Memorial Cup nix part of déjà vu moments in Canadian sports

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan celebrate a Memorial Cup win in 2018.

The sports world in Canada seems to like 2020 reruns in 2021.

The 2020 reruns are being caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic was unfortunately running in full force in 2020, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any in 2021 as variants add another difficult layer in trying to deal with it.

That is forcing government restrictions in various degrees around the world to stay in force in order to combat the pandemic.

Vaccines are rolling out across Canada, but life is still far from the normal experienced pre-pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Canadian Hockey League officially announced the Memorial Cup tournament was cancelled for 2021 marking the second straight year major junior hockey’s championship event was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 event was to be played in one of Oshawa, Ont., or Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

The host city was never finalized and no dates were ever set for the tournament.

The 2020 Memorial Cup was supposed to be held in Kelowna, B.C., before it was called off due to the pandemic.

The cancellation hardly comes as a surprise when looking at the three major junior leagues that make up the CHL.

The QMJHL has attempted to hold a 2020-21 campaign that has included many stops and starts due to positive COVID-19 tests. Most teams have played on average 35 games.

The circuit is looking to start playoffs with action involving the teams paced in the province of Quebec on April 23.

The WHL’s four divisions had staggered and very late starts with each team playing a 24-game developmental regular season. 

The Red Deer Rebels enjoy a win at the 2016 Memorial Cup.

The Central Division began play in late February and the other three divisions hit the ice at different times in March.

Positive COVID-19 tests have caused some schedule reshuffling for the Central and B.C. Divisions.

The OHL hasn’t been able to start its 2020-21 regular season, and with Ontario once again experiencing stricter lockdown measures, it seems like a matter of time before the 2020-21 OHL campaign is outright cancelled without hitting the ice.

In a statement, CHL president Dan MacKenzie said a number of considerations were taken into account when it came to cancelling the Memorial Cup.

“The CHL is committed to the health and safety of our players, their families and billets, our teams, staff and officials, and the communities is which we play,” said MacKenzie in a statement. “The decision was made based on the limitations on travel, border restrictions, and quarantining requirements that would make it impossible to produce league champions.”

The CHL said the timing and location of the 2022 Memorial Cup would be announced at a later date.

For all sports in Canada, it appears limitations on travel, border restrictions and quarantine requirements will remain issues for the foreseeable future especially with regards to interprovincial and national competitions. Those were issues sports in Canada were still dealing with last year at this time.

In the CFL, stories are again circulating about that league talking to the Canadian federal government about financial assistance to play a 2021 campaign. That feels like a repeat of last year, when the CFL ultimately couldn’t secure funds to get back on the field.

Speculation is starting to rise that the CFL will push back the start of its 2021 campaign. Similar speculation was going down at this time last year.

One difference in the realm of the CFL this year compared to last year at this time is there were no talks about forming a partnership with the XFL. For the about the past month, there has been a tonne of speculation about what a CFL and XFL partnership could look like, or if it even will ultimately happen.

As the calendar progresses, one wonders what the summer sports season will look like when it rolls out.

Regina is hoping to hold the Canadian Masters Athletics Track and Field Championships from Aug. 27 to 29.

Cody Fajardo in action for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019.

While that event is still listed as being on for the moment, Athletics Canada has already cancelled the Legions Youth Track and Field Championships, which were set for Aug. 6 to 8 in Sherbrooke, Que.

You can bet a few minor sports governing bodies in Canada will have mixed messages like that when it comes to scheduling. That happened last year too at this time.

As September approaches, one wonders if speculation will begin again about when major junior hockey or U Sports seasons will start up.

Right now in Canada, everything is the sports world hangs on whether mass vaccinations will make the COVID-19 pandemic go away. The actions of society in Canada and for North America for that matter don’t make any other option possible.

For the moment, it appears what happened in the Canadian sports world in 2020 is set to repeat in 2021.

Dach back rolling with NHL’s Blackhawks

SNIPE 🚀

Kirby Dach sets up Brandon Hagel perfectly to net the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner! pic.twitter.com/y0zVLcYyAZ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 13, 2021

Kirby Dach is back, and he is on a roll.

The alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades has appeared in nine games this season for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks posting one goal, four assists and minus-one rating in the plus-minus department.

Back on Dec. 23, 2020, the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product fractured his right wrist playing for Canada in an exhibition game in a bubble environment at Rogers Arena in Edmonton, Alta., just before world juniors. 

Kirby Dach in action for the Saskatoon Blades in 2018-19.

Dach, who was Canada’s captain, injured his wrist on what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in a 1-0 victory over Russia.

Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 197 pounds, was originally expected to be out four to five months, which would have pegged his return for late April.

The 20-year-old centre made his return to the Blackhawks on March 27 in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Nashville Predators.

On Monday, Dach made the highlight rounds on social media for his beautiful set up pass to linemate Brandon Hagel, who netted the OT winner in the Blackhawks 4-3 victory over the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

Dach’s return is a welcome one for the Blackhawks, who have a 20-18-5 record going into their game Thursday against the Red Wings in Detroit. The Blackhawks are looking to make a push for the final playoff berth in the NHL’s Central Division sitting fifth and four points out of a post-season berth.

Maier equals Blades career shutout record, other notes

Nolan Maier tied the Blades career shutouts record.

Nolan Maier is on the cusp of taking sole ownership of another career Saskatoon Blades goaltending record.

On Wednesday playing in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the product of Yorkton, Sask., made 27 saves to back the Blades to a 3-0 regular season victory over the Swift Current Broncos. The win was the ninth career shutout Maier has collected in regular season play.

Maier, who has one season of WHL eligibility remaining, equaled the Blades record for career regular season shutouts held by Andrey Makarov. Makarov collected his nine regular season shutouts playing two seasons for the Blades from 2011 to 2013.

Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 173 pounds, holds the Blades career regular season goaltending wins record, which currently sits at 89 victories.

In the first period of Wednesday’s contest, veteran right-winger Blake Stevenson scored twice in the first period to give the Blades a 2-0 lead. Captain Chase Wouters rounded out the scoring for the Blades with a single early in the second period.

Isaac Poulter made 37 saves to take the setback in goal for the Broncos.

The Blades improved to 13-2-2 with the win, while the Broncos fell to 3-13-1.

The Blades return to action on Thursday, when they face the Regina Pats (6-8-2-1) at 4 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The Broncos get back at it on Friday, when they face the Winnipeg Ice at 6 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

• Last Thursday, The Canadian Press came out with story that said Canada Soccer, Curling Canada, Hockey Canada, Rugby Canada, Skate Canada and Tennis Canada have joined forces in asking the Canadian federal government for a $75-million sport recovery program. Those bodies want that program to support local and grassroots initiatives for all sports still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The story on CBC’s website can be found by clicking right here.
• On Monday, the Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio picked up his 200^th career regular season win. Kisio’s Hurricanes downed visiting Red Deer Rebels 8-5 in a WHL regular season clash for the milestone victory. Kisio became the Hurricanes head coach on June 4, 2015.
• On Monday, Saskatoon Blades centre Tristen Robins was named the WHL play of the week. He picked up four goals and five assists in four games for the week ending on Sunday. The Blades posted a 3-0-1 record over those four games. Regina Pats overager Roddy Ross was named the WHL goaltender of the week. Ross won both his appearances for the week ending on Sunday posting a 0.99 goals against average and a .964 save percentage.
• On Tuesday, the WHL announced the Medicine Hat Tigers have been cleared to return to team activities. Last week, the Calgary Hitmen had a player in their team cohort test positive for COVID-19, and the Tigers were deemed close contacts after falling 5-4 after a tiebreaking shootout on April 5 at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat. Since the positive result from the one player on the Hitmen, the Tigers have continued to test negative allowing for the clearance to play. The Tigers will host the Red Deer Rebels on Friday in Medicine Hat.
• On Tuesday, the WHL announced the Kelowna Rockets were cleared starting Wednesday to resume team activities after all individuals in the team cohort tested negative for COVID-19. The Rockets entered a league mandated 14-day isolation period following the discovery of a positive COVID-19 test on March 30. Shortly after going into isolation, the Rockets had seven other members in their team cohort test positive for COVID-19. Since the club wasn’t involved in team activities and in isolation at that time, the positive tests didn’t effect when the Rockets would return to play. The Rockets are slated to play the Prince George Cougars on Saturday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C.
• On Tuesday, former Medicine Hat Tigers import netminder Mads Sogaard signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators. The Senators selected the product of Aalborg, Denmark, in the second round and 37^th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Sogaard, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 201 pounds, played two seasons for the Tigers from 2018 to 2020 appearing in 74 WHL regular season games posting a 40-21-6 record, a 2.58 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts.
• On Tuesday, Calgary Flames left-winger Milan Lucic played in his 1,000^th career NHL regular season game. The 32-year-old had an assist and won a fight in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. After the Flames 4-1 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal on Wednesday, Lucic, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 231 pounds, has appeared in 1,001 NHL regular season games posting 213 goals, 325 assists, 1,166 penalty minutes and a plus-81 rating. He broke into the NHL in 2007 with the Boston Bruins and also spent time with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. Before joining the NHL, Lucic helped his hometown Vancouver Giants win a WHL title in 2006 and the Memorial Cup title in 2007 playing in the CHL championship tournament as the host team.
• On Tuesday, organizers for the annual Country Thunder music festival set in Craven, Sask., announced that event has been cancelled for a second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s Country Thunder was scheduled to be held July 8 to 11.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan wrote a piece in his Taking Note blog, where he gave another run down on how the COVID-19 pandemic is still wrecking havoc on the sports world. His Tuesday piece led with announcement in Buffalo, New York, that stated all spectators looking to attend home games of the NFL’s Bills and NHL’s Sabres will have to show proof of being vaccinated for COVID-19 before being allowed into those team’s home venues. Drinnan’s piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, former Moose Jaw Warriors and University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team netminder Zach Sawchenko signed an NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, which runs through the end of the 2021-22 campaign. The 23-year-old, Calgary, Alta., product has split time this season with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and Allen Americans in the ECHL. Sawchenko, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 185 pounds, played four seasons in the WHL for the Warriors from 2013 to 2017 appearing in 177 regular season games posting an 88-65-16 record, a 3.11 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and nine shutouts. In two seasons with the Golden Bears from 2017 to 2019, Sawchenko appeared in 34 regular season games posting a 28-4-1 record, a 1.74 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and five shutouts. He helped the Golden Bears win the David Johnston University Cup as U Sports champions in 2017-18.

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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Canada needs to avoid complacency at world juniors

Hosts open with big 16-2 win over Germany

Dylan Cozens in action for the Hurricanes in 2018-19.

Canada’s coaches are likely happy their squad’s first preliminary round game at the world junior men’s hockey championship is over.

On Saturday inside the bubble environment at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta., Canada opened preliminary round play crushing Germany 16-2. It was the type of game that really does Canada no favours in the grand scheme of things, because they were that much of a superior side.

The game did help the Canadian players shake off rust as most haven’t played in a truly meaningful game since March due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world. Saturday’s game was played without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For most of the players on Canada’s roster, this was just their second contest since March. Canada blanked Russia 1-0 in a spirited pre-tournament game on Wednesday.

In Saturday’s encounter against Germany, it felt like you could only shake off the rust for so long. Eventually, the blowout hit a point where one worried that the victory ceased being helpful to Canada.

Germany showed up in the Alberta capital city without four players due to positive COVID-19 tests in Lukas Reichel, Nino Kinder, Elias Lindner and netminder Tobias Ancicki.

On top of that, Germany had nine players isolating in hotel rooms on Saturday night because of positive COVID-19 upon arriving in Edmonton.

Germany played with 14 skaters in nine forwards and five defenceman for the second straight game played on two consecutive nights. Finland downed Germany 5-3 on Christmas Day, which marked the opening day of the preliminary round.

Germany was heading into Saturday’s clash with Canada at a clear disadvantage.

Kaiden Guhle in action for the Raiders last season.

The results showed on the scoreboard. Canada led 4-1 after the first period and held an 11-1 advantage after 40 minutes of play.

Dylan Cozens, a star centre with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, had a hat trick and three assists for Canada.

Dawson Mercer, Philip Tomasino, Alex Newhook and Peyton Krebs each scored twice for the host country. Kaiden Guhle, Ryan Suzuki, Jakob Pelletier, Thomas Harley and Connor McMichael potted singles to round out the scoring for the Canadian side.

Guhle, who is a star offensive-defenceman for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, had the opening tally of Saturday’s contest.

John Peterka and Florian Elias replied with singles for Germany.

Devon Levi  stopped eight-of-nine shots over two periods to pick up the win in goal for Canada. Dylan Garand of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers played the third period in relief turning away five-of-six shots sent his way.

Arno Tiefensee turned away seven-of-11 shots to take the loss in goal for Germany. He was pulled after the first period.

Jonas Gahr played the final two frames in relief turning away 21-of-33 shots fired his way.

The biggest adversity Canada faced was losing defenceman and Prince Albert, Sask., product Braden Schneider, who plays for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, in the first period after he was ejected for receiving a major penalty for a head check.

The opening part of Canada’s schedule in the preliminary round is fairly light. Canada’s second game is Sunday against Slovakia (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). While Slovakia is 1-0, that is a contest were Canada will be a heavy favourite and should not have any difficulty in winning.

Canada’s third game of the preliminary round is Tuesday against Switzerland (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN), and that contest is another that should easily go in the win column for Canada.

Bowen Byram in action for the Giants in 2019-20.

Canada shouldn’t have any difficulty getting to 3-0, which would lock up a berth in the playoff round.

Canada’s final game of preliminary round on Thursday against Finland (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN) will be the host side’s first true test in a game that counts in the tournament standings.

Having those three easier opening games in succession could create an opportunity for Canadian players to develop bad habits.

Canadian head coach Andre Tourigny, who is the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, and his staff will have a big challenge on their hands that way.

The saving grace might be the fact Canada did play Russia in a pre-tournament game. Canada and Russia are the favourites to win gold at a world juniors where at least half the teams are carrying watered down rosters due to players testing positive for COVID-19.

While that encounter was a pre-tournament game, both sides played like it did mean something. Of course, Canadian captain Kirby Dach, who is a centre for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and an alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, was lost for the entire world junior tournament injuring his wrist on what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in the centre ice zone in the third period.

With International Ice Hockey Federation rules declaring a team must have a player designated as a captain for each game played, Canada has elected to rotate the captain duties between Cozens and offensive-defenceman Bowen Byram, who plays for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

Connor McMichael, who is a centre for the OHL’s London Knights, have been named a new alternate captain for Canada.

Despite losing Dach, the pre-tournament contest with Russia gave the Canadian players an idea of where their focus and intensity level needs to be when playing the tougher teams at this event.

Braden Schneider in action for the Wheat Kings last season.

Against Slovakia and Switzerland, the Canadian players need to keep up their intensity level the whole contest, even if the score gets uncomfortably lopsided. Dumping the puck in and playing the trap for the last 30 minutes of a blowout win is the sure way to create the complacency, which could spell doom in possible future encounters against foes like Russia.

Canada has to continue to keep the foot on the gas against the weaker teams to prevent developing bad habits that could be costly against stronger opponents.

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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World juniors will be rallying point for Canada

Kirby Dach in action for the Blades in 2018-19.

The world junior hockey championships will bring Canada together.

In Canada, it is an annual Christmas holiday season tradition to watch the world junior hockey championships on television and cheer for Team Canada. It can be argued the Christmas tradition really took flight when the entire province of Saskatchewan hosted the tournament from Dec. 26, 1990 to Jan. 4, 1991.

At the time, world juniors was an eight-team event played in round robin format. TSN took over as the television rights holder that season and went full steam ahead with top level coverage.

The Canadian team contained the likes of Eric Lindros, Mike Craig, Patrice Brisebois, Kent Manderville, Mike Sillinger, Pat Falloon, Scott Thornton, Kris Draper, Scott Niedermayer, Trevor Kidd and Felix Potvin.

On the final day, Canada faced the Soviet Union at the rink then known as Saskatchewan Place in Saskatoon. The winner would take the gold medal with the way the event played out.

The Soviets could capture top spot with a tie as no overtimes were played in world juniors at that point in time.

The teams were locked in a 2-2 tie in the third period when defenceman John Slaney would step up to forever be a household name in Canada. Slaney fired home the winning goal from the point with 5:13 remaining in the third period as the then capacity crowd of 11,312 spectators did their best to blow the roof off at the fairly new facility as Tina Turner’s “The Best” played over the sound system.

Slaney’s goal stood up as the winner allowing the host side to capture a storybook 3-2 gold medal victory.

From that moment, world juniors forever became must-watch television in Canada.

This year the tournament is being played in a bubble format at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta., and it will likely be that much more of a must watch event for Canada.

With North America being in the grips of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for over nine months, world juniors are going to be shown on TSN across Canada to pretty much a captive audience.

While the games at Rogers Centre will be played without fans, most parts of Canada have moved to observe more strict type lockdown measures in order to combat COVID-19. With the majority of people in Canada glued to stay in their homes, this might be one of the most watched world juniors ever.

Canada is a big favourite to win gold led by a leadership group that all has WHL ties. Saskatoon Blades alum and centre for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks Kirby Dach is the captain.

As soon as Dach makes one or two hero type plays, even the fans of the Prince Albert Raiders, who are the Blades archrivals, will be cheering for him.

Lethbridge Hurricanes centre Dylan Cozens and Vancouver Giants offensive-defenceman Bowen Byram are the assistant captains. Both helped Canada win gold at last season’s world juniors in Ostrava in the Czech Republic.

Kaiden Guhle in action for the Raiders last season.

Speaking of “Hockey Town North,” it would not be a surprise to see Raiders defenceman Kaiden Guhle emerge to play big minutes for Canada.

It would be cool to see Guhle possibly paired with Prince Albert product and Brandon Wheat Kings rearguard Braden Schneider.

Saskatoon product and Kamloops Blazers centre Connor Zary is another player that has the potential to step in the spotlight in the clutch.

The Canadian roster is loaded including the likes of Cole Perfetti and Ryan Suzuki, who are both of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, and Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice at forward, Yorkton, Sask., product Kaedan Korczak of the Kelowna Rockets on defence and Dylan Garand of the Blazers and Taylor Gauthier of the Prince George Cougars in goal.

The pressure will be on as this is a gold medal or bust team. That always seems to be the case for Canada at this event.

Canada will benefit from the fact some of the other top squads at this year’s 10-team tournament will be weakened from players being disqualified due to testing positive for COVID-19.

Sweden arrived in the Edmonton bubble without four players including Albin Grewe, William Wallinder, Karl Henriksson and William Eklund. Eklund, who is an 18-year-old forward, is viewed as a top prospect for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

The United States arrived in the bubble minus five players due to positive COVID-19 tests in Robert Mastrosimone, Alex Vlasic, John Beecher, Thomas Bordeleau and goalie Drew Commesso.

Germany showed up in the Alberta capital city without four players due to positive COVID-19 tests in Lukas Reichel, Nino Kinder, Elias Lindner and netminder Tobias Ancicki.

In Edmonton, Germany had eight players test positive for COVID-19 and later one staff member, while Sweden had two staff members test positive. That resulted in the exhibition schedule shrinking from 10 games to four contests.

Canada plays its lone exhibition game on Wednesday against Russia (5 p.m., Saskatchewan time). Russia might be the hardest team Canada plays, because we all know how much Russian President Vladimir Putin likes to win at hockey.

The tournament’s preliminary round starts on Christmas Day and Canada’s first preliminary round game is Saturday against Germany (5 p.m., Saskatchewan time).

While some hardcore fans might say the field at world juniors isn’t as strong as it should be due to the pandemic and put the tournament down, it will be a feeling limited to those hardcore fans.

For the millions - and millions - of fans in Canada that will be cheering for the Canadian side watching on television, most just want to see victory, and they won’t care how it comes. A Canadian gold medal win would bring a much needed release for all those in “The True North strong and free.”

Wiesblatt outdoor rink incident shouldn’t have heated up

Ocean Wiesblatt outdoor rink arrest incident shouldn’t have gone as far as it did.

Since Saturday, video went viral on Facebook and Twitter saw Calgary police executing an uncomfortable looking violent takedown arrest of Wiesblatt that was fit for a drug dealer at an outdoor community rink in that centre on Thursday. Wiesblatt had been playing shinny hockey with some friends.

Police said more than 40 were using the area when Calgary’s Bylaw Services were called to enforce Public Health Orders to combat the COVID-19 pandemic specifically regarding the size of the outdoor gatherings. The police said they were called after Bylaw Services ran into non-compliance issues.

The police said Wiesblatt was asked multiple times to leave and was issued ticket. The police said after Wiesblatt refused to provide his name or identification the arrest was made.

Wiesblatt was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction and breaking a Public Health Order. The Public Health Order ticket is $1,200. The resisting arrest and obstruction charges are both criminal code infractions.

The 21-year-old Wiesblatt just finished up a playing career in the junior A ranks with the Portage Terriers in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He has three younger brothers who have all played in the WHL.

His 18-year-old brother, Ozzy, is a star with the Prince Albert Raiders and is a first round NHL Entry Draft selection of the San Jose Sharks and has signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Sharks.

The four Wiesblatt brothers have been raised by their mother Kim White, who has been deaf since birth. White has been a single mom since 2014.

The Rebel News Network, which is a far right-wing political and social commentary media outlet run by Ezra Levant, went to town on that story. A staffer interviewed Ocean Wiesblatt on Saturday and posted lengthy video story on Sunday on The Rebel News Network site.

In the piece, Wiesblatt said he and his friends talked to the bylaw officers once. He said a bunch of people left and he stuck around with four other guys.

Wiesblatt said when the police arrived they were talking to some children, and he decided to see what was going and provide the presence of an older person. Wiesblatt said he started talking with the police, and it was at that point he was told he was breaking a Public Health Order.

Of course, The Rebel News Network is going to slant their piece to paint the police in an evil picture. The piece said Calgary police exaggerated and inflated the number of people that were at the outdoor rink in their original report.

On a gut judgment, I believe Wiesblatt when he said went over to check on the police talking to some children and his talks with the police there developed to the police telling him he was breaking a Public Health Order causing things to escalate.

Knowing Ozzy and knowing the background of the Wiesblatt family, my gut tells me that Ocean is not a violent criminal. I think the police could have been feeling pressure to make arrests to set the tone for the Public Health Order.

If someone isn’t used to dealing with the police feeling under pressure which is most of the general public, it leads to the potential of things escalating. Those thoughts are influenced from years of talking to court reporters during my time in the mainstream media.

In the video of the arrest, Ocean Wiesblatt asks why he is being arrested, and he never gets a straight answer in the video.

Those that took videos and posted those videos to social media likely did that, because they felt in their gut something wrong was going down. It also appeared at one moment early in the video the friends were succeeding in convincing Wiesblatt to leave.

Due to all of reaction from these videos, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw clarified on Monday that outdoor hockey is not allowed under the Public Health Orders if players are not from the same household.

Overall, I think the situation with Wiesblatt should not have gotten this far, and it is unfortunate court time and taxpayer money will tied up with this situation as it goes forward.

Blades hold distanced “Teddy Toss,” other notes

So blessed to have the best.#BladeCity | #TeddyBearToss pic.twitter.com/BzRdR5xaBv

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) December 19, 2020

The COVID-19 did not stop the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades from holding their annual “Teddy Bear Toss.”

When times are normal, the “Teddy Bear Toss” promotion usually happens during a regular season game in December, where the spectators throw stuffed animals on to the ice after the Blades score their first goal of that contest. The stuffed animals are collected and given to charities.

On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre parking lot, the Blades held a modified “Teddy Bear Toss” for the pandemic. People were able to drive into the parking lot and throw stuffed animals into large inflatable tubs.

The Blades delivered the stuffed animals to the Salvation Army in Saskatoon on Tuesday.

It seems the last week has been full of developments in the sports world with a mix of good and bad. Here is a quick rundown.

• On Dec. 16, Softball Saskatchewan said they will allow sanctioned activities that follow provincial guidelines including those for sports and activities. The notice was put out due to Public Health Orders changing on a continuing basis with regards to COVID-19. Athletes in Saskatchewan in any sport are allowed to train currently in groups of eight.
• On Dec. 16, the Saskatchewan Hockey Association announced it had cancelled provincial playoffs for the 2020-21 campaign and carded team programs. I got confirmation that the cancellation does not include playoffs for the male and female under-18 AAA leagues in the province. The Saskatchewan Hockey Association is still holding out hope playoffs will still happen in those leagues, but the first concern is just resuming regular season play.
• Last Thursday, Saskatoon Stars 17-year-old defender Kalli Hiebert committed to joining the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds women’s hockey team in Fredericton, N.B., for the 2021-22 U Sports campaign. Hiebert has two assists in the two SFU18AAAHL regular season games the Stars have played. She spent two seasons from 2017 to 2019 with the Battlefords Sharks.
• Last Thursday, the Canada West Conference in U Sports announced the cancellation of its conference track and field and its conference swimming championships for the 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All Canada West competitions for 2020-21 have been cancelled due to the pandemic except for curling. A decision on the conference championship for curling will be made at a later date. No meaningful games or competitions have taken place in Canada West for 2020-21. All U Sports nationals for 2020-21 have already been cancelled due to the pandemic.
• Last Thursday, Medicine Hat Tigers 19-year-old forward Lukas Svejkovsky gamed his side to winning the inaugural Memorial eCup video game tournament. Svejkovsky and the Tigers finished the event with a perfect 8-0 record. In the best-of-three Memorial eCup final against Riley Bezeau of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, Svejkovsky swept the series 2-0 with victories of 10-0 and 4-1. The CHL made a $1,000 donation to a charity of Svejkovsky’s choice, and Kia Canada provided $1,000 gift card to the winner. Svejkovsky donated the gift card to charity too. Svejkovsky chose to support the Medicine Hat Santa Claus Fund and the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter.
• On Sunday, the NHL and NHLPA announced a plan has been put in place for the upcoming season. The regular season is now slated to start Jan. 13, 2021 and will be 56 games long. All seven Canadian teams will play in one division. Playoffs will be a more typical 16-team format with all series being best-of-seven. Of course, all these plans could change again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The upcoming NHL season was originally slated to start Jan. 1, 2021.
• On Monday, Lynn Moe was drawn as the winner of the 50/50 jackpot for the Hockey Harvest Lottery, which supports the player scholarship funds of Saskatchewan’s five WHL teams in the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and the Swift Current Broncos. Moe, who son Spencer is a Raiders centre, took home $185,365.
• On Monday, the 2021 Saskatchewan Summer Games, which were to be held in Lloydminster, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were slated to be held in July. Originally, those games were supposed to happen July 26, 2020 to Aug. 1, 2020 before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Monday, the WHL announced the WHL Bantam Draft will now be known as the WHL Draft, and the 2021 WHL Draft has been moved from May to a date to be determined in December of that year. With most minor hockey shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHL made the move to give teams a better chance to scout draft eligible players.
• On Monday, the WHL announced the league’s board of governors approved the Winterhawks Sports Group as the new owners of the Portland Winterhawks effective Jan. 1, 2021. The Winterhawks Sports Group is led by Michael Kramer and Kerry Preete, who will be managing partners. The Winterhawks Sports Group has also acquired the operations of the Winterhawks Skating Center in Beaverton, Or, and all Winterhawks junior hockey programs. The Winterhawks were previously owned by William Gallacher, who is a Calgary based oil man.
• On Tuesday, the Notre Dame Hounds female under-18 AAA team announced forward Emma Thomas has committed with the Nipissing University Lakers women’s hockey team in North Bay, Ont., for the 2021-22 U Sports Campaign. Thomas has six goals and one assist in four SFMAAAHL regular season games the Hounds were able to get in during the current campaign.

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.

WHLers storm on to Canada’s world junior team roster

Guhle, Schneider and WHL alum Dach to chase gold medal

Kaiden Guhle in action for the Raiders last season.

In world juniors that will be like no other, fans of the WHL will have lots of reasons to watch Canada chase a second straight gold medal.

On Friday, Hockey Canada announced its 25-player roster for the world junior tournament, which will run in a hub city bubble format from Dec.25 to Jan. 5, 2021 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta. Teams are slated to arrive in Edmonton on Sunday and quarantine for five days before beginning practices on Dec. 18.

The hub city bubble format is being used due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Team Canada is wrapping up selection camp activities in Red Deer, Alta. The Canadian team roster that will play in Edmonton contains nine current WHL players and one WHL alum, who was loaned to the Canadian side by an NHL team.

Kirby Dach, who is a centre with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, was the WHL alum that was loaned to Team Canada. Dach was a star with the Saskatoon Blades from 2016 to 2019 before being selected in the first round and third overall by the Blackhawks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

The 19-year-old Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product appeared in 64 regular season games with the Blackhawks last season posting eight goals, 15 assists and a minus-one rating in the plus-minus department.  

Kirby Dach in action for the Blades in 2018-19.

Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, suited up for nine post-season games with the Blackhawks recording one goal, five assists and a plus-three rating.

Due to the NHL playoffs being conducted in a hub city format, Dach is the only player on the Canadian roster who has experience with what his team is going to deal with. The Blackhawks played all of their games in the last NHL post-season in Edmonton.

Defenceman Bowen Byram of the Vancouver Giants and centre Dylan Cozens from the Lethbridge Hurricanes are part of the group of six returnees from Canada’s gold medal winning entry at the last world juniors, which were held in Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Both are in their 19-year-old junior seasons.

Byram, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 197 pounds, appeared in 50 regular season games with the Giants last season posting 14 goals, 38 assists and a plus-19 rating. Cozens, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 198 pounds, suited up for 51 regular season games with the Hurricanes last season recording 38 goals, 47 assists and a plus-23 rating.

Braden Schneider in action for the Wheat Kings last season.

Kaiden Guhle, who is an 18-year-old defenceman for the Prince Albert Raiders, is one of the many newcomers to the Canadian side. He appeared in 64 regular season games last season posting 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-23 rating.

Guhle, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 209 pounds, has past international experience playing in Hockey Canada’s program. 

He was a captain for Canada Red at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he picked up three assists in six games. That event was held in Quispamsis and Saint John, New Brunswick.

He was an alternate captain for Canada’s silver medal winning team at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he posted one assist in five games. That event was played in Breclav in the Czech Republic and Piestany in Slovakia.

Joining Guhle on the back end is Prince Albert product Braden Schneider, who is 19-year-old defenceman with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Schneider, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 207 pounds, appeared in 60 regular season games with the Wheat Kings last season recording seven goals, 35 assists and a plus-nine rating.

Kaedan Korczak in action for the Rockets last season.

Also suiting up on the blue-line is Yorkton, Sask., product Kaedan Korczak, who is a 19-year-old defenceman with the Kelowna Rockets. 

Korczak, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 192 pounds, suited up for 60 regular season games for the Rockets last season posting 11 goals, 38 assists and a plus-seven rating.

Saskatoon product Connor Zary, who stands 6-feet and weighs 177 pounds, is the final player with Saskatchewan ties to earn a spot on Canada’s roster. 

Zary, who is a 19-year-old centre with the Kamloops Blazers, appeared in 57 regular season games last season recording 38 goals, 48 assists and a plus-30 rating.

Rounding out the WHL player representation on the Team Canada roster is 19-year-old centre Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice, 18-year-old goaltender Dylan Garand of the Blazers and 19-year-old netminder Taylor Gauthier of the Prince George Cougars.

Blades head coach Mitch Love, Blades assistant coach Tyler Dietrich and Giants head coach Michael Dyck will all serve as assistant coaches for Canada. Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Alan Millar is part of Team Canada’s management group.

Connor Zary in action for the Blazers last season.

Calgary Hitmen assistant and goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera is the goaltending coach for Canada. Edmonton Oil Kings head athletic therapist Brian Cheeseman is a therapist for the Canadian side.

In these crazy times, Friday’s roster announcement for Team Canada was an upbeat day for Canadian fans who follow world juniors. No matter what wrenches get thrown into the event from the COVID-19 front, Canadians will tune into world juniors in droves, especially when Canada is playing.

With numerous parts of Canada observing stricter lockdown measures through the Christmas season, world juniors should have quite the captive audience.

If Canada repeats as a gold medal winner, you can expect an outpouring from joy from Canadian fans on Jan. 5, 2021. For fans of the WHL, a Canadian gold medal win at this would junior tournament will feel that much more sweet.

NHL all about speculation, other notes

A Brayden Point card.

If you follow all the speculation that is swirling around the NHL right now, you would probably not get anything else done your day-to-day life.

As the days of December 2020 drift away, it becomes more obvious that the NHL isn’t going to begin its upcoming season on its original targeted start date of Jan. 1, 2021. The continuing surge of new COVID-19 cases in Canada and the United States will likely see certain to that.

With the initial rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines to come in a limited form, the world in North America is still several months away from returning to normal.

It was announced on Friday the closer of the border between Canada and the United States for all non-essential travel currently goes to Jan. 21, 2021.

Most areas of Canada are observing stricter restrictions and lockdowns to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Some areas of the United States have brought in stricter COVID-19 restrictions too.

If Canadian NHL teams were supposed to hold training camps to prepare for a Jan. 1, 2021 start, players from outside the country would already have to be arriving in Canadian cities to quarantine for 14 days.

So far, the NHL hasn’t officially announced any new plans. That has lead to lots of speculation.

So what might the upcoming NHL season look like?

On Tuesday, Frank Seravalli of TSN said that outlet’s sources have said the NHL’s targeted start date is now Jan. 13, 2021 with a 56-game regular season. The start date and regular season length haven’t been confirmed, but they seem to be reasonable expectations.

On Tuesday during an online interview with The Maccabi USA Sports Show, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said realignment would likely be necessary because of travel restrictions between Canada and the United States.

“There are a lot of things we have to do to return to play,” said Bettman. “For us to return to play, we’re not going to play 82 games, obviously, and we have travel issues because of the restrictions at the border between Canada and the U.S.

“You can’t go back and forth, so we’re actually going to have to realign. If everything stays the way it is, we’re probably going to have to have a Canadian division and realign in the U.S., and we’re trying to focus on dealing with all of those challenges.”

The nugget of a Canadian division has many NHL fans in Canada in an excited frenzy.

It wasn’t that long ago when the Tampa Bay Lightning captured their second Stanley Cup title with a 2-0 Game 6 championship series win over the Dallas Stars in the hub city of Edmonton on Sept. 28. That contest officially concluded the 2019-20 NHL campaign that had a wrench thrown into it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sports media outlets in Canada can have a field day with all the speculation. The crew at The Rod Pedersen Show in Regina, Sask., must loved the fact they have this as one of many subjects to endlessly talk about.

 NHL fans might be best to take a “they will play when they play” approach. They should avoid spending too much time dwelling on all the possibilities.

• On Wednesday, I went live with a new piece on the Howe Happening blog, which supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I wrote an introductory piece to the sport of Nordic skiing thanks to the help of the Saskatoon Nordic Ski Club. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, I put together a post of the coolest and sweetest photos of construction projects taking played at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex taken by operations manager Johnny Marciniuk. Marciniuk can take the bulk of the credit for the work there. That post can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, Planet S Magazine announced its results in its annual “Best of Saskatoon” contest. People can vote for the city’s best in various categories. Pat McKay of CTV Saskatoon was voted Best Sports Reporter. It was a cool nod as McKay has been a general assignment news reporter who does some sports stories since returning to CTV Saskatoon early in the year from CTV Winnipeg as a sports reporter. Due to the restructuring of CTV across Canada, that media outlet has very few just dedicated sports reporters. Before leaving for a short stint in Winnipeg, McKay had a great run as a sports reporter at CTV Saskatoon, when there was a dedicated sports reporter spot there. Knowing the public has fond memories of McKay’s work as a sports reporter, could CTV Saskatoon bring back that type of dedicated position for him? As the old cliché goes, this might be a case of giving viewers what they want. They have spoken with their votes.

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.

Dach gets sweet gift with Team Canada WJC selection camp

Kirby Dach in action with the Blades in January of 2019.

It appears the opportunity to play for Canada at the world junior hockey championships will likely unfold for Kirby Dach, and that is a good thing.

At first, it appeared the 19-year-old Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product wouldn’t ever get the chance to play at a world juniors, because the skilled centre progressed too quickly when it came to playing the game of hockey.

During the 2018-19 campaign, Dach had a spectacular 17-year-old sophomore campaign with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades posting 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department in 62 regular season games.

He added five goals and three assists appearing in all 10 of the Blades games in the 2019 WHL playoffs.

Thanks to those efforts, Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 197 pounds, was selected in the first round and third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Blackhawks going into last season.

He progressed well enough through summer that he was able to crack the Blackhawks roster as an 18-year-old rookie. Dach played regular minutes with the Blackhawks appearing in 64 regular season games recording eight goals, 15 assists and a minus-one rating.

The Blackhawks deemed Dach to be so valuable that they didn’t make him available to Canada for the world junior championship tournament played in Ostrava in the Czech Republic in the 2019-20 season. Canada captured the gold medal downing Russia 4-3 in the tournament final played on Jan. 5.

Kirby Dach made the NHL last season as an 18-year-old rookie.

With the NHL targeting January 1, 2021 as the opening day for the start of the upcoming season, the Blackhawks announced on Thursday that Dach was being loaned to Hockey Canada for the upcoming world juniors, which are slated to run Dec. 25, 2020 to January 5, 2021 in a bubble format at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta.

Dach is one of 47 players who will take part in the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team that will start on Nov. 16 in Red Deer and run for 28 days to Dec. 13. Players will begin living in a bubble environment when they arrive in camp on Nov. 16 and won’t leave that environment until the world juniors wrap up on Jan. 5, 2021.

The bubble environment is being utilized due to the fact the world is firmly in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Canadian selection camp itself is closed to the public and the media due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Had the world unfolded like normal, Dach likely wouldn’t have been made available for world juniors.

Going into that event, Dach will have experience on his side. He suited up with the Blackhawks as part of the NHL’s modified post-season played in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton in August and September.

The Blackhawks played exclusively in Edmonton winning a best-of-five qualification series against the host Oilers 3-1 before falling in five games in a best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Dach appeared in all of the Blackhawks nine post-season games posting one goal, five assists and a plus-three rating.

It will not be a new experience for Dach when it comes to living in a bubble environment. In the current day, players are more connected to each other than ever thanks to social media, and other attendees at the camp will be able to talk to Dach about his bubble environment experiences.

Kirby Dach is in Hockey Canada’s plans for world juniors.

While suiting up in the NHL is the ultimate dream for hockey players growing up in Canada, another ultimate dream of playing for Canada at world juniors.

At the moment, Dach will get to revisit the ultimate dream of playing for Canada. Back in August of 2018, Dach helped Canada win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup held jointly at Rogers Place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.

Dach had two goals and five assists playing in all of Canada’s five games at that event. He played at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup along with Blades teammate in netminder Nolan Maier and with Blades head coach Mitch Love on the Canadian team staff as an assistant coach.

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is a best-versus-best tournament featuring the top national teams in the world in the under-18 age group.

Back in November of 2017, both Dach and Maier played for Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held jointly in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C. Dach had a goal and six assists in five games at that event.

At this year’s world junior selection camp for Hockey Canada, Dach will be reunited with Love, who will serve as an assistant coach for Canada for the second straight year.

For a short time, Dach will be back with his age group and will likely get an opportunity to be a leader amongst that group. That group includes 15 invitees from the WHL.

The invitees include offensive-defenceman Kaiden Guhle of the Prince Albert Raiders along with Prince Albert product and Brandon Wheat Kings offensive defenceman Braden Schneider.

Kirby Dach helped Canada win gold at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

A pair of Saskatoon products from the WHL received invites in centre Connor Zary from the Kamloops Blazers and left-winger Adam Beckman from the Spokane Chiefs. Beckman topped the WHL in scoring last season piling up 48 goals and 59 assists for 107 points to go with a plus-44 rating in 63 regular season games.

Left-winger Alexis Lafreniere, who is slated to be with the NHL’s New York Rangers on a full-time basis this coming season, might still be added the selection camp roster too.

Of course, the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic hangs over this event, and there is still a chance world juniors might not happen.

Still at this moment in time, Dach is on a path to skate for Canada at world juniors and realize a dream he had watching the event annually over the Christmas season growing up. It is a dream he should every chance to make a reality, if world events allow it.

SMF high school academy league shines, other notes

Daniel Wiebe (#5) runs the ball for Team Green 1.

The fall Northern Sask Academy League was good, like really good.

Back in August when the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate cancelled high school football for the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saskatoon Minor Football stepped in to fill the void. SMF signed up high school aged players from Grades 10 to 12 for the fall North Saskatchewan Academy.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team ran some high school programming too, but SMF was hoping to get in some games likely under a six-man format.

For about the past month and a half, SMF held games in league play through the fall Northern Sask Academy League. The players that signed up for the high school academy were split into six teams for league games, which were play in 12-versus-12 format.

The league ended up being a best-versus-best circuit from the Saskatoon high school ranks. The level of play at the games that took place at Saskatoon Minor Football Field was outstanding.

The circuit wrapped up with a trio of games on Wednesday night. Team Green 1 got past Team Black 35-28, Team White downed Team Blue 22-8 and Team Yellow slipped by Team Green 2 by score of 25-13.

Toryn Swystun-Bernes (#77) locks in a block for Team Blue.

The league saw numerous players make big plays including running backs Kayden Miller and Daniel Wiebe, linebacker Zach Zary and Toryn Swystun-Bernes, who played both offensive and defensive line.

It seemed like the big plays that were made felt that much bigger, because the level of play felt like it was a step up from regular high school football.

If you were able to watch the streamed broadcasts over SMF’s Facebook site, you could tell the SMF crew did a fantastic job with the game presentation. At the park, the public address announcing and the music that played between breaks and after scores was spot on.

The crew with SMF deserve a tonne of credit for making this league happen during these COVID-19 pandemic times, and the level of play from the circuit was beyond what anyone could imagine.

The fall Northern Sask Academy League games were definitely the gem of the Saskatoon sports scene during the fall months this year.

• On Monday, the sports scene in Edmonton and nationally had a somber day with the passing of 57-year-old Joey Moss, who was a dressing room attendant for the NHL’s Oilers and the CFL’s Edmonton Football Club. Moss, who had Down syndrome since birth, had been with both teams since the mid 1980s and became an institution in Edmonton’s sports scene.
• On Monday, David Braley, who was the owner of the CFL’s British Columbia Lions, passed away at age 79 after battling an undisclosed long term illness. Braley had previously owned the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts. He first got involved with the CFL in 1987 as the Tiger-Cats owner. He was credited with playing a big part in keeping the CFL alive in tough times. On Thursday, 3DownNation reported Braley put aside a substantial amount of money in his will to fund the Lions for several seasons in the future if need be.
• On Tuesday, three members of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders were named to NHL Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list. Defenceman Nolan Allan was given a ‘B’ rating, while defenceman Landon Kosior and netminder Carter Serhyenko were given ‘C’ ratings.
• On Tuesday, centre Colton Dach from the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades was named to NHL Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list. He was given a “C” rating.
• On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series downing the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Dodgers took the set 4-2. The media eyes focused on the fact Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was pulled from the game after the seventh inning, when he was notified he tested positive for COVID-19. Turner returned to the field to celebrate victory with his teammates and posed for a team photo without a facemask. On Wednesday, the commissioner’s office of the MLB said it was investigating Turner for his actions in returning to the field for victory celebrations. The MLB dodged a bullet with the Dodgers winning Tuesday’s game to end the 2020 MLB campaign. Had the Rays won, a series deciding Game 7 may not have been held on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see of initial uproar of Turner returning to the field after his positive COVID-19 test will have any staying power as the MLB off-season motors on.
• On Wednesday, the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL announced they had signed University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team goalie Taran Kozun. The 26-year old Kozun appeared in 22 regular season games with the Huskies last season posting a 17-3-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He also scored a goal. Kozun backstopped the Huskies to a Canada West Conference championship and was named the U Sports play of the year and goaltender of the year. He also took home honours as the Canada West player of the year and goaltender of the year.
• On Wednesday, the National Lacrosse League announced it was targeting to start its upcoming regular season and 35^th campaign on the weekend of April 9 to 11, 2021.
• On Wednesday, golf legend Jack Nicklaus put out a tweet endorsing to re-elect Donald Trump as president of the United States. On Friday, Nicklaus told Tom D’Angelo of The Palm Beach Post he believed the number of deaths due to COVID-19 being reported in the United States are inflated. On Friday, hockey icon Bobby Orr took out a full page ad in the New Hampshire Union Leader endorsing Trump’s re-election bid. Both Nicklaus and Orr are taking major heat for their stands, while being defended by Trump supporters. While both Nicklaus and Orr are free to vote and endorse who they like, they aren’t immune from the fact that the easiest way for a sports figure to take a hit in their prestige is to say something about the world of politics.  
• On Thursday, the Clemson University Tigers football team in the top level of the NCAA ranks announced star quarterback Trevor Lawrence has tested positive for COVID-19. He will not be available for today’s game when the Tigers (6-0) host the Boston College Eagles (4-2). Lawrence is predicted to be the top pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, if he chooses to leave university early. He is viewed as a favourite to win the Heisman Trophy as the top player in NCAA football.
• On Thursday, the OHL announced it plans to start its upcoming regular season on Feb. 4, 2021. Originally, the OHL had targeted to start its regular season on Dec. 1. The shortened regular season will consist of 40 games. The playoff field for the OHL will be shrunk from 16 teams to eight teams. The first round will be a best-of-five format and the second and third rounds will be best-of-seven series. The Memorial Cup tournament to determine a CHL champion is slated to start June 17, 2021 in either Oshawa or Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The WHL is planning to start its regular season on January 8, 2021. The QMJHL began its regular season on Oct. 1, but eight teams in the province of Quebec still won’t be playing this weekend being located in what the provincial government there terms are “red zones” due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
• On Friday, the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades added 36-year-old Tyler Dietrich as a new assistant coach. Dietrich played centre in the WHL from 2000 to 2005 with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Medicine Hat Tigers and Everett Silvertips appearing in 133 regular season games collecting 31 goals and 47 assists. He has been coaching for the last 20 years and led Hockey Canada’s video coaching program for the last four seasons. Dietrich comes aboard as 36-year-old assistant coach Ryan Keller has made the decision to scale back his responsibilities with the team to spend more time with his family. He will remain with the Blades as a skills and development coach.
• On Friday, the Government of Manitoba announced a one day record of 480 new COVID-19 cases for the province. Manitoba’s capital city of Winnipeg was moved to the red or critical level, which is the highest stage of pandemic response. Movie theatres, concert halls, sports facilities and restaurant dining rooms will be ordered to close starting Monday. The rest of Manitoba will move to the orange or restricted level starting Monday. The measures will be in place for at least two weeks. There have already been increased restrictions in recent weeks in Ontario and Quebec as COVID-19 case numbers rise. As COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in the rest of Western Canada, it would be wise to expect more restrictions could be coming down the line. That isn’t being typed to create fear. It is just an education expectation after watching other jurisdictions in Canada. Also, everyone is operating on their own agendas, so it is easy to expect COVID-19 numbers will continue to go upwards.
• On Friday, Gregg Drinnan wrote in his Taking Note blog on Friday night all the havoc that is being caused in the sports scene in Winnipeg and Manitoba due to the incoming COVID-19 restrictions. That piece 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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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.

Blades’ alum Davidson slides into big role with Golden Bears

Dawson Davidson has settled into life with the Golden Bears.

    Dawson Davidson is getting to be himself with the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team.

    Last season, the Moosomin, Sask., product had a dream overage season playing for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The offensive-defenceman appeared in all of the Blades 68 regular season games and led the team in scoring piling up 13 goals, 62 assists for 75 points to go with a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Davidson was named a first team WHL Eastern Conference all-star and helped the Blades post the fourth best record in the league at 45-15-8. He helped the Blades advance to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell in six games to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    During that run, Davidson appeared in all 10 of the Blades post-season games collecting nine assists.

    A veteran of five WHL seasons including stops with the Kamloops Blazers and Regina Pats, Davidson elected to join the Bears in the U Sports ranks, who are the defending Canada West champions.

Dawson Davidson has 13 points in 16 games with the Golden Bears.

    In 16 regular season games with the Golden Bears, Davidson leads all of the U of A rearguards in scoring with two goals and 11 assists for 13 points to go with a plus-16 rating.

    He was held off the scoresheet on Friday night, when his Golden Bears blanked the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-0 in a U Sports regular season clash played before 1,581 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place.

    Still, the 21-year-old Davidson is enjoying his time with his new team.

    “It has been good,” said Davidson, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds. “It has been a little bit of an adjustment just playing against older guys.

    “Everyone is stronger out there. You don’t have 16 and 17-year-olds who are still younger and developing. Just adding school to it just adds that extra element.

Dawson Davidson has enjoyed getting back in the classroom.

    “It is great hockey, and we have a great club here. They made it pretty easy for me to jump right in and start to contribute.”

    When it came to deciding on playing for a U Sports program, Davidson said the fact the Golden Bears have won 16 U Sports national titles was a big draw. U of A fell in last year’s U Sports title game 4-2 to the University of New Brunswick Reds.

    “I wanted to go somewhere where I could get an opportunity to play pro and at the same time get good degree,” said Davidson. “I weighed out my options, and U of A to me was just the best place to get to where I wanted to be.

    “They have a great track record of having good teams. This year we have a pretty good team as well. I think that all weighed into my decision.”

    An arts major, Davidson has found the academic aspect of school to be enjoyable.

Dawson Davidson had a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department.

    “It is an adjustment, but like anything, once you start getting into the groove it is not too bad,” said Davidson. “It is just that extra element.

    “It is kind of nice going to class with your buddies and kind of getting that school aspect of life that you don’t really get as much in the Western League. It has been an adjustment, but it hasn’t been too bad.”

    When the season started, Davidson wasn’t sure if he would be putting up points like he had in the past. He made it to one of the games between the Huskies and Golden Bears in last year’s best-of-three Canada West Championship series held at Merlis and was impressed with the level of play.

    The Bears took that series posting a 1-0 victory in a series-deciding Game 3.

    “I didn’t know what to expect,” said Davidson. “I came to Game 2 of the (Canada West) finals last year.

Tyler Soy scored twice for the Golden Bears on Friday.

    “That was the only U Sports game I had ever seen. I knew it was tough hockey, and it was older guys. I’ve always believed in myself.

    “I didn’t really put a projection of what I wanted to get. I just wanted to come play my game and help the team get wins. If points come, that is just a bonus.”

    As for Friday’s game itself, the Golden Bears, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, jumped ahead 1-0 with 5:49 remaining in the first period. Bears left-winger Trevor Cox sprung linemate Tyler Soy on a breakaway, and Soy slipped a shot past Huskies netminder Taran Kozun.

Taran Kozun made 49 saves in goal for the Huskies.

    Kozun did his best to keep the Huskies, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, in the game over the first 40 minutes stopping 33-of-34 shots sent his way. U of A came with tonnes of pressure in the second period holding a 21-7 edge in shots on goal.

    Two of his best saves included a glove stop that thwarted a laser blast from Golden Bears centre Chad Butcher and making a sprawling pad stop on a backdoor attempt Golden Bears left-winger Steven Owre.

    Despite Kozun’s best efforts, he couldn’t keep the Golden Bears at bay.

    Just 65 seconds into the third, Golden Bears left-winger Grayson Pawlenchuk cut across the front of the Huskies goal and fired a shot past a fallen Kozun.

    The visitors expanded their lead to 3-0 just 51 seconds later, when Soy picked up his second of the contest.

The Golden Bears celebrate their win on Friday.

    With the setback, the Huskies saw their eight game winning streak come to an end.

    Kozun made 46 stops in goal for the Huskies (11-4-2). Matt Berlin turned away 18 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Golden Bears (15-2).
    The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    Davidson has enjoyed the battles between the “forever rivals” in the Golden Bears and Huskies. He experienced two of the WHL’s greatest rivalries in Pats versus Moose Jaw Warriors and Blades versus Raiders.

    He said he gets excited for heated rivalry contests and Golden Bears versus Huskies has lived up to its reputation.

    “It is a great rivalry,” said Davidson. “Whenever you can play a team that you don’t like too much, the games get really heated as you saw tonight.

    “Those are the fun games. I expect U of S to regroup, and I think tomorrow is going to be a really great game.”

Red hot Pandas slip past Huskies 2-1

Kate Ball scored for the Huskies on Friday.

    The U of Alberta Pandas women’s hockey won their sixth straight game after withstanding a strong effort for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    On Friday at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, the Pandas, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, downed the visiting Huskies 2-1 with all the game’s goals coming in the second period.

    Alex Gowie gave the Pandas a 1-0 lead, but rookie Kate Ball evened things up at 1-1 just under two minutes after Gowie’s tally.

    Madison Willan scored the winner for the Pandas just over two minutes after Ball’s marker.

Halle Oswald made 23 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Pandas (11-6). Jessica Vance turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies (9-5-2-1).

    The two sides go at it again on Saturday in Edmonton.

Blades to host Dach bobblehead night

The Kirby Dach bobblehead doll.

    Kirby Dach may be gone to the NHL, but he will always be remembered by his WHL club the Saskatoon Blades.

    The Blades will be celebrating Dach’s career in the WHL holding a Kirby Dach bobblehead night when they host the Prince George Cougars on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product began his career with the Blades in the 2016-17 campaign appearing in 19 regular season games as 15-year-old midget AAA call up. In those games, Dach posted six goals, four assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

    That was a sign of things to come.

    He remained with the Blades through the end of the 2018-19 campaign appearing in 133 career regular season games collecting 38 goals, 91 assists and a plus-eight rating.

    Helping the Blades post the WHL’s fourth best regular season record with a 45-15-8 mark last season, Dach assisted the Blades in advancing to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell in a six-game series to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    Over the Blades 10 post-season outings, Dach posted five goals, three assists and a minus-one rating.
    In last year’s NHL Entry Draft, Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 198 pounds, was selected in the first round and third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. Dach made the Blackhawks as an 18-year-old rookie and has six goals, five assists and a minus-two rating in his first 36 NHL regular season games.

The side view of the Kirby Dach bobblehead doll.

    “Obviously, he is a pretty special player when he goes number three overall in the NHL (Entry) Draft and plays as an 18-year-old,” said Blades assistant general manager Steve Hildebrand, who has been with the team for 19 years. “As an organization, it is great to see him where he is and excelling and playing well.

    “We’re extremely happy for him.”

    Dach’s bobblehead night will mark the first time the Blades have held a bobblehead night since Feb. 18, 2015, when they held one for defenceman Nelson Nogier. Nogier was traded to the Red Deer Rebels in December of 2014, and the Blades honoured the rearguard when he returned to Saskatoon with central Alberta WHL squad.

    Nogier currently plays with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

    Dach came to the Blades as a highly touted prospect. The Saskatoon side selected him in the first round and second overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

    Hildebrand said Dach was also an all-star person off the ice.

    “He is a class act,” said Hildebrand. “He has been a class act since we knew him at 14-years-old.

    “I think those type of people they are fun to be around. They are good to be around. Those are the type of people we’ve wanted to build our organization around.”

    Dach’s bobblehead doll was made in the likeness of his goal celebration in Game 2 of the second round series against the Raiders in Prince Albert. After scoring a spectacular goal to give the Blades a 1-0 lead, Dach put his hand to his ear looking to hear the sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, who had gone silent.

    The Blades built a 2-0 edge in that contest and led 2-1 going into the third period. The Raiders netted two goals in the third to pull out a 3-2 victory.

The Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League gets a cool donation.

    Hildebrand enjoyed the idea of the bobblehead doll the Blades marketing department came up with.

    “Honestly, I had nothing to do with it, but when (Blades director of business operations) Tyler (Wawryk) told me about it, I thought it was great,” said Hildebrand. “I think that is a great part about our rivalry with P.A.

    “They are a great organization as we are. I think that over the last few years it has kind of built up. That was I think one of those moments that we’ll look back on during that series as one of those moments and great goals that he scored.

    “I think they (the Dach bobblehead dolls) turned out really well.”

    During the press conference at Brandt Tractor Limited to announce the Dach bobblehead night, the local Brandt Tractor outlet donated $2,500 to the Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League.

Wouters delivers overtime win to Blades

Chase Wouters scored the OT winner for the Blades.

    Captain Chase Wouters came through as the overtime hero for the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night.

    Facing the Rebels in Red Deer to start a short two-game road swing, the Blades were locked in a 3-3 tie in a WHL regular season clash with the host side after regulation playing before 4,073 spectators at the Westerner Park Centrium.

    At the 3:35 mark of overtime, the Blades entered the offensive zone on a two-on-one break and right-winger Tristen Robins fed a perfect pass across the face of the Rebels goal to Wouters, who potted his 15^th of the campaign for a 4-3 victory.

    Scott Walford, Nolan Kneen and Kyle Crnkovic netted singles for the Blades. Arshdeep Bains scored twice for the Rebels, while Josh Tarzwell had a single.

    Nolan Maier made 30 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (18-16-1-2). Byron Fancy turned away 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels (13-19-1-3).

    The Blades conclude their short road swing on Sunday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings. The Oil Kings lead the overall WHL standings with a 26-7-5-2 mark.

Raiders fall 1-0 in Brandon

Raiders captain Zach Hayes was involved in a fight on Friday.

    The Prince Albert Raiders are going through one of those stretches where it seems like they can’t buy a win.

    On Friday, the Raiders fell 1-0 in a WHL regular season contest to the Wheat Kings before 3,363 spectators at Westoba Place in Brandon. With the setback, the Raiders have posted six regulation losses and one extra time setback in their last seven games.

    Wheat Kings defenceman Chad Nychuk scored the game’s lone goal at the 10:52 mark of the second period.

    Raiders captain Zach Hayes engaged Wheat Kings left-winger Ben McCartney in an early third period fight.

    Jiri Patera made 29 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Wheat Kings (18-17-1-2). Boston Bilous turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders (20-13-4-1).
    Prince Albert was active on the trade front on Friday. The Raiders acquired 19-year-old goaltender Keegan Karki from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for a fourth round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.
    Karki, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds, is playing in his first WHL season. He has appeared in 14 games with the Silvertips posting an 8-1-2 record, a 3.19 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.

    The Raiders return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Ice, who lead the WHL’s East Division with a 23-13-1 record.

    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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