HAMILTON (CP) – If Bobby Hull signs a World Hockey Association contract with Winnipeg Jets it will be much more than a straight player contract, says Doug Michel, owner of the Ottawa Nations franchise in the fledgling WHA.

He told the annual convention of the Ontario Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association here Sunday the high-scoring left winger with Chicago Blacks Hawks of the National Hockey League would be good for the WHA but “his value as a hockey player is not $2 million.”

Michel said the 10-year agreement Hull is expected to sign with the Jets late in the summer would cover five years as a player and another five years in some other capacity.

Michel was the only WHA representative in the OSSA panel for the hockey seminar. Others in the group included Ron Andrews, NHL statistician; goaltender Dave Dryden of the NHL Buffalo Sabres and Red Burnett of Toronto, president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.

GOOD FOR PLAYERS

Dryden hailed the advent of the WHA and NHL expansion from six teams in 1967 to 16 for the 1972-73 season as a boon to players, if not the owners and fans.

“From a security angle alone it is good.” said Dryden. “When there were six teams, it was produce or go to the minors.

“With expansion it was, produce or go to an expansion team. Now, it's produce or there are a lot of other opportunities.

“And for players who are 35, or goaltenders who are 40, there are other avenues in coaching and as hockey executives.

“This is the golden age of hockey. I'm glad it's here and it will get better with the coming of international hockey.”

Andrews said if Hull does move to the WHA, it could have serious repercussions within the NHL. The NHL statistician also had facts and figures that showed NHL expansion is getting farther from team parity than ever.

“If someone of Hull's calibre leaves, a lot of others might follow,” Andrews suggested. “But Hull could well upset the parity of the new league.

“He might go wild and make Winnipeg a powerhouse.

“People have an idea that the NHL owners are treating the WHA lightly. My own opinion is that the WHA is trying to do too much too soon.”

On expansion, Andrews noted there had been 10 applications for two new NHL franchises scheduled to join the league in 1974-75. None of these had come from Canada and that in other expansion years only one Canadian bid had been forwarded.

“I don't know how long the fans will keep paying. I don't see how they can keep raising prices and wages with what looks like an inferior product. The answer may be in international hockey.”

The eight new teams that have joined the NHL since 1967. Andrews said, had a lower win percentage in the 1971-72 season than in the five years since the league first expanded.

“I don't know what the answer is,” he concluded. “It may be to drop the protected list.”

Michel, in revealing most WHA teams will be made up of one-third NHL players, one-third minor pro and one-third from amateur ranks, said he is sure the new league will not sign under-age juniors.

VOTED AGAINST

“I voted against it,” he admitted. “A boy 18 can vote and drink and go to Vietnam and get shot.

“He can become an architect or a lawyer or anything else his grades will permit. … I think a boy should go into sport when he is ready.”

He suggested it should be left to the individual athlete to determine his future and to someone such as NHL president Clarence Campbell, “to adjudicate his best interests.”

“If Campbell approved (a player's application to move into professional ranks), his name could go into the draft list.”

Dryden agreed that the problem of education is overstressed.

“After all, only about 30 percent of all students are capable of acquiring a university education. And I'm not sure it isn't easier to get a college degree after you turn pro than it is while you play hockey.”