the charge to create change and are backed by 15 Junior B teams, according to a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League source who did not want to be named.

OJHL commissioner Marty Savoy did not respond to several interview requests, but Stouffville Spirit president Ken Burrows is listed as the “concerned members” contact. Burrows, who was named OJHL executive of the year in 2012, did not return multiple calls.

Turmoil within the province’s Junior B league is also reflected in the requisition, with a motion to divide the GOJHL into independent leagues (or conferences) effective this season.

One league (or conference) would feature 15 teams – Stratford, St. Marys, Listowel, Kitchener, Waterloo, Elmira, Cambridge, Leamington, LaSalle, Chatham, Sarnia, Komoka, St. Thomas, Strathroy and St. Catharines.

Those teams have been operating under GOJHL Inc. – established in 2015 as a way to collect league and player fees allowing the GOJHL to operate like a business, which included hiring a commissioner, conveners and operating the Showcase and Prospects Game. The OHA has recently said GOJHL Inc. is a separate entity not sanctioned by Hockey Canada, the OHF or the OHA.

The other league (or conference) would feature clubs that are maintaining status quo – London, Pelham, Brantford, Brampton, Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, Lockport, Welland, Hamilton and Thorold.

Brantford owner Darren DeDobbelaer is in a precarious position as the 99ers are staying loyal to the OHA, but he also bought the OJHL’s Milton IceHawks and moved them to Brantford this season – a transaction that has yet to be formally approved by the OHA and is on the “concerned members” agenda.

DeDobbelaer did not return multiple phone calls.

“I don’t agree with everything the OHA does by any means “¦ but the way these (GOJHL Inc.) guys are going about what they’re doing is wrong,” Pelham Panthers owner Tim Toffolo said. “They have no business doing what they’re doing. They’re ruining junior hockey. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

With a timeline to resolve the issue set no later than seven days after the special meeting – and there are many unknowns at this point – it would create chaos given the 2018-19 schedule begins Sept. 10 with the traditional three-conference format.

“They just can’t have that,” Niagara Falls Canucks owner and general manager Frank Pietrangelo said.

“You can’t do what you want to do. You have to be under OHA, OHF, and Hockey Canada bylaws.”

Pietrangelo lamented the new proposal, which would mean longer road trips and the loss of some rivalries.

“Financially it doesn’t make sense for us.”

The former National Hockey League goalie owned the Canucks when the Golden Horseshoe Conference temporarily withdrew from the GOJHL in 2014, citing many of the same issues still being dealt with today.

Pietrangelo, however, said the situations are different because the Golden Horseshoe decision had little impact on how the league operated.

“The OHA has to do what’s best for everybody, not certain members,” he said.

It’s the second time in three months frustrated franchises have attempted to force the OHA’s hand.

Earlier this year, GOJHL Inc. teams used a similar tactic and had the support of clubs from the OJHL and Provincial Junior Hockey League.

The Ontario Hockey Federation stepped in and negotiated a settlement to form a governance review committee tasked with creating a new OHA board structure that would be voted on at the 2019 OHA annual general meeting.

The first meeting was scheduled for July 15, but it came and went, and nothing has since been discussed.

One of the “concerned members” proposals includes replacing the board with two representatives from Junior C and one each from Junior B and Junior A to be determined by each league.

“We believe that as part of the GOJHL we’re not being represented fairly by the OHA board of directors,” Stratford Warriors alternate governor Jason Lott said earlier this summer.

The relationship between the provincial governing body and some of its Junior B teams has become increasingly toxic over the last year.

At the OHA’s annual general meeting in 2017, the budget was presented and passed without a vote, Lott said. That budget included an increase in the OHA player fee to $350 from $300.

“In previous years they tried to increase the player fee and it was voted down,” Lott said. “At least there was a discussion about it, for them to tell their side so that teams could voice their opinion and have a vote on it. When they went and changed things without member input that upset a lot of teams.”

After the Cambridge Winter Hawks folded prior to 2017-18, one prospective ownership group backed out after the OHA requested a certified cheque or bank draft for $150,000, plus an administration fee of $5,000, according to a story in the Cambridge Times.

Lott said Brantford paid $10,000 to rejoin the league in 2013 when he was a member of the GOJHL board.

“It was news to the GOJHL membership “¦ that the $150,000 fee was out there, but there was never a vote by membership to do that,” he said.

The Leamington Flyers’ new owners were informed there was a $5,000 transfer fee for the sale or relocation of a team, instead of $1,000.

GOJHL Inc. teams “would like the autonomy to make decisions in the best interest of the league,” Lott said. “The OHA has not allowed that to happen for many years for whatever reason.”

Phibbs said in a brief interview this week the “concerned members” notice is being reviewed, adding she was limited in what she could answer because of legal implications.

“There have been issues throughout this year, and that is why we had a meeting earlier in the spring, and something I’ve been trying to promote the last two years is we have a governance review “¦ to update the constitution to better define roles and responsibilities that would better alleviate problems and challenges members have faced,” she said.

Jason Badder, general manager of the Junior C Dresden Kings, Rob Campbell, president of the Junior A Oakville Blades, and Simmons, general manager of the Junior B London Nationals, were added to the board after the annual general meeting, though only Simmons’ spot is being challenged by the “concerned members.”

Simmons declined comment.

Friction within the GOJHL was evident in 2017-18 when Pelham, Fort Erie and Buffalo (now Lockport) drew the ire of some teams when they refused to pay GOJHL fees, which are $750 per player. The teams were banned from league meetings, but were otherwise allowed to play.

“If (money) was all going to promote the players, then great,” Toffolo said. “But it wasn’t.”

GOJHL commissioner Greg Best emailed an unknown number of players inquiring about missing fees.

The OHA’s Grant told affected players in an email “the GOJHL has absolutely no authority to contact and try and secure monies from any player and what Mr. Best has done is unacceptable to say the least.”

Best said he was unable to comment on the current crisis within the league until “once the dust settles.”

Toffolo acknowledged the Panthers collected $12,400 from players, most of which paid for two extra practices a week and a banquet, among other things.

He accused GOJHL Inc. teams of trying to have the Pelham, Fort Erie and Buffalo teams charged with fraud. The trio was cleared of any wrongdoing by police in Waterloo and Niagara, he said.

“They tried to discredit us and spread false rumours,” Toffolo said. “They defamed our character and reputation.

“Every penny went back to the kids and the organization.”

Hundreds of Junior B players have already been affected by the infighting. The annual Showcase, which attracts dozens of scouts each year, was already postponed.

“It’s frustrating there are things stopping us from realizing our potential,” Waterloo Siskins president and director of hockey operations Curtis Clairmont said. “We have a great league and it could be more great, but things can get in the way, outside influences, and that can be frustrating.”

The OHA has until Sept. 25 to call a special meeting, after which time the “concerned members” said they will call the meeting in accordance with the Ontario Corporations Act.

“It’s been terrible for our league, a negative thing all around, and it’s gotta stop,” Pietrangelo said. “This is about hockey and the kids, and we gotta worry about the product on the ice and making it better and not the courtrooms.”

cosmith@postmedia.com