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| Will the Hilltops get to enjoy another CJFL title win in 2020? |
In North
America, we’ve received a small glimpse of the differences with the return of
UFC and NASCAR. The UFC has held fight cards in venues without fans and NASCAR had
held race nights at tracks without fans.
Also during
NASCAR races, it is easy to see most of the people in the pit crews and working
around the track are wearing protective masks. Even drivers don protective
masks after they remove their race car helmets after the night’s action wraps
up.
Both
circuits seem to be trying to squeeze as much action in on a tightened
schedule. The NASCAR Cup Series is closing the month of May running five races
in a period of 15 days.
The five
race run started on May 17 with The Real Heroes 400 at the Darlington Raceway
in Darlington, S.C., and will conclude on Sunday with the Food City presents
the Supermarket Heroes 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.
Some of the
premier soccer leagues are going in Europe and the Korean Baseball Organization
is running in South Korea. The KBO is starting to collect a North American
following.
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| Will Brendon LaBatte (#57) and the Roughriders fire fast out of the gate? |
Outside of
the professional leagues, sports like minor baseball and softball are looking
to have modified seasons running likely in July and August. Much of that return
to action depends on the loosening of regional restrictions.
The CFL is
hoping to hit the field in September with a shortened season.
The Canada
West Conference in U Sports has already put forward tentative plans for modified
shortened schedules. The CJFL is hoping to play a modified shortened slate.
Junior hockey
at the major junior and junior A ranks might ultimately end up playing
shortened schedules.
The NHL
said on Tuesday it will jump right into playoffs with a 24-team format to be
played in hub cities. With the NHL having paused action on March 12, it is wide
open how this post-season could play out.
The dates
of these games haven’t been determined, but there is hope of a return in
August.
With that
extended break, any trends from the regular season have to be thrown out the
window. Whoever jells first will have the advantage.
It will become clear quickly which players stayed in shape over the break and which did not.
It will become clear quickly which players stayed in shape over the break and which did not.
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| How will Jesse Kuntz and the Huskies looking in 2020? |
Montreal is
slated to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a best-of-five qualifying round
series.
The NBA is
talking about returning to play in July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports
Complex near Orlando, Florida. The plans of how play is to resume are still more
on the loose side.
There has
been talk of a 16-team playoff format or group stage play like World Cup soccer
involving 20 to 24 teams followed by playoffs.
It is still
possible all of that circuit’s teams could return. The NBA was the first league
in North America to pause its season back on March 11.
All of the
teams would be housed in hotels near the complex. Again, any trends from the
regular season can be thrown out the window with that long of a layoff.
The teams
with the most talented players will likely have the edge, which means LeBron
James might lift the Los Angeles Lakers, who had the second best regular season
record at 49-14, to the NBA crown.
At the
moment, MLB is hoping to play an 82-game regular season, but the league and the
MLB Players Association can’t agree on the issue of player compensation. Thanks
to that deadlock, no one is predicting a start date.
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| How will Collin Shirley and the Huskies fair in a shortened season? |
The team
that can catch fire fast will do well. Teams that bring back most of their
rosters from the previous season might have a head start in doing well.
That could
favour teams like the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the
defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers or the Calgary Stampeders. On
the Stampeders front, you know star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell will be ready
to go.
The CFL is
looking to play their game in hub cities, which adds a new dimension to the mix
too.
Due to the
shortened seasons, it is possible there will be players in the CFL, Canada West
Conference and the CJFL who decide not to play.
In the CFL,
players coming from either the United States or across Canada have to question
if the shortened season is worth the travel.
In the Canada
West Conference and the CJFL, players might elect to sit out a season to stay
home and help their families ride out the COVID-19 pandemic. They might elect
to work at a place of employment and continue to train for the prospects of a
full season in 2021.
Of course,
the prospects of work are hampered by the self-imposed recession/depression
created by the world to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. With that noted, a player
might definitely take a year off, if they have a job.
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| Will Jessica Vance get to show her greatness again in 2020-21? |
The
six-time defending CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops and their main rivals the
Regina Thunder mainly recruit in Saskatchewan. Still, some players on both of
those squads may elect not to show due to the current state of the world.
If players
know they are going to be down on the lower end of a practice roster in a
shortened 2020 campaign, those player might use that reason to elect to pass on
this season and comeback in 2021.
The teams
in other sports in the Canada West Conference are in the same boat. Just
looking at the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s hockey
teams, basketball teams, soccer teams and volleyball teams, you wonder which
veterans will elect not to return this season due to how world events have
played out.
You wonder
which recruits will elect to come this season or hold off for a better world
outlook in 2021.
Of course, all athletes can do in any league is train for now. At the moment, the medical health officials have all the power as to when sports will return.
Of course, all athletes can do in any league is train for now. At the moment, the medical health officials have all the power as to when sports will return.
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| Will the Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders battle in 2020-21? |
Heck, media
outlets don’t know how they will be covering these events when they return to
action. There might be a lot of press conferences done online via Zoom.
Still, it
would be great if things worked out that “the wild west” frontier in sports
could play out. Just think about all the unpredictable storylines that could be
remember for years from a sports season that would be unlike any other.
Bears slated to get Esso Cup in 2021, other
notes
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| The Bears have been named the hosts of the 2021 Esso Cup. |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hockey Canada elected
effective March 13 to cancel all its sanctioned activities for the rest of the
2019-20 campaign. That meant the cancellation of all Hockey Canada sanctioned
national championship tournaments including the Esso Cup female AAA under-18
national championship tournament slated to be held in Prince Albert in April.
Of course, the Bears were set to play in that event as the
tournament’s host. The Bears deserved to host nationals as they have been one
of the strongest female under-18 programs in Saskatchewan dating back to the
inaugural season of the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League in 2006-07.
The Bears won league titles in 2009 and 2017 and appeared in
the 2017 Esso Cup. They also have a loyal following in “Hockey Town North.”
On Wednesday, Hockey Canada announced the Bears will be the
host team for the 2021 Esso Cup. Lloydminster was originally slated to host the
tournament in 2021, but the centre that sits on the border of Alberta and
Saskatchewan will now host the Esso Cup in 2022.
The Lloydminster Steelers, who play out of the Alberta
Female Hockey League under-18 ranks, will be the host team for the 2022 Esso
Cup.
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| Jessie Herner, left, and Brooklyn Anderson won’t play in the 2021 Esso Cup. |
In this case, it feels like justice will be served, if
Prince Albert hosts Esso Cup in 2021. Of course, there is still an uncertain
fear the COVID-19 pandemic could wipe out a 2020-21 winter sports season.
With that noted, five Bears players exhausted their under-18
eligibility after last season came to an abrupt end in captain Brooklyn
Anderson, Jasper Desmarais, Jessie Herner, Tori MacDonald and Lauren Willoughby.
On top of that, defender McKenzie Mayo, who could play one more year for the
Bears, is slated to join the Trinity Western University Spartans women’s hockey
team for the 2020-21 campaign.
That group of six was denied of the chance to play at the
Esso Cup in their home rink this past April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They won’t
get that opportunity back, and that is unfortunate.
Still, it is a great thing that the Bears will get another chance
to host Esso Cup, and you can be sure their organization and the Prince Albert
community will put on a great show.
- Hockey Canada also announced on Wednesday all its summer camps for national teams have been cancelled through to Sept. 1 due the COVID-19 pandemic. Hockey Canada will offer virtual camps for prospects for the under-18 women’s team, the national women’s development team, the goaltender development camp, the national male under-17 programs, and the national men’s junior team. The Program of Excellence coach seminar will be delivered in an online format too.
- With the NHL officially declaring an end to the regular season for the 2019-20 campaign, Edmonton Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl became the winner of the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. The 24-year-old product from Germany appeared in 71 regular season games with the Oilers piling up 43 goals and 67 assists for 110 points. Draisaitl became the first alumnus of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders to become the NHL’s regular season scoring champion and the first player from Germany to capture the NHL’s scoring title. Draisaitl played two seasons for the Raiders from 2012 to 2014.
- Jackson Caller, who is a former defenceman with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, has committed to play for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds men’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks. Caller played about two-and-a-half seasons with the Blades from 2016 to 2018. Last season, he played as an overage in the junior A ranks with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League. In 55 regular season games with the Vipers, Caller netted five goals and 12 assists.
- On Tuesday, it was announced the Prince Albert Exhibition Summer Fair won’t be held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was slated to run July 28 to Aug. 1.
- On Tuesday, it was announced Prince Albert’s Polkafest won’t be held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Polkafest is usually held in late August.
- On Wednesday, the Western Canadian Baseball League announced its 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to cancel the campaign was a unanimous one from the league’s board of governors. The WCBL is a wood bat summer league that consists of teams in Saskatchewan and Alberta who are made up of players from the university ranks in the United States and Canada.
- With having to work from home due to all the shutdowns with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic starting on March 11, the data I’ve used on my mobile phone from the start of March up to today has been my lowest usage since I have ever owned a mobile phone.
- On Wednesday, the Walt Disney Co. announced plans to reopen its Walt Disney World theme park in Florida in phases beginning on July 11. The reopening plan awaits the approval of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
- On Sunday, the Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatoon announced it is still hoping to hold a local stock car racing season with hopes of a season opening race in early August.
- The University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team took up the #SocialDistancingChallenge. Spread out seemingly all over the place, the Cougars players put together a fun pass the puck video from a number of different locations.
If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.Hey @HuskiesWHKY thanks for the #socialdistancingchallenge. Sorry it took a while . . . We had some distance to cover. Sending the challenge to more Cougs - @MRUWomensHockey @UofRMensHockey pic.twitter.com/rx9TgWAO7P— U of R Hockey (@URWomensHockey) May 26, 2020
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