After far from storybook season, McKenna first overall NHL pick

Beating adversity will be asset in new life with Leafs

Gavin McKenna, centre, dons a Leafs jersey. (Photo by Natalie Shaver/CHL)

In the year leading up to being the first overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft, Gavin McKenna traveled a path no else has ever travelled.

Last Friday, McKenna was picked first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Entry Draft held at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Pop superstar Justin Bieber, who is from London, Ontario, put on a WWE style promo in making the first overall pick for the Leafs, and in the process he drew huge amounts of loud boos from the partisan Buffalo fans adding to the entertainment spectacle of the event.

From that moment, McKenna, who is from Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, has had a love in with the Leafs organization, their fans and Toronto as a city. The honeymoon phase of McKenna’s arrival in Toronto is definitely on.

The 18-year-old left-winger ultimately ended up where he was supposed to be after navigating a 2025-26 campaign with the Penn State University Nittany Lions that contained various twists and turns. During that campaign, McKenna dealt with criticisms coming from a slow first half of the season to dealing with legal matters that came up early in the second half of the campaign.

The adversity McKenna faced might make him ready for the adversity he will eventually encounter playing in the fishbowl setting the Leafs deal with in Toronto that is unlike any other market in the NHL.

Back in June of 2025, McKenna was targeted to be the consensus first overall selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. He had just come off a sensational 17-year-old season in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2024-25.

In 56 regular season games, McKenna, who stands 6-feet and weighs 170 pounds, piled up 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department. He helped the Tigers finish second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 record.

McKenna proceeded to help the Tigers win their sixth WHL title in team history posting a 16-2 mark in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. He played in 16 games in the WHL Playoffs recording nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points to go with a plus-14 rating.

The Tigers proceeded to advance to the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion. At that year’s tournament played in Rimouski, Quebec, Medicine Hat topped the preliminary round standings with a 3-0 mark to make the event’s championship game. In the Memorial Cup title clash, the Tigers fell 4-1 to the London Knights, who are a storied powerhouse in the OHL.

In the four games the Tigers played at the Memorial Cup tournament, McKenna had three goals and three assists and a plus-two rating.

Gavin McKenna in action in the 2025 WHL final.

He piled up the trophy case with all sorts of individual honours that season. The honours that came McKenna’s way included being named the recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL player of the year and being named the CHL player of the year. I even had one or two hockey observers tell me they thought McKenna was more NHL ready than phenom centre Connor Bedard was when he joined the Chicago Blackhawks as an 18-year-old.

Due to the fact McKenna didn’t turn 18 until December 20, 2025, he wasn’t eligible for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft that was held June 27 to 28 of that year in Los Angeles, California. Had McKenna been eligible for that draft, he would have been selected first overall.

Back when the Tigers selected McKenna first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, they were expecting to have him for his 18-year-old season due to his December birth date. That all changed on November 7, 2024 when the NCAA Division I Council voted to abolish old rules that classified CHL players as professional.

Starting on August 1, 2025, players from the CHL’s three major junior circuits in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL were eligible to play for NCAA Division I teams. Basically, CHL players will maintain NCAA eligibility as long as they have not signed an entry-level contract with an NHL team.

Since 2021, the NCAA’s guidelines regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) changed, and athletes were now able to make money through NIL deals. With McKenna being viewed in June 2025 as the consensus first overall selection for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the writing was on the wall that NCAA teams were in a recruiting battle to bring him to the United States.

McKenna officially committed to joining the Nittany Lions on July 8, 2025. In July, ESPN reported McKenna’s NIL money for attending Penn State is “in the ballpark” of US$700,000.

It seemed like McKenna was poised to have a dream season with Penn State before joining the NHL. Fairly or unfairly depending on your view, the NIL payout to McKenna brought expectations to perform. He ended up having the most roller-coaster season of his hockey career to date, which inadvertently might prepare him for life with the Leafs.

During the first half of the 2025-26 campaign with the Nittany Lions, McKenna came face to face with tonnes of criticism from media that covers NCAA Division I men’s hockey for being underwhelming. He recorded four goals, 14 assists and a minus-five rating in his first 16 games with Penn State.

Observers that saw McKenna play in the NCAA during that time said he has been outstanding skating on the power play or four-versus-four situations when he has time and space on the ice. The NCAA league is filled with players aged 18 to 23 with the majority being aged 20 to 23 and that changed things for McKenna when it came to five-on-five play.

When it came to McKenna’s five-on-five play going against players who are more physically developed because of their age, observers said McKenna hadn’t been good. Observers noted McKenna has shown a lack of engagement and been unwilling to compete in those situations. The word “passenger” was used to describe McKenna’s effort when it came to five-on-five play.

Gavin McKenna was the CHL player of the year in 2024-25.

The criticisms of McKenna’s play intensified at World Juniors, which were played from December 26, 2025 to this past January 5 in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The criticisms reached their height after Canada fell 6-4 to Czechia in a semifinal contest on January 4 in Saint Paul.

In that loss, McKenna had one assist and took some bad penalties inside the last six minutes of the third period. On the eye test, he didn’t look good during five-on-five play and made business decisions bowing away from spots where he had to compete and battle for the puck. The fact McKenna lost his cool after Czechia’s empty-net goal inside the final 30 seconds of that game where he got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct didn’t help things.

At that point, it was pretty definite McKenna was not a lock to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Skilled forward Ivar Stenberg of Sweden, who played for that country’s Frolunda FC men’s team, and Canadian defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, who is an alum of the WHL’s Victoria Royals and was playing for the NCAA’s University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, entered the chat.

On the ice, the semifinal loss ended up being the turning point of McKenna’s season. It seemed like he was hearing the noise at that point.

In Canada’s 6-3 bronze medal win over Finland one night later in Saint Paul, he looked a lot more dialed in when it came to playing a strong game at both ends of the ice. He finished with one goal and three assists to be named the game MVP for Canada.

In Canada’s seven overall games at World Juniors, McKenna recorded four goals, 10 assists and a plus-seven rating.

During the second half of the Nittany Lions season, he skated in 19 games recording 11 goals, 22 assists and a minus-two rating. On the season in Penn State, McKenna finished with 51 points coming off 15 goals and 36 assists in 35 games to go with a minus-seven rating. The Nittany Lions made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division I championship tournament and fell 3-1 to the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 3-1 at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York on March 27.

Penn State finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 21-14-2 overall record. McKenna was Big Ten Conference Scoring Champion with 38 points coming off 11 goals and 27 assists in 24 conference games. He was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top 10- Finalist amongst the accolades he piled up for the season.

During the second half of the season, McKenna hit a big bump off the ice on January 31 following his team’s 5-4 overtime loss against the Michigan State University Spartans in an outdoor contest played at Beaver Stadium before 74,575 spectators on the Penn State campus.

Following an alleged physical altercation on the evening of January 31 in downtown State College, McKenna was charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanour simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. According to the Onward State media outlet, the incident occurred at 8:45 p.m. in front of the Pugh Street Parking Garage and McKenna and his group were coming from Doggie’s Pub. He was arraigned on February 4 and released on $20,000 unsecure bail.

Gavin McKenna has faced adversity since leaving the Tigers.

On February 6 after reviewing a video of the altercation, Centre County District Attorney and State College Police decided that the video showed there was no evidence that McKenna had acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury and the aggravated assault charge was dropped.

On April 21, Forbes reported McKenna waived his formal arraignment in Pennsylvania court, which is a procedural step that moves his criminal case forward without requiring him to appear in person for that hearing. Basically at that point, the defendant’s lawyer confirmed receipt of the charges and a not guilty plea is generally entered automatically. The Forbes piece said that move is largely for procedural efficiency allowing the case to proceed without an additional court date that rarely changes the direction of the matter.

McKenna’s case has been advanced into the pretrial phase of the criminal process. At this stage, both sides engage in work to see if the matter can be resolved without a trial. Alternative resolutions are also explored at this point.

The Forbes article goes on to say McKenna will raise the self-defence argument as he is facing only misdemeanour charges, and his defence counsel is also likely telling prosecutors that no jury will convict McKenna given the claim that he was acting to protect his mother, Krystal, while also being harassed by the victim along with the fact he is a first time offender.

After that development, Krystal was charged on April 29 with two misdemeanour counts of furnishing alcohol to minors for an alleged incident occurring on the evening of January 31 inside Doggies Pub.

From what I can tell, these legal matters are still ongoing. In the time since Gavin’s initial arrest, I had a couple of folks message me that live in the United States to tell me it is common in that country for people to antagonize celebrities into getting the celebrity to attack them in order to get a big payout in civil court with a lawsuit over physical damages.

Looking at how the case is playing out with the McKenna family, I believe and speculate this whole situation stinks of the victim potentially trying to get a payout from Gavin or law enforcement officers trying to make up for missteps in doing their jobs. Still, I have learned from court reporters over the years to never be certain about the outcomes a court system will give to a case. The McKenna family legal situation has the potential to not go away any time soon and continue to be a pain in the butt dealing with the lesser charges.

In another smaller adversity that came up, Gavin McKenna did take on criticism for deciding against playing for Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Men’s World Championship held this past May 15 to 31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, to better prepare for the NHL Draft Combine. The Combine was held in the KeyBank Center in Buffalo from June 1 to 6, and McKenna finished in the top 10 of five of the fitness tests.

With having to deal with all these adversities in the last 12 months, McKenna might be the most prepared prospect to ever play for the Leafs and the fishbowl that goes with playing in Toronto. He has also traveled a path no other first overall NHL Entry Draft selection has ever had to travel.

McKenna is also a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation citizen, and he became the second Indigenous player to go first overall in the NHL Entry Draft with centre Dale McCourt going to the Detroit Red Wings in 1977. If McKenna flourishes into NHL stardom with the Leafs, he could make a major societal impact in being a major positive influence in Indigenous communities.

Gavin McKenna (#72) celebrates scoring a goal in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

Due to the fact he is going to play in Toronto, it is not naïve to say more adversities are coming McKenna’s way. Those adversities would be hard pressed to be more challenging than the ones he has come across over the past 12 months.

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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McKenna’s departure to NCAA casts shadow over WHL/CHL

Steinke: it's hard for CHL teams to compete against NIL money

Gavin McKenna jets up ice for the Tigers in the WHL final last May.

The WHL and by extension the CHL won’t be able to avoid the storyline of who is not here.

A year ago at this time, superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna was envisioned as the face of the WHL and the CHL for the 2025-26 campaign. Due to the fact his birthday is December 20, 2007, McKenna wasn’t eligible for the NHL Entry Draft held this past June 27 to 28 in Los Angeles, California.

In what appeared originally to be a bonus for hockey’s major junior ranks, McKenna was going to play an 18-year-old season as a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers. The phenom helped the Tigers win the WHL championship last season and appear in the Memorial Cup tournament’s title game falling to the OHL’s London Knights.

He is tabbed as the consensus pick to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. When his draft selection happens, he will not be announced as a member of the storied Tigers but the NCAA’s Penn State University Nittany Lions Men’s Hockey Team.

McKenna officially committed to joining the Nittany Lions on July 8. Had McKenna turned 18-years-old on or before September 15, he would have been eligible for the NHL Entry Draft held this past June. He would have been selected first overall and would be playing in the NHL this coming season.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Hilltops first true rival was a team from Winnipeg

There was a time when the Saskatoon Hilltops biggest rival wasn’t from Saskatchewan.

The current modern version of the Hilltops are best known for their rivalries with squads from Saskatchewan’s capital city in Regina. They had a big rivalry with the Rams before they joined the U Sports ranks in 1999, and Hilltops rivalry with the Rams’s CJFL successors in the Thunder followed, starting with the birth of the Thunder in 2000.

When the Hilltops began play in 1947 and following through to 1961, their biggest rival was the Winnipeg Rods. That rivalry occurred in an era where there were a lot more teams in the CJFL across Canada than the 20 that exist in the current day. The Rods junior team disbanded before the start of the 1990 CJFL campaign.

Way back in 1947, the Hilltops were playing their inaugural campaign in what was then known as the Saskatchewan Junior Rugby Football Union. They topped the league regular season standings with a 5-1 record and slipped past the Regina Bombers 12-11 in the Saskatchewan championship final.

Following that win, the Hilltop advanced on to a Western Canada Semifinal series to take on the already established Rods, who won the Winnipeg Junior Rugby Football League. The Rods swept a two-game total points series by scores of 22-18 and 34-10. That set the grounds for numerous big games that would follow between the two sides.

A year later, the two sides again met in a Western Canada Semifinal two-game total points series. This time the Hilltops swept the series by scores of 21-7 and 12-6. The Hilltops would advance to their first appearance in the CJFL championship game falling to the Hamilton Wildcats.

In 1949, Saskatoon would eliminate the Rods from the CJFL post-season in another Western Canada Semifinal.

The rivalry between the Hilltops and Rods would take a new form in 1953 when they played out of the same conference in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League. Over a nine-year period starting in 1953, the Hilltops and Rods would combine to win six CJFL titles and one of those two clubs was at least in the CJFL championship game over the stretch.

Saskatoon claimed the CJFL crown in 1953, 1958 and 1959, while the Rods reached the CJFL mountaintop in 1955, 1956 and 1961. Also during that nine-year period, the Hilltops fell in the 1960 CJFL title game, while the Rods came up short in the CJFL championships games in 1954 and 1957.

In 1956, the Rods downed the Hilltops 21-7 in Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League semifinal on their way to claiming a second straight CJFL title. In 1957, the two sides went at it in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League final that was contested in a two-game total points series. The Rods swept the series by scores of 40-34 and 32-6.

Rods moved to what was then known as the City of St. James in 1959. St. James would be eventually officially amalgamated into the City of Winnipeg on January 1, 1972.

The St. James Rods and the Hilltops went at it in the 1961 Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League final that was contested in a two-game total points series. The Rods swept the series by scores of 22-20 and 29-7 to end Saskatoon’s three-year reign as conference champions.

In 1962, the two sides wrote an epilogue to their rivalry meeting again in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League final again contested in a two-game total points series. The Rods swept the set by scores of 34-11 and 29-0. Those would be the final post-season meetings between the Hilltops and Rods.

The Rods had one last great season in 1963 topping the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League regular season standings with an 8-0 record and would fall in the Western Canada Championship game 14-10 to the defending and eventual CJFL champion Edmonton Huskies.

Starting in 1964, the Rods often finished in the basement of whatever conference they were in be it the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League or starting in 1976 the Manitoba Junior Football League until the folding of their junior team.

The Rams, who were formed in 1954, began their rise and won their first Manitoba-Saskatchewan Junior Football League title in 1964 getting past the Hilltops in the conference final. The legendary Gord Currie became the Rams head coach in 1965, and rivalry between the Rams and Hilltops took full flight from that point onward to really usher in the traditional Regina versus Saskatoon rivalry at the junior level.

In 2025, the storied Hilltops opened the current CJFL campaign dropping a surprising 31-11 regular season decision to the host Rifles at Maple Grove Rugby Park in Winnipeg on August 10. The Hilltops (1-1) and Rifles (2-0) are set to battle on Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Depending what happens in that contest, it could potentially start the rise of a new true rivalry between Saskatoon and Winnipeg in junior football.

Of course, any potential true rivalry between the Hilltops and Rifles has a long way to go before it hits the heights of the one the Hilltops had with the Rods. Unfortunately, the rivalry the Hilltops and Rods had from 1947 to 1961 is fading into just being part of Canada’s recorded history as about only nine per cent of the country’s current population was alive to have a recollection of that period of time.

In the history of the CJFL, it can’t be understated how special the rivalry between the Hilltops and Rods between 1947 and 1961 truly was.

Thunder rumble on the ground

The Regina Thunder have picked up where they left off last season forming an identity of a team that likes to pound the ball on the ground.

On August 10, the Thunder opened their CJFL regular season schedule downing the host Huskies 31-16 at Jasper Place Bowl in Edmonton. In that contest, the Thunder piled up 501 yards of total offence including 371 yards along the ground.

Last Sunday, the Thunder hammered the Colts 46-21 at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary. Regina had 475 yards of total offence in that game including 308 yards rushing.

Thunder 20-year-old running back Peter Boersch leads the Prairie Football Conference in rushing yards piling up 530 yards on 55 carries and scoring two touchdowns in Regina’s two contests. He has a huge lead over Saskatoon Hilltops running back David Collins, who sits second in the PFC with 218 yards rushing.

At the end of last season, the Thunder started to form the identity of their road grader style offence. In winning their final regular season game against the Calgary Colts, a PFC semifinal against the Colts and the PFC final against the Saskatoon Hilltops, the Thunder rushed for a staggering 1,072 yards as a team. They didn’t finish below 300 yards rushing in any of those contests.

In a CJFL semifinal played at Leibel Field in Regina, the Thunder saw their 2024 campaign come to an end falling 28-14 to the Okanagan Sun, who are based out of Kelowna, B.C. The Regina side still collected 204 yards rushing as a team in that contest.

For a lot of their history beginning with their birth in 2000, the Thunder’s offence tried to mimic the style of their U Sports counterparts in the University of Regina Rams, who were the Thunder’s CJFL predecessors in the Saskatchewan capital. While the Thunder still ran the ball, they often preferred to attack through the air.

At the moment, it appears the Thunder’s “ground and pound era” isn’t just a passing fad. It looks like it is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Fans will be fans

There are CJFL fans out there who love to hate the Hilltops.

When it comes to the CJFL, fans are allowed to dislike teams.

On August 10, the storied Saskatoon Hilltops, who have won 23 CJFL championships, opened their regular season dropping a 31-11 decision to the host Rifles at Maple Grove Rugby Park. Comments appeared on a couple of independent Instagram accounts that posted the score of that contest sharing glee that the Hilltops had lost and congratulated the Rifles winning.

On the main CJFL Instagram account, there were still 18 comments listed in the post that showed the score of that clash between the Rifles and Hilltops as of Friday night. Most of the comments congratulated the Rifles on the win, and there were a number of video memes that showed shock. One comment stated, “Dang about time!!!”

It should be noted that when the CJFL posts scores on its Instagram account there usually might be just one comment made here in the early part of the campaign.

As for what was written regarding the Rifles win over the Hilltops, any comments that showed happiness in the fact the Hilltops lost didn’t go over the line and were tasteful. The comments also show the fans are engaged with the circuit, and that is a huge good thing.

During my travels in Saskatchewan and Alberta over the past year, I have encountered a growing number of folks that say the CFL, CJFL and football in U Sports suck and the NCAA is where it is at as far as football goes. A lot of those folks admitted they took trips last season to see NCAA Division I games featuring various powerhouse teams like the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, the Ohio State University Buckeyes, the University of Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

On top of seeing games, people making journeys to those contests want to take part in various fan traditions that happen around those contests like the Yellow Jackets “Enter Sandman” entrance or Crimson Tide fans reveling in “Dixieland Delight.” Those various traditions are things you don’t see at football contests in Canada.

The folks that prefer the NCAA game are still by far in the minority of the people that I know, but it is a trend that I think should be concerning that I am finding a growing number of people like NCAA football over the CFL, CJFL and U Sports football.

Since the end of the 2024 NCAA football season, the politics between Canada and the United States has changed with Donald Trump officially taking on the role of President of the United States sparking a trade war between the United States and Canada. A large number of Canadians are nixing trips to the United States, and it will be interesting to see if those cancelled trips include voyages to NCAA football games.

Back to the social media comments regarding the Hilltops, any social media dislike that has come the Hilltops way has been in good taste, and you have to love it when fans get passionate about the CJFL. No matter what sports league it is, fans are always going to be fans.

PFC player of the week nods spread out, other notes

Shawn Green (#7) is the PFC’s special teams player of the week.

This week’s PFC player of the week awards went to three players on three different teams.

In the honours that were announced on Wednesday, Winnipeg Rifles quarterback Riley Element was named the PFC’s offensive player of the week. Last Sunday, Element completed 15-of-26 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions powering the Rifles to a 43-24 victory over the Edmonton Wildcats at Emerald Hills Regional Park in Sherwood Park, Alta.

Edmonton Huskies middle linebacker Kaige Houle was dubbed the PFC’s defensive player of the week for his efforts in his squads 46-6 loss to the host Saskatoon Hilltops last Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Houle had 8.5 total tackles and one interception.

Regina Thunder kicker Shawn Green claimed honours as the PFC’s special teams player of the week helping his squad down the host Colts 46-21 at Shouldice Athletic Park in Calgary. Green connected on 5-of-6 field goal attempts and all three of his one-point converts.

He also punted the ball five times for 184 yards for an average of 36.8 yards per kick. He also scored one point off a rouge.

Green also kicked off five times for 277 yards for an average of 55.4 yards per kick.

• Zion Brown of the Calgary Colts leads the PFC in receiving yards. He has caught nine passes for 167 yards and one touchdown.
• Winnipeg Rifles quarterback Riley Element tops the PFC in passing yards. He has completed 31-of-55 passes for 519 yards and four touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions.
• Last Saturday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a story on the Carnduff Southeast Steelers winning a third straight Canadian women’s softball championship. The latest win came at Bob Van Impe Stadium. The piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images from the Saskatoon Cubs winning their seventh 18U AAA Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League title in team history with the latest championship coming at Cairns Field. The photo roundup also contains photos from baseball, football, softball and track and field. That 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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Zablocki making mark on P.A.’s storied female hockey legacy

Stryker Zablocki, centre, sets to drop a ceremonial faceoff.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Stryker Zablocki hasn’t even graduated high school, and she has already done enough to ensure she will one day be part of Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame.

When her hockey career wraps up, there is a high likelihood she will end up with multiple Sports Hall of Fame nods. With that noted, the folks in Prince Albert love following and celebrating their sports heroes. Zablocki, who turned 18-years-old just past the middle of January, has carried hero status for a good stretch already in her hometown of “Hockey Town North.”

On January 12 in Vantaa, Finland, Zablocki had an empty-net goal helping Canada blank the United States 3-0 in the gold medal game of the IIHF’s Under-18 Women’s Would Championship Tournament. The skilled forward, who stands 5-foot-6, topped the tournament with eight goals and 12 points and was named to the tournament’s all-star team. Zablocki played for Canada one year earlier too at the Under-18 Women’s Worlds capturing a bronze medal at that event.

Stryker Zablocki, centre, gets a puck from Justice Christensen.

Last Friday, Zablocki received a hero’s welcome at the Art Hauser Centre when she dropped the puck for a ceremonial faceoff before for that night’s WHL contest between the host Raiders and the Moose Jaw Warriors, which the Raiders claimed 4-1. During the second intermission, Zablocki signed autographs for a seemingly endless line of fans in the Johnny Bower Lobby.

The supporters all wanted to ensure Zablocki knew they were proud of her. The upbeat smile never left Zablocki’s face, and she made sure everyone that came to see her left in high spirits.

Growing up in Prince Albert, Zablocki stood out in hockey and track and field. Zablocki played hockey in boys’ leagues on defence up until joining the Foxes female under-15 AA team and then switching over to forward.

Stryker Zablocki, right, signs a young fan’s jersey.

When it came time to choose an under-18 AAA team to play on, she elected to move away from home and join the Regina Rebels for the start of the 2022-23 campaign. The Rebels had just come off of falling in the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League championship series to the Notre Dame Hounds in April of 2022.

In 57 career regular season games with the Rebels from 2022 to 2024, Zablocki piled up 65 goals and 40 assists for 105 points. She helped the Rebels win SFU18AAAHL titles in both her campaigns with the squad.

On April 28, 2024, Zablocki scoring the winning goal as the Rebels downed the North York Storm 2-1 in the title game of the Esso Cup tournament that crowns a female national under-18 AAA champion. Zablocki recorded eight goals and three assists in seven games at the Esso Cup claiming honours as tournament MVP.

A large group of fans came to see Stryker Zablocki, right.

Zablocki also made a name for herself representing Canada in track and field. In July of 2023, she took part in the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association Under-18 Championships in athletics held in San Jose, Costa Rica. She was part of Canada’s four member gold medal winner in the 4 X 400-metre female relay race.

As a Grade 11 student at Prince Albert’s Carlton Comprehensive High School in June of 2024, Zablocki won gold in the senior girls’ 100-metre and 200-metre races at the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association Track and Field Championships held in Saskatoon.

In September of 2023, Zablocki committed to the Northeastern University Huskies Women’s Hockey team in the NCAA Division I ranks for the start of the 2026-27 campaign. Northeastern University is located in Boston, Massachusetts.

Stryker Zablocki, right, shares a laugh with a young supporter.

Zablocki elected to join the Bishop Kearney High School Selects for her Grade 12 campaign this season in Rochester, New York, to prepare herself for the change of moving down south. The Selects are full of players from across the United States and have one player from Slovakia.

Zablocki will return to Saskatchewan for the final part of the school year to once again compete in track and field.

In hockey, Zablocki continuing the legacy of great female players who come out of Prince Albert including Danny Stone, Kaitlin Willoughby of the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres, Jessica Vance, Brooke Hobson of the PWHL’s New York Sirens, and Abby Soyko. All play with incredible skill, heart and grit, which a signature for hockey players from the “Gateway to the North.”

Stryker Zablocki, centre, is pictured with two young fans.

Zablocki has the potential to write many more successful chapters in her hockey career. It wouldn’t be a surprise if one day she turned out to be the best female player to ever come out of P.A.

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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Hitmen emerging as surprise team in WHL

Oliver Tulk leads the Hitmen in scoring with 49 points.

“Shhhhhh. We want to sneak up on people. We are actually good.”

The Calgary Hitmen have flown in under the radar. At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, they were expected to contend for a position in the WHL Playoffs, but they weren’t penciled in to win any division, conference or league titles.

Last season, the Hitmen placed ninth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 28-31-8-1 mark finishing two standings points back of the Prince Albert Raiders (31-32-2-3) for eighth place and the conference’s final post-season berth. Calgary has failed to make the post-season in two of the last three WHL campaigns.

On November 11 of this season, the Hitmen dropped 6-5 overtime decision to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington. That result moved the Hitmen’s record to 7-7-3-1 after 18 games.

Since that time, the Hitmen have gone on a tear posting a 10-2 mark to improve to 17-9-3-1. They sit one standings point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (19-14-1) for top spot in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference.

Calgary is tied with the Saskatoon Blades (17-10-2-2) for second and third overall in the Eastern Conference with 38 standings points. The Blades hold the standings tiebreakers due to topping the WHL’s East Division and posting a win and an extra time setback in two head-to-head meetings with the Hitmen.

The Hitmen have been riding the heroics of returnees Oliver Tulk, Ben Kindel and Carter Yakemchuk. Tulk is in his fourth full season with the Hitmen. The 19-year-old right-winger leads Calgary in scoring with 49 points coming off 15 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-six rating in the plus-minus department.

Kindel is a 17-year-old sophomore centre who sits second in Hitmen team scoring with 46 points coming off 19 goals and 27 assists to go with a plus-eight rating. He was listed as a B-ranked skater by NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.

Carter Yakemchuk tops all Hitmen blue-liners with 29 points.

Carter Yakemchuk is a star 19-year-old offensive defenceman who is in his fourth season with the Hitmen. Yakemchuk, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, tops the Hitmen in blue-line scoring with 29 points coming off 12 goals and 17 assists in 25 appearances this season.

The Hitmen haven’t been afraid to strengthen their roster via the trade route under the direction of general manager Garry Davidson, who served a strong run as general manager of the Everett Silvertips from 2012 to 2021. At age 73, Davidson is still as sharp as ever.

Just before the regular season started back on September 19, Davidson sent 19-year-old left-winger Connor Dale, a second round selection and a fourth round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Swift Current Broncos for 20-year-old centre Connor Hvidston. Hvidston sits third in Hitmen team scoring with 30 points coming off 11 goals and 19 assists.

Davidson proceeded to make two blockbuster moves in November. On November 17, the Hitmen sent the WHL rights to 15-year-old centre Nathan Gardiner, a second round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and third and seventh round selections in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Moose Jaw Warriors for 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker.

Just four days later on November 21, the Hitmen acquired now 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe from the Regina Pats in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Reese Hamilton, 18-year-old left-winger Keets Fawcett, a third round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2027 Prospects Draft.

On November 19, the Hitmen signed 18-year-old netminder Anders Miller to a WHL scholarship and development agreement. The Anchorage, Alaska, product was playing junior A for the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Hockey League and immediately joined the Hitmen after signing with the Calgary side.

Calgary elected to go with highly touted 16-year-old rookie Eric Tu as their second netminder. Tu made the Hitmen out of training camp and was selected by Calgary in the second round and 31^st overall in the 2023 Prospects Draft.

Miller and Tu have come up with timely saves for the Hitmen. As they continue to get more comfortable playing in the WHL, you can expect both to continue to improve.

The Hitmen acquired Kalem Parker in a trade on November 17.

Veteran 39-year-old coach Paul McFarland has been able to bring the Hitmen together in his first year as the club’s head coach. He came to Calgary after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.

The exploits of the Hitmen sometimes don’t get brought to the surface as they play in a saturated sports market in Calgary, which has seen major cuts to the sports media. Even with numerous high profile sports teams calling Calgary home, the Hitmen enjoyed great coverage through the 2000s and most of the 2010s from Scott Fisher until he was let go by the Calgary Sun. Fisher covered the Hitmen like an NHL club and was well respected for his work.

It would have been sweet to have Fisher covering the Hitmen in the current day, because they appear to be on a rocket rise. When the dust settles, they could very well top the Eastern Conference standings and be looking at the prospects of going on a long post-season run.

Saskatoon, PA feel at world juniors

Caden Price will play for Canada at world juniors.

A number of folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert will be paying extra attention to world juniors.

A total of six players have ties to one community or the other or both centres, when the annual hockey tournament hits the ice in Ottawa, Ont., on Thursday, December 26. Canada’s roster includes Saskatoon produces in defenceman Caden Price and centre Berkly Catton.

Price, who is 19-years-old, leads the Kelowna Rockets in defencemen scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-14 rating in the plus-minus department in 26 games. Catton, who is 18-years-old, sits second in Spokane Chiefs scoring with 47 points coming off 14 goals and 33 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 28 games.

Brayden Yager, who is a 19-year-old centre, started the campaign with the Moose Jaw Warriors before being traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He will also be skating for Canada, and he will be the squad’s captain. In 23 games played between the Warriors and Hurricanes, Yager has 34 points coming off 12 goals and 22 assists.

Brayden Yager is Canada’s captain at world juniors.

Yager resides in the Saskatoon area in the off-season, but he got his start playing hockey skating in Prince Albert’s minor hockey system. Due to having links to both cities, folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert have followed Yager’s career.

Tanner Howe, who is a 19-year-old left-winger, is a Prince Albert product who will suit up for Canada. Howe started the WHL campaign with the Regina Pats before being dealt to the Calgary Hitmen. In 16 games with both the Pats and Hitmen, has 16 points coming off nine goals and seven assists to go with a plus-eight rating.

Saskatoon Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk will skate for Canada at world juniors. The 19-year-old Kamloops, B.C., product leads the Blades in defence scoring with 21 points coming off four goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-four rating in 21 games. Molendyk, who is one of Canada’s assistant captains, is a career member of the Blades skating in 210 career regular season with the Saskatoon side recording 26 goals, 108 assists and a plus-66 rating.

Blades 17-year-old import rookie centre David Lewandowski will play for Germany at world juniors. In 20 games with the Blades, Lewandowski has recorded seven goals, eight assists and a plus-13 rating.

Canada opens the tournament on December 26 taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre (7:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN). Germany also opens play on December 26 facing the United States (2:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN).

Pats struggle with attendance, other notes

The Brandt Centre has a lot of empty seats for Pats games this season.

There was a day when it was believed the Regina Pats would still average over 4,000 spectators per game even in their down seasons.

After 16 home dates this season, the Pats are averaging 2,422 spectators per game at the Brandt Centre, which can hold 6,499 patrons for hockey. That total is the second lowest average attendance in the WHL.

Last season, the Pats averaged 3,219 spectators for their 34 home dates. In 2022-23 the final campaign with phenom centre Connor Bedard, the Pats averaged 4,501 spectators per game for 34 regular season home games and sold out all three home post-season outings.

When the Pats finished first overall in the WHL and advanced and fell in the WHL final to the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2016-17, the Pats averaged 5,456 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all 12 home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators.

Back in the 2017-18 campaign when the Pats hosted the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion, the Pats averaged 6,076 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all three of their home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators. In the five games the Pats played at the Memorial Cup tournament, they skated in front of sellout crowds in their last three contests.

Since hosting the Memorial Cup in 2018, the Pats have only played in the post-season once. While the lack of playoffs appearances has hurt, numerous Pats fans have complained online about ticket prices and how they were increased before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, when the Pats still had Bedard.

Currently, single game tickets for Pats games ranges from $31.31 to $43.27. In most WHL markets, tickets hover around $25 to $27.

• On Friday, the Everett Silvertips home rink in the Angel of the Winds Arena topped a league survey of WHL players as the most difficult building to play in on the road. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 25.4 per cent of the players said the Angel of the Winds Arena was the most difficult building to play in. The Prince Albert Raiders home rink in the Art Hauser Centre came in second with 15.6 per cent of the votes, the Seattle Thunderbirds home building in the Accesso ShoWare Center came in third at 9.2 per cent, the Red Deer Rebels rink in the Peavey Mart Centrium was fourth at 7.6 per cent and the Swift Current Broncos home barn in the InnovationPlex was fifth at 7 per cent.
• On Friday, Calgary Hitmen star 19-year-old right-winger Oliver Tulk announced he was committing to the NCAA’s storied University of Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Hockey Team for the 2025-26 campaign. In 227 career regular season games with the Hitmen played over four seasons, Tulk has collected 88 goals and 120 assists for 208 points. Tulk’s commitment with the Badgers means he wouldn’t be with the Hitmen for a potential 20-year-old season.
• On Saturday, Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont topped a league survey of WHL players on who they think will win the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s rookie of the year. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 38 per cent of the votes said DuPont would take rookie of the year honours for the circuit. DuPont was granted exceptional status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 15-year-old for the current campaign, and he has been as good as advertised. He sits second in rookie scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games. Gavin Garland, who is an 18-year-old centre with the Tri-City Americans, was second on the survey taking 15.2 per cent of the votes. He leads the WHL in rookie scoring with 35 points coming off 18 goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games.

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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WHL blessed to see lots of Tigers’ McKenna

A Gavin McKenna card.

Getting a Gavin McKenna hockey card from an Upper Deck 2023-24 CHL series box can make anyone feel like a kid again.

In recent years, the WHL has had the good fortune of cycling through a special generation of players talent wise that you have to get out and see. Many of those are currently in the 19-year-old age group that includes Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars, Brayden Yager of the Moose Jaw Warriors, Tanner Molendyk of the Saskatoon Blades, Gracyn Sawchyn of the Edmonton Oil Kings, Lukas Dragicevic of the Prince Albert Raiders and Andrew Cristall and Caden Price of the Kelowna Rockets.

McKenna, who is the superstar left-winger of the Medicine Hat Tigers, is the leader of younger class of elite players in the WHL. He leads the league in scoring with 48 points coming off 15 goals and 33 assists to go with a plus-20 rating appearing in all the Tigers 25 regular season games.

In 102 career regular season games, McKenna, who stands 6-feet and weighs 165 pounds, has recorded 53 goals, 110 assists and a plus-23 rating. Those statistics are incredibly impressive when you realize McKenna won’t turn 17-years-old until December 20.

Thanks to his late in the year birthday, McKenna won’t be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft until 2026. That means the Tigers will get to have McKenna for his 18-year-old season.

For folks on the WHL circuit, you still have about two thirds of the current regular season and the post-season plus the entire 2025-26 campaign to see McKenna. When the 2026 NHL Entry Draft comes around, there is a high probability that McKenna will be selected first overall and his time in junior hockey will come to an end.

McKenna’s rise was an unexpected one as he was born and raised in Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. With the support of his parents Willy and Krystal, Gavin started traveling to hockey camps and tournaments at age eight. The parents knew that their son needed to be challenged and the competition in Whitehorse was limited.

Gavin McKenna recorded 97 points last season for the Tigers.

The people of Whitehorse and the business community fundraised to allow McKenna to attend these camps and tournaments. McKenna would move away from home to Kelowna, B.C., to play for the Rink Hockey Academy’s Under-18 Prep Team for his 14-year-old campaign. In 35 regular season games with the Rink Academy team, McKenna piled up 23 goals and 42 assists for 65 points.

He was selected first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft by the Tigers. In his 15-year-old campaign in 2022-23, McKenna suited up for the South Alberta Hockey Academy Under-18 Prep Team located in Dunmore, Alta., which neighbours the southeast border of Medicine Hat.  

In 26 games with the SAHA squad, McKenna recorded 37 goals and 38 assists for 75 points. He was named the most valuable player of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s under-18 circuit.

McKenna also played in 16 regular season games with the Tigers in 2022-23, and he recorded four goals and 14 assists in those outings.  In the 2023 WHL Playoffs, he recorded one goal playing in all four of the Tigers games as they were swept by the Winnipeg Ice in a best-of-seven first round series.

As a full-time rookie last season, McKenna finished 12^th in WHL regular season scoring with 97 points coming off 34 goals and 63 assists. He set a new Tigers record for most points by a 16-year-old breaking the old mark of 95 points set by Al Conroy way back in the 1982-83 campaign.

McKenna captured the Jim Piggott Trophy as the WHL’s rookie of the year, and he was named CHL rookie of year too. This past August, McKenna helped Canada win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup under-18 tournament piling up 10 goals and 10 assists in seven games. That sent him into the current campaign with the Tigers riding a sizable amount of momentum.

Gavin McKenna has 163 points in 102 career regular season games.

Of course, McKenna is going to draw comparisons to the WHL’s most recent phemon in Regina Pats alumnus Connor Bedard, who is skating in his second NHL season with the Chicago Blackhawks as a 19-year-old. The combination of the level of play, maturity and fandom that Bedard received during his time in the WHL was something you never saw in the WHL before.

If McKenna could reach the all-around levels Bedard did as a major junior player, it would be outstanding. With that said, I would never put that type of pressure on McKenna.

McKenna has to write his own story and make his own path in major junior hockey. Right now, he is doing just fine.

Hockey community morns passing of Hasenfratz

Mike Hasenfratz, left, officiates a WHL game on March 25, 2000.

Over the weekend, retired WHL and NHL referee Mike Hasenfratz passed away, and those that knew him remembered his as their favourite referee and one of the game’s great characters.

Hasenfratz, who was 58-years-old, was raised in Regina. While working in the WHL, he was selected to represent the league working the 1995 Memorial Cup in Kamloops, B.C., and the 1998 Memorial Cup in Spokane, Wash.

He claimed the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Official of the Year in his final campaign on the circuit in 1999-2000.

Hasenfratz started working in the NHL the next season making his debut on October 21, 2000 working a game between the New York Islanders and the host Washington Capitals. He would work 705 career regular season games through the end of the 2013-14 campaign.

Just past the middle of his NHL career, Hasenfratz missed two seasons as he recovered from life-threatening heart surgery. From 2011 to 2014, Hasenfratz wore number-two to signify his second chance and what he called doing the second best job in the world after playing.

Rod Pedersen, who is the former play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Regina Pats and Prince Albert Raiders, recalled some good character memories on his site. Those can be found by clicking right here.

Hasenfratz’s final season in the WHL was the first season I covered the circuit in 1999-2000. Being in my first season and still learning the ropes of the league, I didn’t talk to Hasenfratz, and that was my loss.

I was amazed at how well he handled games between the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors, who were heated archrivals. Back in Hasenfratz’s days, games between the Pats and Warriors included lots of extra-curricular activities and escalate to complete mayhem. He always had a good handle on those contests.

I got a photo of him talking to Brett Lysak of the Pats and Shawn Skolney of the Warriors after a skirmish during a WHL regular season game played on March 25, 2000 at the Pats home rink in the Agridome, which is now known as the Brandt Centre. When Hasenfratz went to the NHL for the 2000-01 campaign, I thought it was cool I had a picture of a referee who was in the NHL.

Rest easy Hasenfratz. You will be remembered fondly by many.

Dunne first queen of NCAA’s NIL game

It can be argued Olivia “Livvy” Dunne is the most famous NCAA athlete in the present day.

The 22-year-old Louisiana State University Tigers gymnast has set the bar of what can be made in the NCAA’s guideline regarding name, image and likeness. Since 2021 when NIL guidelines changed, a piece run by the New York Post on September 13 reports Dunne has made an estimated US$9.5-million.

She gained extra notoriety last season when the Tigers won their first NCAA national team title in program history.

Dunne, who is in her “super senior” season fifth year with the Tigers, has over 5.4-million followers on Instagram and 8.1-million followers on TikTok. With her social medial following, she has become attractive to companies looking for endorsements of their products.

The Westwood, New Jersey, product has endorsement deals with Grubhub, Vuori, Bodyarmor and American Eagle Outfitters. In July of 2023, Dunne partnered with Bayou Traditions to launch The Livvy Fund, which is a program that will connect female student athletes at LSU with top brands to secure NIL endorsement deals.

Dunne also made the media outlets swoon in the United States by dating Paul Skenes, who is a star right-handed pitcher for the MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates and is an alumnus of the LSU Tigers baseball team. Skenes was named the National League’s Rookie of the Year for the 2024 MLB campaign.

Thanks to what Dunne has been able to make through NIL for the short time it has been around, she has changed the overall sports world in North America. She is the NCAA’s first “Queen of NIL.”

As a ripple effect, the hockey world in North America is coming to grips with the changes in the NCAA’s NIL guidelines. Looking at social media, it appears a lot of people in the hockey world just look at the hockey world and don’t realize forces outside their sporting world can affect their world.

On November 7, the NCAA Division I Council voted to abolish old rules that classified CHL players as professional. Starting on August 1, 2025, players from the CHL’s three major junior circuits in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL will be eligible to play for NCAA Division I teams. Basically, CHL players will maintain NCAA eligibility as long as they have not signed an entry-level contract with an NHL team.

Under the old rules, the NCAA kept major junior hockey players out on the basis of getting a monthly stipend that has never hit $1,000 a month in Canadian dollars. That was how the NCAA classified CHL players as professional.

A class-action lawsuit was filed on August 13 in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, N.Y., challenging those bylaws. That lawsuit now becomes a mute thing.

The rules that had existed before really put undue pressure on young players mainly from Canada to make a decision if they would play for a major junior team or join the junior A ranks to keep their NCAA eligibility alive. As far as the development process goes, players will be able to make decisions more naturally and benefit from having more freedom with their path through the game in attempting to make the NHL.

 Still, those rules are causing major shockwaves in hockey. Junior A teams in Canada banked on being able to get good players who still wanted to protect their NCAA eligibility by not playing major junior. Now, that is a non-factor.

Also, the British Columbia Hockey League elected to leave the junior A Canadian Junior Hockey League in 2021. It officially became an independent circuit going rogue on May 1, 2023 when the BCHL elected to not renew its agreement with Hockey Canada. As a result, anyone associated with BCHL teams lost their sanctioning by Hockey Canada.

This past January, five teams formerly from the junior A Alberta Junior Hockey League joined the rogue BCHL in the Blackfalds Bulldogs, Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove Saints.

Now, there has been shake ups with players trying to get their Hockey Canada sanctioning back and return to Hockey Canada sanctioned leagues. The fate of the BCHL and the five Alberta teams that joined that circuit is up in the air.

Also, there are concerns U Sports men’s hockey will no longer get the CHL recruits it once did.

No one knows for sure how exactly hockey will shake out in North America.

With the money Dunne made from NIL, it was impossible to keep CHL players out of the NCAA.

Meta’s war with Canadian power holders is ugly, other notes

Meta is continuing to duke it out with the Government of Canada and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Back on June 22, 2023, the Government of Canada passed The Online News Act (formerly Bill C-18) in order to get money from Meta, which is the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, and Google for displaying active links from mainstream media outlets in Canada. To me, this still is a bizarre law, because you are trying to collect a tax from an entity that is providing a free service. The links on the Meta and Google platforms directed users to the sites of mainstream outlets.

This would be like a neighbour cuts you lawn and cleans your driveway of snow for free to be a good person, but now you want that neighbour to pay money for the privilege to cut your lawn and clean snow from your driveway. That is how I see this law.

Plus, this regulation appeared to not be targeted at the Platform-X (formerly Twitter) social media channel or other search engines like Yahoo or Webcrawler. There must have been a view on those fronts that you can’t draw blood from the stone. Again, that is how I see it.

Anyways, I saw an update story on this front produced by The Canadian Press last Friday. Since The Online New Act came into force, Meta has been blocking links to all mainstream media sites around the world on its platforms for Canadian users.

In Canada, users of Facebook and Instagram have used a workaround sharing screen shots of news articles, pictures of hard copies of news articles or copying text of articles in their posts from mainstream outlets.

The Canadian Press story stated, “The Liberal government maintains the company (Meta) could still fall under Online News Act, but that would be up to the CRTC to determine.”

Last month, CRTC granted Google an exemption from the act under an agreement that will see Google pay out $100-million to Canadian news outlets.

When I went through that story from The Canadian Press last Friday, my mind was transported back in time to classroom sessions during my days at what was then known as the University of Regina’s School of Journalism and Communications talking about late Canadian philosopher and communication theorist Marshall McLuhan.

McLuhan coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.”

That means if you control the medium you control the message.

From how I read The Canadian Press story from last Friday, the Government of Canada overseen by the Liberal Party and the CRTC have concerns over people sharing screenshots of stories or pictures of physical stories from mainstream outlets on Facebook and Instagram. Now, this has gone far beyond taxing links or putting charges on links.

To me, this is about the Government of Canada putting control of the Facebook and Instagram social media platforms in the hands of the CRTC. Since its formation in 1968 and morphing into its present form in 1976, the CRTC is known as not being user friendly and exerting its power in a forceful way. The CRTC has operated that way no matter which political party has formed the Government of Canada.

To me, the CRTC with its regulations stunted the growth of the broadcast industry in Canada during the best days of the mainstream media in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s with regulations all in the name of protecting Canadian culture.

I remember a friend once saying to me the CRTC operations like the Joseph Stalin era Soviet Union.

Looking at how the CRTC has operated in the past, Meta should fight every way it can when it comes to allowing the CRTC to have control of its social media platforms.

Once again, McLuhan was right, “The medium is the message.”

• Last Saturday , the Universite Laval Rouge et Or downed the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks 22-17 in the U Sports national football championship - the Vanier Cup. The contest was played before 9,500 spectators at Richardson Memorial Stadium in Kingston, Ontario. Rouge et Or kicker Felipe Forteza hit a Vanier Cup record six field goals for Laval in the win. The old record of five field goals was set on numerous occasions with Laval kicker Vincent Blanchard being the last to hit five field goals in 2022. Forteza hit 6-of-7 field goal attempts last Saturday as the Rouge et Or won without scoring a touchdown. The Rouge et Or have won 12 Vanier Cups since their formation in 1996, and they’ve won more Vanier Cups than any other team. Legendary Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin picked up his 220^th career head coaching win in regular season and post-season play with the Vanier Cup victory. The all-time leader in career head coaching victories in U Sports football, Constantin has a 220-39 career record as the Rouge et Or head coach.
• On Wednesday, the CHL announced Kelowna, B.C., was chosen to be host of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The event will be the 106^th edition of the Memorial Cup. The Rockets last hosted the Memorial Cup in 2004, when they won the tournament as the host team after falling in seven games in the WHL’s Western Conference Championship Series. Kelowna was to host the 2020 Memorial Cup tournament that was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The CHL’s release can be found by clicking right here.
• The Medicine Hat Tigers, Brandon Wheat Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Spokane Chiefs all submitted bids to host the 2026 Memorial Cup that was awarded to the Kelowna Rockets. Myself and lots of observers felt the Tigers had the best roster to be able to host that event in 2026. James Tubb of the Medicine Hat News provided the Medicine Hat reaction to not getting the 2026 Memorial Cup, and his piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, the Moose Jaw Warriors traded 18-year-old netminder Dimitri Fortin to the Prince Albert Raiders for a sixth round selection in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft. Fortin has a 1-2 record, a 5.26 goals against average and a .863 save percentage in five appearances for the Warriors this season.
• On Wednesday, the Everett Silvertips dealt Julien Maze to the Regina Pats for Cole Temple in an exchange of 2007-born forwards. Maze posted six goals, 13 assists and a plus-16 rating in 21 games with the Silvertips this season. Temple posted four goals, eight assists and a minus-five rating in 22 games with the Pats this season.
• Is it me or does it seem like every third commercial during the broadcast of a sporting event in Canada is an electric car commercial? That includes when Canadian broadcasters are able to override the commercials on sporting broadcasts on United States networks like broadcasts of NFL games.
• The one time recently I got to see the United States commercials for the broadcast of an NFL game on a United States network I noticed there were no electric car commercials. There was a commercial for a hybrid car and the commercial showed someone filling the hybrid with gasoline on three different occasions. A voice over at the end said that model of vehicle was available as an electric car.
• Marshall McLuhan – “The medium is the message.”
• The difference in car commercials I saw between Canadian and United States sports broadcasts can be attributed to the fact activist Steven Guilbeault is one of the most powerful ministers in the Governement of Canada as the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Before being elected to the Federal Government in 2019, Guilbeault built a career working for Greenpeace and likeminded environmental organizations similar to Greenpeace. With Greenpeace, Guilbeault was convicted of mischief in 2001 for climbing the CN Tower in Toronto and unfurling a banner. In 2002 while working with Greenpeace, Guilbeault and Greenpeace members went to the home of then Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and his wife Coleen to put up a banner and install a solar panel. Coleen was home alone and got terrified fearing she face a home invasion and grabbed a broom for defence. The Kleins didn’t press charges but did get a restraining order. Don Braid of the Calgary Herald wrote a column of Guilbeault’s past antics, which can be found by clicking right here.
• For the record in the political realm, I am not a fan of either United States president-elect Donald Trump or Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at this point in time. I am sure saying that would put me in the “asshole” category of many and open the door to be buried by both extreme right and left wingers. There was a time I thought having Trudeau become the Prime Minister of Canada was a good thing. That changed when Guilbeault was elected as a Liberal MP in 2019.
• I hate writing about politics. I hate it when it becomes a sizable piece in my sports posts as I am a sportswriter and photographer by trade. Since 2020, politics has affected my line of work at a more increasing rate, so some of my rants will come out every now and then.

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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