In response to a story in Wednesday's Otago Daily Times, in which Dunedin Thunder and Ice Blacks coach Janos Kaszala called for changes around imports, NZIHL general manager Gunther Birgel has thrown his support behind Kaszala.
Teams are allowed to dress four imports per game, as well as two assimilated players who intend to play for New Zealand or live here long-term.
Kaszala wants the rule allowing two assimilated players to be dropped, something Birgel is happy to consider.
He said there was a proposal to drop the number of foreigners (assimilated or not) at the end of last season, but the vote was defeated.
However, Birgel feels the momentum for change is building, and hopes the number of imports allowed will be reduced for next season.
He felt the rules had worked in the past, but said one only needed to look at the national league standings this year to realise changes need to be made.
''This season, two teams [Stampede and Red Devils] had top imports, which provided excellent competition among those two. But the other three teams are lagging far behind,'' he said.
''This is not healthy, in my opinion, and it needs to be addressed.''
The Stampede finished the regular season with 15 wins from its 16 games, the same number of wins the Botany Swarm, Dunedin Thunder and West Auckland Admirals managed combined.
The three-time defending champion Red Devils won 10 games to qualify for the finals, which start tomorrow in Christchurch, and finished 16 points clear of the third-placed Swarm in the standings.
Kaszala wants the number of imports reduced because it is an amateur league, and thinks the imports are hurting the development of New Zealand players.
''This discussion point is already on the agenda for our after-season meeting in October, and I hope that this time we'll see a change,'' Birgel said.
''The equilibrium is out of kilter and as Janos says, the imports and assimilated players are dominating too much at the cost of local development.''
