NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

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

1. The forgotten Sych: I often have to remind myself that Notre Dame’s Jaryd Sych is only a 2003 birth year and only played five junior games before this year. A 6-foot-2 defender that can fly, he had been so steady in his own zone, played such big minutes so well, and at 11 points through 15 SJHL games so far this year, leads rookie D in that category, tied with his regular partner Sam Kroon in that respect. Someone not affiliated with ND brought him up to me in conversation recently, flabbergasted that he doesn’t get more credit around the league…but believe me, we know how good he is at the Dunc Tank. He’s also so humble, so understated, and clearly so well-raised that I’ve never once heard him say anything to bring attention to himself. That kind of thing gets thrown around a lot, I know, but Sychy seriously just wants to win, and that’s it. Are you a D1 scout? Seriously, get him committed ASAP. 
2. Kudos to McGrath: One guy who rightly gets plenty of credit around the SJ is Humboldt rookie forward Connor McGrath, who with 28 points through 20 games leads everyone in the league in scoring (and he’s second behind a trio, Estevan’s Mark Rumsey, Humboldt’s Logan Kurki, and ND’s Kevin Anderson for points-per-game). A big congrats to him and his family as he committed a couple of days ago to NCAA Division I Ferris State University – home of another former Weyburn Red Wing Cade Kowalski – and I’m just thrilled to see another young player in this league get serious ice time and opportunity, take advantage and get noticed. I wrote a long time ago that he was going to be a huge pickup for Humboldt, and asked Broncos’ GM Scott Barney what type of shotgun he used to rob him from the Wings (not serious, of course), but I’m also not going to sit here and say I expected him to crush it this much. Well done!  
3. Showdown is Estevan: The most circled matchup of the year in the SJ so far had to be the Estevan vs. Humboldt two-game set this past weekend at Estevan’s Affinity Place, and for the most part, it lived up to its billing. Jason Tatarnic’s Bruins flew to a 6-2-win Saturday in a wild one that included 21 power plays, and the rare Rayce Ramsay pull from the Broncos’ net. The next night was a mirror image as the Broncos cruised to a 4-2 victory, a Boston Bilous pull in the Estevan goal, and one win apiece was probably a good bet going in. Who doesn’t want to see that in a playoff series at some point? I know I do. The pace was great, the physicality was up, and it was a nice showcase for the league. 
4. Frustration: I don’t want to spend too much time on this as I’ve talked about it in a bunch of areas already, but the missed call in overtime on a clear trip on ND’s Johno Hoins led to a clear breakaway and goal for Battlefords’ Jake Southgate was pretty brutal. I know, nothing you can do about it, and Stars fans would probably say the refs gave the Hounds a couple of big five-on-threes in the third that led to ND tying the game up in the first place, but for the refs to choose not to a call a play that leads to a breakaway for an elite player in overtime is just frustrating. I know it won’t change, and nothing will probably come of this incident, but I honestly think you get rid of the head games and ambiguity of refs just simply called what they saw, didn’t call what they didn’t, and didn’t play the “even-up” game. I don’t know how well any of you know me, but if it were an ND player who scored the OT winner, I believe I would still write this paragraph. I’ll also say that the Battlefords North Stars were the better team on the night, and probably deserved the two points, and as good as Ryley Osland played in the Hounds net, and he was great, and as much as you can’t blame him for not stopping Southgate’s breakaway, if he DID stop the breakaway, I might not have written this paragraph, so who knows. Did you get all that? 
5. No surprise about Tuch: I know all the coverage in the world has already come out about the Jack Eichel to Las Vegas trade, but I thought it was cool that the Sabres keyed on getting Syracuse, NY native Alex Tuch back as part of the deal. Tuch has since said numerous times that he’s excited to play for Buffalo, the team he grew up cheering for, and call me a crazy romantic if you want, but I kind of enjoy seeing people play at the highest levels for the hometown team. People teased John Tavares for caring about coming to play for the Leafs, with the pajamas commercial and whatnot, and obviously, $11 million AAV is pretty nice, but money can never, ever buy happiness. Great for Tuch! Always been a big fan. 
6. ‘The Rat’ and ‘The Rat Jr.”: Speaking of local heroes, I met Regina Pats (and Notre Dame Hounds) legend Dale ‘the Rat’ Derkatch while calling his son Dale Jr.’s AA Regina Vics game at ND this past weekend, and I have to say: what a great dude. He said several times that it was great to meet ME, and was kind. His kid is a pretty good young player too and is the captain of his team, so it was a fun night overall. Vancouver Canucks’ prospect Alex Kannok-Leipert’s brother Hunter, and former Regina Pat, and current U of R Cougars’ Bryce Platt’s brother Rhett were also on the team, among others of interest! 
7. Which ICEman goes first?: To my favourite Western Hockey League team to watch so far this year, the Winnipeg ICE, and as I watch I am starting to wonder: while it is a lock to me that their two 2004-born studs up front Matt Savoie and Conor Geekie will both go in Round 1 of the next NHL Draft, is Savoie that big of a lock to go first? Most have Savoie ahead, around the No. 4 or 5 slot, and Geekie a few spots down, but not Uncle Bob McKenzie! I guess it depends on what ya need! Geekie is a big 6’4, 205-pound puck protecting power forward, Savoie is the smaller speed demon, and both have been excellent. What do you think? 
8. What a game: Got home from the rink Sunday and watched the Red Deer at Winnipeg game, and boy was that fun. The ICE improved to 14-1 on the year and held on to win 7-5 despite letting their foot off the gas when they were up 6–1 halfway through the second. Speaking of great draft prospects, Connor Bedard is going No. 1 in 2023, and Matvei Michkov is going No. 2, but Winnipeg’s Zach Benson is not going to have to wait too long after that. This ICE squad is going to be a beast for a couple of years, folks. 
9. Been on him for a while: Last SJHL guy I want to shout out is Kindersley Klippers’ defenceman and captain Mark Snarr, who has nine points through 18 games after notching only two through 54 contests heading into the year. But it has never been about points for him: I liked his game as a rookie out of Calgary as someone who never seemed to make a mistake with the puck, was never physically overpowered, and was rarely in trouble. He was playing big minutes for the Klips before Chase Freidt-Mohr came to them from Spokane in the WHL, but he still is one of those great steady eddies and minutes munchers in the league! And I love those types! Kudos. 
10. Baby watch: STILL NO BABY AT TIME OF WRITING! MY WIFE IS DUE WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10! SEND DIAPERS. Kidding about the diapers.  

 (Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)