Famous OHL scout linked to the firing of Jeff Marek

Katie Strang and Dan Robson from The Athletic have provided some details on the situation, and they center around the draft, with some rather unusual events that took place.

The main issue appears to be that Jeff Marek shared advance information about draft picks with a friend. As an interviewer for Sportsnet during the draft, Marek had access to early notifications provided by the NHL to their TV partners, giving them a one or two-minute lead before the picks were publicly announced. According to the report, Marek allegedly passed some of this information to Mark Seidel, a former NHL scout and the former Barrie Colts' director of player personnel, who also runs the North American Central Scouting Independent Bureau. Seidel then tweeted about the picks ahead of their official announcement.

It was just announced today that Mark Seidel would no longer be working for the Barrie Colts, as they refused to renew his contract, further adding fuel to all of this drama unfolding.

While it might seem like these events at the draft could be connected to insider trading for gambling purposes, Robson and Strang note that no evidence of gambling involvement has emerged. Nevada requires sports books to stop accepting bets on specific picks 24 hours before the draft's first round begins, meaning a one or two-minute advance notice wouldn't have any bearing in terms of betting as it wouldn't even be allowed.

It's possible that bets on specific players could have been made in other states or provinces later on, but Seidel was reportedly in Las Vegas at the time. There's no indication of any actual betting. According to a report, there was an unnamed source who came out and confirmed that there was absolutely no betting or gambling going on between Jeff Marek and Mark Seidel, and the advance notice of the picks was strictly to advise fans online on Seidel's social media. Additionally, while some speculated that Marek's absence after the first night of the draft signaled something had gone wrong, Strang and Robson clarified that his early departure was already planned before any controversy arose, and so it was purely coincidental.

Now that the Barrie Colts want nothing more to do with Mark Seidel, it will be interesting to keep an eye out to see if any further information leaks over the coming weeks.

Source: BarrieToday
COLUMN: Colts scout linked to Jeff Marek's departure from Sportsnet