Have you noticed the Vancouver Giants trumpeting their education program?

It’s become a regular in-game feature by the Vancouver Giants, taking time to talk about what they do for players’ education. Before the season, Giants owner Ron Toigo told me how proud they are of what the team does for its players’ schooling; what else could he say? CHL teams have an educational program in place, and the Giants do emphasize at every opportunity that if players aren’t getting the job done in the classroom, they aren’t going to be playing for the team. But that’s not really what the CHLPA is going after. The CHL’s scholarship program is the target.

So, if you were thinking junior teams aren’t feeling pressure from the CHLPA, think again. Stories like this are clearly being taken seriously:

After a lengthy discussion with Halifax labour lawyer Ron Pink, the former chairman of the NHLPA advisory committee who is now working with the CHLPA, I’m convinced this effort to estab­lish a union for junior hockey players is sincere.

According to Pink, successful inroads are being made with clubs across the CHL.

“This isn’t a nuisance, this is serious,” Pink said of the union effort. “It’s for real.”

(That’s Chris Cochrane of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald.)

The story’s not going away. Will the CHLPA find enough support to certify? We’ll see. But it doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon.