Saturday 17 August 2019

Bourbonnais deserving of captain’s tag with Canada

Young defender’s star continues to rise in hockey

Jaime Bourbonnais, right, gets an award at last year’s 4 Nations Cup.
    It seems like fate has Jaime Bourbonnais destined for big things on the international hockey stage.
    She’s suited up with Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team to play at a 4 Nations Cup and a women’s worlds all before her 21st birthday this coming September 9. The day is coming when Bourbonnais will become a household name across Canada, because this young lady from Mississauga, Ont., will make it happen.
    Throughout her hockey career, Bourbonnais, who stands 5-foot-7, is a rarity being a skilled and elite offensive-defender. She is already one of the top female players in the world at her position.
    Last Sunday, she was named to the roster for Canada’s national development team for a three-game series against the United States, and she named captain of the Canadian side. Canada closed out the series in Lake Placid, N.Y., winning Game 3 by 2-1 final on Saturday. The U.S. took the series 2-1.
    The captain “C” is a great nod of respect for how far Bourbonnais has come and shows how much of a positive influence she has on her teammates.
Jaime Bourbonnais in action at last year’s 4 Nations Cup.
    At the 4 Nations Cup in Saskatoon last November, it seemed like the atmosphere automatically went up no matter what room Bourbonnais walked into. You all of a sudden got this fuzzy feeling that good things would happen the way her personal and perky demeanour came out.
    It was great to see Hockey Canada entrusted her with a leadership role, and you already believe that she is going to run with it.
    One of the old clichés in sports is hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
    However, when talent works hard you get Peyton Manning or Warren Moon. That notion was told to me by legendary CFL coach and general manager the late Cal Murphy, who is in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
    Bourbonnais fits the description of talent working hard to become Peyton Manning or Warren Moon.
Jaime Bourbonnais is an elite offensive-defender.
    At last year’s 4 Nations Cup, Bourbonnais collected a goal and an assist in four games helping Canada to silver medal finish. Statistics only told part of the story.
    In her first games with Canada’s senior national women’s team, Bourbonnais was the most noticeable player on the ice for Canada, and it can be argued she was Canada’s best player at that event.
    While Canada fell 5-2 to the United States in the tournament final of that event, Bourbonnais left one final big impression blasting home a power-play goal in the third period to account for Canada’s second tally.
Jaime Bourbonnais (#25) celebrates a goal at last year’s 4 Nations Cup.
    Last season for the Cornell University Big Red women’s hockey team, Bourbonnais appeared in 32 overall games recording nine goals, 20 assists and a plus-29 rating in the plus-minus department.
    She helped Cornell, which is located in Ithaca, N.Y., advance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Frozen Four women’s hockey championship tournament in Hamden, Connecticut. The Big Red fell 2-0 in a semifinal match to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
    Along with piling up numerous all-star accolades, Bourbonnais was nominated for the Patty Kaizmaier Award, which is given annually to the top female college ice hockey player in the United States.
Jaime Bourbonnais is destined for big things on the international stage.
    In three complete seasons with Cornell, Bourbonnais has posted 17 goals, 52 assists and a plus-51 rating in 94 overall games. At worlds last April in Espoo, Finland, she had a goal and two assists in helping Canada to a bronze medal finish.
    Bourbonnais is following in family footsteps suiting up for Canada. Her grandfather, Roger, played centre for Canada’s senior men’s national team in the 1960s and helped Canada win bronze medals at the world championships in 1966 and 1967 and a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in 1968.
    He turned down chances to join the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings in order to pursue a career as a lawyer.
    Jaime has a big chance of likely eclipsing her grandfather’s accomplishments on the international stage before her career is finished.
    Jaime Bourbonnais is a great player and you can bet she will still find a way to get better than she already is. When she hits her peak in the game, it will be marvellous to behold.

Gordie Howe Sports Complex a winner in IBA deal

Joe Gallagher Field at Gordie Howe Sports Complex.
    The Gordie Howe Sports Complex is one of the winners regarding the Integrated Bilateral Agreement (IBA) between Canada’s federal government and Saskatchewan.
    On Monday, Francois-Philippe Champagne, who is the federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, announced with a tweet that included a letter to SaskBuilds that 13 of 25 projects submitted through the Integrated Bilateral Agreement (IBA) have been approved.
    This deal could potentially bring $896-million into Saskatchewan for infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.
    The minister added approvals for 11 other projects are expected shortly.
    One of the 13 approved projects will see more money go toward the revamp of the Gordie Howe Sports Complex in Saskatoon. The Gordie Howe Sports Complex is the area of town that contains numerous sports facilities like Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Cairns Field, the Geoff Hughes Minor Baseball Complex, Bob Van Impe Stadium and Gordie Howe Kinsmen Arena.
    A multi-sport indoor athletic training facility and a track and field are the newest additions to the Gordie Howe Sports Complex.
    The amount of money that will flow into the Gordie Howe Sports Complex wasn’t divulged. The master plan for the facility said that $62-million would be spent on improvements, and as of July of last year, $42-million was raised towards that goal.
    Since July of last year, fundraising has continued and construction has continued to proceed as funds came in.
    Overall, this is a win for Saskatoon.
    Another win for Saskatoon on the cultural and arts front is the fact funding for a new site for Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan has been approved through the IBA deal. Again, no figures were released regarding what will go to this project.
    With that said, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan has become an important staple in Saskatoon, so that is another win for the city with regards to the IBA deal.

Expect new WHL rink talk to heat up in Sask.

The Raiders raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup last May at the Art Hauser Centre.
    One of the interesting revelations regarding the Integrated Bilateral Agreement (IBA) between Canada’s federal government and Saskatchewan was the fact funding for a new multi-sport complex was proposed for Prince Albert.
    The proposed multiplex would include an aquatics centre, two smaller rinks and a larger rink that would be the new home of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.
    This project was not approved as the federal government deemed the Raiders to be a semi-professional sporting franchise.
    In a post on Thursday, I wrote that Prince Albert deserves such a facility. If you want to see that piece again, you can do so by clicking right here.
    Going forward into the future, it will be interesting to see how the various levels of government treat building rinks for WHL teams in Saskatchewan.
    It is safe to say over the last four years the idea of building new rinks in three other Saskatchewan WHL centres in Regina, Saskatoon and Swift Current has been test floated out there.
    In August of 2011, Mosaic Place opened in Moose Jaw giving the WHL’s Warriors a new 4,414 seat rink to play out of plus standing room.
    Since there have been notions to build new rinks in Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon and Swift Current, one wonders how those notions will evolve going into the future.
    Not like my two cents really matters, but I would like to see government money used to help Prince Albert and Swift Current get new facilities first before the two bigger centres. In Prince Albert and Swift Current, you can get their WHL clubs and midget AAA teams all located in one building creating a great sports centre for those communities and surrounding areas.
    The people in Prince Albert and Swift Current have shown strong support for their respective WHL and midget AAA teams.
    With that said, just because I have those thoughts doesn’t mean they will become a reality.

Will IBA influence CHL class action lawsuits?

    One has to wonder if the Integrated Bilateral Agreement (IBA) between Canada’s federal government and Saskatchewan will have an effect on the CHL class action lawsuits?
    Charney Lawyers PC, a firm specializing in class action lawsuits, has filed lawsuits on behalf of former CHL players against the CHL and its member major junior leagues in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL. The lawsuits content the players of major junior hockey teams are employees of their member clubs and should be entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay.
    The IBA deal between the federal government and Saskatchewan views major junior teams as semi-professional teams. That could be interpreted as a tidbit that could help those making the class action lawsuits against the CHL and its member leagues.
    Don’t expect decisions on this front to be made any time soon. Litigation has been ongoing since these lawsuits were filed in October of 2014.
    I don’t want to speculate what type of decisions could be made. I know in Canada’s court system that anything can happen even if it is viewed as remote.
    Typically in Canada’s court system, nothing happens fast. If this comes to an end within the next five years, I would be very surprised.

What will happen with Board of Trustees for Huskie Athletics?

    One of the hanging questions around Saskatoon’s sports scene is what will happen with the Board of Trustees that was developed for Huskie Athletics at the University of Saskatchewan?
    During the final week of June of this year, five out of the six external community member resigned from the board that was part of a governance model for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies teams.
    The resignations included David Dube, who was the board’s chairperson, Diane Jones Konihowski, David Sutherland, Tom Anselmi and Ken Juda.
    The Board of Trustees includes five representatives from the university. The creation of the board was announced in September of 2016, and it became active on Nov. 1, 2016.
    Under a new governance model that saw the Board of Trustees become a reality, the board was to advice and guide Huskie Athletics, who play out of U Sports, and report to U of S president Peter Stoicheff.
    The external members resigned over a feeling of frustration regarding the influence they had on the athletic program.
    Since the details came out via mainstream media outlets during the first week of July, all has been quiet on the Board of Trustees front.
    To me, I just see it as a university political squabble. I think the board members who resigned had good intentions towards Huskie Athletics.
    I believe Stoicheff has good intentions towards Huskie Athletics. Stoicheff is also tasked as part of his job with ensuring the university has proper oversight over anything that has the institution’s name.
    This whole concept hasn’t really been around long enough to judge if it is good or bad.
    The board was around when the departure of legendary Huskies football head coach Brian Towriss was mishandled in December of 2016, but Stoicheff took responsibility and apologized for how that news came down.
    That episode has long since blown over, and Towriss is a regular visitor at various events involving Huskies football.
    It will be interesting to see how the U of S as an institution proceeds from here.

Hardy a welcome addition for Huskies

    One spot where the U of Saskatchewan Huskies hit a massive home run was when Dave Hardy was named the chief athletics officer on Aug. 7.
    He officially started his new position last Monday.
    At age 71, Hardy takes over the top job with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies program from Shawn Burt, who recently stepped down to be closer to family in Ontario.
    Hardy has a storied career in the Saskatoon school system as a teacher, principle and school superintendant. He is a former president of Vancouver College, and he led that institution to new heights in academic and athletic excellence.
    That included facilitating a capital fundraising campaign that exceeded $20 million.
    In Saskatoon, he is widely remember for guiding the Saskatoon Hilltops as head coach for 10 seasons from 1988 to 1997. The Hilltops won two Canadian Junior Football League titles in 1991 and 1996 under Hardy’s guidance.
    He is an alumnus of the Huskies men’s basketball team, and coached basketball for extended stints during his time in the Saskatoon school system.
    Hardy has made a big positive impact on the community of Saskatoon during his life. It is safe to say the news that he has become the Huskies CAO has been well received in Saskatoon.
    Optimism is high the Huskies program will accomplish great things under his watch.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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