As the opening day of the PHPA’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Player Representatives wrapped up on Tuesday, Executive Director, Brian Ramsay, and select members of the Executive player committee for both the ECHL and AHL engaged in a conference call to discuss the highlights and biggest takeaways from the first day.

Ramsay explained that the PHPA discussed an Executive Committee report given by the executive members to start the day, while also working through an annual report that covered collective bargaining agreement updates, financial reporting of the association and the budget for the upcoming year as well as a long-term plan for the years to come.

The PHPA also spent time discussing newly formed relationships as well as renewed-partnerships including joining the AFL CIO and formalizing a strategic alliance with the NHLPA.

“We had a very productive first day here,” Chris Terry said, adding, “I think the topics that Brian [Ramsay] went through were extremely informative and beneficial.”

Terry’s biggest takeaways included the strategic alliance with the NHLPA and the ‘powerful’ presentation from Chuck Thuss and Dr Jay Harrison and the First Line Mental Health Training program that concluded the day.

“We announced and released [the First Line program], obviously, earlier this year, but we really were fortunate to have Dr Jay Harrison kind of break down how and why he formed it, and what it can do,” Terry explained. “And Chuck Thuss is one of the best public speakers I think I’ve ever seen. [He] delivers a powerful message that I think really grabs the attention of the room.”

The strategic alliance the PHPA forged with the NHLPA, announced earlier this month and a first for the two organizations, will reinforce and strengthen the close relationship enjoyed by the two associations with approximately 90% of NHLPA members having spent time as members of the PHPA while playing in the AHL or ECHL.

“From an ECHL standpoint, we feel this is the strongest our Union has been in recent years, from the player representatives to the executive committee to our Executive Director, Brian Ramsay,” executive player committee member Jimmy Mazza said. “We are all on the same page. And the announcement of the NHLPA strategic alliance, along with us joining the AFL CIO, we feel that gives us a lot of power being part of those two massive unions.”

Ramsay explained communication and cooperation between the PHPA and NHLPA has been there since his arrival to the PHPA as its executive director, and that this strategic alliance only formalizes the work they’ve already been putting together like partnering with Opening Minds, a social enterprise division of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and launching the First Line program earlier this year.

“The alignment makes sense in the sport,” Ramsay said. “The transition between the organizations is something that we know is going to happen year in and year out. For us to be closely aligned, sharing resources and providing that unity is only going to strengthen not only the individual programs and partnerships that we can come up but just making sure that the overall well-being of our members, whether they’re in either organization, is first and foremost. And there is definitely alignment between the two groups on that.”

Ramsay Provides CBA Update

Ramsay provided an update on where collective bargaining negotiations stood with both the AHL and ECHL, while also taking questions from members of the media present on the media call Tuesday evening.

“Right now, we’re active in both collective agreements and we continue to advocate on behalf of the membership for the best possible outcome in the collective agreements for our membership moving forward,” Ramsay said, explaining that conversations with both leagues have been ongoing – both in person and virtually since early this year.

“We’re working towards the right deal for our current members, but also the next generation. We’re looking for a long term, stable agreement in both leagues that’s fair for our members and the leagues that we play in,” Ramsay continued. “And we’re focused on not only fair compensation benefits and protections, but also ensuring the proper health and safety constraints. It’s about the overall well-being of our members, both on and off the ice and before, during and after they’re playing professional hockey.”

While there is still work to be done in both agreements, discussions with both leagues remain active and on-going with face-to-face and virtual meetings scheduled later this month.

The ECHL’s current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on June 30th, 2025 while the AHL’s CBA is set to expire on August 31st, 2025.

“It’s obviously a priority for our membership to find a fair and equitable deal in both collective agreements,” Ramsay stated.