NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

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

1. Chump change: There has already been a ton of coverage on the rough and tumble Toronto-Winnipeg game in Winnipeg Sunday, but I had to do a little double-take on a tweet I saw. Neal Pionk, he of the dirty injuring knee on Leafs’ defenceman Rasmus Sandin, will miss out two games and forfeit just under $60,000 in pay, and I thought to myself…imagine one mistake you make at work today costs you $60K! Yes, that is pretty normal in pro sports, but for most people, that’s crazy. I make mistakes all the time! That being said, both Sandin and Mitch Marner are now out for the Leafs for a while (Marner got hurt in practice), so we’ll see if they can keep this roll going.
2. Boudreau: Bruce Boudreau is in for the Vancouver Canucks and I think it’s a perfect fit. If there’s somebody available that can coach scorers like Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser it’s Boudreau, and he’s also been a bit of a mess cleaner over his career with different organizations as well. Certainly, this is a mess, but this Vancouver roster just isn’t last place in the Pacific bad. Get the guy back on a 24/7 type series, folks! It hasn’t been the same since he was on it!
3. WJC Camp roster forwards: I don’t know about you, but I love, love the World Juniors! The Hockey Canada brass released the squad that will attend selection camp in Calgary starting Thursday, and there certainly was plenty of uproar about who was not there! That being said, it is going to be a stacked, stacked forward corps, so while I think Matty Savoie of the Winnipeg ICE deserved at least an invite (he’s been miles better than Connor Bedard this year, by the way, albeit in a much healthier situation), it’s going to be a battle for a couple of last spots. To me the locks up front are Mason McTavish, Jake Neighbours, Cole Perfetti, Hendrix Lapierre, Shane Wright, Jack Finley, Dylan Guenther, Kent Johnson, and Ridly Greig, so there just is not a ton of space up front for a pure scorer-and-not-much-else like Bedard right now, or even Kamloops star Logan Stankoven, who is just an incredible talent in his own right. I still think those two will be there somehow, as will London captain Luke Evangelista (shout out Oakville Rangers minor hockey!), but whatever happens, offence won’t be a problem. Too bad there’s no Quintin Byfield, but oh well.
4. WJC Camp roster D: Obviously returnee Kaiden Guhle (more on him later), No. 1 overall pick Owen Power, and AHLer Donovan Sebrango are locked, but the other five spots are available will be interesting. Moose Jaw captain Daemon Hunt is a pro playing junior, and he’s on this list, while I would not at all be surprised to see Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defender Ryan O’Rourke there to provide another physical presence and big, big, big, big shot from the point. Winnipeg ICE-man Carson Lambos has all the ability to be there, but it’ll be an earned spot and not a lock for him.
5. WJC Camp roster G: No controversy here…it’ll be Dylan Garand because he’s the returnee, and Sebastian Cossa because he’s the best Canadian junior-aged goalie, period. No idea between those two who will carry the No. 1 ball and run with it, but thanks to little London Knights goalie Brett Brochu for coming to camp for numbers!
6. Big move for Edmonton: The three best teams in the ‘Dub’ so far have pretty clearly been Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Kamloops, in my eyes, and two of those three made big moves this past week. The Oil Kings have plenty of guns upfront, so adding Prince Albert Raiders captain and Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Kaiden Guhle makes a ton of sense. A young forward, a young D, and a couple of picks, and in the end, it was not that expensive for the Kings either! Of course, neither of them will get Guhle past this year, so good for the Raiders to give him a great chance at a long playoff run and maybe a Memorial Cup. World Juniors for him first, of course.
7. Big move for Winnipeg: Winnipeg’s move to send Chase Bertholet and James Form to Spokane for Jack Finley is ambitious, as I love both of those young guys a lot…but the ICE have a huge stable of young talent, so to get a 19-year-old star like Finley from that position of strength makes a ton of sense. It’s still not that crazy of a haul for Winnipeg, and I laughed when I saw a tweet comparing these moves to ones like them in the QMJHL, where there are about 100 picks and players given for one star every trade.
8. Kudos to Doug: Kudos to Doug Johnson, who was released of his duties as the head coach and general manager of the Nipawin Hawks this past week, as his remarkable 11 years of service to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League will never be forgotten. Rory and I had an interesting chat about him to start our SJ at Noon Show this past Monday (free for you to see and/or hear on the league’s Facebook page, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.), and it was centred around this on-going debate about whether there is space for the ‘old-school’ coach in this day and age, and while I don’t have a clear answer, Doug did a great job for that community.
9. So what?: People are crying bloody murder that it looks like Team China will stay in the Men’s Olympic Hockey tournament and to that I say: “so what??”. So what if they lose 15-0, that happens at every IIHF event, and you better believe the Chinese players would rather go and get pumped than stay at home and watch. What an experience for them! The injury point is bunk to me too because a player could get injured taking a shower that morning just as much as facing Team China…so should we not allow them to take a shower either in case they slip? Let the Chinese play, who cares.
10. How was that a catch? I’m sure Rod and everyone have written till their blue in the face (no pun intended…) about the Riders’ loss to the Bombers in the west final, but how was that late Saskatchewan catch on the deep throw a catch? How did it pass the challenge? I don’t get it. People asked me if I was sad the Riders lost. I said no, I was surprised it was close at all. Have a good week!

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)