NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds

1. Christmas: Hey everyone! Hope your Christmas was great! Saw a great line somewhere: “The best gift you can receive is the realization of how blessed you already are.” Let that sink into your soul, let it marinade, and you’ll be a happier steak. 
2. Covid wins: For sure it’s disappointing that the IIHF pulled the plug on the World Juniors, but after the USA, the Czechs, and, I hear, the refs, had to forfeit games due to Omicron, it really seemed inevitable. It’s very sad for the kids who dreamt of playing at this event, including Owen Power, who was off to an historic start, and at least in the media said that he wanted to go back to Michigan this year in order to play at the event (but really, we all know he wanted to party with his dominant team with fans for a year and save himself a season of the Buffalo tire fire…but what do I know?). What a shame.
3. Good start: Canada’s WJC entry was off to a good start with predictable wins over the Czechs (whatever they’re called now) and Austria. Owen Power is going to be a very, very long-time NHLer, with many many more Team Canada appearances, and wow is he good. Hard to think of something he does not do well. I was speaking with someone very familiar with Kent Johnson, and even he was surprised that the things he’s been able to do have translated this well to the World Js. That being said, Canada’s only test was a lacklustre Russia in the pre-tournament, so it’s too bad we never got to see this pretty great group against real competition.
4. Hard to watch: Speaking of predictable wins, I wasn’t feeling great Tuesday night (more on that later), so I watched about 15 minutes of Canada vs Austria then I turned it off and went to bed. Another smash-fest like this at the World Juniors against an Austrian team that, with no disrespect intended, shouldn’t be there, was hard to watch, and I switched it on again later for Cole Perfetti to snipe one and his face was one of someone who almost felt bad for scoring. Sure the Canadians ended up winning 11-2, I don’t blame any of the players at all…you can only face the guy lined up against ya…but man there has to be another way of supporting to growth of smaller hockey nations, and avoiding this garbage. 
5. It’s tricky: Had another instance of an interaction with someone that reminded me of how it is occasionally tricky to cover a whole league and work for a team in the said league (the SJHL). I guess if you don’t upset people once in a while, you aren’t doing it right! I think Rory and I generally do a pretty good job giving everyone love and also telling it how it is, and we do love and appreciate any feedback. The vast majority has been positive, and we thank you!
6. Noley on the move: I am a huge, huge fan of Notre Dame forward Connor Nolan, as a person and a player, and a college would be super lucky to have him around campus. But this paragraph isn’t about him! No, the Saskatoon Blades, Prince George Cougars and Medicine Hat Tigers pulled off a blockbuster three-way trade Tuesday, which brought Connor’s little brother Ryan, a defenceman, from Medicine Hat to Saskatoon, along with outstanding former Regina Pat C’s forward Kyren Gronick. You can find the full details elsewhere, but I guess ND goaltender Austin Elliott, called up currently by the Blades, will get a chance to get to know little brother after getting to know big brother!
7. One to watch at U15s: I’m not going to claim to have my finger on the entire pulse that is the Team SASK U15 camp going on in Regina right now, though I know a few of the players, and one to really keep in your brain banks is Moose Jaw native and Prairie Hockey Academy forward Noah Thul. The 2007-born is just electric, so confident on the puck, and despite his small size, thrives while playing big minutes for the PHA U15s. Called a game of his vs. ND U15s and I was really, really impressed. You can find the details about the event here: https://hockeysask.ca/players/sask-first/male-under-15
8. Handy new draft: Western Hockey League teams are already reaping the rewards of having a sensible draft aka a U16 draft, as many are already icing the guys they just picked in early December. The Pats, who are coming off a pretty epic win vs. Edmonton, have won four in a row at the Brandt Centre, and iced their first and second-round picks, the Kelowna-born twins Jaxsin and Corbin Vaughan out of Rink Academy Kelowna, in that contest. I’m sure we’ll keep seeing it happen as opportunities arise throughout the rest of the WHL campaign. Love this new draft concept!
9. Under pressure: The IIHF is under a ton of pressure from the social media world after cancelling several 2022 events in the wake of the Omicron variant, especially several female events. I, and many others, were especially gutted for the U18 girls’ tournament, and it’ll be interesting to see if the IIHF changes its mind and finds a way to make it happen. The thing about the World Juniors is that it pays for all the other tournaments, so it had to go forward as long as it could, but just how powerful is the hockey social media world to effect this change? We’ll find out.
10. Oy! More of this! The first SJHL Omicron game postponements have arrived with the Estevan-Weyburn and La Ronge-Flin Flon Bombers New Year’s Eve home-and-homes put on ice for the time being. The league said that it was all to give players more time to get back to their communities, to get tested, and to make sure there aren’t any more ‘close contact’ issues to deal with. I do hear from high ups that Premier Moe is very determined to not shut things like the SJ down, so we’ll see.
11. Third shot down: I got my third shot Monday, which just crushed me Tuesday, which is why I didn’t have it in me to write this until Wednesday! I said on Twitter: “I’ll get 100 shots if I need to”. I will not let my family get sick because of me, I will not let people around get sick because of me, and I do not want to be in the hospital myself. I have had a long medical history, and am very used to needing to take pills and put stuff in my body to keep me going safely…so maybe having that perspective is part of why I am so determined to get shots as soon as I can. I also do not want to go through another hockey season like the last one, though I have no idea if getting vaccines will fully protect us from what might come (as the NHL is proving).

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)