Scruffy’s This N That

1 – 72 PART 2: Have you watched the show “Rivals” which brings us right into the heart of last year’s Four Nations tournament and final game? It was a show that showed how big that victory was for Canada considering what was going on in the world and how the relationship between Canada and the U-S was starting to come apart because of Donald Trump and his rhetoric/policies.  It showed how politics overshadowed the game.  Fast forward one year later and I might say that Sunday morning’s gold medal game in Milan might be the biggest hockey game this country has had since Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series.

I was just a small child in 1972 when Paul Henderson scored for Canada. I didn’t realize at the time how important that win was, but I did as I got older.  I have read books on the series, I have rewatched the games, I have watched documentaries and I have written reports on how “our game” brought our country together when we needed it.  

The semi-final win over Finland was a nail-biter much like the quarter-final win, but they were games that had the country on the edge of its seat. I don’t think Chris Cuthbert jumps in the air when calling a goal at the Stanley Cup Final, but he jumped when announcing Nathan McKinnon had scored with 35 seconds to go.  The Canadian in him came out. How couldn’t it? 

As we look on Sunday, this country is a mess. This world is a mess.  The relationship between Canada and the U-S is worse than it was when the Four Nations hit and I don’t have to explain why.  Our country needs to come together and for three hours Sunday morning it will.  It won’t matter what our political beliefs are, it won’t matter what language we speak and many other things that are tearing us apart won’t matter either.  What will matter is how Connor McDavid, Nathan McKinnon, Jordan Binnington and others do against the Americans.  We need to see a Paul Henderson moment. We need to see a Sidney Crosby moment.  Like it was in 72, this is more than a hockey game. Much more. Are you ready?

2 – UMMMMMMMMMMM: Canadian hockey fans got used to sweating it out Wednesday afternoon as it looked like Czechia was about to throw another dagger into us having gone up 3-2 late in the 3^rd of the quarterfinal. As you know, Canada won that game and as we found out later, the gaffe of perhaps all hockey gaffes had occurred on that 3-2 goal.  How did no one notice that Czechia had eight players on the ice when the goal was scored.  EIGHT!!!!  How did no one notice that six players were in on the goal celebration? NO ONE!! The refs didn’t see it, the Canadian players that were on and off the ice didn’t see it and the coaching staff didn’t see it. Connor McDavid and Drew Doughty both said after the game they didn’t see it which was inexcusable on their part and Sam Bennett said he missed it completely watching from the crowd.  Join the crowd, Sam!

I can only imagine the scrutiny Team Canada would have been under had it not been for the heroics of Nick Suzuki and Mitch Marner. I can also imagine the anger this hockey-mad country would have had had the final score been 3-2 for Czechia.  It really is inexplicable as to how that goal wasn’t reviewed and taken off the board.  I guess it’s water under the bridge now, but questions remain.  And yes, it was also very ironic and very humorous to see the Czech coach complain about the officiating when the game was over.  It makes me wonder if he even knew about the eight men on the ice because if he did—well you know!

3 – UMMMMMMM PART 2: Canada got beat 5-0 by the U-S in the round-robin of the women’s hockey event. We all knew going into the Olympics that it would be Canada and the US meeting for gold because the rest of the world while getting closer hasn’t caught up to either yet.  Going into the game, many figured it would be easy peasy for the U-S girls since they had owned Canada in games leading up to the gold medal game with the five goal victory proving that. 

Apparently, many have forgotten about the heart that Canada’s female hockey players have and how you can never count them out in a one-game showdown.  That team was two minutes from winning and in 3 on 3 OT, which I hate in medal games, and they were one shot away from being gold medallists before dropping the game in heartbreaking fashion. 

Some were then stupid enough to say that the US has passed Canada by when it comes to women’s hockey.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!  What a terrible take! Games between these two countries when a gold medal is on the line are usually one goal games and many are decided in overtime.  It is going to stay that way for a while people.  Those who feel the American women are head and shoulders better than Canada have been sniffing too many equipment bags. 

4 – NICE JOB CANADA:  As I write this, the Canadian women’s curling team has just won a bronze medal.  Brad Jacobs will get a medal in men’s curling and the men’s hockey team will get a medal.  That means Canada will likely end the Winter Olympics with 20 medals.  That’s a good haul! We would have liked to see Mark McMorris get a medal, but despite being less than 100 percent he gave it all he had. Some that were expected to stand on the podium didn’t and others that weren’t supposed to medal did. It happens every Olympics.  I think we can all be happy with how those that represented the Maple Leaf performed on the world stage. 

5 – WHAT ARE WE DOING PEOPLE:  CTV had an interesting story on their Saskatchewan websites this week about hockey parents and the Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association. The Association was speaking out after a parent walked out onto the ice during a game to confront the referee who was above the age of 16. What the hell is any hockey parent doing out on the ice during a game unless he or she is a coach or their child has been injured to the point that parental support is needed?  How low on the totem-pole do you have to be to verbally abuse kids wearing stripes?  It’s not just hockey either!  I have seen it and I have heard about it in basketball, baseball/softball and football as well.  This is happening all across the country and I just question it every time I hear about it.  Why are parents so brain-dead on this issue? It’s both mothers and fathers. I had one hockey coach tell me a few years ago about how some other parents requested that a child be moved off their team because of how out of control Mom was during games.  I will never understand the mentality.  I know hockey associations don’t want to punish children for the actions of their parents, but I don’t know how you can’t.  Let Mom and Dad explain to their son or daughter why they can’t play for two weeks or more. Sorry, but there isn’t enough ice cream after the game to make up for that behaviour. I do realize that 98 percent of parents are good people, but those two percent that are just bad people whether they want to admit it or not. 

6 – CHL TOP 50: It doesn’t matter when a league unveils a list of the top 50 or top 100 or whatever, people ask how this guy or that guy could be left off.  The same can be said with the Canadian Hockey League’s list of players for their top 50.  The list has players on it that the CHL says have an impact beyond the CHL — including NHL and international success, major awards and championships, and Hall of Fame recognition — alongside on-ice achievement in the Member Leagues, reflecting what players accomplished during their time in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL through production, individual honours, team success, and sustained dominance.  It would seem to me when I look at that list that the two big omissions as far as the Western Hockey League concerned are former Calgary Wranglers goalie Mike Vernon and Moose Jaw Warrior superpest Theoren Fleury.  One can only assume Fleury is being blackballed for various reasons, but those of us who saw Fleury play know what is on his hockey resume. Let’s just say if Joe Sakic and Mike Modano are on the list—which they should, then Fleury should be there as well. End of story!

7 – TALK TO ME IN MAY: Free agency is basically over in the CFL. There are still some talented players out there looking to see if they can catch on with someone including former Riders Sean McEwen, C.J Avery and Brett Lauther.  I touched on this last week, but I am not even close to deciding whether or not the Riders can repeat and I won’t until training camps get underway. One can not argue that free agency this year did hurt the Riders as a lot of good players found homes elsewhere, but that isn’t Jeremy O’Day’s fault.  Those who are oh so critical of the Rider GM fail to give him bouquets for making sure last year that core guys were re-signed before free agency and then making the right moves in free agency because he knew they were that close to what turned out to be a championship.

When I look at the green-and-white, they are not as strong as the team that left the field in Winnipeg last November but they have a chance to be on the field in Calgary this November.  With Trevor Harris under center, they can take a run at a repeat as long as he stays healthy.  Everything I have heard and have been told about Jack Coan is that the team is high on him so he will be the number two guy with him likely being promoted to QB1 in 2027 if his progression continues. Let’s not forget that they are keeping an eye on Kurtis Rourke and his NFL dream as well.  The rest of the offence is solid with guys like Ouellette, Emilus, Ferland and Hardrick back and ready.  Defensively, the team took a hit with free agency meaning guys like James Vaughters and Josh Woods will have to fit in after being brought on board in free agency with others like Ali Saad and Aubrey Miller having to step up. 

The kicking game is an unknown as we had a small sample size of Michael Hughes. 

I understand the optimism amongst Rider Nation going into 27, but let’s wait until training camp until “real” predictions can be made. 

8 – NO MORE TANKING: The NBA has let teams know the league is going to make rule changes to stop tanking. There are a lot of things being put on the table, but the league that knows it is losing credibility is looking to put an end to teams not giving it 100 percent or dressing a roster not capable of winning.  When it comes to the NBA’s draft lottery, commissioner Adam Silver said “it’s time to take a fresh look at this and to see whether that’s an antiquated way of going about doing it.” As the changes get rolled out, I will be interested to see if the NHL and NFL look at how they do things.  I don’t think the NHL system is bad as evidenced by the Islanders getting Matthew Schaefer with the number one pick, but the NFL may need to have a hard conversation about a draft lottery sooner than later. 

9 – RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• The Backstreet Boys have made a petition saying they want to be the halftime show for next year’s Super Bowl and that they will bring out other stars of the 2000s to join them. Why not! I’m sure some won’t like it, but hey you need something to bitch about right? 
• Has anyone researched whether or not Tom Wilson had the first-ever Olympic Gordie Howe hat-trick after his fight against France? It was discussed, but never confirmed was it?
• The Tim Hortons father-daughter ad where she brings him coffee at the end as they get together to watch the Olympics is a great one. 
• We are now less than 100 days from the start of the 2026 WCBL season and spring training has started in Florida and Arizona.  Baseball is close my friends!

That’s all I got.  Have a great week