NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE SJHL

By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds

1. Roller-coaster Week: What a roller-coaster of emotions last week was for anyone hoping for a return to play hockey sooner than later in Saskatchewan! I’ll get into the details of the week in a second, but I heard a great quote that really applies to me, and I’m sure many, during this pandemic: “Nobody at the end of their life looked back and regretted spending too much time with their kids.” As pretty much a stay-at-home dad due to all this, it’s a great perspective for me!
2. Dureau Departs: Good news to start as Jayden Dureau was called up to the Syracuse Crunch, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who took him in the fifth round of the latest National Hockey League draft. The White City, SK boy actually played at least one game for three different Sask U18 clubs – the Notre Dame Argos, Saskatoon Blazers, and Regina Pat Canadians – before two excellent seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winterhawks. Dureau was a WHL loaner to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires to start this year, putting up a not-too-shabby haul of 11 points in six games. I recently asked Mils captain Luke Nkwama about he and fellow Mils NHL pick Reece Newkirk, and he told me that those two were consummate professionals, and showed everyone on the team what it was like, and what it took, to get to the next level. Always good to see a Sask boy make it somewhere in the game!
3. Hope Start: So, about this past week. Well, it started with a really enjoyable, hopeful, positive podcast, and follow-up article on this website with SJHL President Bill Chow. He felt there were forces on our side, that his feelings were positive, and that he was confident in some sort of start-date. Bill never said anything concrete though, and clearly even he did not see Wednesday’s meeting coming.
4. Memorandum Crusher of Dreams: As I reported here: https://rodpedersen.com/potentially-fatal-blow-dealt-to-hockey-in-sask/, the potential for a return to hockey any time really between now and September-October 2021 was dealt a crushing blow Wednesday. The Government’s Business Response Team informed all the sport bodies in Saskatchewan that a return to gameplay is unlikely before the end of March. The two largest issues then for anything like a remainder of the 20-21 season are thus: 1) That rinks around the province have, as it has been explained to me, “little appetite to keep rinks open past mid-May”, and 2) that the later we go, the greater the risk any return would impede with the hopefully normal-ish running of the 2021-2022 season. I believe Covid is very real, I believe it is our responsibility, whether we agree or not, to obey the government’s orders, and as a province the last number of months, we have not done a good job in dealing with this virus. I wish the government would show some sort of data that proves organized hockey is a reasonable cause for the spread of Covid, but they probably won’t, because they probably don’t have it. I don’t see our case numbers per day really going down, so the truth is Dr. Shahab is simply doing his job to the best of his ability and understanding, both of which are much greater than mine. Should hockey be allowed to run, since I don’t believe it spreads Covid and its benefits and meaning to our society are manifold? Yes, I believe so. Are we somehow being punished by a person who simply doesn’t care about hockey? No, not at all, though I understand how it can feel that way.
5. The Money?: One day after the meeting of doom, Jan. 15, the government announced funding to support the Western Hockey League teams in the province, and the SJHL. The ‘Dub’ teams are to get $600k each, while the SJ is to receive $1 million in total. Will Flin Flon be part of this? Bill Chow has said it’s still uncertain. I immediately got messages and saw tweets surrounding the money is somehow a signal to prompt a relatively soon return to play, which it clearly is not. I don’t believe and have not heard that any of the Sask-based SJ teams or WHL teams were really in danger of immediately folding as a result of the pandemic, especially as operating costs without actual games going on must have plummeted; but they all have expenses and debts from even before the pandemic. So, what it is really then? It’s a nice gesture by the SaskParty. I’m sure it helps bring hockey back to some degree in the 21-22 season, as it would surprise me if even by Sept-Oct we’ll be allowed very large capacities in our arenas, so that’s great.
6. Not All In The Same Boat…: Just like Rod talked about on his show, I was really surprised by how angry people were on social media and elsewhere about the government aid to hockey. Our government gives grants and aid to tons of elements of society, and while I know not everyone cares about the game, nobody seems to get as up in arms about aid to certain businesses for example, where their only goal is really to find a way to make themselves profit (I don’t mean that in a negative sense…profit is what feeds their families, pays for education, etc.). My only point is, why single out hockey among all the areas that receive aid?
7. Manitoba Coming Soon?: The pandemic situation seems to be going a lot better for our neighbours to the east as the Manitobans look to be only getting around 100 new cases per day. I don’t have concrete dates, and I don’t believe they do either, but I have heard from a couple of Manitoba Junior League players that they are on high alert to get back to their clubs, and anticipate a return-to-play in mid-February. The Manitoba government has issued surveys with a potential easing of restrictions in mind, and while they too are at the mercy of the mighty virus, I am happy for/jealous of them! I hope everyone is on the ice as soon as possible!
8. Creativity On The Table: Back to our own league. In a more recent chat with Bill Chow on the SJ at Noon show (Mondays at noon on Facebook Live, FYI), he mentioned that any sort of creative set-up to play games in April and May are on the table. A committee to create a few scenarios for submission to the government is in the process of being built, but given the state of the 20-21 season, I’d like to see every team in the league get into a ‘playoff’-type tournament, at the very least, to give everyone equal development/exposure time. Let’s have a little fun!
9. Nate Joins Bro: More good news and another commitment out of Notre Dame! Texas-born and 19-year-old Hounds’ forward Nate Albers has committed to play at Liberty University in Virginia next year. He will join his brother Zak at the school, which plays in the D1 ACHA, a club-level post-secondary league in the States. In a recent questionnaire, Nate mentioned that he would like to be a Navy Seal one day…someone might say that as a joke, but anyone who knows him likely has the same thought: “you know, I could see that!”.

• 10. Sim Coming!: The SJHL Showcase Sim is coming Jan. 29-30 to Twitch! There will be four all-SJHL populated teams: ‘veterans and young guns’ teams from each of the north and south cohorts, and I can confirm the players and squads have all been imported into NHL 21 already. Stay tuned to the league’s social media for roster announcements and more in the coming days! It’ll be nice to have something other than Covid and public health orders to talk about!

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)