Noise on hockey major junior transfers misplaced

Jake Neighbours in action for the Oil Kings in 2019.

When it comes to people being upset over the transfer of major junior hockey players, the noise of the bark might be the most minor annoying thing.

In Western Canada, the idea of major junior transfers really came to light publicly on Oct. 23, when the WHL announced it had granted temporary transfers to WHL roster players to continue their development playing competitive hockey in junior A, junior B or the under-18 levels.

These loans are slated to expire on Dec. 20.

At the moment, the WHL is still planning to start its upcoming regular season on January 8, 2021. WHL clubs are planning to open training camps after the Christmas break.

Of course, the sport of hockey is trying to deal with the fact the world is in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Those in hockey are trying to do the best they can to keep the sport motoring along like those in all other aspects in life are trying to adjust to the pandemic the best they can.

Due to the pandemic, revenues that usually run to the sports world, including hockey, have been cut dramatically. As a result, many junior A hockey teams have moved more to a pay to play type of format.

Those transferring down from the WHL will have their hockey related expenses covered by their major junior club. If WHL players that transfer down have signed NHL contracts, they likely are already benefitting from getting some extra resources from their NHL team.

Cole Fonstad in action for the Raiders in 2018-19.

There have been some in the worlds of junior A, junior B and the under-18 levels who have cried foul, because a WHL veteran is taking the spot of a player that paid to play.

I think what people are forgetting is the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic. At the moment, the best way for athletes to get games in at any level is to play in leagues that are as regionally based as possible.

Leagues that have to frequently cross borders provincially or with the United States are going to have the toughest time to get going.

At the moment, Everett Silvertips overage left-winger Cole Fonstad, who helped the Prince Albert Raiders win a WHL title in 2019, is playing for his hometown Estevan Bruins in junior A’s Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

Fonstad is connected with his community and odds are high he had connections with the Bruins. If he wants to play for his hometown junior A team during these crazy pandemic times, he should be allowed to do that, and that is exactly what happened in his case.

As a bonus, he gets a rare chance to play at home. The Bruins are slated to open their SJHL regular season schedule by traveling to Melville on Friday to face the Millionaires. The Bruins are scheduled to host the Millionaires on Saturday in Estevan.

Ozzy Wiesblatt in action for the Raiders last season.

Some of those raising their arms up against these major junior transfers say it will spoil the chemistry on teams in the junior A, junior B and under-18 ranks. These arguments are made with the belief that everything in the sports world will play out as scheduled without any speed bumps.

Newsflash – the world is in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. A positive COVID-19 test on any of these hockey teams could throw a schedule in flux. Just look at the headaches the CHL’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has dealt with for at least the past four weeks with multiple positive COVID-19 tests on some teams.

A number of clubs had to stop activities for being located in areas of the province of Quebec that are designated red zones.

Starting this past Monday, all hockey activities in the Manitoba capital city of Winnipeg have ceased for a period of 14 days at the moment as that centre works to halt the increase of new COVID-19 cases.

All it takes is one public health order from stopping any of these teams and leagues in their tracks.

There are no guarantees the junior A Centennial Cup national championship tournament for the 2020-21 campaign will go ahead. The Keystone Cup tournament to crown a junior B champion for Western Canada might not be played.

The Telus Cup tournament to determine an under-18 AAA male national championship hockey team and the Esso Cup tournament to determine an under-18 AAA female national championship hockey club are still at the risk of not going forward.

Rhett Rhinehart in action for the Blades last season.

It is still entirely possible the WHL season won’t get off the ground and the same goes for the OHL season.

Nothing is operating as it normally should in these COVID-19 pandemic times, and people have to remember that.

Raiders right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt and Edmonton Oil Kings left-winger Jake Neighbours have been loaned to the junior A Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Wiesblatt went in the first round and 31^st overall in October’s NHL Entry Draft to the San Jose Sharks and has since signed with the Sharks.

Neighbours was picked in the first round and 26^th overall in that same NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He has since signed with the Blues.

Let them play and keep getting competitive games with the Bandits.

The Saskatoon Blades loaned veteran defenceman Rhett Rhinehart, who will turn 19-years-old near the end of the month, to Flin Flon Bombers, who are a junior A team in Manitoba that plays in the SJHL.

Let Rhinehart skate with the Bombers.

It is possible these transfers could remain with their respective junior A through the end of the 2020-21 campaign and still not play for a national title.

Alex Bernauer in action for the Contacts last season.

At the under-18 AAA level, forward Alex Bernauer of the Saskatoon Contacts might have been a 17-year-old rookie with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades had times been normal.

The Contacts roster contains dynamic 15-year-old forwards Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager, who are pegged to be in the WHL as 16-year-olds in 2021-22. In April’s WHL Bantam Draft, Heidt was picked in the first round and second overall by the Prince George Cougars and Yager went in the first round and third overall to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Let all three of those talented forwards be teammates on the Contacts.

The major junior transfers are something that is reasonable and should be applauded for being done to make the best out of these COVID-19 pandemic times.

ACAC cancels winter season, other notes

Megan Nagy (#1) makes a block for the Rattlers in 2012.

The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference will not be having a 2020-21 campaign

On Wednesday, the ACAC announced it was cancelling its extended 2021 winter semester season due to the fact most of its member institutions were extending on-line program delivery into the winter semester due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the province of Alberta.

In June, the ACAC had cancelled its fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined with Wednesday’s announcement, the ACAC will not be hosting any athletic competitions for the 2020-21 campaign.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ACAC announced it supports its member institutions’ efforts in protecting the health and safety of students and the broader community.

The released added that no status for the 2021-22 campaign has been determined at this time.

On Tuesday, the Medicine Hat College Rattlers said they had made the decision to forgo competing in the ACAC winter season in basketball, volleyball and futsal.

The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, which is the national umbrella the ACAC plays under, had officially cancelled all of its national championship tournaments in June.

• On Wednesday, the Alberta Junior Hockey League announced a member of the Whitecourt Wolverines had tested positive for COVID-19. The junior A exhibition encounters between the Wolverines and Drayton Valley Thunder have been cancelled. The two sides were set to play Friday night in Drayton Valley and Saturday night in Whitecourt.
• On Wednesday, the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers shut down their facility after receiver Kendrick Bourne tested positive for COVID-19. He immediately went into self-quarantine and is on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Later on Wednesday, receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and offensive tackle Trent Williams were added to the 49ers reserve/COVID-19 list for being in close contact with Bourne. All four of those players are out of the 49ers lineup for their upcoming game. The 49ers (4-4) are as still slated to host the Green Bay Packers (5-2) on Thursday night.
• Gregg Drinnan put together another round up on how the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the sports world in his Taking Note blog on Tuesday. His Tuesday post can be found by clicking right here.

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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Hermann will always cherish year as Hilltops starter

Club celebrates 2019 CJFL title season with ring day

Tyler Hermann, left, shows his championship ring to his father, Craig. 

    Tyler Hermann’s one campaign as the Saskatoon Hilltops starting quarterback turned into a dream season.
    After being a reserve quarterback for four years, Hermann was tabbed with taking the controls of the Hilltops offence for his fifth and final campaign with the club. While there were growing pains in the first four weeks of the season, Hermann signal called the Hilltops to a perfect 12-0 record to capture the Canadian Bowl and become CJFL champions for a sixth straight year.

    The Hilltops downed the host Langley Rams 11-6 last November in the CJFL title game to win a 22^nd national title.

    Hermann had a good personal campaign too in 2019 completing 123-of-192 passes for 1,908 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions appearing in all of his club’s eight regular season games.

Tyler Hermann, left, receives his championship ring.

    “It was awesome,” said Hermann, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. “That is something I will have for the rest of my life.

    “It is one of those priceless memories that I will look back, and I will just cherish every moment of it. I remember at the end of the season I was almost sad thinking back. I should have been happy.

    “I remembered that this was the end of something that was such a big part of my life and all friendships I made along the way. This was a spectacular year.”

    On Saturday on the practice field outside the Hilltops clubhouse, Hermann received his championship ring at the team’s ring ceremony.

Tyler Hermann, left, and Jesse McNabb show off their rings.

    Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Hilltops ring ceremony was a modified one.

    Usually, the Hilltops ring ceremony is a social event that brings together their CJFL championship team from the previous season as part of a reunion night.

    With government regulations currently in place to combat COVID-19, the Hilltops ultimately did a ring ceremony to give a nod to their 2019 season with a group of six players, who were in their final campaign with the team in 2019.

    The graduating players that made it out included Hermann, Connor Graham, Tristan Hering, Logan Kelsey-Stern, Ryder Klisowsky and Jesse McNabb.

    Team officials will distribute the rest of the championship rings to the 2019 title winning team.

    With that noted, Hermann was happy with the reunion that did happen considering the circumstances that surround the current day.

Jesse McNabb, left, gets his championship ring.

    “We usually do it right after May camp too, so there is a little buzz around the new season,” said Hermann, who recently turned 23-years-old. “Everyone is kind of chatting.

    “It is definitely different. I like the way they did it having the fifth year guys here. Those are the guys we traveled our whole five years together with, and we shared such similar experiences kind of starting as that rookie and then finishing the way we did.

    “That is good enough for me. That is really all you can expect in times like this is something like that.”

Jesse McNabb checks out his championship ring.

    McNabb’s eyes got really big, when he opened his ring box and saw his championship ring. The star defensive tackle, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 245 pounds, said a big part of the 2019 campaign was gutting out a 4-0 start.

    The Hilltops had a huge turnover in their starting ranks, and many players were adjusting to new roles.

    The venerable CJFL club opened the season with three straight road victories. The Hilltops took their home opener 28-21 over their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder thanks to a touchdown with under a minute to play.

    The home win over the Thunder and a 24-22 win in Week 3 over the Huskies in Edmonton required fourth-quarter comebacks.

    “It was big, because it really showed the character of the team,” said McNabb, who recorded 26.5 total tackles and three sacks for the Hilltops in the 2019 regular season. “We weren’t just rolling through everyone like some teams in the past have.

Jesse McNabb shows off his championship rings.

    “It was more hard fought games. It was really good for the group morale to see that we could get through the tough times together. As the season went on, things developed better, and it was good.”

    On Aug. 25, 2019 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Hilltops legendary head coach Tom Sargeant picked up his 200^th career victory in a 34-16 win over the host Thunder.

    Sargeant later moved past retired Regina Rams head coach Frank McCrystal to become the all-time leader in head coaching victories in Canada’s amateur post-secondary football ranks.

    After the Hilltops won their sixth straight CJFL championship, Sargeant’s career record sat a 210-30-2 including action in the CJFL regular season and post-season.

Ryder Klisowsky shows off his five championship rings.

    McCrystal had a 208-104-2 record in the regular season and post-season in both the CJFL and U Sports. He was the head coach of the Regina Rams from 1984 to 2014, and they played 15 seasons in the CJFL and 16 campaigns in U Sports over that time as the University of Regina Rams.

    McNabb said helping Sargeant get those milestones was a sweet part of the campaign.

    “It was great just to be able to do that for him and get things done right and then be able to lift him up in B.C. at the end of the year and give him the trophy,” said the 22-year-old McNabb.

    Hilltops linebacker Jadyn Pingue was named the CJFL defensive player of the year for his efforts during the 2019 season.
    The Hilltops have also captured the Canadian Bowl in nine out of the last 10 seasons to become CJFL champions.

Ryder Klisowsky, left, and Logan Kelsey-Stern enjoy ring day.

    The 12-0 campaign in 2019 followed up the Hilltops posting an 11-0 overall mark in their 2018 CJFL title winning season.

    The Hilltops 2019 CJFL championship rings have the initials “J.F.” written on the side to honour late former star Hilltops linebacker Justin Filteau. Filteau, who played for the Hilltops from 2010 to 2014, passed away in a plane crash on June 1, 2019.

    The 2019 rings, which were designed by the Hilltops graduating players, contain 22 sapphires symbolizing the club’s 22 CJFL championships. The word “trust” is written on the underside of the ring to recognize the trust the Hilltops players had in their teammates over the course of the season.

    There are six Canadian Bowl trophies on the side and six sapphires on the top of the ring to symbolize the Hilltops sixth consecutive Canadian Bowl championship win.

    “Obviously, it is beautiful, and it is something to be proud of,” said Hermann. “When I look at it, I just kind of think of the comradery of the team.”

Soyko takes her talents to the Pandas, other notes

@PandasHockey is proud to announce that @abbysoyko_10 has committed and will be wearing green and gold in 2020/21. Welcome to the PHamily Abby! pic.twitter.com/1IP4dlwTTe

— UofA Pandas Hockey (@PandasHockey) May 28, 2020

    Abby Soyko has found a new hockey home with the most storied women’s program in the history of U Sports.

    On Thursday, the University of Alberta Pandas, who have won the most U Sports national women’s hockey championships at eight, announced Soyko has committed to joining the Edmonton-based squad for the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
    The Prince Albert, Sask., product originally committed to joining the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s hockey team in January along with her sister Alli. Abby and Alli are two parts of triplet siblings.

Abby Soyko in action with the Bears in October of 2018.

    On April 20, the University of Lethbridge cut both the men’s and women’s Pronghorns hockey teams citing a lack of provincial government funding.

    Due to that development, the two 18-year-olds became free agents with the ability to join any other post-secondary team of their choosing.

    On Thursday, it became official that Abby was going to be a member of the Pandas.

Alli found a new hockey home too. On Thursday, the Red Deer College Queens women’s hockey team, who play out of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association ranks, announced Alli had committed to joining their program.

    Both Abby and Alli played major roles in helping the Prince Albert Northern Bears win the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League championship in 2016-17 and win a Western Regional playdown series to advance to the Esso Cup national championship tournament.

    Abby would be viewed as the big catch due to her scoring prowess. She is the quintessential power forward.

    She played for the Bears for five seasons from 2014 to 2019 appearing in 136 regular season games piling up 65 goals and 63 assists for 128 points. She is the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFU18AAAHL and the Bears all-time leader in goals and points.

    Abby is tied for the Bears all-time regular season record in career assists with Kaitlin Willoughby, who went on to star and become the second all-time leading scorer for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks.

    Abby was also the Bears captain in her final season with that team.

Queens Hockey is proud to introduce our newest member: @allisoykoo of @NAXHockey. Alli joins us from Prince Albert, Sask. We are excited to see you wear the Crown to start your college hockey career! Welcome to the family @rdcathletics! #mykingsmyqueens

— 🏒 RDC Queens Hockey (@rdcqueenshockey) May 29, 2020

    Last season, Abby and Alli played for the Northern Alberta Xtreme Female Prep team in Devon, Alta.

    Due to their late October birthday, they had exhausted their under-18 AAA eligibility, but still needed to finish their Grade 12 studies in high school.

    Abby was the leading scorer for the Xtreme this past season posting 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 23 games.

Alli Soyko in action for the Bears in November of 2018.

    She will be a big addition to the Pandas, who won the Canada West title last season. The Pandas didn’t get a chance to play a game at the U Sports national championship tournament in Charlottetown, P.E.I., which was called off after two games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Alli will be a strong addition to a team at the Canadian college level, and she also has all the physical tools to play at the university level possibly one day.

    In her final season with the Bears in 2018-19, Alli recorded career highs in all offensive categories with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 26 regular season games.

    She had another solid campaign this past season with the Xtreme posting five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 23 games.

    Last season, the Queens fell 3-2 in double overtime in a series deciding Game 3 to the NAIT Ooks in an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference semifinal series.

    Both Abby and Alli will be great additions to their respective teams.

• On Thursday, the Boston Marathon, which was scheduled for Sept. 14, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has originally been slated for April 20 before being pushed back to Sept. 14. This will mark the first time in history the Boston Marathon has been cancelled after running for 124 consecutive years.
• On Friday, the DUBNetwork, which is a website platform dedicated to covering the WHL, announced it was taking a step back and stopping coverage due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Run by chief executive officer Paul Figler, the DUBNetwork has been in operation since 2015.
• On Friday, long time Medicine Hat, Alta., radio broadcaster Jim Duce announced he will be retiring. Duce has been on the radio waves for 47 years. He currently works for CHAT 94.5, and his final day on air will be Friday, June 26.

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.