NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds

• Marathon in Fargo: Luke Mylymok, former Notre Dame Hounds Telus Cup champ and Hounds Junior A AP, and son of ND Head of Hockey Jeremy Mylymok, scored 2:13 into the fifth overtime (yep, not a typo, FIFTH!!) to give his University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs the upset victory over North Dakota Sunday night in their regional final. The goal punched their ticket to the NCAA Frozen Four National Championship tournament in Pittsburgh starting on Apr. 8. At 142 minutes and 13 seconds, it is the longest game in NCAA hockey history, beating the previous mark by almost 20 minutes! I called Milly the day after around 4:30 p.m., and he had just gotten out of bed aha! Can’t blame the kid. The deeper story here is that his line had barely played in all those OT periods, but instead of sulking, he chose to be a great teammate (not surprising, knowing him), jumped on the ice and decided he’d make a difference. He’s a first year, which is why he was on the fourth line, but look out: he’s going to be really, really good at the college level. You can call me an ND homer all you want, but you cannot deny that so many people who leave there have, are, and continue to do amazing things.
• Another One to TWU: Throw another Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Leaguer on the pile already accumulating ahead of Trinity Western University’s debut in USports (Canadian University) next year. The Estevan Bruins, and TWU, announced defenceman Kade McMillen has committed to the Spartans for next year, joining SJHL alums Jarrett Penner, Luke Spadafora, Berk Berekliev, and Adam Nobes as recent commits. There are already a bunch of Saskies and SJ kids there from previous years too, so you know I’ll be keeping a close eye on how they do in a mostly Major Junior and former pro-dominated Canada West league moving forward.
• East Hub Rankings: Was asked about my WHL Regina Hub rankings as we hit the 10-game mark, give-or-take a contest. Here’s what I said: Saskatoon is the best, no question about it to me, from goaltending on out (Nolan Maier is the best goalie at the Hub and it isn’t close); the Manitoba teams and P.A. (even without Braden Schneider for Brandon and Kaiden Guhle for P.A.) are Tier II; Moose Jaw and Regina are Tier III; and Swift Current, despite a few wins, are still bringing up the rear. That Tier II each have a great forward line they can rely on (the Krebs unit for Winnipeg, the Greig unit for Brandon, Wiesblatt’s line for P.A.) and, I don’t see that with the bottom three.
• Bedard For Canada: It’s always fun to see a young kid succeed and not only meet big hype, but exceed it, and there’s no doubt Connor Bedard is doing that (19 points in ten games, are you kidding me?!). I have heard Hockey Canada is going to announce its roster this week for the 2021 IIHF U-18s coming up in Texas at the end of April, and it would actually surprise me at this point if the Pats young star isn’t on it. Get him in the Hockey Canada door as fast as you can, I say! I do believe he’d have to miss decent time for the Pats in order to play in the event, as the puck drops on Apr. 26, and you need time for travel, any sort of quarantining, organization, etc. I think it would be brutal if he’s overlooked; he would give more people than the hockey nerds (like me) a real reason to watch the event!
• How About Bedard’s Old pal?: The old expression ‘high rising tides lift all boats’ is absolutely true when a guy like Bedard made the impact he did at West Van Academy last year; but that’s not the whole story for his pal and fellow West Van Warrior alum Mathew Ward. The 2004-born Swift Current Broncos forward has been dynamite in his own right, consistently in the middle of excellent former Yorkton Terrier Aiden Bulych, and 20-year old Michael Farren on Swift’s best line. Nobody at time of writing has more assists in the WHL than Ward, who only bagged his first career goal Monday night against his old chum Bedard and the Pats. Boy is there an array of incredible rookies and youngsters in the Regina Hub!
• Mix in a Save: I mean to take absolutely nothing away from the likes of Bedard and Ward, but boy has the goaltending in the Subway WHL Hub been bad (outside of the aforementioned Maier). I don’t want to call out too many people, but how about some of the save percentages on these supposed starters: Regina’s Roddy Ross, .835; Moose Jaw’s Boston Bilous, .839; Swift Current’s Isaac Poulter, .882. That’s not pretty, folks. I’ve had a front-row seat for Bilous’s struggles, which are even more wild given he was the toast of the town after a Goaltender of the Week-calibre start to the season.
• The Big bad Wolf: On the other end of the spectrum, Everett’s Dustin Wolf, the Calgary Flames prospect, has been remarkable. It took the 19-year-old Californian four games to even give up a goal, and he’s 4-0 with a .991 save percentage, and 0.25 goal-against average. The American division isn’t great, let’s be real, but the two-time American World Junior goalie is unreal. If he was bigger than 6-foot (probably under that), everyone would know his name. Last year his GAA in Everett was 1.88, the year before 1.69! As a rookie two years ago he had his worst year at a save percentage of .928! You’re telling me he shouldn’t be in pro hockey because he’s a teenager still? Get out of town!
• Edmonton Lost?!?!?: I said to a someone reaching out on Twitter that I have no doubt the Edmonton Oil Kings are the best team in the Western Hockey League. From the behemoth Sebastian Cossa in net (who is going in the first three rounds of the next NHL draft), to Matthew Robertson whom the New York Rangers absolutely STOLE in the second round in 2019 on the blue line, to Blues’ first rounder Jake Neighbours and soon-to-be Top 10 NHL pick Dylan Guenther up front (and many more) this team is just STACKED. They finally lost on Sunday afternoon to the Calgary Hitmen, so they are now 9-1 on the year. Boy, are they loaded.
• Moose Jaw’s Bright Future: Been so much fun covering the Warriors for DUBNetwork at the Hub (here’s my latest: Notebook), but I also constantly wonder how much to post about it on social media because I understand how many people are hurting out there for a lack of time in rinks. I genuinely post stuff as coverage and to simply give people a glimpse, and not at all like a “look at me everyone!” thing, but I understand how people can feel at all times, and especially times like these. And I know what some people are thinking out there: “Jamie, you can’t control how other people feel or think”, and you’re right, but I still do want to be someone who thinks about how I can care for others, even if I fail at that more often than not. THAT ALL SAID, Moose Jaw’s future is so bright, and it goes beyond the hopefully somewhat household name of Brayden Yager (who I think is just awesome, by the way). Denton Mateychuk, Jagger Firkus, Eric Alarie, Brett Mirwald, Max Wanner, and Atley Calvert are all 2003-born and younger, and it is this core that the Warriors need to focus on and build around; as good as guys like Daemon Hunt and Ryder Korczak are.
• That’s a Wrap: Finally, just want to say thanks to the SJHL (Logan Fraser, Bill Chow, Brett, Matthew, etc.), Munz Media, my co-host Rory, the sponsors, and Matthew Barrett for commenting, and most importantly, anyone who tuned in to our SJ at Noon Show this year! Would love to hear any and all feedback you have and we hope it’s back next season! We had a blast doing it! It is done for the year, but Rory and I did a show on a league that had no games for four whole months! Ha! I think it’s an accomplishment…call me crazy!

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)