The dog days of the Ontario Hockey League’s season have passed.

Teams play about 10 games each before the regular-season schedule is wrapped up, meaning it’s, as they say, crunch time.

Off the ice, one could argue it has been “crunch time” all season.

Junior hockey is arguably as complicated as ever, leaving commissioner David Branch -- who last September celebrated 35 years in the role -- with his hands full.

In a rare one-on-one interview, Branch spoke to Sun Media’s John Matisz about three key OHL matters.

‘NO DESIRE OR DESIGN TO EXPAND’

When the OHL’s board of governors approved the Plymouth Whalers sale, which kept the franchise in Michigan, a logical followup question popped up: will there ever be an all-American division?

Saginaw Spirit president Craig Goslin is fascinated by the notion of creating a division that mirrors the WHL’s U.S. Division. The Otters, although in the process of being sold, appear primed to stay in Erie after the book closes on the Connor McDavid era.

Factor in Flint, plus two more, and there’s your division. Not as easy as it sounds, of course, but there have been whispers about folks in both the Chicago area and New York state expressing interest in the OHL.

Branch acknowledged as much.

“We have a lot of discussions with different groups from time to time,” Branch said when asked about those specific markets. “I really don’t want to speculate or add to any of the speculation, but we’re very fortunate (to receive) the level of interest that there is.”

If a U.S.-only division were to come to fruition down the road, relocation – not expansion – would be the likelier scenario.

“Currently, we have no desire or design to expand,” he said. “We’re at 20 teams, have been for several years. We feel it’s important we not get too many teams so as to preserve the level and quality of play, which is important to the development of our players and obviously for our fans.

“Whether we’ll expand or relocate team to the U.S. is unknown right at the moment, but we certainly look forward to continuing to have a strong presence in the U.S. marketplace.”

In a more public manner, a Burlington, Ont., businessman named Tim Wilson has been gauging fan interest through a 12-question survey posted at OHL2Burlington.ca.

As of Monday, Wilson had garnered 710 season ticket requests, according to the campaign’s Twitter account. No suitable venue and Burlington’s close proximity to Mississauga, a team struggling at the box office, present huge hurdles.

“Certainly, we’re aware of some of the expressions of interest,” Branch said of the Burlington movement.

“We’ve had no discussion up to this point in time. Once again, our league has no immediate desire to consider expansion, and so forth. But, it’s always good to have some options and opportunities there, if we should choose to move in a different direction.”

‘THEY ARE AMATEUR ATHLETES’

The CHL, the OHL’s umbrella league whom Branch presides over, is being challenged by former players who feel they were unfairly compensated for their time in the loop.

In one instance, Sam Berg, who suited up for eight games as a member of the Niagara IceDogs, is part of a lawsuit involving many ex-players. It’s asking the CHL and its teams to issue $187 million in overtime, holiday and back pay and punitive damages, according to TSN.

Along with the continued threat of legal action, the potential creation of a players’ union seemingly won’t go away. The issue of paying players at least minimum wage appears to always be the sticking point.

“We don’t feel we need a third-party in any way, shape, or form, to assist in looking after the best interests of the players,” Branch said. “They are amateur athletes.”

The OHL’s head honcho maintains the league’s player benefits package -- which, in Branch’s words, features a “best in North America” scholarship program – is more than fair.

There’s an 18-month window following an OHLer’s overage year in which the education money they’ve earned hangs in the balance. Once the window closes, that compensation vanishes.

Asked if the CHL has seriously considered extending the threshold to, say, a 24-month period, Branch said “no, we haven’t.”

“The fact is, we have, this year, 284 players on scholarship in the CIS, which is a significant number. We know that, statistically, the longer a person stays out of school the more unlikely they are to return to school. So, it really pushes a player and his family to make a decision.”

‘SOMETHING WE MUST RESPOND TO’

Although it didn’t happen overnight, the NHL has responded to the rise of hockey analytics. Last week, it rolled out the first of four phases aimed at overhauling NHL.com’s statistical offerings.

The OHL, meanwhile, is so far behind the times that the differentiation between “first goals” and “insurance goals” could pass as advanced stats on OntarioHockeyLeague.com.

Fear not, nerds, following the NHL’s lead is on Branch’s to-do list.

“Analytics is certainly part of our industry now, and it’s (something) that we must respond to,” he said. “We’re looking at that and it’s something that you have to make sure is built out the right way and is going to provide credible statistics and the like.

“I think it’s important that we expand and grow our reporting in that area.”

Nobody is asking the OHL to mirror the NHL in this regard. The interest level and resources simply aren’t there to justify an NHL.com clone.

But the QMJHL, for instance, is at least making an effort. Player shots and faceoff results count as public information on the league website.

Why not standardize across the three leagues? Scouts, fans and media would surely take advantage.

“The three leagues operate independent of each other in terms of administration and execution of a number of policies and procedures,” Branch said. “We learn from each other and there’s things that one league does that another league doesn’t – whether it’s stats or other aspects. You take best practices and move them forward. In due course, I’m sure we’ll be somewhat standardized in statistical reporting.”

“Due course” isn’t much of a timeline, but Branch promises the wheels are in motion.

“It’s more than just thinking about it. We’ve had some good discussion and we’ve challenged ourselves on what we want,” he said. “Now, it’s about (deciding on) how to deliver it and execute it in such a way that there’s the type of information that fans want and that our teams can respond with, along with the league.”​