from Rick Westhead of TSN,

The Greater Toronto Hockey League, which manages the largest minor hockey program in the world, is planning to put the brakes on foreign players.

A dramatic rule change, expected to be passed in February, will make it far more difficult for young players from Russia, the United States and other countries to join the GTHL, which administers rep and house league programs for about 38,000 players.

GTHL chief executive Scott Oakman told TSN that following an Ontario Hockey Federation vote next month, the league will have a new rule in place by this fall that will require the parents of all GTHL players who attend private sports high schools to prove they live in Toronto.

Over the past decade, as the number of those private schools has proliferated, hundreds of foreign players have moved to Toronto to attend those schools and play in the GTHL. This year alone, 37 international players are registered in the GTHL.

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