NINE THOUGHTS....DOESN'T NEED TO BE TEN
RIDERS COACH SITUATION - It sounds like the new coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be either Buck Pierce or Corey Mace. Pierce is Winnipeg’s Offensive Coordinator while Mace is Toronto’s Defensive Coordinator. Hamilton Senior Assistant Coach Scott Milanovich is out of the mix. Milanovich would have had the most experience and the highest pedigree of the three, but it’s fair to question whether Milanovich would want to come to the Riders based on what has transpired over the last two years. You can bet Milanovich would have wanted some form of extra job security as well as some parameters put in place to ensure he’s not being set up for failure before he even gets started. For those reasons alone, I never viewed him as a serious candidate. Both Pierce and Mace may be extra motivated to accept the challenge to emerge from the shadows of their respective head coaches. It remains to be seen whether either Pierce or Mace can move the needle enough during the offseason to rejuvenate fan interest but perhaps the Riders don’t need it. Financial numbers are, reportedly, very strong so the corporate support is clearly there even if that of the individual fan is not.
PRAUGHT SUSPENDED - Swift Current Broncos head coach Devan Praught has been given a five game suspension for a code of conduct violation during a team practice. I’ve seen the video where it’s alleged Praught used foul language at one of his players and then slashed the stick out of the hand (I think he maybe broke it when he slashed) out of frustration with dealing with the 17-year-old defenseman. I’ve seen a lot of comments from people who think the suspension is garbage and say it will be detrimental for the player going forward and that player will be in for a rude awakening when he hits the ‘real world’ of professional hockey. I’ve got a different take and it’s got nothing to do with whether or not I think the suspension is warranted. The fact of the matter is that this is the real world. That player, when he moves on to the pro ranks, will have a coach that will coddle and baby the entire roster or else the coach won’t be long employed.
CANADIAN HEART - There’s been increased chatter about the potential for a World Cup of Hockey event within the next couple of years. Spittin Chicklets stirred the pot this week by saying the United States will clobber Canada in the next international event. Of course, Canadians met that proclamation with a lot of resistance and cited Canadian heart and grit as intangibles that will push us over the top in the event we are not as talented. I think Canadian fans will be in for a big surprise when they learn that heart, determination, and grit have gone by way of the dinosaur when it comes to Canadian hockey players. Hockey Canada has created a culture that has, basically, removed much of this from the game. If you look around the NHL and identify some of the top players who have some sandpaper in their arsenal, you won’t find many Canadians. In fact, I tend to look at players from Finland and Russia as being ones most likely to play with that extra bit of tenacity. Canada also, would appear, to be very weak in goal. You are looking at Jordan Binnington, Darcy Kuemper, and Carter Hart as the top three. Compare that to the Americans, who could have Connor Hellebuyck, Thatcher Demko, and Jake Oettinger as its top three and there is no comparison at all.
SJHL TERRIERS - The Yorkton Terriers blew a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 to the mighty Flin Flon Bombers on Friday night in what was the most entertaining game I’ve seen at Westland Arena in years, certainly since the pandemic. The announced crowd of 495 is disappointing for a city Yorkton’s size where average attendance should, routinely, be in the range of 1000 or more. However, I get why the numbers of dipped and not bounced back, but for any person reading this that may be curious on the Terriers, I can assure you the lackadaisical efforts of recent years are a thing of the past. There are some good players here that you can get behind and root for. Emery Olauson was hired two days before training camp, so he’s been forced to use the first 20 games as a feeling out process but I can see the team improving rapidly and they’ve got two scoring lines as well as a couple of big boys who screen the net on powerplays (Anthony Domina and Aiden Knutson).
MITCHELL MILLER - You may remember defenseman Mitchell Miller. If not, I’ll refresh your memory. He is the 21-year-old defenseman from Ohio that was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in round four of the 2020 Entry Draft, but was never signed because it was revealed Miller was a despicable bully in grade eight. In 2022, the Boston Bruins tried to bring in Miller by signing him to a contract, but the move was met with public outrage and he was, quickly, declared ineligible for the NHL. This season, Miller has been playing in the Slovak Elite League and despite being a defenseman, he’s second in overall league scoring with 29-points in 19-games. On Monday, the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan bought Miller’s contract from his Slovak team and he’s now signed through 2026. Terms were not disclosed but he’s, probably, making the same or more than he’d make in the NHL for a player on a rookie deal.
PRIVACY - No professional sports loop keeps its cards closer to their chest than the teams in the National Hockey League. Injuries are often labelled as upper body or lower body and length of time on the shelf is determined as ‘day to day’ and ‘week to week’. When asked for more details, coaches often don’t have the slightest idea and proclaim to be in the dark (an outright lie). For example, Winnipeg Jets assistant Brad Lauer was asked about Ville Heinola being back in the city to continue his rehab from an apparent broken ankle. Lauer said, “I’m not sure the timeline with his injury where he’s at right now.” Yeah right. I don’t really know what the advantage is to be this coy but there are times when it, perhaps, would be beneficial to just come clean. For example, the Chicago Blackhawks have announced Corey Perry will be away from the team for an undetermined time for an undetermined reason. Of course, people want to know why and on Monday there was a horrible rumour circulating on social media that, quickly, garnered momentum. It’s not worth repeating, but it does provide some evidence as to why teams should, perhaps, be a bit more forthcoming with information. Yes, Perry is entitled to privacy but to eliminate any potential for something hurtful to be spread that affects more than people than just Perry maybe they could give a little bit more information. Playing in the NHL is a very public job and sometimes things that should be private aren’t as private as what they’d be for other people in society. That’s a drawback to making millions playing a sport, I guess.
POLIEVRE MEDIA SCUFFLE - Federal Progressive Conservative Party leader Pierre Polievre schooled a poorly prepared media member of the Canadian Press this week. You can see the video here:
There’s a lot of problems with those who are members of the media in 2023, not the least of which is that many of them are unqualified and unprepared to do the job credibly. That person arguing with Polievre looks like she should be in a small market attending RM meetings and cutting her teeth the way you are supposed to and then work your way up. Instead, she’s working for the Canadian Press, which used to be the gold standard for where news was reported. Whether Polievre is right or not doesn’t matter. She went after him without having all of her facts ready in the event that she was questioned on it (which she was). Three or four years ago an exchange like this would reflect poorly on Polievre, but the media has done such a good job painting itself as the enemy of the public through constantly misleading people and lying outright in many stories that any sympathy that would have existed previously, simply isn’t there anymore. Polievre has gone from the bad guy to the good guy without doing anything different. It’s the Canadian media that has become more and more exposed as a Trudeau lapdog that is earning more distrust and disdain from Canadian people with each passing day.
FUEL PRICES - You have to wonder if the pressure will get to the Sask Party provincial government when it comes to gas taxes. Alberta already doesn’t gouge residents at the pumps and it has resulted in big savings when compared to other provinces. Calgary is showing prices at 122.9 as of Monday evening, while the best price available in Kelowna is 159.9 and Vancouver is 169.9. In Yorkton, gas is down to 141.9 and Winnipeg is, predominantly, at 149.9 but the new NDP government is promising a 14-cent price cut come the New Year due to a pause on the collection of provincial tax on fuel. To this point, Saskatchewan has been content to hand out ‘Moe Money’ of $500 to its residents in lieu of a gas tax break. The emergence of UFA in Saskatchewan may also cause a review of gas prices as well. It’s a bit of a secret, but a litre of Dieselex Gold at UFA in Yorkton was 160.9 on Monday while Diesel at Petro Canada was 189.9. Quite a difference.
CANADA CHRISTMAS DISCRIMINATORY - It’s still a long time before we will vote in the next federal election and that means there is almost two full years still for the radical left wing government to further destroy whatever is left of this country. Last week, the Canadian Human Rights Commission declared the Christmas holiday as ‘religious intolerance’. It argues that a day off on Christmas is ‘discriminatory’ and is evidence of ‘colonialist’ religious intolerance because non-Christians have to ‘request special accommodations to observe their holy days’. “In order to move forward towards sustainable change, all Canadians must first acknowledge Canada’s history of religious intolerance.” It just seems strange that Canada is such an attractive place for people looking for a new start and yet the government here is hellbent on changing the very things that make it such a wanted country for non-residents to live.