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If you were a London Knights fan in the late 1990s, you saw my mediocre goaltending most Friday nights. You jeered us and you cheered us and you paid good money to holler from the cold hard seats at the old Ice House.

I have fond memories of the glory days and I was fortunate that the adults who owned my rights treated me with care and respect. The London Knights Hockey Club was a memorable first employer.

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And this is where major junior hockey purists and junior hockey team owners will furiously turn the page.

They’ll say I wasn’t an employee. They’ll say I was a student-athlete or a co-op student or a volunteer or some other form of free labourer that they can’t exactly define.

They’ll say I didn’t need a salary because the hockey club bought me goalie pads and skates and sticks. But ask your buddy who works in an office if he gets a free desk and chair while he earns his employer money.

They’ll say that instead of a salary, I was offered a scholarship package. But ask your kid’s teacher if she thinks she deserves an annual salary, even with that healthy pension she’ll collect.