Reaction from the Commissioner’s office regarding the incidents in Victoriaville on January 12, 2019
SYDNEY, NS — The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Commissioner’s office has been made aware of the incidents that took place on January 12th in Victoriaville, as reported last night by Radio-Canada. The situation is being taken very seriously due as player safety is at stake and is one the League’s top priorities.
The Commissioner’s Office would like to highlight how the Victoriaville Tigres have managed the situation following the incident. Although the team was well-intentioned in wanting to reward its players, we feel that the organization has demonstrated lack of judgment and guidance by not setting clear and strict rules for its players. We strongly believe that it is important that team personnel use extreme caution under such circumstances.
The arrest of a 17-year-old drunk driver is an unfortunate consequence of the organization’s lack of judgment, but also of a bad decision made by the player in question. The team and the QMJHL’s Player Help Program have taken charge of this player and are giving him all of the necessary support.
In all such cases, the Commissioner’s Office reiterates that player safety must take precedence over the decisions of authority figures across the QMJHL. All teams must learn from this unfortunate turn of events so as to prevent this from happening again in the future.