10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking shots …

1 – ROOKIE WATCH: At the moment Connor Bedard is the face of the NHL – in America at least – and he did it again on Saturday; scoring 90 seconds into Chicago’s home-opener, an eventual 5-3 loss to Vegas. Not only is Bedard carrying the weight of expectations, the future fate of the Blackhawks, and the ratings hopes of ESPN and TNT, he’s also providing cover for a fine crop of NHL rookies whom aren’t getting a fraction of the coverage Connor is. Bedard’s four points have him tied for the rookie scoring lead with Arizona’s Logan Cooley and Ottawa’s Ridley Greig. Fellow Dub grads Matthew Phillips (Washington, 3 pts), Kaedan Korczak (Vegas, 3 pts) and Zach Benson (Buffalo, 2 pts) are all in the Top 10 and are as much fun to follow.

2 – OTHER NHL NOTES: You never have to look far for a Regina connection to the NHL. Regina/Neudorf product Ed Litzenberger holds the Detroit Red Wings record for longest point streak in their first season with the Wings (six in 1961) however on Saturday Shayne Gostisbehere moved to five games. … Are you familiar with Litzenberger Crescent? That’s Eddie. And he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, also in 1961. I once interviewed him about it from his hospital bedside. … The Vegas Golden Knights have made history again. Until Saturday, the 1986 Edmonton Oilers held the record for losing win streak to open a season following a Stanley Cup title at 5-0. However the Golden Knights moved to 6-0 with that win at United Center on Saturday.

3 – TIME TO HUNT: The Vancouver Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL and here’s what’s different about the Canucks under Rick Tocchet: they made their usual silly, young team mistakes but they didn’t fold. They recovered from them, never lost their composure, and worked for 60 minutes to secure the victory. They’re still in very tough to make the playoffs in the Pacific Division but at least they’re going the right way. … Don’t forget Tocchet got the Arizona Coyotes into the playoffs in the bubble year, and is the only guy to get the Desert Dogs anywhere close in the last decade. … As for the Panthers, they saw a 3-game win streak get snapped and were presumably still on a high from Thursday’s 3-1 victory over the soft-ish Maple Leafs in the home-opener. 82 games is too long to keep the pedal to the medal throughout but they’re working way harder, and more together, than they were a year ago. … As was predicted in this column in the summer, defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larson has been an impeccable addition. … If you look at the pic at the top of this column, you’ll notice the Panthers have added a lot of impressive banners the last couple of years. What a time to be here!

4 – RIDERS: With Saturday’s 29-26 loss to the Toronto Argonauts, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were eliminated from playoff contention for a second straight year. It’s an unfathomable implosion.

Final summation? They’ve taken the CFL’s flagship, marquee franchise and turned it into in the worst team in the league.

A remarkable achievement. Take a bow.

5 – “BARK”-ING UP THE RIGHT TREE?: Football people got a bang out of 5-time Grey Cup champion Jim Barker openly “politicking” for a Roughriders management job on Friday’s RP Show. (That was their term, not mine). In fairness to Barks, he was just answering a viewer’s question, but he didn’t see he wouldn’t be interested. Great game, cruel business. Those with longevity have no problem stepping over bodies while they’re still warm. Fun to follow!

6 – AROUND THE CFL: Turns out they were right. Calgary football followers said the Stampeders would turn it on when they needed to and they did. The Horsemen made the playoffs for an 18th straight season and now have as good a chance as anyone to get to the Grey Cup. Errr, statistically maybe not, but at least they’re in the dance. I would not advocate leaving it to the end like this, but it seems to work for them. … The CFL has not yet announced a sellout for the 2023 Grey Cup in Hamilton but hopefully they’re close. Having the Ticats in the Big Game certainly would not hurt. Like Calgary, at least they have a shot to be there. … Remember TSN’s Matt Dunigan predicted a Montreal-Winnipeg Grey Cup. … I called for Hamilton-Calgary. Could happen!

7 – JUNIOR JOTTINGS: Two points separate the top six teams in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. Wow! First-place Saskatoon has 16 points and sixth-place Moose Jaw has 14. The Regina Pats are somewhere in the middle with 15 points while the Brandon Wheat Kings are just behind at 13. Hallowe’en is generally where we get some separation but what a start. The Pats visit the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday evening. Don’t forget the Vaseline! … Big city Edmonton and Calgary are in the Eastern Conference basement. What’s that say about the big markets? … Kudos to Humboldt Broncos Coach & GM Scott Barney for being named head coach for Team West at the World Junior A Challenge in Nova Scotia in December. It’s about time “Barndog” received the recognition he deserves! He’s been magnificent in Humboldt, and the Broncos lead the Nutrien Division at 8-0-1-1. … Flin Flon leads the Sherwood Division at 11-0-1 and Weyburn leads the Viterra Division at 6-3-0-3. … Don’t look now but if the playoffs started today, the Melville Millionaires would be in them for the first time in forever. Nice job Doug Johnson! Things seem to be shifting in the S-J.

8 – GRIDIRON GREATS: College football proved to be a great distraction until hockey started but we can’t help but notice #1 CFL Draft prospect Kurtis Rourke did a real nice job guiding his Ohio Bobcats to a 20-17 win over Western Michigan on CBS Sports Network this weekend. … Tom Herman’s FAU Owls got whalloped 36-10 by UTSA (San Antonio) here in Boca Raton, in a game I’d have attended if not for Canucks/Panthers. … Florida State remains the best college team in the State as the 7-0 Seminoles beat Duke 38-20 and the 5-2 Miami Hurricanes were 28-20 home winners over Clemson. … There’s so much going on! … It was another win for the Florida High School Athletic Association team I follow – the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs, coached by CFL Alum Matt Dubuc – who beat the Boca Raton Bobcats 31-19 here at Boca High Friday night. Dubuc called out this city for not supporting their team! … Speaking of, congrats to Rocky DiPietro and Leo Ezerins for being named CFL Alumni co-Men Of The Year this week. They’ll be honoured during Grey Cup Week.

9 – UP IN SMOKE: Sometimes you just have to be patient. I’d been trying for years to get an interview with Miami Dolphins and Texas Longhorns star running back Ricky Williams but he’d proven to be just as elusive to track down for an interview as he was on the football field (3rd all-time in NCAA rushing yards). But lo and behold, Ricky’s cannabis brand Highsman is now available in the Florida retail chain GoldLeaf Premium Organic Cannabis stores and he needed to get the word out, so he graciously obliged with an interview. Check out Friday’s RP Show on YouTube where Ricky talks about walking away from the game, his time in the CFL, Highsman, old girlfriends, and much more! I’m happy we hit it off. The same thing happened with Ryan Leaf. Patience is a virtue.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Broadcaster Daniella Ponticelli announced Saturday’s Roughriders broadcast was her last as she’s moving on to other opportunities. It’s been fun to watch her career trajectory! Good luck Daniella and it’s a joy to know you. … I watched Three’s Company for Suzanne Somers. Period. John Ritter just hitched along for the ride! May her memory be eternal. … If there’s one thing that burns my ass, it’s media members who don’t stand when military veterans are honoured on the big screen. Get your fat ass up and thank these people for allowing you to do what you do for a living! The events in Gaza should be enough of a reminder for you. … My military friends are extremely concerned over what the Hamas actions could mean for us in North America but I’m trying to stay in my little sports bubble until told otherwise. … Elated to land interviews and one-on-one time with Ed Jovanovski and Ricky Williams this week. South Florida is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G for a guy like me. … Quite certain I saw Alek Manoah at the Panthers/Leafs game the other night. … “He’s so old, he’s got a Twitter account!” … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen