DuPont’s 10 Things
Good morning and welcome to the middle of the week! Let’s go…
1. BIG PLAY – We were dropped the biggest news of the CFL offseason right in the middle of Tuesday’s RP Show when news broke of BC Lions QB Vernon Adams Jr being traded to the Calgary Stampeders. I immediately thought of the St Louis Blues and former Boston coach Jim Montgomery. St Louis wasn’t exactly in a hurry to move on from Drew Bannister but when someone like Montgomery comes available you have to think and act fast. St Louis made a move to grab the best coach available before anyone could even gather to asses their options. It feels the same with Calgary and VA. Good on Calgary for acting fast.
2. MOVING QUICK – It sure feels like Calgary jumped the pack and made the move before anyone else could really decide if they were all in or not. Now, BC wasn’t going to wait until February to make a move with an impending bonus coming in the New Year for Adams so either way this was going to happen before long.
Edmonton still needs to hire a coach and then assess the QB situation to decide what they want to do heading into next season. Saskatchewan needs to decide what the future of Trevor Harris is in Green and White looks and both Hamilton and Montreal have decisions to make on Bo Levi and Cody Fajardo respectively. That’s all going to take time and while they are figuring that out, Calgary jumped at the chance to make a move. The price was good and VA instantly brings respectability back to the Stamps who badly need it. The West just tightened up from top-to-bottom and Calgary’s expectations took a major leap forward. Well done.
3. MAKE HIM #1 – There will be other QB dominoes that need to fall throughout the league but I’m more interested in that Calgary QB room heading into camp. I don’t think “open competition” or “everyone will battle in camp” should be the message in Calgary. Vernon Adams has done more than enough to earn being appointed the number one option this offseason. Yes, the Stamps still have Jake Maier and newly signed PJ Walker who comes with significant NFL experience, but this is VA’s team and that’s what you need to sell to the fan base and potential free agents. Vernon Adams is your clear number one, Jake Maier is your veteran backup who can capably come in off the bench and Walker provides you a strong third option with tons of upside once he gets comfortable. Make sure everyone knows their roles and go into the new year strong!
4. ANOTHER ONE FOR LAVAL – In typical Laval fashion, the Rouge et Or found a way to rise to the occasion in the National Championship and win the program’s 12th Vanier Cup knocking off the Laurier Golden Hawks 22-17 on Saturday in Kingston.
Wild stat: Laval didn’t score a single touchdown in the game but their defence held Laurier in check with an impressive effort. The Rouge et Or are an impressive 12-2 in the Vanier Cup. Incredible! Congratulations to the entire program.
5. REGINA 2025 – The Vanier is heading West in 2025 as Regina gets set to host the 60th Vanier Cup at Mosaic Stadium next November. I was asked what the Rams’ chances are of making it and playing in the Vanier Cup at home to which I replied “very good.” The biggest challenge for the Regina Rams is getting out of the Canada West. Top-to-bottom, the conference is better than any in the country and it could have easily been any one of the six teams in the Mitchell Bowl this year. Next year’s Mitchell Bowl features the OUA winner hosting the Canada West winner so the path will still be tough but very much possible. The offseason is only officially four days old and I’m already looking forward to next fall!
6. CHL/USA – The CHL Top-Prospects game is no more and has been replaced with the new CHL/USA Prospects Challenge and it’s happening this week in Ontario. The top CHL draft eligible players meet the top USA born draft prospects in a pair of games happening this week in London and Oshawa.
Game one was all CHL on Tuesday night, by beating the Americans 6-1. Both Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters, Cameron Schmidt of the Vancouver Giants, and Lyndon Lakovic of the Moose Jaw Warriors each had a goal and an assist while Michael Misa of the Saginaw Spirit had a pair of assists.
7. TOP PROSPECTS – The scouts and draft analysts all have their projected draft rankings and they’ll move and change as the season goes along but I’ve also had a chance to watch a considerable amount of hockey this winter in Ontario and I’ve particularly started to really like some different prospects. One I love is Kitchener Rangers’ defenceman Cameron Reid. Craig Button has him projected to go in the middle of the first round and I think his draft stock should continue to rise. He’s such a fun player to watch. He moves the puck well, skates like the wind, and when he needs to he can make a quick fake and take the puck to the net. Game two of the CHL/USA Prospects Challenge goes tonight in Oshawa. You can watch it on TSN.
8. THE PLAYOFF – The College Football Playoff committee released their latest rankings and thankfully they have Indiana inside the current projected playoff. I shouldn’t cheer for one team to be in over another and I really don’t. But, I just firmly believe that, despite the loss to Ohio State, Indiana is a playoff team and should have a chance to be part of the bracket. I do not think a three loss team will get in although there’s a chance! I do have one question that I can’t quite decide what I think yet… does the new 12-team playoff make it easier or harder to win a national championship?
9. NFL Top-5 – If you told me Tennessee would have the NFL’s number two ranked defence at US Thanksgiving I would jump for joy thinking how great the season must be going… but unfortunately three wins is all you get for having the second-best unit in the league. Anyway, here’s the top-five that’s much different from last week:
1. Detroit Lions
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Baltimore Ravens
10. CURLING – With football in Canada in the rear view (I’ll still be all over hockey) I’ll get to put a lot of my attention to the curling scene. This week the second grand slam event of the year is underway in Newfoundland. Brad Gushue, Brad Jacob’s, Matt Dunstone, Mike McEwen, Reid Carruthers, Rachel Homan, and Kerri Einarson all picked up wins on day one. The event continues through the weekend and they have free streaming available too. I can’t wait until the season of champions!
No randoms today but I’ll say Happy US Thanksgiving and enjoy the rest of the week!
