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As a high school junior who has played "AAA rep" hockey with and against many current O.H.L players, as well as elite "prep school" hockey with and against many current E.C.A.C players, I feel that I can offer an objective opinion on the College vs. Major Junior hockey debate. The major selling point of Major Junior hockey is that it is supposedly the highest level of competition available to would-be N.H.L-ers. Without even considering the exorbitant benefits of a college education, I feel that the level of College hockey itself is as good as (if not better than) its Major Junior counterpart. On a recent trip to Peterborough, Ontario for the All-Ontario High School Championships, I watched an O.H.L playoff game between the Peterborough Petes and the Oshawa Generals (two Ontario Hockey League teams rife with "traditions of consistency and excellence"). Four of the players in the game had played "AAA" hockey with me in the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League (MTHL), including Jeff Ware of the Generals who is a projected first round pick in the upcoming N.H.L. draft. The game, however, left my teammates and I thoroughly disappointed as a constant display of "clutch and grab" hockey impeded play from start to finish. Ultimately, a bench- clearing brawl ended the lifeless affair as the prospects showed off their fighting skills to the hoards of N.H.L scouts in attendance. The College game showcases (and stresses) fundamental hockey skills such as skating and shooting, whereas the O.H.L's supposed "marquee" players have to constantly contend with "goon" tactics, indicative of players possessing too little talent to play the game legally. As the N.H.L becomes increasingly stringent in penalyzing offenders who rely on "clutch and grab" tactics, the O.H.L finds itself caught in an unfamiliar situation. Each year, more and more Collegians (who rely predominantly on talent and discipline) are taking jobs away from O.H.L players who cannot understand why leagues other that the O.H.L do not allow the antics that they have grown accustomed to throughout their careers. In the future, I expect to see a greater number of Collegians in the N.H.L as Gary Bettman and Co. attempt to clean the game up. Unfortunately for Major Junior hockey -- its best days are long gone. Josh Goldin Upper Canada College, Toronto.