STACKHOUSE’S 10 MONDAY THOUGHTS

1 – RIDERS LOSE – A good team would have fed Winnipeg their lunch on Sunday. The Bombers sat their starters for almost a month and the rust was extremely evident. However, it ended up working for them but they are darn lucky that the Riders offense is inept. Six turnovers and at the end of the game you only have 17 points to show for it. The good news for Cody Fajardo is that there is nobody available who is even remotely close to being better than him to replace him. I also really like the guy so I’m quite okay with giving him a chance at a redemption season. How bad was it for the Riders?  Andrew Harris had a big game and he didn’t even need to cheat.

2 – RUSH OPEN SEASON – The Saskatchewan Rush opened their season on Saturday night and fell 12-11, in overtime, to the Halifax Thunderbirds.  Mark Matthews had six assists but didn’t score.  Matthews’ goal production was down in 2020 after scoring 40 in three of the previous four years. I think the Rush will be more than fine as long as they play this way on a weekly basis but more goals from Matthews would allow me to feel even more confident about it.  Adam Shute had a good game in net but Warren Hill, at the other end, was just a touch better. Hill may even be the best in the league. The overtime period was very entertaining and it did appear as though Josh Currier won it for Saskatchewan earlier in the extra frame but there wasn’t enough video evidence to overturn the ‘no goal’ call on the floor. Five of this weekend’s seven games were decided by one goal.

3 – RUSH CHANGES – Mike Messenger takes the draws now in light of Jeremy Thompson’s departure and he had a very solid game. Ben McIntosh and Matthew Dinsdale are also gone from the 2020 team and this looks like Jeff Shattler’s swan song as a professional lacrosse player so there is room for someone to step up offensively. That someone may be Dan Lintner, a veteran pick up in the offseason who has played previously on other teams with Matthews. Don’t discount Currier either. He scored 34 goals in 2019 with Philadelphia. I like sports that promote speed, physical play, and lots of offense. Therefore, I’m thrilled to have the NLL back after 635 days away.

4 – MACLEOD RULE-BREAKER – Fully vaccinated MacLeod Bethel-Thompson went to a Raptors game this week and that’s a violation of CFL protocols so he was ruled ineligible to play in Sunday’s playoff game against Hamilton. Remind me again why we get vaccinated? I don’t know MacLeod but my guess is he got his shot so that he can take part in normal life not because he felt he needed it to prevent him from passing away.  Yet, he can’t put on a mask and go to a Raptors game? I understand this isn’t government policy but rather CFL policy.  Nevertheless, it’s stupid. But, it’s also just the latest example that your vaccine is about as effective as a shot of hand sanitizer, according to those in charge.  

5 – RULE REVERSED – After a full day of negative publicity, the CFL reversed course on Bethel-Thompson and stated as long as he returns negative tests he would be eligible to play in the East Final. This is still disastrous for the CFL. It makes a mockery of all the players who did follow the rules all season long and sacrificed a lot of off-field enjoyment for nothing. I also think it’s too little too late for damage control when it comes to future recruitment south of the border. If we want better calibre football, we need to make sure we can entice top players from the States and these rules (whether they are government or CFL driven) do nothing but chase potential stars (and lifelong citizens) far away. I’ve often said that as much as I have despised the rules, I would, at least, appreciate them to make sense. Follow this if you can: Fans need to be vaccinated to watch a game, but players don’t need a vaccine to play. The players do need their shots to fly, but could (in theory) drive on their own and be eligible to play unvaxxed. Those who are fully vaxxed are banned from participating in regular society outside of football, even if masked. You are an American player….does this sound like a good place to live for half of the year?  

6 – NFL FARM LEAGUE – Here’s the biggest hurdle I see when it comes to making Canada a breeding ground for the NFL – there will no longer be any identification for the fans. Bo-Levi Mitchell is a player Calgary fans can get behind, buy a jersey, and follow on a yearly basis. Winnipeg had that for years with the likes of Chris Walby, Milt Stegall, etc. The Riders turned out fan favorites such as Weston Dressler, Darian Durant, and then you have players born and raised in Regina that made an impact with the fan base too like Neal Hughes, Chris Getzlaf, and even Jason Clermont for the limited amount of time he wore green. If the NFL sends its top prospects here, sure the quality of football should be a bit better but you aren’t going to be able to relate to these guys. The best ones won’t even last a full season.

7 – STARS IN THE MINORS – Growing up in Fredericton, we had the AHL Canadiens as our local team.  Here are some of the names that passed through: Craig Conroy, John LeClair, Jose Theodore, Donald Brashear, Stephane Robidas, Valeri Bure, Tomas Vokoun, and Brian Savage just to name a few. I also recall the very first season the team was in town, the Baby Habs had the most exciting top line in the league with Patrick Lebeau-Gilbert Dionne-Jesse Belanger and then they had Paul DiPietro on the second line with a defense anchored by Sean Hill. All of these guys played in the NHL. Andre Racicot (who was a great minor league goalie) and JC Bergeron were the main netminders along with Frederic Chabot.  All three played in the NHL. A city like Fredericton otherwise has no chance to watch future stars yet the team struggled to draw fans. Why? No identity. The most popular players were guys who never panned out because of either their longevity or ties to the local area. Their university team (UNB Reds) draws just as well as the AHL team did because it’s made up of players who are pretty much guaranteed to be there four years and many are local.  I’d love to see Trey Lance play quarterback for the Riders, but if he’s lighting it up he’s gone to the 49ers come playoff time and then what?

8 – AHL MEMORIES – Talking about AHL Fredericton conjures up some great memories for me as a boy as I went to a lot of games. They were affordable (I used my paper route money to get tickets) and I was a super fan of the AHL and NHL so I knew rosters of teams in both leagues inside out even as a 12-year-old. In 1986, Fredericton was the farm team for Quebec and Vancouver with both teams sending their players to Freddy. That was also the year (I’ve written about it) I won a road trip with the team and I got to tag along to Springfield and New Haven. The playoffs that year saw the 4th place Express take on 1st place Adirondack Red Wings and it was one of most exciting series’ I’ve ever witnessed. Express goalie Frank Caprice almost stole it all but the way hockey was played back then, the Red Wings ran him in game four (I believe) and Caprice was injured, taking him out of the mix. I recall the Wings having Basil McRae and Bob Probert on the team doing the dirty work while the Express countered with my idol, Richard Zemlak, Mike Stevens (Scott’s brother), and Gord Donnelly. It was very rough after Caprice was run through his net and almost over top of the crossbar. Fans of the day may or may not remember that Adirondack’s top player in that series was Adam Oates. So you can definitely see some great players if you are part of an affiliate league.  I just think getting fans to buy into that is nearly impossible. Interestingly, two years later McRae and Zemlak were teammates on the Minnesota North Stars.

9 – LOCAL PLAYERS – On the topic of relatability, one of the things I would try if I was in charge of a Junior A hockey team in this province is to do everything in my power to ensure as many local players as possible are on my team, all the while trying to maintain being competitive. It’s not easy. Usually, it’s an either/or proposition. But with attendance lagging in many centres, having players on your team where there are people around with a vested interest is the best way to keep your crowd numbers up, vaccine mandate or not. Here’s some of Melville’s 2003 roster with hometowns: Chad Haacke (Melville), Derek Parker (Melville), Cam Breitkreuz (Springside), Shaun Heshka (Melville), Bear Trapp (Balcarres/Regina), Kyle Thunberg (Regina), Michael Zulyniak (Melville), and Rylan Zakreski (Regina).  That’s eight players within an hour drive and then you still had Shawn Langen, Dustin Hunter (one of now famous Hunter Brothers), Ed Schmalz, Ashley Todd, Dan Wilson (who now lives in Yorkton), Kyle Smeltzer, Matt Bergen, Deder Klassen, Chad Krienke, Jamie Langen, and Quinton Gauthier also from various locales in Saskatchewan. Granted, back then, there were rules on imports and such but I’m willing to bet, at least, 250 per game (maybe more) were there only to watch their loved one. Shawn and Jamie are brothers from Saskatoon and I recall seeing their family at both home and road games a lot. It’s a long drive and quite a commitment for them and also extra tickets sold for the Mils.

10 – DOUG JOHNSON – I was shocked and disappointed on Saturday upon learning the Nipawin Hawks had decided to move on from long-time Coach/General Manager Doug Johnson. Johnson’s Hawks were ‘just’ 10-12-and-5 this season, which hardly signals disaster. Nipawin also had a 94-37-and-17 record as well as one SJHL championship under Johnson since 2018 and he had been in charge for a decade. Johnson’s contributions to the franchise off the ice far exceed what an organization gets from a coach these days and his shoes will be big ones to fill. We talk a lot about the mental well-being of players but we never talk about the same for junior coaches. They know going in they are hired to be fired but that doesn’t mean these men aren’t affected when they are let go. And, none of them have Mike Babcock’s bank account so finding another job is imperative for them.    

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)