NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds, DUBNetwork MJ Warriors Beat Writer

1. NB hits the jackpot: How about Battlefords for a stacked coaching staff? The Stars announced the hiring of former Flin Flon Bombers assistant and briefly Kindersley Klippers head coach Gary Childerhose Tuesday, and that’s an awesome combo between he and Battlefords boss Brayden Klimosko. Now Chilly and Mike Reagan was also a great team in Flon, so I don’t mean anything against the Bombers, I just mean that he’s an incredible dude and Klimosko (and the North Stars) have to be thrilled. Gary is from the Battlefords and lives there with his family, so it makes sense, but yeah, awesome!
2. Estevan getting elite: The Bruins have been the busiest SJHL team in terms of big-name adds so far this off-season as they load up to host the Centennial Cup, and this past week was one of the biggest in that regard. Long-time Swift Current Broncos forward Eric Houk was brought in, along with former Manitoba League stars Mikol Sarter (who led the MJ in scoring the last time there was a full season), and Joey Moffat, who was a star with Portage before spending time last year with the North American league’s Minot, and the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. Would not surprise me if Nolan Jones and Boston Bilous re-join the Bruins as 20-year-olds from the Moose Jaw Warriors, and so far, Estevan looks like it’ll be absolutely loaded with veteran talent when the puck drops in late September.  
3. Dub pre-season released!: The Western Hockey League released its preseason schedule this past week, which is set to begin with three games on Sept. 10; two-thirds of which are in the USA, and the third potentially another chance to see Connor Bedard when the Regina Pats host the Winnipeg ICE. So great! LET’S GO! I plan to keep covering the Moose Jaw Warriors for DUBNetwork, so hope you all keep following along!
4. Daum out: Speaking of those Pats, they got some tough news this past week when their awesome new media guru Evan Daum announced he had taken a job elsewhere after doing a masterful job with everything he did at the Subway WHL Hub. Guy has all the tools in sports media – writing, graphic design, broadcasting, media relations, you name it! I’m sure he’s off to great things, but I am a little disappointed I won’t be seeing more great Pats content from him. 
5. MJ Import Draft: The Canadian Hockey League Import Draft order was announced this past week for the event to go online the morning of Sept. 30, and the Warriors will pick at Nos. 50 and 77. I wrote on DUBNetwork Tuesday about a couple of names I think would fit from the Czech Republic specifically, but generally, I think they will look to use the draft to bolster their blueline depth after they acquired veteran goaltender Carl Tetachuk from the Lethbridge Hurricanes earlier this month.
6. Gotta summer gig!: I am really excited to get a couple more play-by-play reps this July as I have been hired to call bantam-aged girls and boys showcase event run by Dustin Earnest in Caronport over Twitch. I’ll be doing about four games each day, with the girls going July 4, and the boys July 17! I’ll post links on my social media (@Neugsie on Twitter) if you miss my voice! 
7. Shot #2: Got my second dose of Moderna Tuesday morning! Pretty excited and grateful about it to be honest. Whatever you think about getting vaccinated, the government has said that it is the key for our society to get back to normal (including full-squad hockey), so whatever I can do to make those gate-keepers happy, and let me get back into SJHL rinks, I’ll do it! I also feel like garbage right now! (ha!)
8. Springer back: Nice to see George Springer finally back for the Blue Jays against the Marlins this week after he missed over two months with his quad issue. They spent $150 million on him, so you have to think missing all this time will be weighing on the all-around talented centerfielder. Now if only he could throw a baseball, I’d get a bit more excited! Their bullpen gives me heart palpitations!
9. The Euros: The European Soccer Championships have been awesome and I’ve watched as much as I can! England and Wales comfortably advanced out of the group stages though Scotland was not able to! I always cheer for the British home nations, maybe it’s the fact my parents are big-time monarchists, or maybe because Liz is still our Queen! Either way, fun to cheer for somebody! France is still the favourite for me, even though Italy has been the most dazzling so far.
10. Canada Basketball the favourites: Finally, Canada’s men’s basketball team will tip-off in Victoria a week Tuesday, and they will do so needing to win the whole event against some really good, experienced international competition. That said, they should be the favourites with eight NBA players, including guys like Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins and New York’s RJ Barrett – guys who can go out there and get their own baskets. The best competition they’ll get in the event is from Turkey, which has a couple of NBA players, and a squad used to play together over years. That rustiness is the biggest concern for Canada, as they won’t have any pre-tournament games to get used to playing together or the FIBA game. Still, it’ll be a blast and live on CBC with Dan Schulman on the play-by-play! I can’t wait. Fun fact: Andrew Wiggins went to the same high school as I did, though he went five years later than I. 

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)