NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

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

1. U18 Canada expectations: Upon watching the quality of the competition in the first two days of the IIHF U-18s in Texas, I’ll say this right now: I expect Canada to demolish its way through this thing. Opening up Tuesday vs. Sweden, Connor Bedard is on what is the second of the ‘No. 1 lines’ available to Head Coach Dave Barr, while Shane Wright is between boyhood friend Brennan Othman on the left, and Edmonton Oil Kings superstar Dylan Guenther on the right (that line is going to EAT). If Canada loses a game in this event, I’ll be surprised. I’m putting it out there right now. Plenty of the OHL players went overseas to find games this year with their league having never started, so I also don’t expect that much rust. They pumped another ‘good team’, Finland 5-1, in their only pre-tournament game. I’ll say it again: they are going to run over this tournament.
2. U18 Bedard expectations: So, how is Bedard going to do on the right of big Ontario boys Mason McTavish in the middle, and Danny Zhilkin on the left? He’s going to do really well. As I said, I think Canada is going to crush this tournament, but they also have so much depth so Bedard won’t need to hit double digits in points or do what Connor McDavid did (McDavid had 14 points in seven games at the event as a 16-year-old in 2013). It doesn’t do to underestimate Bedard, so who knows what he’ll be capable of in Texas: my point is that while he is going to be important for Canada, he’s on the same team as the next No. 1 pick named Shane Wright.
3. Moose Jaw finishes up: Back in Sask and the Moose Jaw Warriors finished the season with a record of 8-13-3 and were losers of eight of their last nine games to end the Regina Hub. So many different things went wrong over that brutal last couple of weeks, but the biggest thing is simply that the goaltending just was not good enough, and that sets the tone for everything. I’ll have a more complete wrap-up piece on DUBNetwork this week, but I truly believe this was a .500 team – as the brass stated that they were hoping for pre-season – but the inability to kill penalties, and get quality starts in the net, really sunk it. I also think the 19- and 20-year olds were generally way below par, which is another set of problems (one of those 20-year-olds was the ‘starting goalie’), but this year was beset with injuries too and was never really about the standings. So, there’s the harsh reality; but next year looks bright
4. The Warriors’ next year: Priority No. 1 for new General Manager Jason Ripplinger has to be to secure the services of Swedish goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, whom the Warriors nabbed 46th in the 2019 CHL Import Draft. I really think whether they can get the 2002-born goaltender, who is expected to go in the Top 15 (conservatively) of the upcoming NHL Draft, is going to determine a lot of which direction the team will go ahead of the 2021-2022 season. IF they get him, and that’s likely depending on the wishes of his NHL team given the fact he’s been a Swedish pro for a whole year and could play in the AHL, then it opens the door to ensure they get skilled Czech forward Martin Rysavy (who’s off to a great start at the U18s), and then really work to shore up the defence-corps behind Daemon Hunt and Denton Mateychuk, who are both confirmed to be back next season. Exciting off-season, and it starts with getting Wallstedt, or a premium goalie, in the door.
5. A few more general Hub thoughts: What a great time! The biggest takeaway was that everyone who can watch Sask WHL teams next year needs to make a note to do it. The amount of talent and maturity on the young 2004 and 2005 birth years was truly spectacular, and especially the forwards like Bedard, Brayden Yager of Moose Jaw, and Zach Benson of Winnipeg, are going to be fueling massive clashes in the division for years to come! The best 05 D that played has to be Saskatoon’s Tanner Molendyk, who I am an enormous fan of!
6. SJ statement: The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League issued a statement Monday essentially stating that it intends to “make a full return” for the 2021-2022 season, and that is continuing to work with the government on what that might look like. There were no details about how in-depth those talks are, but I do like the pro-active communication, and the thought to start thinking and hoping for what it might look like four months from now. I don’t see a world where there will be full arenas, with maskless fans even if we do start in September, but any sort of normal start in the fall with travel would be magnificent. You can find the full statement here: https://www.sjhl.ca/sjhl-making-plans-for-the-2021-22-season and I’ll try to keep you up to date on the latest in this column when I know anything!
7. Cam on the move: Personal note here, and I have to say I am thrilled and super excited for my good buddy Cameron Wright, a point-producing machine, who has transferred as a senior from Bowling Green State University to the University of Denver. I talked about loads of players in the NCAA Transfer Portal last week, so I knew he was on the move for a while, but his move to the powerhouse Pioneers was made official last Friday. Check out his EliteProspects page and tell me if that consistency of production at a very high level of hockey doesn’t impress you (it should). I think he’ll be a pro somewhere very soon.
8. Q commits: Happy to announce that long-time Notre Dame Hound Qaritaq Kusugak-Clark will be joining fellow long-time Hound Hardy Wagner at Lake Forest College near Chicago in NCAA DIII next year. Q worked so hard in his whole time at Wilcox to get better, and he was off to a great start this past year. That’s eight commitments for ND from that pandemic shortened season…not too bad.
9. World Women’s reaction: It has been talked about a lot already that the World Women’s Hockey Championship in Halifax was postponed, but the intense response from the hockey world was pretty gratifying for me to see. I think because of that response the event will happen sometime soon, and they will find a way for these worthy athletes to represent their respective countries! They were upset that the World Juniors went ahead in Edmonton, but not the Women’s Worlds, but that is more down to Alberta’s attitude vs. Nova Scotia’s attitude to handling Covid than sexism. Hopefully, it happens soon!
10. OKAY….BLUE JAYS….LET’S WIN…SOME GAMES: Four wins in their last five for the Blue Jays at the time of writing, George Springer’s introduction seems just over the horizon, and Hyun Jin Ryu’s injury not looking too bad…it’s looking like a fun summer! Vladdy is just crushing it like we all expected a couple of years ago! So exciting!

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)