10 WEEKEND THINGS

TAKING SHOTS …

1 – DUB HUB: We are headed into the final week of Subway WHL Hub Centre action and for those of us fortunate to have “come and go” privileges (media, scouts, officials, arena staff, etc.), the general feeling is “I’m really going to miss this when it’s over”. That’s what I keep hearing over and over in parking lot conversations. However for the 350-or-so team personnel whom are holed up in the “Hubble” at the University of Regina, the belief is some are ready for it all to be over. Who could blame them? It’s been a gruelling exercise and they should be commended for their 2-month-plus commitment to getting this 24-game regular season in. (Fingers crossed they get across the finish line this week with no positive tests). Someone quipped on the concourse recently, “This is the safest place in the province”. Indeed, it must be. Restrictions are strict, stiffly enforced, but all participants have followed them to the letter. Very proud of the WHL people for getting this done! This is not a pastime. It’s big business, big boy hockey.

**FYI – You wanna know why WHL teams have been dropping off gear at the RP Show bunker? Teams know who’s invested. It’s a lot of time spent in the dorms talking. We can’t thank you enough guys!

2 – SUBWAY CUP TO MANITOBA?: The announcement that there will be no WHL Playoffs was met with mixed emotions, obviously. Some wanted a prize at the end of this thing, while others are ready for it all to be over. However as we enter the week, there’s a race for the Subway Cup which will be awarded to the team with the most points. Here are the standings with four days of competition remaining:

Brandon (36)
Winnipeg (33)
Saskatoon (31)
Regina (21)
Prince Albert (20)
Moose Jaw (18)
Swift Current (11)

*My rankings were almost bang-on, except for completely whiffing on Brandon AGAIN. I’ll post them when this whole thing is over.

On Sunday it’s Moose Jaw versus Swift Current at 4:00 pm followed by Regina and Brandon at 8:00 pm. We’ll have the call of the late game on AccessNow TV.

3 – INDIVIDUALLY: Winnipeg ICE star Peyton Krebs leads the Hub in a lot of individual categories including points (41), powerplay goals (8), assists (28) and powerplay assists (13). He will reportedly join his parent team, the Vegas Golden Knights, at the end of the week. (You can watch him Tuesday on AccessNow TV when his ICE face the Regina Pats at 6:00 pm).

As far as other standouts in the DUB Hub, have a look: Goals Against/Save Percentage – Gage Alexander/Winnipeg (2.23, .917), Goals – Lynden McCallum/Brandon (15), Defenceman Assists – Ryker Evans/Regina (23), Shorthanded Goals – Ridley Greig /Brandon (3), Insurance Goals – Eric Pearce/PA (4), Wins – Nolan Maier/Saskatoon (10).

4 – STARS ARE SHINING: NHL great Rich Sutter was in the Queen City scouting the WHL East for the Columbus Blue Jackets and said on The RP Show the future of the Western Hockey League is incredibly bright, whatwith a bushel of star young players coming up. “I’m telling you for the Western Hockey League people, it’s been a real treat to watch games the past few weeks, especially the last three, four days for me,” Sutter explained. “Western Hockey League fans, line up and get your season tickets in a lot of towns in the next few months because this WHL has provided something the past few weeks with younger players. They got a lot to be excited about the next 2, 3 years. A lot of strong, young players that are going to be fun to watch.”

For instance, our AccessNow/Regina Pats TV analyst Dale Derkatch has compared young Moose Jaw Warrior stars Brayden Yager to Nathan MacKinnon and Jagger Firkus to Mitch Marner. As we say on the RP Show, How ‘Bout That?

5 – CB98: Of course the jewel of them all is 15-year old superstar Connor Bedard, whom is already dazzling with Team Canada at the World Under-18 Championship in Texas. “Bedsy” scored two highlight reel goals on Saturday in pre-tournament play, waltzing right through the opposition to score one 5-on-5 goal, then showed off a jaw-dropping move in a fun shootout which has drawn close to 80,000 views on Twitter. Bedard and Team Canada open the tournament for real on Tuesday against Sweden, and you can see the game on TSN. Of course you’ll be PVR’ing that clash to watch the Pats & ICE on AccessNow at the same time, right?????

6 – BEDARD MANIA: It’s fascinating to watch human behaviour. The first run of 2020-21 Regina Pats trading cards (featuring Bedard) sold-out Wednesday morning before noon and fans were lined up in their cars Saturday morning in the Brandt Centre parking lot to be first in line for the second run. Online orders promptly sold-out Saturday afternoon, and I believe not too many cards are available for in-person at the moment. Wild! This kind of hype around here is generally reserved for the Saskatchewan Roughriders however with the Green & White on ice for the foreseeable future, the Regina Pats and Bedard have taken centre stage. Can you imagine how wild it’s going to be around here next fall????

Having Pats games on TV through 80 Access communities in close to 100,000 homes has accelerated the Pats brand like rocket fuel AND benefitted the other six franchises as well. This is how players become household names. What a boon for the Dub!

7 – CFL: Likely nobody’s watching the Canadian vaccination pace more closely than CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie, the owners, and the Board of Governors. That will entirely dictate whether the CFL returns to the field this year. They’re searching for any glimmer of hope, and you can take top Doctor Theresa Tam’s comments about restrictions being eased this summer two ways: 1) CFL fans can return to stadiums, or 2) Large enough gatherings may still not be permitted if there are vaccination snags and this is cutting it incredibly short for time.

8 – TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY: In the talks I’ve had with CFL people, there IS money in the CFL (teams aren’t necessarily broke) but the private owners are calling the shots and they’re not prepared to bite the bullet and underwrite the cost of a Return To Play without fans. (i.e. they’re okay losing $15M-$20M, but not $60M-$80M). It’s their money, so you can’t blame them. The pain and suffering that goes along with that for players, staff and fans is a gross by-product which nobody wants, but it is a reality nonetheless. Losing relevance on the sports landscape in this country unfortunately goes along with it as well. The recovery process will be Herculean.

9 – OTHER SPORTS: It feels like this summer is going to be a lot like last with a lot of UFC, Nascar, NHRA, MLB and golf. It wasn’t bad, and we got through it. But 13 months into this thing, don’t forget to lend a hand to those who are struggling and order takeout & delivery from the restaurants because that industry is suffering as much or more than sports!! This week the focus will be all about the NFL Draft, and then we’ll be on the golf course.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Ultimate Fan Zone reports a huge spike in sales of Blue Jays merchandise. The reason? TV coverage. And an exciting young team of stars. … One reason I like to attend auto racing over horse racing — burnt fuel smells better than manure. … I dreamt the Houston Texans won the Super Bowl, which is odd because they don’t even have a QB who wants to play. I’ve gotta stop eating pizza before bedtime. … $36 for a can of stuff? HOW DO THESE PEOPLE SLEEP AT NIGHT? … They need to lay off those gum disease commercials on TSN. … NDSU QB Trey Lance, a top QB prospect for this NFL Draft, has a Saskatchewan connection as his father Carlton Lance was a defensive back with the Roughriders in 1993. However neither John Lynch nor I remember him. Frenzy said it was “Lance for a glance!” … Any movie with Liam Neeson in it is going to be great. … Landmark Cinema is now a prized partner of the RP Show. Get out to the theatres if they’re open in your city! … We are considering hosting a fourth Social Media Summit, but doing it virtually in May. Would you be interested in attending and learning the basic concepts of Social Media, picking up proven tips and participating in a workshop? Please let me know via DM or email!

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen