SCRUFFY’S THIS ‘N THAT

1 – THE WILD, WILD WEST: It will soon be time for playoff hockey drafts to get underway. The problem that those will have going into those drafts and what team in the Western Conference do you invest in? If last Saturday’s game between Colorado and Edmonton is a preview of the West Final as many believe, buckle up because that was a great hockey game. To say that is a preview is a little premature though. Dallas, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Vegas will certainly have something to say about it before all is said and done and I wouldn’t count Nashville out either with the way they are playing down the stretch.

If I am Winnipeg, I probably want to finish first in the Central and West teams might be hoping for the same thing as that would mean the Stars and Avalanche would have to slug it out and what would probably be the marquee series of Round 1. Some in the Manitoba capital won’t like that because the Predators schooled the Jets at Canada Life Centre just a few days ago. What a great time of year it is!

2 – MIKE MODANO: The former Prince Albert Raider was recognized by the Dallas Stars on Saturday night as a statue of Modano now sits outside the rink. His jersey had already been retired by the club in 2014, but further recognition was given with the statue. Safe to say he is the best player in the history of the “Dallas Stars” and perhaps the franchise and I think it is also safe to say he is one of the best athletes to represent a Dallas team which would put him on a list with guys like Troy Aikman, Dirk Nowitzki and Nolan Ryan amongst others.

Many Americans have done great things in the NHL and one reason for that might be Modano. To me, he might be the best US-born player in NHL history. As a Pats fan in the 80’s, I obviously “hated” him but he was something to watch. Do we realize how good we had in Saskatchewan watching junior hockey in 1987 as players like Theoren Fleury, Joe Sakic, Modano and Trevor Linden coming through while the Pats had a pair of 100-point scorers in Darren McKechnie and Craig Endean? Those were entertaining years at the Agridome. I don’t think we realized just how much talent we saw go through that rink at the time.

3 – NEXT YEAR TIME: The WHL regular season will wrap up this weekend with playoffs soon to begin. It should be a fun few weeks for the fine people of Moose Jaw, Saskatoon and Swift Current. Unless Medicine Hat throws a wrench into things, we should see an all-Saskatchewan Eastern Conference final which I am more than fine with.

Sadly, there will be no post-season hockey at the Brandt Centre this winter as the Pats can start their summer once the buzzer sounds to end Game 68. I’ll be honest. In Year 1 after Connor Bedard, I thought this team could somehow find themselves as a playoff team, but GM Al Millar decided to start planning for the future and I can’t blame him for that.

The big question I have for Regina is what Tanner Howe’s status will be. The Pats can certainly gain a number of assets for the Prince Albert product. Do they do that in the off-season or do they wait until the season to begin to see what assets they can get? He should be a late first-round, early second-round pick at the NHL draft. I’ll be stunned if he is on the roster at this time next season.

4 – THIS YEAR TIME: It’s next year time for the Pats, but it is This Year time for teams trying to chase down the Ed Chynoweth Cup and this may be the year the trophy returns to Saskatchewan. I had a chance to see the Moose Jaw Warriors dismantle Regina last week and let me tell you that team is special. If there is a better defenceman in the WHL than Danton Mateychuk I would like to know who it is. Add Firkus, Yager and Savoie to that list and that squad will be a tough out. I haven’t seen Saskatoon since early in the season and I know how good that team is with many saying they are just a tiny bit better than the Warriors. If we get a Saskatoon-Moose Jaw series, a very good team is going to be on the outside looking in come playoff time. Can’t wait! Out west, it will likely be Portland or Everett against a Prince George team that many believe can win it all. I’m not one of them for what it’s worth.

5 – WAS IT REALLY 50 YEARS AGO? I don’t remember when my Dad took me to my first Regina Pats game at Exhibition Stadium, but I do remember that my first hockey heroes were guys like Dennis Sobchuk, Clark Gillies and the great Ed Staniowski. It’s hard to believe that it was 50 years ago that Regina won the Memorial Cup beating the Quebec Remparts at the Calgary Corral. I think it was when the Memorial Cup was last held here when that team was recognized and it will happen again this weekend as the Pats close things out. Some will tell you the Pats team that lost to Seattle in the WHL final was the best one this franchise has had. I will say that’s wrong because they didn’t give Adam Brooks the Memorial Cup. I may not have been old enough to understand the game 50 years ago but that team will always be special to me because they helped create my first hockey memories. It is always a pleasure speaking to Steady Eddie and it was always a pleasure when I had a chance to talk to Gillies. He was as good as they come. As a kid, I had that 1974 team poster. I’m guessing I’m not the only one reading this in Regina that can say that.

6 – THE MADNESS IS UNDERWAY: One of the best weekends on the sports calendar is here. The first weekend of March Madness is unreal with upsets happening and brackets being broken as early as the first game. I’ve got North Carolina cutting down the nets in a few weeks. I will always remember previewing March Madness 2021 on the Sportscage when Derek Taylor was hosting and we had Kate Beirness on. I asked her why Baylor would win the tournament as that’s who I had winning. She laughed at me!! Lo and behold the Bears won it all so I told DT we had to get Kate back on. He was way ahead of me and we started the segment with that snippet of the interview. She was gracious in the mocking she received. Good times!

7 – WHAT RIDERS LOGO IS THE BEST?:  Jamie Nye and his team on CJME’s Green Zone are asking listeners what is the best Riders logo. Put me in the camp of the Safeway like “S” from 1966-1984. By the way, did you know it was yours truly that came up with the name “The Green Zone”?  It was originally the name of a Riders page on their website and now it has transformed to the show.

8 – CFL REALITY SHOW: Netflix did a great job with “Quarterback” as they showed us a little more of guys like Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota  It was such a success that “Receiver” is next. We need “Kickers’ before this series ends. The PGA Tour has had solid numbers with its “Full Swing” Series and now there is talk about the NHL and Amazon Prime teaming up to do something similar. Hey Bell Media, hey CFL —- have you approached one another about doing something like this that you could put on Crave.  There are many players across the CFL you could profile. Like him or not, Cody Fajardo would be one of them and so would AJ Ouellette. Tell me he wouldn’t be fantastic. I hope someone with the CFLPA is looking into something like this. I’d watch and you would be too.

9 – SHAME ON YOU GRADEY!  The Raptors first-round draft pick is a little devious! When you have the name he has, you can see why!  Gradey Dick went viral last week after a jersey swap with fellow rookie Anthony Black after a game in Orlando. All I have to say is I am glad he didn’t do a jersey swap with another Magic player — Jalen Suggs and that he doesn’t do one with James Harden!  HEY YOOOOO!

That’s all I got.  Have a great weekend!