Dorsett will always have a home with Tigers

Former feisty forward forever a hero in Medicine Hat

Derek Dorsett at the Memorial Cup in 2007.

Derek Dorsett will forever be a hero in Medicine Hat.

For three seasons from 2004 to 2007, the product of Kindersley, Sask., was a high energy right-winger for the Medicine Hat Tigers. He was the ultimate competitor who was a heart and soul member of the team.

Dorsett played a huge role in helping the Tigers win their fifth WHL title in team history in 2006-07 along with advancing to the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament, where they fell 3-1 to the host Vancouver Giants.

In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Dorsett was selected in the seventh round and 189^th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He graduated to the professional ranks playing in the AHL in 2007-08 for the Syracuse Crunch.

Dorsett became a full-time regular in the NHL in 2008-09 and appeared in 515 career regular season games over 10 seasons posting 51 goals, 76 assists and 1,314 penalty minutes with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks.

He was forced to retire from the NHL due to a cervical disc herniation near a previously treated neck injury. Dorsett made his retirement announcement on November 30, 2017 having started the 2017-18 campaign posting seven goals, two assists and 74 penalty minutes in 20 games with the Canucks.

Last Friday, Dorsett came home to Medicine Hat becoming an assistant coach with the Tigers. The 34-year-old was behind the bench when the Tigers downed the visiting Calgary Hitmen 4-1 in a WHL regular season clash at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat.

He will remain with the Tigers through the end of the regular season. The Tigers (9-3-0-1) return to action Friday when they travel to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes (3-6-2).

It just feels right that Dorsett got to rejoin the Tigers. He has the biggest heart and cared deeply about the team.

When Dorsett became a regular with the Tigers as an 18-year-old rookie in 2004-05, he never looked back.

In 180 career regular season games with the Tigers, Dorsett posted 49 goals, 79 assists and 593 penalty minutes. During his final season in “the Gas City” in 2006-07, he appeared in 61 regular season games posting 19 goals, 45 assists and 206 penalty minutes.

Standing 6-feet and weighing 192 pounds, Dorsett wasn’t the biggest player on the ice, but he didn’t back down from anyone. When he engaged in a fight, it seemed to always be against a player that was bigger than he was.

Dorsett was the agitator who knew what to say on the ice to get opponents off their game. 

The front of a Derek Dorsett Medicine Hat Tigers jersey.

You also always knew his work ethic would be at an extremely high level and unmatched by anyone else game in and game out.

Dorsett would throw hits, block shots and do all the gritty things that were needed to help the Tigers win games. He seemed to have the knack for getting points at key times too.

His biggest clutch goal for the Tigers came in their final preliminary round game at the 2007 Memorial Cup, where he had the lone tally in a 1-0 victory over the host Giants. That win gave the Tigers first place in the preliminary round and a bye straight to the Memorial Cup championship game.

If something needed said to spark the Tigers during pre-game or intermission, Dorsett was the one that would get fired up and say what needed to be said.

He was also the best teammate too. On the ice, it was always visible that Dorsett would stick up for his guys. Dorsett had a good sense of humour as well and would be able to say something that would break up the room, if levity was needed.

He would go the extra mile off the ice too.

During his 19-year-old season in 2005-06, Dorsett’s billet home was only about a couple of blocks away from the billet home of 16-year-old rookie right-winger Tyler Ennis, who is best known as an NHL regular these days.

Back in 2005-06, Ennis was a list player who was able to crack a strong Tigers roster standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 140 pounds at the time. While Ennis deserved the roster spot due to a strong training and play in pre-season, there was still a little uncertainty about him being with the Tigers due to his small size.

On top of adjusting to major junior hockey, Ennis had to worry about his Grade 11 high school studies too.

That season, Dorsett picked Ennis up every morning and drove him to Medicine Hat High School for school. After classes were done, Dorsett picked up Ennis to bring him to practice at the Tigers old long time home in The Arena. During those drives, the two had great personal visits.

Dorsett wanted to ensure Ennis was comfortable in his new junior hockey home. If Ennis needed anything, Dorsett told the rookie forward to give him a call.

The back of a Derek Dorsett Medicine Hat Tigers jersey.

In the grand scheme of things, Dorsett didn’t have to do those things for Ennis. The fact that he did helped Ennis feel like he truly was part of the Tigers family and was in the right junior hockey home.

Ennis would have a star career with the Tigers that saw him be selected in the first round and 26^th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Dorsett left a legacy in Medicine Hat that will last for decades with everything he did as a Tigers player. It is fitting he gets to add to that legacy now as an assistant coach, even if it is ultimately for a short time.

Canucks confirm 25 test COVID-19 positive

A Bo Horvat card.

Facing whirlwinds of speculation, the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks released a statement on Wednesday regarding how bad the coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected the team.

The Canucks announced 25 individuals from the team had tested positive for COVID-19 including 18 roster players, three taxi squad players and four staff members. The Vancouver club added that one additional player is considered a close contact.

The statement said the source infection is a confirmed variant and the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control will need to do a full genome sequencing to determine the specific type.

The Canucks added in the statement, “An ongoing investigation by Vancouver Coastal Health and club contact tracing staff attributes the source infection to a single individual obtained in a community setting, which has since been identified by public health as a public exposure location.”

With the world stuck in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, it doesn’t come as a surprise the source infection came from a single individual in a community setting.

The Canucks said all players and staff currently remain in quarantine.

The statement concluded saying, “This is a stark reminder of how quickly the virus can spread and its serious impact, even among healthy, young athletes.”

The Canucks COVID-19 troubles began on March 30, when centre Adam Gaudette was pulled from practice after next day results from the previous day’s testing came back positive for COVID-19.

On March 31, defenceman Travis Hamonic found out he had tested positive for COVID-19 from testing done the previous day after he participated in a morning skate. The Canucks ultimately held two on ice sessions with infected players.

That resulted in the March 30 NHL regular season game between the Canucks and the visiting Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena being postponed 90 minutes before puck drop.

The COVID-19 outbreak with the Canucks escalated from there with stars like Bo Horvat going on the NHL’s COVID protocol list.

The Canucks last played at Rogers Arena when they fell 5-1 to the visiting Winnipeg Jets on March 24.

At the moment, the Canucks are slated to play again this coming Monday against the Oilers in Edmonton. As it stands right now, the Canucks have postponed six games.

The Canucks have played 37 of their 56 regular season games for the current campaign posting a 16-18-3 record. They sit eight points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff berth in the all-Canadian North Division.

Due to privacy issues surrounding health care in Canada, it becomes harder to get information in situations like the Canucks have encountered with COVID-19. As a result, there were reports that varied regarding the extent of the situation.

Kudos can be passed on to the Canucks for releasing the information that they did on Wednesday.

Traditionally, hockey teams and leagues can be sketchy when it comes to transparency regarding illness and injuries.

On the reporting front, TSN’s Darren Dreger nailed the Canucks positive test number spot on before the club released its statement.

Overall, it is good the Canucks themselves provided the clarity they could on Wednesday.

From what the Canucks provided, the team is still far from getting out of the woods as far as COVID-19 is concerned, but the club’s situation is being taken seriously.

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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Canucks latest reminder COVID-19 pandemic is not over

A Bo Horvat card.

The NHL’s Vancouver Canucks have unfortunately become the poster example that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is not over.

While vaccines for COVID-19 are rolling out across Canada, some areas of the country increased restrictions to try and combat the virus as variants of concern become an increasing issue.

Over the Easter weekend, the halt of the Canucks NHL season caught the attention of the country.

As of Monday night, the Canucks have 17 players on the NHL’s COVID protocol list. The list doesn’t mean a player has tested positive, but a player could be a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Another unnamed player from the taxi squad is quarantining as a high-risk close contact, and three members of the Canucks coaching staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

It is reported that the NHL and the Canucks are proceeding under the belief they are dealing with the highly-transmissible P.1 variant, which was first identified in Brazil. At the moment, Vancouver is a global hotspot for the P.1 variant.

The P.1 variant is believed to be more transmissible and is capable of infecting people who were once infected by the original strain of COVID-19.

It is believed vaccines for COVID-19 that have been created to date are less effective on the P.1 variant, and people who get the variant can experience more severe sickness compared to the original strain of the virus.

It is believed younger people are more susceptible to a severe outcome, if they get infected by the P.1 variant.

The Canucks COVID-19 troubles began on March 30, when centre Adam Gaudette was pulled from practice after next day results from the previous day’s testing came back positive for COVID-19.

A Brandon Sutter card.

Last Wednesday, defenceman Travis Hamonic found out he had tested positive for COVID-19 from testing done the previous day after he participated in a morning skate. The Canucks ultimately held two on ice sessions with infected players.

That resulted in last Wednesday’s NHL regular season game between the Canucks and the visiting Calgary Flames at Rogers Arena being postponed 90 minutes before puck drop.

By this past Friday, the Canucks had seven players on their COVID protocol list. Another seven players were added this past Saturday and situation grew to the levels it sat at on Monday night.

Those on the COVID protocol list included the likes of forwards Bo Horvat, Jayce Hawyrluk, Brandon Sutter and Antoine Roussel, defencemen Tyler Myers and Quinn Hughes and netminder Braden Holtby, who is an alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.

The Canucks have had a couple of instances where dehydration was severe enough that team medical staffers were dispatched to player homes to administer IV drips to players.

There have been reports that many family members of Canucks players have tested positive or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

As of Monday night, the Canucks have had six games postponed due to this COVID-19 outbreak including tilts with the Flames in Calgary this coming Thursday and Saturday.

The Canucks last played at Rogers Arena when they fell 5-1 to the visiting Winnipeg Jets on March 24.

At the moment, the Canucks are slated to play again on April 12 against the Oilers in Edmonton.

The Canucks have played 37 of their 56 regular season games for the current campaign posting a 16-18-3 record. They sit eight points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff berth in the all-Canadian North Division.

At the moment, there is no clear certainty as to when the Canucks will return to the ice.

An Antoine Roussel card.

In an interview with Eric Francis of Sportsnet.ca on Monday, former NHLer Brent Sutter, who is the head coach, general manager and owner of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, said he is concerned for his son Brandon, who plays for the Canucks, and Brandon’s family.

Brent confirmed that Brandon had indeed tested positive for COVID-19, and even though Brandon is 32-years-old, Brent said the parental instincts have kicked in, and he wished he could at his son’s side helping him out.

At the moment, no professional team in North America has had a rougher time dealing with COVID-19 than the Canucks have had.

The Canucks are an example that shows how real the COVID-19 pandemic still is.

Of course, the mixed messages are plenty when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. An MLB regular season game on Monday that saw the Toronto Blue Jays down the host Texas Rangers 6-2 drew 38,238 spectators to the 40,300 seat Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

The state of Texas is allowing 100 per cent capacity for sporting events.

Many that are against everything that is being done on the restrictions front to combat the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to pop the champagne corks at Monday’s developments Arlington celebrating the end to the pandemic.

It should be noted that the United States is still experiencing at least 50,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day, which is still an improvement of daily increases of 200,000 new cases at the start of the year.

Still, the new case counts that are happening in the United States, Canada and the rest of the world are still a problem.

COVID-19 is still a problem that creeps up in the sports world including Canada’s sports world.

The WHL’s Kelowna Rockets are in the middle of a 14-day suspension of team activities due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

A Quinn Hughes card.

The junior A Alberta Junior Hockey League currently has six teams in the Grande Prairie Storm, Drayton Valley Thunder, White Court Wolverines, Okotoks Oilers, Camrose Kodiaks and Drumheller Dragons who are all under a 14-day suspension of team activities due to positive COVID-19 tests.

You can continue to keep listing examples like this.

Overall, the NHL’s Canucks have been the biggest recent noticeable example about how quickly things can still escalate on the COVID-19 front.

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.