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| I’m hoping to get a little more down time the next few weeks. |
Time seems
go by faster and faster the older I get.
I kind of
underestimated how fast this past winter sports season would go by. Going into
the 2021-22 winter campaign, I didn’t really know what to expect.
A year ago
in July of 2021, it seemed like restrictions regarding the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic could come and go seemingly at a moment’s notice. After
there wasn’t much of a winter sports season in 2020-21, I wasn’t sure what to
expect in 2021-22.
I have to
admit I did not follow through with the original plan in my head. Originally, I
was thinking about making just weekly or twice weekly posts on this blog and
sitting back and seeing how the sports world in Canada would play out.
I expected
there would be pauses and schedule alterations due to positive COVID-19 tests
and there were.
It was
still in the realm of possibilities that sports seasons that start in Canada
might not be completed. To my knowledge, all seasons in the 2021-22 winter
campaign were played to a conclusion.
At the
professional level, I was pretty certain the NHL season would be completed as
the Stanley Cup was awarded in 2020 and 2021. In a 2021-22 campaign that still
had its wonky parts, the circuit finished a regular season where every club
played a full schedule of 82 games.
The regular
season was followed by on exciting post-season. There was still a fairly late
finish as the Colorado Avalanche captured the Stanley Cup in Game 6 of the NHL
title series by a 2-1 score against the host Lightning in Tampa Bay on June 26.
The
Avalanche became “the team” by beating “the team” in the Lightning, who won the
Stanley Cup the two previous years.
Hockey in
the major junior ranks had an even later finish. In the Memorial Cup
championship game held on June 29, the host Saint John Sea Dogs downed the OHL
champion Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 to take the CHL title. The Sea Dogs bowed out in
the first round of the QMJHL playoffs but used the time off to be able to
finish first in the preliminary round standings with a 2-0-1 record at the
Memorial Cup tournament before claiming the event’s championship game.
The one
loss came in overtime by a 4-3 score to the WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings.
The Oil Kings win ended a 14-game skid by the club that was the WHL champion at
the event.
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| It was great seeing the Hilltops back in action last season. |
Before the
Oil Kings win, the last time a WHL champion posted a win at the Memorial Cup
came back on May 29, 2015, when the Kelowna Rockets hammered the host Remparts
9-3 in Quebec City, Quebec, in a semifinal contest.
The Oil
Kings weren’t able to make the playoff round with their 1-2 record getting
edged for third place in the preliminary round standings and the tournament’s
final playoff berth by the 1-2 Hamilton Bulldogs.
Hours
before the tournament started on June 20, the CHL announced a new points system
would be used for the preliminary round standings that saw three points given
for a regulation win and two for a win in overtime. The Bulldog advanced to the
playoff round due to the fact their win came in regulation, and it came against
the Oil Kings to boot.
The
overtime format was changed for the preliminary round too. Overtime in the
preliminary round would be 20 minute periods played in a sudden death
three-versus-three format.
The merits
of those changes can be debated, but the timing of the announcement of when
those rules were changed was awful. If the CHL was going to change rules in the
Memorial Cup format, they should have been announced before the 2021-22 season
started.
If the rule
changes were announced during the event starting with next year’s tournament,
the CHL would have come away with a way better look there.
With all
that said, I didn’t find myself on the perimeter watching the 2021-22 winter
sports season play out.
Opportunities arose to get back into covering games of
the CJFL powerhouse Saskatoon Hilltops in a beat writer fashion and the WHL, where I focused around covering the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades.
In my head,
I was thinking the mainstream media in Canada wanted to get out of covering the
sports world unless it was the NHL, so I wasn’t thinking opportunities would
come in that realm. I find in the overall populous in Canada sports isn’t a big
thing unless you are involved in sports with the NHL being the exception to
that thought.
I also had
an opportunity to get back into covering the University of Saskatchewan Huskies
teams in a bigger way. I wasn’t expecting that to come up.
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| The Oil Kings won the WHL title in 2021-22. |
The
opportunities to cover the Hilltops and the WHL came up first, so I decided to
go with those routes. Out of all the leagues in Canada, I thought U Sports
would be the one where their season wouldn’t be played to completion.
Fortunately, I was proved wrong on that front and U Sports did play its season
to conclusion.
The other
decision to just focus on Hilltops and WHL was to limit covering stops and
starts and possible cancellations due to COVID-19 positive tests. The WHL had
to pause its season for almost all the first two weeks of January due to an
abundance of positive COVID-19 tests.
Following the WHL season, I thought I was
going to go for a rest, evaluation and reset period. I elected to cover the
Saskatoon Valkyries in a beat writing form as they won their seventh WWCFL
title, because my relationship with that team has always been outstanding.
I decided I
didn’t want to miss out, because they had a lot of returning players that were
around from the 2019 squad before the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions occurred. I
enjoyed getting to know the first and second year players this past Valkyries
season too.
Now that
Valkyries season is done, I’ve decided take a break from creating content for
this blog for the rest of the month of July. On the weird part, the break from
writing this blog won’t be primarily due for rest and recharge reasons.
At the
moment, I am working on a project on the side. I need to sacrifice time in
other areas to focus on that project.
In August,
I’m hoping you will all get to enjoy seeing the results of the project I am
working on.
I hope to
get some rest and recharge time in too. Actually, it disappoints me to see my
two mountain bikes have been sitting in storage this year waiting to be tuned
up for use. I haven’t used them yet.
When August
comes, I will be back covering the Hilltops in a beat writing form. I suspect
the upcoming 2022-23 winter sports season will see me focusing on the Hilltops
and WHL.
I figured I
need to focus, because even with the opportunities that have come my way,
almost everything in Canada’s sports scene is not being covered outside the NHL,
Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto
Raptors and the MLS teams in Canada’s three big cities.
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| It was so much fun seeing the Valkyries in a seventh WWCFL title. |
By the
amount of releases and news that comes my way in the sports world for Canada, I
have to say that everything is happening now. Everybody in some way is
searching for attention.
I will
never close the door with regards in potential directions I could go. I do have
to weigh how involvement in Canada’s sports scene affects and accompanies
everything else in my life, and I find I do that a lot more than I ever had
before in my life.
For now, it
is time to sign off for a bit. I’ll see you all in August.
Rabbit’s return big
for Blades, other notes and observations
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| Ashley Callingbull, left, and Wacey Rabbit. (Photo courtesy Saskatoon Blades) |
The Saskatoon Blades made a big splash bringing Wacey Rabbit
back to his first and long time WHL home.
On June 27, the Blades announced that Rabbit was returning
to the team as an assistant coach. His wife, Ashley Callingbull, joined the
Saskatoon Entertainment Group, which is the parent company that owns both the
Blades and Saskatchewan Rush, as an ambassador.
Rabbit, who is 35-years-old, played centre for the Blades
starting as an underage call up way back in 2001-02 and the following four
seasons through to the conclusion of the 2005-06 campaign, when he was the team’s
captain. The Kainai First Nation, Alta., product played in 259 career regular
season games with the Blades posting 80 goals, 106 assists and a plus-seven
rating in the plus-minus department.
During his overage season in 2006-07, Rabbit started the
campaign playing for the Providence Bruins of the AHL. After his WHL rights
were traded to the Vancouver Giants, Rabbit was returned to the major junior
ranks.
Rabbit finished his WHL career with the Giants appearing in
30 regular season games posting 11 goals, 25 assists and a plus-13 rating. He
helped the Giants advance to the WHL Championship Series, where they fell in
seven games to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Following that series, he helped the
Giants win the Memorial Cup as the tournament’s host team.
Rabbit proceed to play 14 seasons in the minor professional
ranks and retired from the game as a player on August 26, 2021. Last season,
Rabbit was an assistant coach and skills development coach for the Alberni
Valley Bulldogs of the junior A British Columbia Hockey League.
Callingbull, who is 32-years-old, is an actress, model,
motivational speaker and international celebrity who has over 1.2-million
followers on Instagram. The Enoch Cree Nation, Alta., product became the first
Canadian and Indigenous woman to win the Miss Universe title on August 29,
2015.
The Blades had a coach vacancy to fill when it was announced
on June 20 associate coach Ryan Marsh was leaving his position to become an
assistant coach with Schwenninger Wild Wings in Germany’s top professional
league.
Rabbit was a fan favourite during his time with the Blades
and is one of the all-time most enduring players for the team’s fanbase. When a
coaching role came open on the team, Blades management made the first move to
contact Rabbit about returning to the club in a coaching role.
Rabbit said in many media interviews he wasn’t looking for
jobs in the WHL, but when the Blades came calling, he said that was the team
was going to say yes to. Rabbit has always considered Saskatoon as a second
home.
Both Rabbit and Callingbull have been active with regards to
Indigenous outreach throughout their adult lives, and they plan to continue
that work in Saskatoon. Both have been outstanding role models for Indigenous
youth.
For the Blades, bringing Rabbit back was a home run on so
many levels and some levels that might not even be comprehended at the moment.
Blades management deserves huge applause for having the
vision and making the approach to bring Rabbit and Callingbull to the team.
This will likely be a move that has a huge positive impact on the community
beyond what happens on the ice surface at the rink.
- Saskatoon Blades
left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was selected in the seventh round and 218th
overall on Friday by the Toronto Maple Leafs on the final day of the
two-day NHL Entry Draft held in Montreal, Que. Last season in his
17-year-old campaign, Lisowsky appeared in all the Blades 68 regular
season games posting 33 goals, 25 assists and a plus-one rating in the
plus-minus department.
- In the CHL Import Draft on
July 1, the Saskatoon Blades selected 17-year-old defenceman Tomas Zizka,
who is from Zlin, Czechia, in the first round and 37th overall.
Zizka, who stands 6-feet and weighs 170 pounds, played last season with
the Lidingo Vikings J18 squad posting one goal and 13 assists in 31 games.
He also played 11 games for Czechia’s under-17 team collecting four goals.
Zizka joins 18-year-old fan favourite Belarusian right-winger Egor Sidorov
as the Blades two import players. Due to Russia’s invasion attempt and war
with Ukraine, Sidorov is residing in Saskatoon for the foreseeable future.
- The Prince Albert Raiders
didn’t make any selections in the CHL Import Draft held on July 1. They
will return Belarusians in goaltender Tikhon Chaika and left-winger
Vladislav Shilo as their two imports. Both are heading into their
19-year-old seasons. Both Chaika and Shilo are residing in Prince Albert for
the foreseeable future due to Russia’s invasion attempt and war with
Ukraine.
- On July 2, Bret “the
Hitman” Hart turned 65-years-old. Hearing that, it is another sign that
time is passing way too fast. When it comes to sport entertainment’s
pro-wrestling especially if you reside in Canada, Hart will always be,
“The best there was, the best there is and the best there ever will be.”
- Jorde Chartrand is the
unknown Canadian idol. The 19-year-old right handed pitcher and Weyburn,
Sask., product has been playing with Softball Canada’s National Women’s
Team. She has been training and playing on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex
grounds for a number of years. She has a good following inside the local
Saskatchewan softball community, but with Canada’s downsized mainstream
media particularly when it comes to covering sports, Chartrand isn’t well
known outside the sport. That is too bad, because she is an outstanding
role model athlete that excels in the classroom as well as the field of
play. Don’t be surprised if she pops on the media radar in a future
Olympics.
- The Saskatoon Cubs will
host the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League under-18 AAA championship
tournament July 22 to 24 at Cairns Field and Leakos Field. If you have
never seen a Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League game, you are missing
out. In Saskatoon, it is still kind of a hidden gem. As the SPBL regular
season heads into the home stretch, the Cubs top the under-18 AAA
standings with a 19-4 record.
- The prestige and
reputation of Hockey Canada has taken a major hit over the past four
months. On April 20, a woman, who is now 24-years-old, filed a
$3.55-million lawsuit in London, Ont., against Hockey Canada, the CHL and eight
unnamed CHL players over an allegation she was sexually assaulted by the
players. The alleged sexual assault was said to occur a hotel room after
Hockey Canada gala and golf event in London, Ont., in June 2018 and
members of Canada’s 2017-18 gold medal winning world junior team were
alleged to be among the eight players. The allegations have not been
proven in court. Hockey Canada quietly settled the lawsuit in May. The
Government of Canada started looking into Hockey Canada’s handling of the
lawsuit in June. That included a meeting with the House of Commons standing
committee on Canadian Heritage, where Hockey Canada executives were
grilled and came out not looking good including then Hockey Canada CEO Tom
Renney, who retired on July 1. After that meeting, the federal government
froze fund they were putting into Hockey Canada. A number of major
sponsors have frozen their funding to Hockey Canada. This story isn’t
leaving the news cycle, so expect developments to keep coming.
- From what I heard, Kevin
Waugh, who is a Conservative MP representing Saskatoon-Grasswood and is a
former CTV sports reporter, was one of the key figures that pushed for the
federal government to look into Hockey Canada’s handling of quietly
setting a lawsuit regarding sexual assault allegations with a now
24-year-old woman. Waugh was concerned that the stories produced by TSN’s
Rick Westhead weren’t getting traction in the rest of the mainstream
media, so he wanted to bring the federal government into the picture.
Ultimately, Waugh might be looked upon for playing a sizable role in
finding out the truth and creating accountability over this matter.
- Regarding Hockey Canada’s
handling of quietly settling a lawsuit regard sexual assault allegation
with a now 24-year-old woman and the fallout that is still coming, you
have to wonder if those holding leadership positions in Hockey Canada will
be able to survive in those positions. In a strange coincidence, Hockey
Canada announced on April 20 that CEO Tom Renney was going to retire
effective July 1, 2022. That April 20 announcement was the same day the
alleged sexual assault lawsuit was filed in court in London, Ont. With
that noted, somebody in Hockey Canada’s leadership could have fallen on
the sword taking ultimate responsibility over the handling of the lawsuit
in being in a leadership position in the organization. That type of act
could have prevented a funding freeze from the federal government and
sponsors.
- The most powerful person
in sports entertainment’s pro-wrestling is being dogged by sexual misconduct
allegations. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published a story saying
Vince McMahon, the famed CEO of WWE who stepped down from his role on June
17, paid four women US$12-million total over the past 16 years to hide
numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. This story came out after the
Wall Street Journal reported on June 15 that McMahon, who is 76-years-old,
paid out a US$3-million to hide an alleged affair with a former employee,
who reportedly was hired as a paralegal in 2019. The WWE’s board of
directors was investigating the US$3-million payout, and McMahon stepped
down from his CEO role due to that investigation. McMahon’s daughter,
Stephanie McMahon, is serving as interim CEO and interim chairwoman after
serving as the company’s chief brand officer. The US$3-million payout was
part of the US$12-million payout in the Wall Street Journal’s latest
story. This story has been picked up by most of the major mainstream media
outlets in the U.S. It is possible this could end Vince McMahon’s
involvement in sports entertainment’s pro-wrestling scene.
- Today on Saturday, July 9, I had new content
appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports
Complex. I put together a feature story Parker Frey, who is the ace pitcher of
the Saskatoon Cubs under-18 AAA team. The piece on Frey can be found by clicking
right here. I also created a new photo roundup of the sweet cool moments
happening on the Complex grounds that 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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