Noise on hockey major junior transfers misplaced

Jake Neighbours in action for the Oil Kings in 2019.

When it comes to people being upset over the transfer of major junior hockey players, the noise of the bark might be the most minor annoying thing.

In Western Canada, the idea of major junior transfers really came to light publicly on Oct. 23, when the WHL announced it had granted temporary transfers to WHL roster players to continue their development playing competitive hockey in junior A, junior B or the under-18 levels.

These loans are slated to expire on Dec. 20.

At the moment, the WHL is still planning to start its upcoming regular season on January 8, 2021. WHL clubs are planning to open training camps after the Christmas break.

Of course, the sport of hockey is trying to deal with the fact the world is in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Those in hockey are trying to do the best they can to keep the sport motoring along like those in all other aspects in life are trying to adjust to the pandemic the best they can.

Due to the pandemic, revenues that usually run to the sports world, including hockey, have been cut dramatically. As a result, many junior A hockey teams have moved more to a pay to play type of format.

Those transferring down from the WHL will have their hockey related expenses covered by their major junior club. If WHL players that transfer down have signed NHL contracts, they likely are already benefitting from getting some extra resources from their NHL team.

Cole Fonstad in action for the Raiders in 2018-19.

There have been some in the worlds of junior A, junior B and the under-18 levels who have cried foul, because a WHL veteran is taking the spot of a player that paid to play.

I think what people are forgetting is the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic. At the moment, the best way for athletes to get games in at any level is to play in leagues that are as regionally based as possible.

Leagues that have to frequently cross borders provincially or with the United States are going to have the toughest time to get going.

At the moment, Everett Silvertips overage left-winger Cole Fonstad, who helped the Prince Albert Raiders win a WHL title in 2019, is playing for his hometown Estevan Bruins in junior A’s Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

Fonstad is connected with his community and odds are high he had connections with the Bruins. If he wants to play for his hometown junior A team during these crazy pandemic times, he should be allowed to do that, and that is exactly what happened in his case.

As a bonus, he gets a rare chance to play at home. The Bruins are slated to open their SJHL regular season schedule by traveling to Melville on Friday to face the Millionaires. The Bruins are scheduled to host the Millionaires on Saturday in Estevan.

Ozzy Wiesblatt in action for the Raiders last season.

Some of those raising their arms up against these major junior transfers say it will spoil the chemistry on teams in the junior A, junior B and under-18 ranks. These arguments are made with the belief that everything in the sports world will play out as scheduled without any speed bumps.

Newsflash – the world is in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. A positive COVID-19 test on any of these hockey teams could throw a schedule in flux. Just look at the headaches the CHL’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has dealt with for at least the past four weeks with multiple positive COVID-19 tests on some teams.

A number of clubs had to stop activities for being located in areas of the province of Quebec that are designated red zones.

Starting this past Monday, all hockey activities in the Manitoba capital city of Winnipeg have ceased for a period of 14 days at the moment as that centre works to halt the increase of new COVID-19 cases.

All it takes is one public health order from stopping any of these teams and leagues in their tracks.

There are no guarantees the junior A Centennial Cup national championship tournament for the 2020-21 campaign will go ahead. The Keystone Cup tournament to crown a junior B champion for Western Canada might not be played.

The Telus Cup tournament to determine an under-18 AAA male national championship hockey team and the Esso Cup tournament to determine an under-18 AAA female national championship hockey club are still at the risk of not going forward.

Rhett Rhinehart in action for the Blades last season.

It is still entirely possible the WHL season won’t get off the ground and the same goes for the OHL season.

Nothing is operating as it normally should in these COVID-19 pandemic times, and people have to remember that.

Raiders right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt and Edmonton Oil Kings left-winger Jake Neighbours have been loaned to the junior A Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Wiesblatt went in the first round and 31^st overall in October’s NHL Entry Draft to the San Jose Sharks and has since signed with the Sharks.

Neighbours was picked in the first round and 26^th overall in that same NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He has since signed with the Blues.

Let them play and keep getting competitive games with the Bandits.

The Saskatoon Blades loaned veteran defenceman Rhett Rhinehart, who will turn 19-years-old near the end of the month, to Flin Flon Bombers, who are a junior A team in Manitoba that plays in the SJHL.

Let Rhinehart skate with the Bombers.

It is possible these transfers could remain with their respective junior A through the end of the 2020-21 campaign and still not play for a national title.

Alex Bernauer in action for the Contacts last season.

At the under-18 AAA level, forward Alex Bernauer of the Saskatoon Contacts might have been a 17-year-old rookie with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades had times been normal.

The Contacts roster contains dynamic 15-year-old forwards Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager, who are pegged to be in the WHL as 16-year-olds in 2021-22. In April’s WHL Bantam Draft, Heidt was picked in the first round and second overall by the Prince George Cougars and Yager went in the first round and third overall to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Let all three of those talented forwards be teammates on the Contacts.

The major junior transfers are something that is reasonable and should be applauded for being done to make the best out of these COVID-19 pandemic times.

ACAC cancels winter season, other notes

Megan Nagy (#1) makes a block for the Rattlers in 2012.

The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference will not be having a 2020-21 campaign

On Wednesday, the ACAC announced it was cancelling its extended 2021 winter semester season due to the fact most of its member institutions were extending on-line program delivery into the winter semester due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the province of Alberta.

In June, the ACAC had cancelled its fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined with Wednesday’s announcement, the ACAC will not be hosting any athletic competitions for the 2020-21 campaign.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ACAC announced it supports its member institutions’ efforts in protecting the health and safety of students and the broader community.

The released added that no status for the 2021-22 campaign has been determined at this time.

On Tuesday, the Medicine Hat College Rattlers said they had made the decision to forgo competing in the ACAC winter season in basketball, volleyball and futsal.

The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, which is the national umbrella the ACAC plays under, had officially cancelled all of its national championship tournaments in June.

• On Wednesday, the Alberta Junior Hockey League announced a member of the Whitecourt Wolverines had tested positive for COVID-19. The junior A exhibition encounters between the Wolverines and Drayton Valley Thunder have been cancelled. The two sides were set to play Friday night in Drayton Valley and Saturday night in Whitecourt.
• On Wednesday, the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers shut down their facility after receiver Kendrick Bourne tested positive for COVID-19. He immediately went into self-quarantine and is on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Later on Wednesday, receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and offensive tackle Trent Williams were added to the 49ers reserve/COVID-19 list for being in close contact with Bourne. All four of those players are out of the 49ers lineup for their upcoming game. The 49ers (4-4) are as still slated to host the Green Bay Packers (5-2) on Thursday night.
• Gregg Drinnan put together another round up on how the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the sports world in his Taking Note blog on Tuesday. His Tuesday post can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

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.

Ex-Rattlers a couple of gems for Huskies

Zak Rempel charges out during Huskies starting lineup intros.

            Zak Rempel and Emmalyn Copping are living a dream with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, and their story still shows that good things still come to good people.

            Both grew up playing volleyball having successes at various levels with hopes of playing with a team in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Before they ended up playing for the Huskies, both ended up playing in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference for the Medicine Hat College Rattlers to develop their respective games.

            Rempel left his hometown of Saskatoon to end up in the Gas City, while Copping left her home in Calgary to play for the Rattlers.

            The Rattlers have had a number of outstanding individuals pass through their programs. In recent years, Rempel and Copping likely headed the list of two of the most outstanding individuals to come out of that program.

Emma Copping serves for the Huskies.

            I remember having various coffee talks with Rattlers men’s volleyball head coach Steve Russell and Rempel and Copping were frequent topics of discussion.

            Russell said those two are going to be your future type community leaders and it has to make you feel upbeat about the future. Russell coached Rempel for two seasons, and Copping often ended up babysitting and playing with the bench boss’s two young sons, when the Rattlers men’s team was in action.

            Both left the Rattlers for the Huskies following the 2012-13 season and the positive qualities they displayed at Medicine Hat College have continued at the University of Saskatchewan.

            In two seasons with the Rattlers, Rempel was a driven recent high school graduate, who quickly assumed the role of starting setter of the Rattlers men’s volleyball team. In his second year, he chose to take on more of a leadership role with the team.

            He carried himself well on and off the court in a very mature manner for his young age. In an early interview during his second season when I was writing with the Medicine Hat News, Rempel said to give him a shout if I needed any help with stories on the Rattlers men’s volleyball team. He was also ready to be front and centre for any interviews after games be it good or bad.

            When it came time to join the Huskies, Rempel was really committed to the gym. He was one of the persons I always saw when I worked out at the gym at the University of Saskatchewan, when I came to Saskatoon for visits before moving to the Bridge City. Outside of times when he battled injury, he has been the starting setter for the Huskies.

            On Friday night, Rempel, who is in his fourth year of post-secondary eligibility, quarterbacked the Huskies to an impressive 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-17 and 25-21) upset win over the Brandon University Bobcats at the Physical Activity Complex. The Huskies improved to 9-6 at the time with the win, while the Bobcats fell to 11-4.

Zak Rempel sets the ball for the Huskies.

            Rempel mixed up the Huskies offensive attack well, but he will also be the first to admit his teammates made his job that much easier. The Huskies passed the ball well and also blocked well to create a lot of favourable situations.

            During a couple of spots were the other Huskies players and head coach Brian Gavlas got upset over an official’s call, Rempel had his hands motioned giving a calming settle down motion still showing the maturity seen in the Hat days. Basically, he was telling his teammates that was volleyball. There will be calls that don’t go your way, so let’s settle down and move on to the next point.

            Even after the win, the 21-year-old was happy, but he quickly added he and his team have to play even better on Saturday, because the Bobcats will come with higher intensity.

             Copping was with the Rattlers for just the 2012-13 season. As a rookie just out of high school, she found a starting spot as an outside hitter on a Rattlers women’s volleyball team, which still had a strong talent base from going to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship tournament final four in the 2011-12 campaign.

            She improved a lot that season, and quickly developed a lot of supporters on the Medicine Hat College campus due to her outgoing and very sweet personality. Russell’s two young sons, who I think were under the age of five at the time, also almost couldn’t wait for the Rattlers women’s game to end, so they could constantly be at Copping’s side for the men’s game.

Emma Copping gets set to receive a serve for the Huskies.

            When the Huskies issued a press release for their recruits for their women’s volleyball team for the 2012-13 campaign, Copping was listed near the bottom in a paragraph in a round-up of other players joining the program. She didn’t carry the label of the star recruit, but I was pretty confident the Huskies coaches were going to be very surprised by her in a good way in a short amount of time.

            She quickly became a fixture on the end of game articles the team would post, because she would constantly be listed amongst the leaders in kills. In Friday’s 3-1 to the Brandon Bobcats at the PAC, Copping, who turned age 21 on Saturday, played mainly in the back row. The Bobcats didn’t hit many balls in her direction, and she made passes when she had to and served hard.

            With the Rattlers, she was developing a good all-around game. With the Huskies, she can be used in any role the team throws at her, because all her skills are good and are still getting better.

            Even after the loss, Copping, who is in her third year of post-secondary eligibility, is still great to visit with and was still an upbeat bundle of positive energy.

            It is always very cool to see sound individuals like Rempel and Copping grow. Wherever life takes them after university, they will likely have a great impact on the communities they settle in.

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.