Last dance tour on for Robison as WHL commissioner

Outgoing executive reflects fondly on time in the league

Rob Robison, centre, drops the ceremonial faceoff in P.A. on Dec. 15.

For outgoing WHL commissioner Ron Robison, the 2006-07 campaign stood out better than all the rest when it came to highlights on the ice.

That season concluded with epic post-season encounters between the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Vancouver Giants. The two clubs met in a WHL Championship Series that needed a series deciding Game 7.

In Game 7 played on May 14, 2007 before a sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators at The Arena in Medicine Hat, Tigers talented centre Brennan Bosch scored in double overtime to deliver his squad to a 3-2 victory in that contest. The win allowed the Tigers to win their fifth WHL championship in team history.

The two sides would move on to the Memorial Cup Tournament that determines a CHL champion. Medicine Hat entered that event as the WHL champions, and Vancouver was in as the host team.

On May 27, 2007, the two sides would meet in the Memorial Cup championship game played before a sellout crowd of 16,281 spectators at the Pacific Coliseum. The teams entered the third period locked in a 1-1 draw.

With 4:55 remaining in the third, Michael Repik scored the winner for the Giants, and Spencer Machacek scored into an empty net inside the final 50 seconds of the third to round out a 3-1 final. The win allowed the Giants to capture their first Memorial Cup in team history.

The WHL Guide for 2007-08.

The championship wins of both teams were commemorated on the cover of the WHL Guide for the 2007-08 campaign. Serving as the WHL’s commissioner, Robison was pretty proud two of the circuit’s member teams could go head to head in classic encounters like that where each side captured a major championship trophy.

“I have a lot of great memories,” said Robison. “When we talk about a certain event I go back to 2006-07 season when Medicine Hat and Vancouver went seven games in the (WHL) championship series, and then they met again in the Memorial Cup championship.

“In the WHL championship, Medicine Hat won at home, and then Vancouver won at home in the Memorial Cup. I think that was a pretty special year.”

In the current day, Robison is serving out his final days as commissioner of the WHL, which was a position he stepped into on September 15, 2000. Last June, Robison, who is an alumnus of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team, announced the 2023-24 campaign would be his last as commissioner of the WHL.

Before coming on board with the WHL, Robison worked in various roles for Hockey Canada from 1981 to 2000. The 68-year-old had been a Huskies assistant coach and a faculty member of the Physical Education department at U of S before coming on board with Hockey Canada.

On November 30, the WHL hired Dan Near to be the circuit’s next commissioner. Near’s tenure in the WHL office will begin on January 1, 2024 as he transitions into the role of commissioner. He will officially take over the full responsibilities as WHL commissioner on February 15, 2024.

At that point, Robison will transition to an advisory role providing support and guidance to Near.

The 43-year-old Near served as the global head of Adidas Hockey and was responsible for leading Adidas’s entry into hockey managing their global business since 2016. Prior to his time with Adidas, Near, who is a product of Markham, Ont., spent 10 years with the NHL’s head office in New York specializing in marketing, retail development and consumer product licensing from 2006 to 2016.

Ron Robison, right, is pictured with Mathew Barzal (#13) in 2017

Robison is making a tour to visit every WHL centre one last time while he is commissioner. The Indian Head, Sask., product stopped in Prince Albert on December 15, when the host Raiders fell 4-3 in overtime to the Kelowna Rockets at the storied Art Hauser Centre.

One night later, Robison dropped into Saskatoon as the host Blades fell 5-4 in overtime to the Rockets at the SaskTel Centre.

During his time as commissioner, Robison wanted to oversee a circuit that had good competitive balance where any team could win, and it didn’t matter if you came from a big, medium or small sized market. He believes the fact that Swift Current Broncos won a WHL title in 2018 and the Raiders captured a WHL championship in 2019 as small market clubs shows the league has come up with a formula that works in that area.

Robison believe the Raiders, who have a storied history, are in a really healthy spot, and he praised the team’s leadership for the work they’ve done.

“I think the credit is due to the people on the ground here in Prince Albert led by (Raiders president) Gord Broda,” said Robison. “I think they have community leadership like Gord (Broda) provides for this franchise is incredible.

“He has been dedicated for many years and continues to be. Then when you look at the job that Curtis Hunt has done as general manager has really I think done a great job of acquiring a lot of assets to put this hockey program in a really good place moving forward combined with Mike Scissons on the business side. When you are getting buildings in the small markets you need to be over 90 per cent sold out on a regular basis.

Ron Robison takes part in a WHL title presentation in 2019.

“They are doing that here in Prince Albert, so we couldn’t be more delighted. We think the franchise is in a really good place, and we’re looking forward to having a new facility here real soon.”

During his time in the WHL, Robison said the thing he liked most was meeting people in all the league’s centres over the years. He made sure to give credit to a number of people that work behind the scenes to make the league run including education advisors, security network personnel, team doctors and billet families.

“If I look back, I think that is the area we have so much respect for,” said Robison.

Robison was pleased with the growth the league made in two areas in particular while he was commissioner.

“I think we’ve really worked at two things extremely hard,” said Robison. “One was our facility standards to make sure that at all times the players and the fans have as much of a world class experience as we can possibly deliver.

“The standards to make sure that those facilities are always delivering a good environment for the players was really important. I think the player experience overall has been enhanced significantly when you look at our scholarship program. Over the 30-year period of the scholarship (program), we’ve had close to 8,000 players benefitting in investment by over $30-million by our ownership.

Ron Robison does a ceremonial faceoff in Saskatoon on Dec. 16.

“It is incredibility an important program, because the players can commit to us at a young age and focus on their hockey, but also have that education opportunity when it is all over.”

Going forward, Robison said the league will be in good hands with Near. The outgoing commissioner said the strength of the new commissioner will be on the business side of the game. Robison believes Near will quickly adapt to all aspects of his new position.

Looking at his own future after his time with the WHL wraps up, Robison said it will be different not seeing the staff in the league office in Calgary adding you become close with the staff you work with on a day-to-day basis. He said he will miss WHL lifers in vice-president of hockey Richard Doerksen and senior director of officiating Kevin Muench.

Robison said it will be strange to no longer interact regularly with Greg Gardner, who is the WHL’s chief operating officer, and added Near is fortunate he will joining a great group of people who are great to work with.

When Near takes on full responsibilities as WHL commissioner, Robison is going to focus more on enjoying time away from the game, but he believes he will still be attached to the circuit.

“I’m going to be slowing down for sure,” said Robison. “I’m going to step back, and I think I will still be available to help the league in any way they need me.

Ron Robison, right, shakes hands with Rockets captain Gabriel Szturc.

“You don’t just walk away. After all these years, you need to be able to support the league, and I’m prepared to do that for sure. I think it is about going from 100 miles an hour maybe down to 40 or 50 miles an hour about and try to spend a little bit more time with family.”

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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Raiders drop heartbreaker going into Christmas break

Iginla pots winner for Rockets with 21.7 seconds left in third

The scene as Tij Iginla (#11) scores the winner for the Rockets.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Old “Mo” turned out to be a Grinch to the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders were playing their final WHL regular season contest before heading off to their Christmas break. In a clash that saw many momentum swings, it appeared momentum would be on the side of the Raiders going down the home stretch.

Trailing the Rockets 3-2 late in the third period, Raiders import left-winger Krzysztof Macias scored a power-play goal off a net scramble to force a 3-3 tie with 2:41 remaining in the frame. The scramble was cause when Raiders 20-year-old star winger Sloan Stanick tried to score on a wraparound, and the puck squirted out to Macias during the frantic action and the product from Poland netted the equalizer.

The Rockets celebrate their winning goal from Tij Iginla (#11).

With 21.7 seconds remaining in the third, Rockets breakout star centre Tij Iginla netted the winner during a net scramble around the Prince Albert net. It appeared Raiders netminder Max Hildebrand had the puck momentarily covered, but the action continued allowing Iginla to score to give the Rockets a 4-3 victory. The result came to the disappointment of most of the 2,431 in attendance.

While the Raiders weren’t able head into their Christmas break on a winning note, head coach Jeff Truitt was pleased with his club’s effort in their final game before departing to enjoy holiday festivities.

“We battled,” said Truitt. “I thought the first period we really managed the puck real well.

Tij Iginla had a goal and two assists for the Rockets.

“I thought that there wasn’t a lot of turnovers on our part. I thought that we managed things. In the second period, it was a bit of a battle period.

“The temperature went up a little bit, which is good. They obviously weren’t going to budge. It was a battle.”

Truitt admitted it was tough for his side to see the game conclude with how Iginla’s winner unfolded.

“The third period the disappointing part about it was we battled back after they were up,” said Truitt. “We tied this thing up, and we have a call that the puck wasn’t covered.

“It was disappointing for sure, because we battled back to 3-3 and could have got a point, but we didn’t.”

Referee Brody McGrath discusses penalty calls after a scrum.

With the loss, the Raiders still go into the Christmas break holding a sound 17-15-0-2 record. They are getting an early start in entering their holiday period.

The WHL has a regular schedule of games set for Saturday and Sunday before everyone on the circuit will be on their respective breaks. No matter what the results are of Saturday’s and Sunday’s games, the Raiders will be sitting in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference entering the break.

Macias, who has 13 goals and five assists in 31 appearances so far this season for the Raiders, said it was tough to go into the break on a heartbreaking setback, but he and his teammates believe they put in a good effort.

Oli Chenier scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“It is not the best feeling to lose the game, even if we worked hard,” said Macias. “For sure, it is better to lose the game that way then to lose the game with no effort.

“That was our goal for all the season. No matter the score, we have to put 100 per cent effort every night. That situation happened today (on Iginla’s winner), it is hockey.

“It happens sometimes. We got unlucky. It happens to every team, and I think we will games the same way that we lost today.”

Iginla had a huge night for the Rockets recording a pair of assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department to go with his goal. His first assist came on the Rockets first goal as they opened the game’s scoring at the 10:49 mark of the opening frame.

Justice Christensen had the Raiders second goal on Friday.

He put a shot pass in the direction of the Prince Albert net that was tipped into the goal by Rockets 19-year-old left-winger Max Graham.

Near the end of the opening frame, the Raiders nearly went into the first intermission having tied the game up, but a rocket drive by star 17-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie was denied by the glove hand of 19-year-old netminder Jari Kykkanen.

The Raiders pulled even at 1-1 at the 3:44 mark of the second on an unassisted goal from 16-year-old rookie left-winger Oli Chenier. Chenier got the puck in the right corner of the Rockets zone while in on the forecheck, skated into the right slot and potted his third tally of the season.

Ethan Neutens had the Rockets third goal on Friday.

At the 10-minute mark of the second, the Rockets jumped back in front 2-1 thanks to a power-play goal from right-winger Marcus Pacheco. Pacheco recorded his second marker of the season deflecting home a shot from Iginla.

Just under four minutes later, the Raiders pulled even on the scoreboard at 2-2, when offensive defenceman Justice Christensen potted a seeing-eye point shot on the power play.

At the 4:42 mark of the third, the Rockets jumped back in front 3-2 when 18-year-old right-winger Ethan Neutens floated home a shot from the left point.

Friday’s game had a fair share of high-tension type play, and things boiled over with 7:30 remaining in the third. After Graham nailed one of the Raiders players with a knee hit, he ended up engaging Christensen in a fight.

A scrum breaks out near the Raiders net.

Graham received a major penalty for kneeing, a fighting major and game misconduct. His kneeing major will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Christensen was given an unsportsmanlike conduct minor and a fighting major.

While the bout between Graham and Christensen was going on, a big scrum occurred on another part of the ice. That scrum resulted in Rockets 20-year-old defenceman Kayden Sadhra-Kang, Raiders 18-year-old defenceman Terrell Goldsmith and Raiders 18-year-old centre Harrison Lodewyk all receiving 10-minute misconducts.

Raiders D Justice Christensen, left, fights Rockets RW Max Graham.

Macias’s power-play goal came on the tail end of the power play resulting from Graham’s kneeing major. Iginla’s winner followed.

Hildebrand turned away 21 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Kykkanen stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rockets, who improved to 14-15-2.

The Rockets return to action on Saturday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the 23-8-1 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders players all head their separate ways on their Christmas break, and will get back together as a team on Tuesday, December 26. They return to action on Wednesday, December 27 when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Sloan Stanick’s wraparound attempt led to a Raiders equalizer.

Truitt said he told his players to soak in the holiday time.

“I just told them to enjoy the holidays,” said Truitt. “We’ve worked hard this first half.

“To be where we are at, we’re happy, but we’re not satisfied. We want to be better. We want to continue to grow and get better in the standings with point production.

“For right now, it is time for them to be with their families and enjoy the holidays for a bit – just be a young adult, because it is going to come quick enough. The second half is always harder than the first. When you get these breaks, you enjoy yourself, and we’ll come back strong on December 26th.”

The Raiders celebrate an equalizer from Krzysztof Macias (#34).

Macias said his team is satisfied first half of the season and has great anticipation for the second half of the campaign.

“The first half wasn’t bad that is for sure,” said Macias. “We are in playoff spot right now, so that is the most important thing.

“Obviously, we wanted more. We always want more. I think the second half will be even better for us.

“I think we will work every night going 110 per cent, because that is our identity. Our coach talks all the time about our identity to be tough to play against and to work hard every day. I think it pays off, so we have to stick together for the second half.”

The Rockets celebrate their win on Friday night.

NOTES – WHL outgoing commissioner Ron Robison visited Prince Albert on Friday night as part of a final tour to drop in on each of the circuit’s centres. He dropped the ceremonial faceoff before the start of the contest. Last June, Robison, who is 68-years-old, announced the 2023-24 campaign would be his last as WHL commissioner.  Dan Near, who is 43-years-old, has been hired as the WHL’s new commissioner, and he will begin transitioning into that role on January 1, 2024.

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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X (formerly Twitter) worst social media platform of all-time

Connor Bedard in action for the Pats this past April.

X – formerly known as Twitter – is the worst social media platform of all-time.

If I never used what I now call Platform-X ever again, I would be perfectly fine with that. Due to working in media and communications, I still have to be on that social media platform. With the toxicity that exists on that platform, I have limited my posts to the courtesy sharing of information on the sports world.

For my blog, I mainly cover the happenings with the WHL, the Saskatoon Hilltops of the CJFL, the Saskatoon Valkyries of the WWCFL and U Sports.

Thanks to how toxic Platform-X has become, I find people that look for information on those leagues and teams I listed are mainly no longer on that social media platform anymore. The ones that are on that platform are usually saying something quite awful and cutting using an anonymous account.

My best interactions on Platform-X come from fan talk about pro-wrestling specifically WWE and AEW with the Era of Bliss fan account and one of the best persons to come from the province of Quebec in Patrick Mercier. Even with that, you can run into toxic accounts that wants to jump into your fun chat and ruin your day.

Last week, Platform-X continued to prove why it is the worst social media platform of all time. Early last week on November 27, I was putting a house keeping sports information post on Platform-X.

At that time, two days had passed after the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks announced right-winger Corey Perry would take an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. I encountered an endless line of posts regarding the family of Blackhawks 18-year-old rookie superstar centre Connor Bedard and Perry.

Having dealt with Bedard and his family when he played in the WHL for the Regina Pats, my first thought was, “This is utterly ridiculous.”

After scanning those posts for 30 seconds of my time I will never get back, I created the posts I set out to create and got off that social media platform.

As the week progressed, it was easy to follow how that story developed without putting in much effort as it regularly came up on sports talk shows and sports news shows. The Blackhawks placed Perry on unconditional waivers on November 28, and after he cleared waivers the following day, the NHL club terminated his contract.

Of course, it came out the rumours were garbage. Perry came out with an apology for an incident that got him released and said he was seeking professional help for substance abuse.

Last Friday a day before playing the Jets in Winnipeg, Bedard met the media in the Manitoba capital. The question about the rumours came up and also how the rumours affected his family and himself.

Bedard handled the queries with a maturity way beyond his years. He said what happened wasn’t fair to him or his family, but they can’t control those things and they just go on and live life.

A picture of the front login page to Platform-X.

Bedard also added what happened with Perry was serious and the first concern was that he is OK and his family is OK. Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun actually did a terrific job with his piece on what Bedard has dealt with in his NHL rookie year, and that piece can be found by clicking right here.

The fact Bedard, who doesn’t have a Platform-X account, and his family had to deal with this was an absolute joke. To show how stupid Platform-X and society of today has become, Edmonton Oilers superstar centre Connor McDavid never had to deal with anything like that as an NHL rookie in 2015-16.

Believe it or not, I found Platform-X to be a good social media line at one time. The first few years after I created an account on it back in 2010 it was great.

The mechanics of the social media platform worked well. You also knew that platform was a social media line where you posted things out in public which the whole world could see.

I found Platform-X took a turn for the worst around the time of November 8, 2016, when Donald Trump won his election race to become president of the United States. That started the rise of the extreme right holding the notion that, “If you aren’t with us, you’re against us.”

The extreme left has responded with similar rhetoric and positioning. On Platform-X seemingly through anonymous accounts, that type of rhetoric played out like promos you would see on WWE shows.

That type of positioning spread to discussion on all sorts of subjects including the happenings in the sports world and entertainment world. Platform-X was and still is the spot where all the bashing occurs.

For a lot of people, the endless toxicity has chased them away from Platform-X.

For myself, I found the 2018-19 sports season where the Prince Albert Raiders won the WHL championship was the last campaign where my posts regarding the amateur sports world that I cover saw a lot of action on Platform-X. When a post does get noticed now, it usually has idiots taking it on a tangent that goes to a dark place that was not intended.

Unfortunately, more stupid will come sooner than later.

On Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre, the Saskatoon Blades host the Red Deer Rebels in a WHL regular season contest, and the Blades will be holding their “Pride Night” promotion for a third straight season. In the building, that promotion is a healthy and warm celebration that honours LGBTQ+ community that is well received by those in attendance.

The Blades use that night to spread a message that hockey is for all. Unfortunately in the past two years on social media, the worst of society has made the most horrible of comments on the team’s social media lines in posts promoting their “Pride Night” game.

A Blades “Pride Night” post on Platform-X.

The Blades came out with their first posts this week on Tuesday leading to that promotion. I feared what I would find on Platform-X, because it seemed like the worst comments came out there the past two seasons.

The comments on Platform-X and Facebook have been good so far. I found numerous cringe comments on the Instagram post on Tuesday afternoon.

Still, Platform-X is the place that constantly turns discussions into a match in a UFC cage. The behavior of the baddies won’t change on there.

Unfortunately, that means for a lot of people it is time to kick that social media platform to the curve, and lots have done that. I wish I could follow suit, but limiting my time on that platform as much as possible is working for me.

Blades pair off to Canada’s world junior selection camp

Tanner Molendyk will try and make Canada’s world junior team.

Two members of the Saskatoon Blades will have a chance to make their world junior dreams come true for Canada.

On Tuesday, Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk and centre Fraser Minten were named as two of the 30 players invited to the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team. The selection camp runs from December 10 to 13 in Oakville, Ont.

The upcoming world juniors are slated for December 26 to January 5, 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

In 23 games with the Blades this season, Molendyk, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators, has recorded four goals, 23 assists and a plus-20 rating in the plus-minus department.

Minten, who was recently acquired in a trade with the Kamloops Blazers, has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He appeared in four NHL regular season games with the Leafs before being returned to the WHL. In 11 combined games with the Blazers and Blades, Minten had four goals and nine assists.

A total of nine players from the WHL were invited to the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team. Brayden Yager, who is from the Saskatoon area, was the only player with a hometown in Saskatchewan to be invited to the selection camp.

In 25 games with the Warriors this season, Yager has recorded 17 goals, 22 assists and plus-14 rating. Yager was selected in the first round and 14^th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL Entry Draft held this past June.

Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston will serve as an assistant coach for Canada’s entry at this season’s world juniors. Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt serves as the under-20 lead for the Program of Excellence management group.

One player who was omitted from the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team is WHL leading scorer Riley Heidt. Heidt, who is a Prince George Cougars centre, has recorded 53 points coming off 14 goals and 39 assists to go with a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department in 26 regular season games.

The Saskatoon area product was selected in the second round and 64^th overall by the Minnesota Wild in last June’s NHL Entry Draft.

Near named incoming WHL commissioner, other notes

A WHL Instagram post welcoming Dan Near.

Dan Near has been tabbed as the WHL’s next head person.

Last Thursday, the WHL announced that Near will be the incoming commissioner of the circuit. The announcement was made by Ron Toigo, who was the chair of the WHL Commissioner Search Committee and governor of the Vancouver Giants on behalf of the WHL board of governors.

Near’s tenure in the WHL office will begin on January 1, 2024 as he transitions into the role of commissioner. He will officially take over the full responsibilities as WHL commissioner on February 15, 2024.

At that point, current WHL commissioner Ron Robison will transition to an advisory role providing support and guidance to Near.

The 43-year-old Near served as the global head of Adidas Hockey and was responsible for leading Adidas’s entry into hockey managing their global business since 2016. Prior to his time with Adidas, Near, who is a product of Markham, Ont., spent 10 years with the NHL’s head office in New York specializing in marketing, retail development and consumer product licensing from 2006 to 2016.

Last June, Robison, who is an alumnus of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team, announced the 2023-24 campaign would be his last as commissioner of the WHL. He took over that role on September 15, 2000. The 68-year-old product of Indian Head, Sask., will depart as the longest serving commissioner in the history of the WHL.

Before joining the WHL as commissioner, Robison spent about 19 years with Hockey Canada.

• On Tuesday, Gunner Kinniburgh, who is a third-year defenceman with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team, was named to the U Sports all-star team that will face Canada’s world junior hopefuls in a pair of exhibition games as part of Canada’s selection camp to pick its world junior team. Kinniburgh has two goals, four assists and a plus-14 rating in 16 games with the Huskies. The exhibition games between the U Sports all-stars and Canada’s world junior hopefuls will be held December 12 and 13 in Oakville, Ont. Former Saskatoon Blades members in defenceman Scott Walford, who played for the McGill University Martlets, and forward Eric Florchuk, who plays for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, will also be members of the U Sports all-star squad.
• A total of three WHL squads cracked into the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings, which were released on Tuesday. The Prince George Cougars were rated second, the Saskatoon Blades were ranked sixth and the Wenatchee Wild came in at eighth.
• It appears the odds of 18-year-old forward Zach Benson being returned to the NHL have decreased. Benson has played in 16 games for the Buffalo Sabres collecting two goals and five assists. Once he hit his 10^th game played in the regular season for the Sabres in the current campaign, the Sabres committed to burning the first year of Benson’s three-year NHL entry-level contract. The Sabres selected Benson in the first round and 13^th overall in last June’s NHL Entry Draft. Benson’s WHL rights belong to the Wenatchee Wild.
• Saskatoon product and 19-year-old defenceman Kevin Korchinski has two goals and five assists playing 24 games this season for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks selected Korchinski in the first round and seventh overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Korchinski’s WHL rights belong to the Seattle Thunderbirds, who won the WHL championship last season. Korchinski could be returned to the WHL, but he will be owed the entirety of the first year of his three-year NHL entry-level contract.
• The WHL’s trade deadline is set for January 10, 2024.
• Christine Sinclair’s career with Canada’s National Women’s Soccer Team was the ultimate “smile because it happened” time. It was fitting Canada blanked Australia 1-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night in Vancouver in Sinclair's final game with the Canadian national team. Kudos to the management at B.C. Place to change the name of the venue to Christine Sinclair Place for the night of the game. She deserves all the tributes that come her way.

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 arenas fall silent due to COVID-19 surge

Connor Bedard, right, and his Pats weren’t in action this weekend.

The WHL regular season should have been in top gear this weekend, but the circuit’s rinks were eerily quiet instead.

On Friday, all 10 scheduled WHL regular season contests for the night were postponed.

By the evening hours on Saturday, nine out of the 10 games originally slated for that night were postponed. The only game that went ahead was clash between the Portland Winterhawks and Kelowna Rockets in Kelowna, B.C., which the Winterhawks won 3-1.

All three of the WHL’s games scheduled for Sunday have been postponed.

Looking ahead to the near future this coming week, all four WHL games slated for Tuesday have been postponed.

At the moment, only three out of the eight contests slated for Wednesday have been postponed.

The postponements piled up as new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases surged upwards across Canada. The majority of new cases have been of the Omicron variant, which is supposed to be milder but is way more transmissible than other strains.

Not all postponements are due to COVID-19.

A total of four games scheduled to be played in Manitoba over the time span starting Jan. 1 and running thru to today were postponed due to capacity restrictions in that province, which were brought in to curb the spread of COVID-19.

On Friday, a Spokane Chiefs home game against the Everett Silvertips and a Tri-City Americans home contest in Kennewick, Wash., against the Seattle Thunderbirds were postponed due to inclement weather.

Connor McClennon and the Ice are currently playing the waiting game.

When Friday evening rolled around, the WHL has 15 clubs pause team activities due to multiple players and staff being added to the WHL COVID-19 Protocol List.

Those teams included the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, Silvertips, Kamloops Blazers, Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Prince George Cougars, Red Deer Rebels, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Chiefs, Americans, Victoria Royals and Winnipeg Ice.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos had been on pause, but were allowed to resume team activities on Friday.

The circuit issued a release on Friday that included a statement from commissioner Ron Robison that each team would play a full 68-game regular season.

“The WHL and our member clubs remain fully committed to playing through the 68-game WHL regular season schedule and playoffs,” said Robison in Friday’s statement. “As we work through the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our priority continues to be to deliver a world-class development experience for WHL players, staff and officials, and to do so in a safe and healthy manner.

“On behalf of the entire WHL, I wish to thank WHL fans and WHL corporate partners everywhere for their patience as we work to reschedule games in the coming weeks.”

On Saturday, the WHL announced the Warriors, Pats and Americans were all cleared to resume team activities.

For fans, supporters and followers of the WHL, it was easy to get comfortable tracking the day-to-day happenings on the circuit as the schedule before the Christmas break pretty much unfolded like normal.

Before the Christmas break, the Chiefs had to adjust three games on their schedule after two players tested positive for COVID-19.

Some teams in the Western Conference had to make some minor schedule adjustments due to bad weather, which included heavy rains in B.C. in November that caused slides, flooding and washouts.

Arshdeep Bains and the Rebels wait to continue their surprise run.

Enough games got in that storylines developed like the rise of the Ice, the continued strong play of the Oil Kings, Blazers and Silvertips and the surprising climb up the standings by the Rebels.

On an individual front, numerous eyes are on Regina Pats 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard, who was playing for Canada at world juniors held jointly in Edmonton and Red Deer before the event was called off after three days of games due to COVID-19.

As a 15-year-old rookie last season, Bedard played 15 games of the Pats abbreviated 24 game regular season piling up 12 goals, 16 assists and a plus-nine rating in the plus-minus department. He left the Pats early to help Canada win gold at the under-18 worlds that were held in Frisco and Plano, Texas.

There were thoughts that Bedard had been struggling this season as he had a slow start in comparison to last season. In his last five games with the Pats, Bedard posted eight goals, five assists and a plus-two rating to put that notion to rest.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product had four goals including the overtime winner in the Pats last game on Jan. 1, when they downed the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 7-6.

In 25 games with the Pats this season, Bedard has 18 goals, 10 assists and a minus-five rating.

Before the WHL Christmas break, you could even find some ultra-passionate fans get emotionally freaked out when the team that they support lost bad or made a trade they aren’t sure about. You almost forgot the WHL was reduced to playing an abbreviated season in 2020-21 without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is a shift to be hooked into the league pretty much like normal once again and then all of sudden have almost everything shutdown with no games to go to.

For the WHL’s two teams in northern Saskatchewan, the Raiders at the moment are scheduled to take on the Rebels in Red Deer on Wednesday, while the Blades are slated to face the Broncos in Swift Current this coming Friday.

The Raiders and Blades were on pause this past weekend.

With the way things can change daily in reaction to the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, league followers have to hurry up and wait to see how everything unfolds when it comes to going to games of teams they support.

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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Great to see Raiders play meaningful game at Hauser

The Raiders celebrate a goal on Friday night.

It crazy to think the Prince Albert Raiders went 574 days before playing a meaningful game again at their storied home rink – the Art Hauser Centre.

Way back on March 6, 2020, the Raiders dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Hauser. Prince Albert sat first in the WHL’s East Division at the time and was skating through a great follow up season after capturing the WHL Championship in the 2018-19 campaign.

The 2,795 spectators that were in the 2,580 seat facility that night had no idea they wouldn’t see the Raiders play at home again for another 574 days.

The Raiders hit the road for two contests before the WHL season was first postponed on March 12, 2020 before the rest of the 2019-20 campaign was outright cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that had gripped the world.

For the 2020-21 campaign, the Raiders played an abbreviated 24-game regular season in a bubble format in Regina against the WHL’s four other Saskatchewan franchises and the circuit’s two clubs from Manitoba.

On Friday, the Raiders finally played a meaningful game at the Art Hauser Centre hosting the Regina Pats in the regular season opener for both clubs.

Prince Albert raised a banner for finishing first in the East Division in the 2019-20 campaign. A total of 2,578 spectators came out to see the host side fall 3-1.

Keaton Sorensen soaked in playing in front of the Raiders faithful

Still, it produced so many good emotions just to see the Raiders back out on the ice surface at the Hauser for a meaningful game.

When the first shutdowns started to happen in North America to battle the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11 and 12, 2020, there had to be fear at that time the sports world in North America might change forever, which could include the loss of the Raiders and many other teams.

The attachment to seeing Raiders games at the Hauser is intensified, when you realize the building had its signature moment just two years ago. Of course, that moment occurred on May 13 when Dante Hannoun scored the overtime winner for the Raiders in Game 7 of the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver Giants.

Hannoun’s tally gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory and a night the Raiders and their faithful will remember forever as they captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

There had to be a fear that those types of magical moments might not come true.

Most of the worst case fears on the North American sports front didn’t come true thankfully.

When the Raiders did take the ice at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday, their faithful brought the great atmosphere that the building is known for.

Dallyn Peekeekoot jets up ice for the Raiders.

It was amazing to see numerous fans return to the building and occupy the seats that they have had for years. Eventually if you go to enough Raiders games, you start to feel like you know the majority of people in the building.

Following Friday’s game, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said the absence makes you cherish the time spent at the legendary rink that much more.

“Sometimes in life, you take things for granted,” said Habscheid. “You don’t really appreciate them until it gets taken away.

“It got taken away from us for a year and a half. I think everyone whether it be the players, the staff, the coaches, the fans and everybody realizes that it is pretty special to be able to play.”

Veteran 19-year-old left-winger Keaton Sorensen was acquired in an off-season trade from his hometown Red Deer Rebels, and he played his first regular season game as a member of the Raiders on Friday. He enjoyed the atmosphere the fans brought.

“It was an awesome change,” said Sorensen, who scored the Raiders lone goal on Friday night. “Playing in front of no fans is tough with gaining kind of energy.

“You kind of had to make you own energy, so having fans behind us was a great change for sure.”

There were so many aspects of the Hauser that were missed. They include how the Ches Leach Lounge was the perfect social hub, the concession food which has often been tabbed the best on the WHL circuit and hearing “The Song In Prince Albert is Go Raiders Go” echo in the building’s rafters.

Remy Aquilon salutes the fans during pre-game on Friday.

Of course, fans are waiting for the first time later this season when “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” can be played postgame when the Raiders beat their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades.

If you are a hockey fan, seeing a Raiders game at the Art Hauser Centre is one of those bucket list things you have to do. 

You get to feel the WHL atmosphere at its best.

It is warms the heart to know many more special memories can be made at this fabled hockey home in “Hockey Town North.”

Pats finishing kick does in P.A.

Sloan Stanick scored twice for the Pats on Saturday.

The Prince Albert Raiders had key forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Reece Vitelli back in the fold Saturday, but their presence couldn’t stop a finishing surge by the Regina Pats.

In a game seen national on CBC from the Brandt Centre in Regina, the two sides were locked in a 2-2 draw until the 14:22 mark of the second period, when Pats right-winger Sloan Stanick scored his second of the afternoon to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.

Pats left-winger Zack Stringer scored 37 seconds into the third period, and 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard found the back of the net at the 13:30 mark of the third to give the Pats a 5-2 victory to the delight 4,292 spectators in attendance.

Wiesblatt returned to the Raiders after been at the training camp of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, and Vitelli, who is an overager, came back after attending the NHL training camp of the Arizona Coyotes.

Wiesblatt, who is a right-winger, and Vitelli, who is a centre, scored singles for the Raiders in the setback.

Stanick had an assist to go with his two goals for the Pats. Regina centre Cole Carrier had a goal and two assists in the win.

Carter Serhyenko made 29 stops to take the setback in goal for the Raiders (0-2). Matthew Kieper turned away 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats (2-0).

The Pats downed the Raiders 3-1 the previous night in Prince Albert. The Raiders departed Prince Albert at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday to make the 1 p.m. start in Regina.

Prince Albert’s two best defencemen are still away at NHL training camps including Kaiden Guhle, who is at Montreal Canadiens camp, and Nolan Allan, who is at Chicago Blackhawks camp.

The Raiders return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings. The Pats are next in action on Wednesday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Ice.

Raiders alternate jersey with traditional logo gets axed

The Raiders wear throwback uniforms on Feb. 15, 2019.

The Prince Albert Raiders new alternate jersey with the team’s traditional logo has been axed.

On Friday, the Raiders launched new home, away and alternate third jerseys. The alternate jersey was patterned after the uniform the team wore from 1982 through to the end of the 1995-96 campaign.

That era included the Raiders Memorial Cup win as CHL Champions in 1985. The Raiders are celebrating 50 years of existence, and the return of their traditional logo was part of those festivities to mark the club’s history.

The alternate jersey contained the Raiders traditional logo, which depicts an Arab on skates holding a sword in one hand a hockey stick in the other. The logo was designed in the Raiders third season 1973-74, when the club was still in the junior A ranks skating in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

On Saturday night at 9:29 p.m. Saskatchewan time, the WHL issued a statement from commissioner Ron Robison regarding the Raiders new alternate uniform.

“On Friday night the Prince Albert Raiders unveiled an alternate third jersey, which was inspired by a highly successful era in club history,” said Robson. “We recognized the dated design is insensitive and offensive.

“After consultation with the Prince Albert Raiders, this uniform and brand will be discontinued effective immediately. On behalf of the WHL and the Prince Albert Raiders, we regret this uniform design was approved and sincerely apologize for any harm it may have caused.”

The release said there would be no further comment from the WHL or the Raiders.

The Raiders last wore a uniform like their now discontinued alternates for about a couple of games in their 2018-19 WHL Championship season.

The Raiders did get into hot water over their traditional logo before. In late 2014, the Raiders unveiled a new mascot named “Boston Raider” which was patterned heavily after the old logo.

Due to a national uproar, the mascot was mothballed shortly after being unveiled.

By the sounds of the statement by Robson late Saturday night, it appeared the traditional logo will be discontinued along with the alternate jersey. The Raiders still sold a lot of merchandise featuring the team’s traditional logo.

In Prince Albert, it is safe to say the traditional logo is revered there, and a lot of people in that northern Saskatchewan city will be upset about news from late Saturday night.

The WHL’s statement on the alternate Raiders jersey was posted on Twitter, and the lynch mob has chimed in there with outrage the alternate jersey was approved.

It in the climate of the current world, it was getting harder each passing day for the Raiders to bring back their traditional logo. Outside of Prince Albert, the opposition to the logo is quite large, and it has become large enough that the team’s activities get grounded to a halt dealing with the criticism.

It seemed like what happened on Saturday was inevitable.

Back in Daily Herald

My column in the Prince Albert Daily Herald last Wednesday.

This past Wednesday, I returned to the pages of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.

I will be writing columns on the WHL for the Daily Herald, which will appear every second Wednesday. I was a sports reporter for the Daily Herald from 2001 to 2004, and the crew there is a fantastic bunch.

Back in 2019, I got to write pieces for the special section the Daily Herald put out when the Raiders went to the Memorial Cup. I also wrote a column for the publications 125^th anniversary.

My column this past Wednesday focused on the Art Hauser Centre being one of the WHL’s last great storied rinks and the hype train for Regina Pats 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard is a good thing for the circuit.

That column 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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Ayres, Blades win capped busy week a year ago today

COVID-19 pandemic changed North American world days later

David Ayres signs the Wall of Fame at Wendel Clark’s.

It was an afternoon where conversation drifted to how good the menu was at Wendel Clark’s Classic Bar and Grill.

Of course, that is going to naturally happen during a social moment during a press conference on the grounds of that establishment located in the northern part of Saskatoon.

At 2 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2020, the Saskatoon Blades were holding a press conference introducing David Ayres to the local media. Ayres at that time has become famous for hitting the ice with the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 22, 2020 as an emergency backup goaltender.

The media row at the David Ayres press conference.

He picked up a regular season victory as the Hurricanes downed the host Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 at the Scotiabank Arena. Ayres, who was 42-years-old at the time, became the first emergency backup goaltender to earn an NHL regular season win.

He was in Saskatoon on March 6, 2020 to be a guest at the Blades home game against the Regina Pats that night at the SaskTel Centre. The contest against the Pats would be the Blades WHL Suits Up to Promote Organ Donation game, and the host side would wear special Hockey Night in Canada themed jerseys for that clash.

David Ayres answers questions during his press conference.

Ayres took part in the a ceremonial faceoff before that game.

He had a kidney transplant in 2004, which has allowed him to live his life to the fullest. His mother, Mary, was the donor.

Knowing all those facts, it was fitting to have Ayres in town as a special guest for that Blades contest. Ayres would hang around in Saskatoon to be a special guest at the next night’s NLL regular season game where the host Saskatchewan Rush dumped the Vancouver Warriors 17-7.

The Blades press conference to introduce Ayres on March 6, 2020 had people in attendance from every one of Saskatoon’s media outlets, which was something that doesn’t normally happen. Everyone’s schedules broke in a way that a sizable media attendance was possible.

David Ayres (#90) takes part in the ceremonial faceoff.

As another side bonus, everyone in Saskatoon’s media circles get along with each other fairly well. The presser allowed for some short catch up visits.

At that time, everyone in the building was unaware how the world in North America was going to change due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Restrictions and shutdowns would start taking place to battle the COVID-19 pandemic just five days later on March 11, 2020.

During the Blades press conference on March 6, 2020, there were no worries about COVID-19. In some more relaxed moments at that presser, media members were discussing how good the food was at Wendel Clark’s, because a couple of the media members had eaten there previously.

David Ayers, right, is pictured with a minor hockey team.

Aside for the social aspect, the gathering was focused on Ayres’ feel good story. He would sign the Wall of Fame at Wendel Clark’s before departing to get ready for the festivities at that night’s Blades game.

For myself, I was just living in the moment focusing on my tasks during a busy day and wrapping up a busy week. That night’s Blades game was going to finish a stretch for myself where I would cover three WHL games over four days in two different centres.

The busy stretch started with an 8-3 Raiders home win in Prince Albert over the Calgary Hitmen on March 3, 2020.

People lined up at the SaskTel Centre to meet David Ayres.

For me, it was common to work busy stretches on the WHL circuit like that. I am also totally in my zone when that happens, so I was feeling really upbeat on that March 6, 2020 day.

Little did I know, that day would be the last time I saw some of the Saskatoon media members who were at the Ayres press conference and the Blades game in person to this very day.

After posting pictures of Ayres on social media, I planned to run a short little write up about him underneath my story about the game between the Blades and the Pats. The Blades could officially lock up a WHL playoff berth with a win that night.

Bernie Burtney, right, receives a WHL Distinguished Service Award.

I planned to write a longer length column on Ayres the next day.

As is my usual custom for WHL game nights, I got dressed in my suit and tie and headed out to the SaskTel Centre.

When I got to the rink, I found out I had to add another tidbit to my post for that night. Blades off-ice official Bernie Burtney was named a recipient of the WHL Distinguished Service Award.

WHL commissioner Ron Robison was in the building that night to present Burtney with his award. I made certain to get a picture of that presentation and add a short write up about it after the short write up about Ayres on my post.

Spencer Welke makes one of his 37 saves in goal for the Pats.

The game itself between the Blades and the Pats turned out to be a goalie dual. Early in the second, the Blades took a 1-0 lead on a goal coming from rookie centre Colton Dach.

It seemed like that tally would be the difference in the contest.

The Pats evened the score at 1-1 with 43.5 seconds remaining in the third period on a wild sequence of events.

A point shot from Pats defenceman Ryker Evans deflected up high into the air as a maze of bodies engulfed the crease area of the Saskatoon goal causing a net scramble.

During the scamble, Pats right-winger Riley Krane ended up on top of Blades netminder Nolan Maier, and Maier’s catching glove got caught in Krane’s skate. When the puck came down, Pats left-winger Logan Nijhoff backhanded home the equalizer that forced a 1-1 tie.

Nolan Maier made 32 saves in goal for the Blades.

The goal held up after a video review.

The Blades wouldn’t be denied victory. Just 74 seconds into overtime, the host side scored on the power play to pull out a 2-1 win and officially lock up a WHL playoff berth.

Blades left-winger Kyle Crnkovic converted a backdoor pass from linemate Tristen Robins to net the winner to the delight of most of the 4,478 spectators in attendance.

Maier stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Spencer Welke turned away 37 shots to take the extra time setback in goal playing as an associate player call up.

Both of the Pats regular goaltenders at that time were out of the lineup with injuries.

Colton Dach scored the Blades first goal.

For a hockey game that had a 2-1 final score, there were a lot of details to pack into a game story.

I was still in an upbeat mood following the contest, and I remember joking around with Maier during post-game media interviews.

After I finished my post that night, my mind drifted to the possibilities about what could happen in the WHL playoffs.

I had no idea that would be the Blades last home game to this very day. That would also be the last WHL game I would work at the rink in person to this very day.

The Blades were on a road trip when the 2019-20 WHL season was first paused before the rest of the campaign was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kyle Crnkovic celebrates his OT winner for the Blades.

The WHL has only recently gotten back into action with teams in the Central Division playing a shortened 24 game regular season. 

At the moment, all the league’s 22 teams are slated to each play 24 regular season games with competition limited to in division play.

The seven teams that make up the WHL’s East Division including the Blades will be playing all their regular season games in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina beginning this coming Friday.

The Blades open their schedule taking on the Swift Current Broncos at 4 p.m. Saskatchewan time on Saturday, March 13.

The Blades celebrate their OT victory.

While the WHL continues to get back into action, it will still be awhile before game days can play out again like they did for the Blades last home game on March 6, 2020.

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.