Dave Branch’s OHL legacy

By Will MacLaren
Photo credit: Eric Young

In any walk of life, the most forward-thinking people tend to enjoy the greatest longevity. Of this, David Branch is living proof.

For nearly 50 years, Branch and the Ontario Hockey League were synonymous. Taking over the presidency of the circuit in 1979, a barely out of his 20’s Branch was younger than most of the team personnel he was held accountable by.

Regardless, whatever the situation called for, be it salutation, showmanship or suspension, Branch’s ability to navigate the formative and sometimes choppy waters of what evolved into the modern day major junior landscape was typically successful.

Nobody stays on the job for five decades without earning some degree of legacy. The leader of what has long been viewed as a veritable pro player factory is no exception. Bridging the wild west days of the 70’s to the mini-NHL the CHL had become by the time he stepped away in 2024, Branch transcended eras, both on the ice and off.

The Bathurst, New Brunswick native, long an outspoken opponent of violence in the game, took the helm of the OHL at a time when much of hockey was punctuated by, well, punches. Facing an uphill battle, Branch and his unflappable conviction eventually won the day. A key influencer in all of the league’s disciplinary measures from day one, the OHL became known for issuing harsher than usual punishments as a deterrent for gratuitous behaviour.

Branch was also a staunch supporter of a free-flowing style of play as opposed to the defence laden game that permeated most of the pro game during the “dead puck” era of the early 2000’s. His decisions no doubt earned him certain detractors, but his intentions, not to mention the resulting explosion of profile and positive image for not only the OHL but the CHL at large, has proved his vision to have been overwhelmingly correct.

Branch, who also served as President of the CHL from 1996-2019, guided junior hockey into a modern era off the ice as well. Starting at a time when the primary source for non-NHL information was local print media and a sidebar afterthought in the leading hockey publications of the day, Branch and his cohorts’ ability to sell their product into the information age has proven invaluable today, where major junior highlights sit prominently alongside those of the pros. His tireless efforts, beginning in his earliest days in charge of the OHL, to ensure players were earning an education, blazed the trail for the modern scholastic structure that has become a major selling feature for junior hockey families form coast to coast.

Branch’s ability to put the player first – be it from a safety, skill or studious perspective – remains his legacy. That legacy was further enhanced in 2019, when the CHL’s Player of the Year Award was renamed in his honor. The first three winners after the renaming of the award – Alexis Lafreniere, Logan Stankoven and Connor Bedard – are already making names for themselves in the NHL. Fitting, considering the efforts of the man who’s name shares space on that award in placing the best the CHL has to offer on the highest pedestal.