STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – BCHL – This whole notion of the BCHL breaking away from the CJHL poses a slew of questions, not the least of which would be how do Junior ‘A’ teams who fall under the CJHL umbrella protect themselves from losing players in the middle of the season? As it stands now, there really is no compensation if an SJHL team loses a player to the USHL and they can come calling for said player any time they want. It happened to the Yorkton Terriers last season when star goalie Ryan Ouellette was plucked away just after Christmas. While it’s not mandated to happen, the USHL team did provide cash compensation to the Terriers for taking him but money doesn’t skate or keep pucks out of the net. If the BCHL leaves the association that governs Junior ‘A’ hockey in Canada, they’d be able to do what the USHL does and that’s take any player they want at any given time and no trade would ever need to be negotiated.

2 – BRENT DODGINGHORSE – I believe I wrote about this story in Heart & Soul, The 50th History of the SJHL book that was released a couple of years ago, but it’s fitting to retell it in the event the BCHL goes rogue. Dodginghorse helped Vernon win the National Junior ‘A’ title in 1997 and the Lebret Eagles paid a big price (believed to be $15,000) to get him in the offseason to be the face of their franchise. The community held a massive gathering in the summer to welcome him to town but the very next day, he announced he was leaving for Omaha of the USHL and never even reported to training camp, let alone played a single game. Other than having a hole in their finances, the Eagles had nothing to show for the trade and no recourse.

3 – WHL AFFILIATION – What I’m about to say doesn’t get much support from my friends who coach SJHL teams, but if I was running a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League club, my focus would be on sending players to the Western Hockey League and not the NCAA, although I certainly wouldn’t abandon the practice.  I think you can make a case for, say, the Melville Millionaires to work out a handshake agreement with the Regina Pats whereby the Mils develop prospects at ages 16, 17, and 18 and the Pats would then help send 19 and 20 year-olds to the Mils in the event major junior aspirations are exhausted. I know that’s easier said than done, especially, with agents at play and making decisions that are out of control of the teams and there isn’t enough space in this column to expand on it but I’d be very receptive as far as major junior partnerships.

4 – SCOTTY BOWMAN – I just started reading Scotty, by Ken Dryden.  Forget the hockey part, I’m only two chapters in and I’m gobsmacked over the reminders in massive differences in life from when Scotty grew up compared to how kids grow up today. Scotty says he ‘lived outdoors’ and played a lot of marbles with friends in the neighborhood. His family of five (sometimes six) lived in an 850 square foot apartment (or flat). Nobody on the street owned a car, so there was plenty of space to play. In addition to playing marbles, he also used to play with a yo-yo and a man who lived nearby would offer prizes (namely new string) if you could do certain tricks with it. They had a telephone, but it was a party line and the kids were instructed to never use it unless it was absolutely necessary. I have to be honest. I’d love to go back in time and live life in that way. Simpler. 

5 – FANS BACK – While it appears as though Saskatchewan and perhaps more provinces in Canada are set to be confined further as we deal with a third wave, six NHL teams had fans in attendance on Saturday and Sunday, with Carolina leading the way at 4433.  Dallas was next at 4026, then it was Phoenix 3217, and Philadelphia had 3069. Pittsburgh welcomed 2800 and Boston had 2191 on hand. To offer perspective to those of you panicking over ‘high’ Covid case counts in Regina and Saskatchewan as a whole, Massachusetts has just under 7 million people and registered 2000 cases on Sunday, which would be equivalent to, approximately, 300 in Saskatchewan (we had 240) and life is moving more towards normal there (as evidenced by the Bruins having fans) as opposed to the fear mongering and, likely, further confinement that’s happening here. More perspective: prior to the pandemic, the average all-cause death toll per day in Saskatchewan ranges between 25 and 30 people who pass away. Over a year, approximately, 10-thousand people will die in Saskatchewan. We’ve had just over 400 here die that were Covid positive (not necessarily Covid caused) and we’ve destroyed the province over it and no indication we will change course anytime soon. Square peg, meet round hole.

6 – BASEBALL TEAMS TRYING – There are 30 teams across Major League Baseball and I was involved in a conversation with a friend of mine late last week and we discussed who’s the favorite to win this year.  There is no doubt the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are it, simply because there aren’t enough teams even trying to unseat them. Let’s go through it: Yankees and Blue Jays are trying in the AL East but none of the other three are, even though Tampa should still be good. The White Sox are definitely trying in the Central, but nobody else is. Minnesota and Cleveland will win some games, however it’s not because ownership has made a commitment. I don’t think any of the teams in the AL West are trying, except maybe Anaheim and they aren’t exactly doing a good job of it. Houston isn’t anymore, that’s for sure.  In the NL, I think Atlanta, the Mets, Philadelphia, and Washington are all trying to various degrees so that is the best division. In the Central, St. Louis is trying but I don’t know that anyone else is and then in the West you have the Dodgers and Padres. The regular season hasn’t begun and you can write off ⅔ of the teams.

7 – TODD KABEL – One of the most decorated sports figures I’ve ever met passed away over the weekend at the age of 55. Todd Kabel may not be well known to most, but in the horse racing community he is as prominent as they come. Kabel, a native of McCreary MB, won over 3200 races and won the Sovereign Award For Outstanding Jockey in 1992, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2003, he became the first Canadian-based jockey to earn more than $10 million in purses and a year later he tied the record of 36 graded stakes race wins in a season. His most notable win was probably in 1995 when he rode Regal Discovery to victory in the Queen’s Plate. In 2000, he won his second Queen’s Plate aboard Scatter The Gold and the duo also won Prince of Wales Stakes that year as well however they missed winning the Canadian Triple Crown when they finished third in the Breeders’ Stakes.

8 – JERRY BULITZ – Another decorated sports figure, albeit one who is more local to Yorkton, also passed away over the weekend.  Jerry Bulitz died suddenly on Thursday, in his home, at age 82. Bulitz is a former Senior Terrier who also served as Coach/General Manager/Owner of the Junior ‘A’ team at various points through the 70’s and into the early 80’s. For now, there will be no service and it’s hoped friends and family can gather in the late summer or early fall.

9 – MAGAZINE RANKINGS – As a kid there were two magazines I made sure I bought every single month as soon as they hit the newsstands. One was Metal Edge (RIP to Gerri Miller who covered the hard rock scene so well and whose writing is responsible for all the great bands I listened to growing up) and the other was Pro Wrestling Illustrated. I follow a few vintage music accounts on social media and like seeing the top songs revisited from years past, so I thought I’d maybe do something similar with Stampede Wrestling this week.  Owen Hart was the champion the first time Stampede appeared in the rankings (October 1987). The order of contenders were as follows: Kerry Brown, Duke Myers, Ron Ritchie, Cuban Assassin, Gerry Morrow, Brian Pillman, Goldie Rodgers, Mr. Hito, Ben Doon McDonald, and Johnny Smith.

10 – ROGAN/BREUER – If you don’t listen already, I’d strongly encourage you to give Joe Rogan’s podcast a chance. There are some incredibly interesting interviews and he will dive into all sorts of topics. Last week he had comedian Jim Breuer on and Breuer relayed a mind boggling story about one of his friends who was left for dead with Covid but managed to survive after his family fought vigorously for one last visit. As it turns out, the man responded to loving human touch and used that as a catalyst to recovery. Breuer says, and I agree, there is no substitute for love and it can be very uplifting during some of life’s most down times. I’d also like to say this is where pets can be of great value, especially dogs and cats. They don’t care who you are, what kind of failure you may be at life, or judge you for the decisions you make. I’d encourage anyone who could be struggling or feeling alone during these bizarre times to really look at a pet as a means to help cope.  

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