NAYLOR CONTINUES TO DENY HOCKEY CANADA SUSPENSION Now he's throwing around his weight, and little remaining influence, in attempt to silence critics.

What do you call a grown man who tries to scare a hockey mom? Stupid may be the first word to come to mind, but in this case we are going to use bully. 

We received word yesterday that former Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL), OCN Blizzard, and Rock Springs Blizzard head coach Darren Naylor is making frugal attempts to silence social media complaints from parents of former players.

I think it's going to be interesting to see what smoke will spew from the embattled coach's head next. There will certainly be much more after today.

Naylor continues to make claims that he was never suspended by Hockey Canada. At the time of his suspension, the British Columbia Hockey League was still part of Hockey Canada. The BCHL did suspend Naylor and that suspension was honored by Hockey Canada and associated leagues.

This is exactly the reason Naylor was unable to serve as the coach for the OCN Blizzard. 

The Blizzard had hired Darren Naylor out of BC back in July (2022), but Naylor was suspended by Hockey Canada for breaking the Coach's Conduct Policy and has not been reinstated. ( article )

In an earlier exchange with Naylor's partner in Rock Springs, Wes Mussio, it was stated that the BCHL was not part of Hockey Canada and there was nothing to the allegations. That is a false statement because the BCHL moved away from Hockey Canada for the 2023-24 hockey season. The BCHL suspended Naylor, and his assistant, in the middle of the 2021-22 season. 

Also of note, the BCHL was still part of Hockey Canada for the 2022-23 season, but had withdrawn from the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Regardless of that withdrawal, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League honored that suspension and refused to allow Naylor to coach in the league.

This is an excerpt my November article regarding Naylor.

“Naylor would have to apply for reinstatement. The CJHL (Canadian Junior Hockey League), league, branch, and team would all have to sign off on any reinstatement,” one CJHL official said yesterday. “Based on the seriousness of the suspension, I am sure a few of those groups would want detailed information on why he was suspended.” ( article )

So, the question remains, when and how did Naylor get reinstated? OCN did not do it. The Manitoba Junior Hockey League did not do it. So who did?

Why is the United States Premier Hockey League not asking the same question?