STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – ANOTHER GAME, ANOTHER LOSS – Make it five straight losses for the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush and six of their last seven have ended in defeat. I may have a slightly different take on this game (Saturday’s 14-6 home loss to Calgary) than some others. Overall, I felt the Rush didn’t play all that bad. There were signs of the transition game is returning to the form we saw two months ago and the offense did generate some chances but they were going up against Christian Del Bianco, who for my money, is the best goaltender in the NLL.  Compounding the issue of Del Bianco being so good was that Alex Buque and Eric Penney were the opposite of that. Buque gave up 3 goals on 7 shots. Penney made 28-saves on 39-shots the rest of the way.  Most damaging was a 3-goal barrage within 56-seconds late in the second after the Rush clawed back to within 5-3. From there, it looked like the rest of the team mailed in the second half. I don’t think the organization has anything to lose by giving Warman’s Laine Hruska a shot. Oh, and Cameron Dunkerley is 2-and-1, 10.77, 78% with New York. He was cut by the Rush but the overall numbers are better than both of our goalies.

2 – KURSED? – Some are calling it the Karma Kurse, but the Rush have not won since their much publicized halftime show on February 25th when they were stunned by the lowly Vancouver Warriors.  Since then, they’ve been beaten by Panther City, San Diego, and now Calgary twice.  Personally, I don’t believe in such nonsense and I look at the schedule moving forward and they actually have an opportunity to run the table over the final five weeks as none of their games come against top clubs (Vancouver, Georgia, Halifax, Colorado, Las Vegas).  The Thunderbirds, at 7-and-7, have the best record of those teams.  

3 – LOCKER ROOM CHEMISTRY – Here’s what I will say about the so-called Karma Kurse: it created division amongst the fans and the attendance has suffered in a big way ever since but I’m not sure that can be directly attributed to the February 25th half-time show. I blame it more on the egg that was laid that night by the players and the mounting of losses ever since. Fans are not going to come out and support a consistent loser. Somehow, the Rush have to find their winning ways again and I predict fan numbers will go in a positive direction. Here’s the other thing that I never thought about, however, until a poster commented on my blog last week: it’s possible the controversial game night promotion not only created division amongst the fans but also amongst the players. We’ve seen it in the NHL with certain individuals refusing to wear warm-up jerseys so you know it’s not an issue players are united on and I’ve always maintained that if you have a group of players (talented or not), that are not all rowing the boat in the same direction, you can fully expect to lose.

4 – WARM UP JERSEYS – They won’t do it because the powers that be have gone ‘all in’ with it, but it’s probably time for the NHL to get rid of special warm up jerseys for social issues. All they’ve done is create division amongst their fans, players, coaches, managers, and owners. Never mind the Pride Nights. This happened when Russia invaded Ukraine too as it made a temporary villain out of Alexander Ovechkin. It’s not Ovechkin’s fault Russia has killed thousands of innocent people in Ukraine, but there are those on social media who feel better about themselves if they blame him and other Russian players who certain media think should be barred from the NHL and who’s to argue if you are going to ban Russian players from international events like the World Juniors? If you ban one, may as well ban them all. Yet, the NHL isn’t doing that. The league virtue signals over it and then does nothing that actually has any solid impact. Pride theme jerseys are much the same.  =Forcing them on to players during warm-up isn’t going to make anyone more welcome than they currently are and it’s not going to change anyone’s mind as far as preconceived thoughts are concerned.  In fact, it’s likely only going to make matters worse.  

5 – EVERYONE – If hockey is truly for everyone, I think NHL teams should start by getting player volunteers to attend special interest group events. Maybe hand out free tickets and allow for dressing room tours. One of the things the Rush do prior to every home game is they have a blanket presentation and message from the area Tribal Chief to signify respect and acknowledgement of the First Nations community and their influence on the history of the game. It’s a quick thing and it’s awesome to see how beautiful the blankets are all the while getting a fast education/reminder. For years, I’ve said hockey can make a true impact on the ‘hockey is for everyone’ crusade by finding ways to reduce costs so that families with less financial resources are able to enroll their children and allow them to play at an elite level in the event the child is good enough. Let’s face it, hockey is expensive but it doesn’t have to be as much as it is. The other big market for me is the new Canadian. I look at minor hockey rosters in a number of Saskatchewan communities and I don’t see hardly any names that come from citizens who are new to our area. What are we doing to embrace Filipinos, for example, to our game?  Wearing a jersey during warm up to let poor people or immigrants know we welcome them, isn’t going to move the needle for them, in my opinion. 

6 – HOBBINS FUNDRAISER – It’s low-hanging fruit and easy to get clicks and enrage people if you pick on hockey for not being inclusive, but here’s another reality – hockey in rural communities is as inclusive as you can possibly get and if what I’m about to share doesn’t bring a tear to your eye then you have no soul.  The Wadena Senior Wildcats held a fundraiser for one of their players who has a four-year-old boy in need of a very serious brain operation in Toronto. Last weekend, they raised over $25,000 for Fletcher Hobbins. You can go see more details about his very rare situation on Fletcher’s Neuro Journey Facebook page. Fletcher’s dad, Tyson, played Junior A for the Nipawin Hawks and I got to know him a little bit during his time as a player for the Hawks. It’s easy to throw out platitudes for people when they are going through a tough time, but I can tell you without any amount of exaggeration that Tyson was one of the nicest young men I have ever dealt with. Wadena’s population is 1306. To put into perspective the amount of money raised, a similar campaign in Regina would need to generate almost $4.5-million for it to equal what was done in Wadena.  

7 – BASEBALL CLASSIC – The end of the World Baseball Classic this week was a baseball fan’s dream as Shohei Ohtani pitched to Mike Trout and struck him out on a 3-2, 100mph fastball to win it for Japan. This match-up told me a few things, not the least of which is how inept the Anaheim Angels (I refused to call them Los Angeles) are as they employ the top two players in all of Major League Baseball and still can’t sniff the playoffs.  But, the other thing is that you have Ohtani, who for me surpasses Babe Ruth in baseball folklore, and Trout and somehow baseball can’t figure out a way to market them in a way that increases viewership.  I don’t have the solution either, so it’s not really a criticism as it is an observance.  

8 – BEDARD CRAZE – The funny thing about marketing is the Regina Pats couldn’t draw increased numbers to see Connor Bedard until Bedard appeared on television for the World Juniors over Christmas. This despite very visible promotional material with regards to Bedard for the last two years. Ever since the WJHC, it’s been sellout after sellout, not only in Regina, but in every arena the Pats go. It’s as if nobody knew Bedard played for the Pats or the Pats and Bedard ever played against other teams in their home buildings. Are people that sheltered?

9 – JETS – The Winnipeg Jets may still yet back into the playoffs, but my prediction is that if they do, they will be the easiest first round match up to predict. They don’t deserve to be there and despite all the praise handed out over the first 50 games, they’ve undone it over the last 25 with pitiful play and the issues remain the same this year as they were in years past. Paul Maurice walked away because the task to get the players to care was too monumental for him. Rick Bowness is finding out the same thing. The blame here falls on Kevin Cheveldayoff, who should have blown this thing up one or two years ago but I’ve often said players will take on the complexion of those above them and if your General Manager doesn’t care (there are signs he sure does not), how can you expect the players to? Furthermore, and I said this about Bowness when he was hired, is that the Jets hired a coach that has been in the league behind a bench since 1988. As a head coach, he’s taken a team beyond round one twice. Twice. Yet, he was the absolute best the Jets could do. I think he’s a really good coach for an up and coming team, but for a team that is supposed to contend? Probably not his best fit.

10 – NICE PERSON MENTIONS – Jason Balogh, Don Chesney, Curtis Delorme, Christian McKay, Darren Wandy, Deana Stroshein, and Tehra Lauer.

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