10 WEEKEND THINGS

Taking Shots …

1 – LIVE FROM ESTEVAN: Between Roughriders training camp in Saskatoon and the 2022 Centennial Cup in Estevan presented by Tim Hortons, Saskatchewan is hopping! But the story from the Energy City is this: the host Bruins – the reigning SJHL champions – are on the ropes after tournament-opening losses to Longueuil and Pickering. Saturday night’s 10-5 loss to the Ontario Junior Hockey League champs was particularly discouraging as the teams were tied 5-5 after 40 minutes at a sold-out Affinity Place, but the roof caved in on the Bruins in the third, as they gave up five unanswered goals. Now Jason Tatarnic’s crew faces must-win games on Monday versus Pike Lake and Wednesday versus Brooks if they hope to the make the playoffs (if I have that right, which I’m sure I do).

2 – THE REST: As you can imagine, the buzz in Estevan is palpable. This is the first time the Canadian National Junior A Championship has featured reps from all of Canada’s Junior A leagues (previously teams had to get past an extra regional series or tourney to get here after winning their league) and hockey fans from all across the country are loving the format. It’s simply two pools of five teams each with the top three making the playoffs. The #1 round robin team gets a bye and the other two playoff. From what I’m hearing from the hockey execs, this year is a guineau pig for the format but so far it’s getting the thumbs up. Now all we need is for the host team to get back in it!

Also, a huge shoutout to Days Inn Estevan whom are treating us like absolute gold. Truly a home away from home. They’ll treat you the same!

3 – HOCKEY HEAVEN: Like most of the national hockey tournaments, there’s a lot of NHL personnel in town. The hot rumour floating around Affinity Place Saturday night was that Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic will be hitting town this week. (Or as one guy said, “Are you sure it isn’t Joe Sacco? ;)” … Washington Capitals TV analyst and Estevan Bruins alum Alan May is in attendance and will be appearing on the RP Show live from Affinity Place on Monday morning. We’ll be attending a BBQ for Bruins alumni Sunday afternoon together at the Pierson house. Hockey Heaven indeed! … I’ll be thinking a lot about my Dad this week because he’d be the Mayor of such a hockey gathering, after spending 26 seasons as a scout with the Dallas Stars. The Old Guy would make sure to get time with all the coaches and GMs over the week and get the skinny on their player pipelines, systems, philosophies and so forth. On the other hand I’ll be visiting with all the broadcasters from each team regarding their technical set-ups, broadcast formats, etc. Different strokes for different folks, but all are key parts of the hockey industry.

4 – NHL NOTES: There’s a tripleheader of Stanley Cup Playoff action on Sunday beginning at 11:30 am MT featuring Panthers/Lightning followed by Hurricanes/Rangers and then Flames/Oilers. It’s what everyone’s talking about here. … Florida Panthers coach Andrew Brunette refuses to believe is team is out of their Round 2 series despite trailing Tampa Bay 0-2. Brunette said on a conference call Friday morning that his team hasn’t been labelled the “Comeback Cats” for nothing, whatwith 29 come-from-behind victories this season. It makes Sunday’s game very interesting. … Everybody’s asking where Barry Trotz will end up after being fired by the N.Y. Islanders. My guess is either Winnipeg or Vegas, and he’s interviewing with both. There’s a ridiculous rumour out there that the Regina Pats will lure Barry to the Queen City, where he once captained God’s Team. You’ve gotta love Regina; if you haven’t heard a rumour by noon, start one. (Credit Ron Lancaster). … Connor McDavid is so good that he should count as two players on the ice. No one has dominated the game like this. The Flames/Oilers series is being called the best of these playoffs and we’re only two games in. … Congratulations to White City, SK’s Jaydon Dureau for signing a 3-year entry level deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning this weekend! Lightning GM Julien Brisebrois announced the signing on Saturday. The 5’11, 175 lb forward had 66 points in 49 games with the Portland Winterhawks this season.

5 – ON THE AIR: It’s been a buffet of hockey coverage and rather than nitpick it, I’d rather just sit back and enjoy it. I can tell you that with Tocchet, Gretzky and Bissonnette on the NHL On TNT panel, I find myself really looking forward to the intermissions again. Kelly Hrudey and Elliotte Friedman are really the only ones I care to hear from on the Canadian panels. I miss Don Cherry! … Somebody said “leave it to the Americans to put the best TV panels together.” True, but they hired a bunch of Canadians. … So happy to see CTV Regina alum Julie Stewart-Binks on the NHL On TBS crew. She’s been through the ringer and come out smiling. … I’ve heard TNT analyst Rick Tocchet’s name linked to the vacant head coaching position with the Dallas Stars. … Tough franchise, that Dallas Stars. Bowness takes them to the Stanley Cup Final three years ago, takes Calgary to Game 7 this year, and then gets shown the door.

6 – CFL CBA: One CFL agent noted on the phone last week regarding the CFL strike, “It’s confusing and I don’t think either side knows what they’re doing,” Perhaps, but they eventually got the deal done and from what we can tell, it appears very favourable for the players. Bravo to CFLPA President Solomon Elimimian, Executive Director Brian Ramsey and their negotiating team! 

The revenue sharing idea doesn’t seem to be as big of a deal to me because by the CFL’s own admission, they don’t forecast a bump in league revenue for at least five years. They may not be optimistic but at least they’re honest.

7 – NOT OVER YET: There are rumblings that the players association still may not vote in favour of this deal, and I don’t know all the ins and outs, but I can’t see that happening. The new Naturalized Canadian clause – an American player gains Canadian status if he’s a 5-year CFL vet or spends 3 years with one team – favours Americans and there are more of them in the league than Canadians. Why wouldn’t the majority vote for that?

Here’s one huge stumbling block for the league’s future that I’ve uncovered: some Canadian players think the Naturalized Canadian rule is a means to snuff out Canadian players altogether. I disagree but if you really feel that way, bump the number of starting *Canadians* to 10, 11 or 12 from its current 8 (and apparently this new clause doesn’t go into effect until 2023). The question should be What’s best for the league? and the Naturalized Canadian rule assuredly is. 

Unfortunately not everyone can agree on what’s best for the league and are looking at what’s best for themselves. That’s not wrong either.

So here we are.

8 – CFL’S LONGEVITY: NBC Football Night In America panelist and ProFootballTalk.com proprietor Mike Florio mentioned on WQAM Miami Radio this week that the CFL is the only pro football league not named NFL which has enjoyed sustained success. All the others have failed. I was listening while driving down N Dixie Highway with the top down and immediately started wondering why that is? It spawned a tremendous discussion on Friday’s RP Show. I feel it’s because of the CFL’s uniqueness while co-host Darren Dupont credits the league’s consistency. Perhaps it’s just plain old stubbornness. Regardless, I’d love to hear your thoughts on why the CFL has survived as the oldest pro football league on the continent. That should be celebrated.

9 – HOP ALONG: Jim Hopson’s induction into Mike Ditka’s Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame this weekend in Chicago should be getting way more fanfare than it is. This is a prestigious Hall of Fame in pro football and the purpose of Gridiron Greats is to provide medical and financial assistance to alumni whom are down on their luck. Joining the former Rider President in this year’s induction class are the likes of Ron Rivera and Warrick Dunn! That Super Bowl party in L.A. I went to this year with Ditka and Ron Jaworski benefitted Gridiron Greats and I’ve done work with them in the past on the Recovery side of things. Very few CFLers have been inducted into this Hall of Fame so for Jim to go in is pretty astonishing.

Believe it or not, during Hopson’s reign as President of the Saskatchewan Roughriders – the Decade of Decadence from 2005 to 2014 – he wasn’t nearly the highest-paid President in the CFL. I’m sure that didn’t sit well with Jim, but with inductions into the Plaza of Honour, Canadian Football Hall of Fame and now the Gridiron Greats Hall of Fame – not to mention two Grey Cup titles and four appearances in his time – I can assure you those higher-paid executives never accomplished that! And it doesn’t appear like they will either. But it’s never about the money. It’s about what you did and how you’re remembered, and nobody’s had more success than Jim. What a guy!

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Why is luggage always wet when it comes off an airplane, even when it hasn’t been raining? … The postponement of the Rider game from May 23 to May 31 has worked out ideally for the Centennial Cup in Estevan. This is a huge pocket of the Rider Nation, but now fans won’t have to split their allegiances on the Monday holiday. … As I write this in the lobby of the Days Inn, the hotel staff is dissecting Saturday night’s Bruins loss. God bless these people. The love for SJHL teams in their communities is inspiring. … Chris Jones blasting Commonwealth Stadium for not being able to get the scoreboard working during training camp workouts is my highlight of the week. … I’ve never felt so close to being killed on air than during Friday’s monsoon in South Florida while trying to host the RP Show. I thought I was either going to drown, be washed away, or be electrocuted. We got 10 inches of rain in three hours. But holy smokes is it fun learning new things! … It’ll be fun to meet new SJHL President Kyle McIntyre of Swift Current. A few years ago that would’ve been a job I’d be really eager to apply for, but the way things are going with our TV show now, I’d be nuts not to follow this exciting road. In the last year we’ve attended the Stanley Cup Final, Super Bowl, World Junior Lacrosse Championship and Centennial Cup and on the horizon are the World Juniors, Calgary Stampede, Grey Cup and a whole lot more. We’d be at Memorial Cup in St. John, NB in June but I’ve got things in Florida I need to attend to. PLUS we’ve got some huge network television news coming up as well. Things could not be going better! Thank you, as always, for supporting. … Have a great weekend.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen