DuPont’s 10 Things
This week’s article comes to you from Southern Ontario. It feels like it’s been a while since there’s been any stability in my world but we’re finally settled back home after some travel so let’s get to it.
1. CATCHING UP – It was Bali, then Palm Springs, a brief 24 hour stop in the GTA, then Saskatchewan for a week and finally back to the GTA for the foreseeable future. Travelling has been good but I’m looking forward to multiple nights in my own bed.
I’m also looking forward to getting more and more involved in the Ontario sports scene over the next few months. We are already off to a great start.
2. OHL – I arrived back in Toronto on Sunday morning and immediately hit the road for the hour long drive to Oshawa for a Sunday night game between the Generals and Peterborough Petes.
Calum Ritchie, a Colorado Avalanche 1st round draft pick, was returned to the Generals and immediately made an impact. The 19-year-old picked up a couple of assists in his season debut. Sunday was my first chance to see him play live plus the home crowd in Oshawa’s first look of the season since being returned to the club. Six NHL draft picks are on the Generals including Winnipeg Jets prospect Colby Barlow who found the back of the net Sunday.
3. OHL TUESDAY – Tuesday night I was back in the car and off to Peterborough for a game between the Petes and the Niagara Ice Dogs. I was excited to see Winnipeg Jets prospect Kevin He play for the Dogs. You couldn’t miss him. Every time he was on the ice he was noticeable. While there are some areas of his game that still need to improve, one thing is certain… the kid is fast!
The Peterborough Memorial Centre was a treat to see for the first time. It had an intimate and historic feeling to it. Hanging from the rafters were Petes legends like Steve Yzerman, Scotty Bowman, Bob Gainey, and Larry Murphy, among others. Check Twitter/X to see the pic. Rode the elevator with Dick Todd and introduced myself. Dick was the head coach for Canada’s World Jr team in 1991 that won a gold medal in Saskatoon.
4. SMALL WORLD – Back to Sunday in Oshawa, I popped into the Generals’ coaches office. Steve O’Rourke is the head coach in Oshawa and if that name sounds familiar to those in Western Canada, it should. O’Rourke spent time coaching in Red Deer and Prince George before joining the Generals and moving east. He’s originally from Summerland, BC. Our paths never officially crossed and we’ve never met but when I told him I was from Saskatchewan and spent considerable time in the “Dub” we quickly clicked and started reminiscing about the WHL on Shaw days and shared stories of our time in the league. It felt good to be back in the rink with hockey people.
5. CANADA WEST – It was good to be back in Saskatchewan for 8 days putting the finishing touches on the Canada West regular season. It ended with a week 8 showdown on Friday between the Alberta Golden Bears and Regina Rams. Incredibly, the Rams erased a 22-4 deficit and won 29-22 in front of a packed crowd at Leibel Field. The win punched Regina’s ticket to the playoffs and ended Alberta’s season.
So the playoff matchups are as follows: Manitoba will host Regina while the Saskatchewan Huskies are off to UBC. It’s anyone’s guess who will advance and that’s what makes the CW so much fun.
6. NHL EARLY SEASON – What has your attention through the early part of the NHL season? For me, the great start in Winnipeg is an obvious place to start but so too has been hot starts from Washington and Minnesota. Seeing Boston, Edmonton, Nashville, Philadelphia, the NY Islanders and Pittsburgh all in the bottom 8 teams is surprising but let’s remember we are only a dozen or so games into the season. Still far too early to draw too many conclusions.
7. STONE – One of my favourite early-season success stories has been the hot start for Mark Stone. The Vegas star leads the NHL with 18 points. The 32-year-old has played 70+ games in a season just three times and it hasn’t happened since 2016-17. I know he’s been the subject of VGK’s LTIR/cap circumvention but you know he’d rather be playing and contributing consistently. Players want to play. Here’s hoping he can put together a long and healthy season.
8. SPORTS EQUINOX – RP pointed out that Monday was just the 31st day EVER that the NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB played a game on the same day. I made a point of channel surfing between all four as the night rolled on. The Raptors actually looked really good against the Denver Nuggets even though they dropped the game in overtime. The World Series had been less entertaining than I had hoped through three games but an 11-4 Yankees win in game four has created some intrigue. If their bats stay hot this could get real interesting! I’m starting to get on the Russell Wilson bandwagon in Pittsburgh but when did it change from Heinz Field? And finally I spent most of Monday night watching Prime Monday Night Hockey between the Jets and Leafs. Toronto dominated the game early with much more jump and then hung on for the win as Winnipeg attempted to mount a comeback. It was highly entertaining but all good things must come to an end, including the Jets 8-game win streak to start the season.
9. NFL Top 5 – 1. Kansas City 2. Detroit 3. Buffalo 4. Washington 5. Pittsburgh
Try to understand this: the NY Jets (2-6) are 2-point favourites over the 6-2 Houston Texans on Halloween.
Game of the week: Detroit (6-1) -3.5 at Green Bay (6-2).
10. RANDOMS – While sitting and watching the game Sunday night in Oshawa a man turns around, looks at me, and says “are you Darren from The Rod Pedersen Show?” Wayne was his name and he watches the show whenever he sees it on his TV. I’m starting to feel more and more at home here in Ontario… I’m going to be calling a University hockey game in the OUA on Halloween and I’m really excited for it. I’ve also been asked to help mentor some young broadcasters and am honoured to lend any help I can… Shrinking on Apple+ is the latest show. It’s Ted Lasso meets How I Met Your Mother, I think… remember Brendan Bottcher’s former team? They replaced him with Brad Jacobs and early dividends are being paid. The team won this past weekend’s event in Penticton and are going to be a real threat as we move through the season towards the Brier… NCAA game of the week is #4 Ohio State at #3 Penn State on Saturday.
Enjoy the rest of the week!
