CJFL extends eligibility for two oldest age groups

Decision a welcome development for junior circuit

Mason Ochs, right, can play for the Hilltops in 2021.

    The CJFL’s elder statesmen have a reprieve on the eligibility front.
    Back on August 6, the CJFL announced the entire 2020 season had been cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With that development, one wondered if that announcement would end the careers of the players that were to step on the field at age 22.

    In junior football in Canada, the final year players are allowed to play on the circuit is the year they turn 22-years-old.

    On Tuesday, the CJFL announced players that were slated to turn 22-years-old and 21-years-old for the 2020 campaign would be granted an extra year of eligibility. Those players that would have turned 22-years-old this season can play in 2021, and players that were to turn 21-years-old this season can play through to 2022.

    To be eligible for this extension, affected players must have been on a 2019 CJFL roster or registered with the CJFL – including those that have signed letters of intent – prior to August 6.

    For the veteran players in their 21 and 22-year-old years, the CJFL’s eligibility extension is a welcome bit of news.

    There will be talk that the CJFL could have given all five of its age groups one-year eligibility extensions. Players must be aged 18 to 22 to be eligible to play at the junior level in Canada.
    Still in the big picture, the CJFL could have elected to not do anything on this front and just let all players age out as normal.

Rylan Kleiter (#7) can play his fifth year for the Hilltops.

    In most other sports in Canada, there are no ongoing talks to extend eligibility for players with regards to age guidelines.
    In major junior hockey, the overage players for the 2020-21 campaign have to be born in the year 2000. If there ends up not being a season in the CHL, which oversees the WHL, OHL and QMJHL, those players born in 2000 won’t likely get an extra year of eligibility to play in 2021-22.

    There was no talk in sports like baseball, basketball, softball or volleyball about extending age parametres. In high school athletes, Grade 12 students who graduate this year won’t get to attend Grade 12 again next year to play any possible sports they might have missed out on.

    To be blunt honest, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the chance to enjoy some special moments seemingly from everyone.

    That includes taking part in regular graduation activities be it high school or university, large family weddings or special vacation trips. In the sports world, many athletes have already lost opportunities to pursue championships that can span from league or national titles.

    Many veteran athletes were denied a proper farewell, like the overage players that skated in major junior hockey this past season. Those players were told their respective seasons were over and were unable to experience a final salute from their respective home crowds.

    The CJFL could have elected to not adjust anything with regards to its age eligibility rules. The 18 members clubs elected to budge and extend eligibility for its two oldest age groups.

    This should be applauded as a good thing.

    For a team like the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops, they won’t have to say a sudden goodbye to players like Rylan Kleiter and Mason Ochs, who would have played their 22-year-old seasons in 2020. The Hilltops have won the last six straight CJFL titles, and Kleiter and Ochs were key members in the last four championship wins.

Davin Williamson can return to the Thunder in 2021.

    Over the past four seasons, Kleiter has been the sure-handed receiver who can handle all the kicking duties. Ochs has been an all-Canadian all-star in each of the past three CJFL campaigns holding down the left tackle spot on the Hilltops powerful offensive line, and he took part in the training camp of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019.
    The Hilltops pride themselves in playing for their fifth-year players, and it wouldn’t seem fitting if they had to say an early goodbye to players like Kleiter or Ochs. The Hilltops also began practising together this week and will continue the welcomed bonding time for a total of six weeks this fall.

    The Regina Thunder also have to feel thankful they won’t have to say an early farewell to their players who would have been 22-years-old this season. That group would include standout linebacker Davin Williamson.

    It is not easy to make decisions in the current COVID-19 world, and the decisions that are made won’t always be perfect.

    For now, it is great the CJFL will allow its most veteran players some extra time on the circuit.

McCrimmon sells WHL’s Wheat Kings

Kelly McCrimmon mans the Wheat Kings bench in March of 2016.

    The ownership guard is changing in the “Wheat City.”

    On Tuesday, Kelly McCrimmon, who is the long time owner and governor of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, announced he has sold the hockey team to J&G Group of Companies. J&G Group of Companies is a Brandon firm led by Jared Jacobson, who is the president and CEO.

    McCrimmon will continue to hold down the role of alternate governor with the Wheat Kings. The sale was unanimously approved by the WHL’s Board of Governors last week, and the franchise will officially change hands on September 15.

    On top of his roles with Brandon’s WHL franchise, McCrimmon joined the NHL ranks in August of 2016, when he became the assistant general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights.

    In early May of 2019, McCrimmon, who is 59-years-old, became the Golden Knights general manager.

    The Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup final in 2018 falling to the Washington Capitals. Vegas has advanced to the best-of-seven Western Conference Championship series in this year’s NHL post-season against the Dallas Stars.

    On Thursday in Edmonton in bubble conditions, the Stars downed the Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime to take Game 3 of that series and a 2-1 edge in the series set.
    Way before he ever owned the Wheat Kings, McCrimmon, who is originally from Plenty, Sask., joined the Wheat Kings as right-winger for two seasons from 1978 to 1980. He helped the Wheat Kings win a WHL championship in 1979. 

Kelly McCrimmon gives directions during a WHL conference final in 2016.

    McCrimmon would rejoin the Wheat Kings in 1988 as an assistant general manager and became the club’s general manager in 1989. In 1992, McCrimmon became a minority owner of the Wheat Kings purchasing one-third of the franchise.

    He became the club’s sole owner in 2001. During those years with the Wheat Kings starting 1988, McCrimmon served as the team’s head coach on a number of occasions.

    He was the Wheat Kings head coach and general manager when they won the WHL title in 2016. He was the general manager when the Wheat Kings won the WHL championship in 1996.

    Those league title wins allowed the Wheat Kings to appear in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The Wheat Kings went to the Memorial Cup on two other occasions under McCrimmon’s watch.

    They got there in 1995 as the runner up in the WHL final as the tournament was hosted by the WHL champion Kamloops Blazers, who did win the Memorial Cup that year.

    The Wheat Kings were the host club of the 2010 Memorial Cup and fell in the tournament final to the Windsor Spitfires.

    In the 28 seasons McCrimmon has been the owner of the Wheat Kings, they missed the qualifying for the playoffs on only three occasions and appeared six times in the league championships series.
    “This was an extremely difficult decision for our family,” said McCrimmon in a release. “The Wheat Kings have been our life, from playing here for two years and then operating the team for 31 years, 28 of those as an owner.

Kelly McCrimmon, centre, is composed behind Brandon’s bench in 2016.

    “There have been so many incredible moments, the victories, the people, the staff and of course the many players over the years that have worn our uniform. I started as GM when I was 28-years-old. Brandon became our home, we love the city and we love Manitoba.”

    McCrimmon was happy to turn the club over to a strong Brandon area leader in Jacobson.

    “We believe this is the right decision,” said McCrimmon in a release. “The game has been so good to my family.

    “I am fortunate now to be part of a great organization in Las Vegas with the Knights, and it became apparent a succession plan was needed. I feel good for people in Brandon and western Manitoba that the Wheat Kings will be in great hands with Jared (Jacobson) and will always be a big part of the City of Brandon.”

    Since 1988, it would be hard to argue that McCrimmon has been the top executive in the WHL. He is one of the few that is astute in both the hockey operations and business sides of the game.

    As a coach, he always pushed his players to be at their best, and he was able to accomplish that in a good father figure type way. The Wheat Kings were often viewed as the favourite road team in the WHL circuit amongst hotel and restaurant staffs due to how well the players conducted themselves off the ice.

    That reputation was something McCrimmon was very proud of. The discipline the Wheat Kings players conducted themselves away from the ice with translated in the professional way in which they played the game.

The Wheat Kings celebrate an OT win in Game 2 of the 2016 WHL final.

    Jacobson and his ownership group will have humongous shoes to fill. It is a challenge Jacobson is looking forward to.

    “This is a very exciting day for myself, my family and business partners,” said Jacobson in a release. “Our ownership group is looking forward to adding new energy and new ideas to one of the most storied franchises in the Canadian Hockey League.

    “We are committed to providing the fans with not only a great on ice product, but the best fan experience possible. I would like to thank Kelly (McCrimmon) for this opportunity. The Wheat Kings mean everything to Brandon, Manitobans and fans across Western Canada.

    “We look forward to building on the past successes of the organization.”

Hofmann featured in Howe Happenings, other notes

Logan Hofmann signs a ball for a young player in Saskatoon.

    I was busy adding new content to the Howe Happenings blog run by the Gordie Howe Sports Complex this week, and the feature story I posted is a cool one from the baseball world.

    I caught up with Muenster, Sask., product Logan Hofmann, who is a right-handed pitcher who was selected in the fifth round and 138^th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the MLB Draft held on June 11. He signed a rookie contract with the Pirates on June 27.

    The 20-year-old Hofmann is a pretty impressive young man to talk to. During the off-season, he enjoys working with young players in Saskatchewan to help them before better persons and players.

    My story on Hofmann can be found by clicking right here.

    I also posted a story on ZONE Sports Physiotherapy, which has a location on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds and does great work there. The story on ZONE can be found by clicking right here.

• The Regina Rams were saddened by the passing of one of their beloved alums last Saturday in former player and assistant coach Denis Losie at age 46. Losie played on the Rams defensive line during their CJFL era from 1991 to 1995 and was a member of three straight CJFL title winning teams from 1993 to 1995. He became a defensive line coach in 1996 and stayed with the Rams when they joined the U Sports ranks as the University of Regina Rams in 1999. The Rams won the CJFL title in their final two years on that circuit in 1997 and 1998. Losie took on duties as the special teams coordinator in 2000, while still serving as the defensive line coach. He held those roles through the end of the 2003 campaign and saw the rise Jon Ryan, who went on to be a star punter in the CFL and NFL. Losie returned to the Rams as special teams coordinator for two seasons in 2012 and 2013.

This past weekend the Rams family lost a friend, teammate and coach. Throughout his involvement in football and life, Denis Losie left his mark on the many people he was around and we’ll miss him greatly. pic.twitter.com/j2hNZzMKOb

— Regina Rams Alumni (@reginaramsalum) September 8, 2020

• On Tuesday, the University of Lethbridge announced it was suspending is Pronghorns women’s soccer team for breaking sport cohort COVID-19 protocols. While the Canada West Conference and U Sports soccer seasons are cancelled, the Pronghorns had still been allowed to hold practices. The Pronghorns women’s soccer program and its practices will resume based on the advice of Alberta Health Services. The about the Pronghorns suspension from LethbridgeNewsNow can be found by clicking right here.  
• On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that around 266,000 coronavirus cases could be linked back to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August in Sturgis, South Dakota. That story can be found by clicking right here.
• The SaskTel Centre, home of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, is going to serve as a home base for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams for the 2020-21 campaign. The Huskies moving in their gear on Wednesday. The Huskies had to find a new home as their home rink Merlis Belsher Place is serving as a “Linus blanket” COVID-19 field hospital in waiting. Just to clarify, the “Linus blanket” term is used in all sincerity.
• On Thursday, the University of Regina, the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Polytechnic announced they will continue with remote learning and online classes for the winter semester of the 2020-21 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All three institutions are already conducting classes online for the fall semester, which has just started.
• On Thursday, CBC’s web platform produced an in-depth look on a string of suicides among young men in Medicine Hat, Alta. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, 650 CKOM in Saskatoon produced a story on its web platform from an interview with veteran University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team receiver Yol Piok. Piok shared his experience with suicide. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• Thursday was World Suicide Prevention Day. As a result, a number of media outlets produced stories related to suicide.
• Gregg Drinnan has his latest round up of how COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the sports world in his Taking Note blog. His latest post notes Curling Canada has cancelled six more 2021 championships. Drinnan’s latest entry can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, the WHL and RE/MAX of Western Canada announced that over $585,000 has been raised over three seasons that it has run its RE/MAX Presents: WHL Suits Up to Promote Organ Donation program. The WHL was able to hold 14 out of its 17 games last season in that program before the tail end of the 2019-20 regular season and the entire CHL post-season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    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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