STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – RUSH FIRST WIN – The Saskatchewan Rush fell behind early but rallied for a 10-9 win over the Vancouver Warriors on Friday night to improve to 1-and-2. Mark Matthews scored three goals, Mike Messenger was a force on transition, and Matt Beers was very physical against his former team. Adam Shute got off to a slow start in goal but was clutch in the fourth quarter as the Rush held on in the final moments.  The Warriors blocked a ton of shots but the Rush were able to expose a weak spot on Alex Buque (low glove side) and ripped off six straight goals in the second quarter to erase a 4-1 deficit and turn it into a 7-4 lead. All three of the Rush games this season have been decided by one goal and they’ve played well enough to win all three but just have one to show for it.

2 – CFL RULE CHANGES – Lots of chatter about this in various circles on how to make the CFL better but I feel as though there is nothing wrong at all with the structure of the league as far as rules. What the CFL needs is better players. I’ve talked about it in this column before and that remains their biggest challenge.  The best way to entice better players to come here is through larger salaries but the league has no money. It’s not easy. The onus is on scouting departments to dig deeper into the universities to find under-sized, overlooked players who could potentially become game-breakers in the CFL. I’m sure any football evaluator knows who he is, but I look at Danny Kittner at the University of Mary. He’s a top NCAA Div II receiver but he’s 5’10” and 180 lbs. Players like that are great fits for the CFL. Finding them and then enticing them to come here are two tall orders and I’m glad it’s not my job but let’s not focus on the rules and instead focus on the quality of the players (especially those at the skill positions that attract fans). Kittner’s teammate, Luke Little, leads the nation in touchdowns and their QB, Logan Nelson, has 41 passing touchdowns through 11 games. All three are seniors and if I was a scout and if I believed in the abilities of all three, I’d make them a package offer with the hopes of their chemistry continuing up here and allowing them to keep playing together indefinitely. I say this without knowing a thing about any of these three but I prefer this kind of ‘out of the box’ thinking than changing the entire fabric of the game.

3 – PAUL MAURICE – As I watched Paul Maurice speak at his resignation press conference I couldn’t help but think here is a man who knows he is no longer getting through to his team but also here is a man who no longer is motivated to try harder, in part, because of how onerous regular life has become during the Covid pandemic. A couple of his quotes led me to believe that he’s just fed up with everything and he did the adult thing and put in his resignation with the hope that someone else can do what he’s unable to. Life may be a bit easier for those with money but it made me realize that life is still far from normal for NHL people even though, from the outside, it appears as though all is well. Maurice talked about how he hasn’t enjoyed coming to the rink ever since the bubble and he hasn’t been able to rediscover his love for it. I applaud him for being honest with himself and honest to those who pay him to do a job he feels he can no longer do to the best of his ability. Great respect.

4 – JETS FIX – For me, this is easy. Hire Mike Babcock. However, the Jets have already said this is Dave Lowry’s team until the end of the season, which signals to me this organization isn’t the least bit interested in winning but if it happens to work out, then hey that’s great. Also, I’m not saying Dave Lowry is undeserving and I’m not saying Eric Dubois is unqualified but we see in minor youth hockey organizations everywhere that it is often a bad idea to have elite teams coached by dads of players and here we have an NHL team with a dad as a head coach and his son as one of the players (Adam Lowry). On the AHL team, we have an assistant coach whose son plays a prominent role on the NHL team (Pierre-Luc Dubois). I also think the Jets players are in a real bad need of a boss and Babcock would be perfect. I also think Jansen Harkins deserves a chance to play more and so does Kristian Vesalainen. Especially when the Jets keep going to the same well and getting the same mediocre results from their so-called established stars.

5 – DIFFERENT APPROACHES – This was a bad week for professional sports leagues and positive Covid cases despite vaccination rates that are 100% in the NHL and approaching that number in the NBA and NFL. On Saturday, the NFL decided they are going to pivot and make a few changes with regards to testing. First of all, they are going to recognize the vaccine as working and will stop testing any player who is vaccinated and does not appear to be sick. They are also reducing the cycle threshold on the PCR test so it’s a little more challenging to produce a positive. Meanwhile, the NHL is cancelling games and shutting down teams left, right, and centre. Detroit GM Steve Yzerman spoke up on Saturday and suggested his league copy the NFL approach but at the time of this writing there is no indication that will happen immediately but if they are going to continue their year they will have no other option than to adopt a similar policy.

6 – BRANDON SUTTER – I don’t know him and I’m not a doctor, clearly. Here’s what I do know about Sutter when it comes to his long haul Covid situation: he was part of the Canucks outbreak last March that required players to get IVs. When the team was cleared to play, Sutter did come back and produced 3-goals and 1-assist in 8-games in a season which saw him score 9-goals and 3-assists in 43-games. So, it was the best stretch of his season (sick or not). If Sutter was still showing some evidence of dealing with Covid it is reprehensible that he was allowed by doctors to come back and play (even if he wanted to do it). I feel like there is a lot more to this than what we are being told and the reality is that it is also none of anyone’s business but let’s not make assumptions about why he’s not playing today.

7 – IRVING BACK – Ravaged by injuries, Covid player losses, and aninordinate minutes load on their key players; the Brooklyn Nets have decided to bring back Kyrie Irving on a part-time basis for games outside New York State. To be clear, the team that is ravaged by Covid cases amongst the vaccinated are going to bring in an unvaccinated player to help them get through it. There is no punch line needed other than to say Irving was put in Covid-19 protocols within two days of being activated to the roster.

8 – OLYMPICS – With the rapid spread of Covid cases around the world, one has to wonder if the Olympics will go off at all let alone NHL players going over to participate. Looking at China’s rules in the event of a positive test result, there isn’t enough money in that country that would entice me to go.

9 – SHOWCASE – The highly popular SJHL/MJHL Showcase is slated for Winnipeg January 25-26 but with Manitoba announcing a stop to all tournaments until, at least, January 11 it would seem the event is in jeopardy of being cancelled for the second straight year. At the moment, Saskatchewan does allow for tournament play but it’s unknown if the two Junior ‘A’ leagues can arrange the venue (The Co-operators Centre) or if Saskatchewan will still be in a position come this time next month that it allows for hockey tournaments to be played. There’s also the possibility that health officials shut down the sport entirely between now and then.

10 – CANORA SENIOR HOCKEY – While attendance is lagging just about everywhere, it’s not at all in Canora where they have senior hockey in the community for the first time since 2012. A town with 2000 residents is, consistently, drawing 300+. Vaccine passports are not required to attend and while I’m not suggesting that is the reason, it shouldn’t be ignored either. I totally get the suggestion that there are maybe more entertainment options in bigger cities where junior hockey is played but one of the arguments I’ve heard is that it’s easier to stay home in -20 weather and watch the NHL on television. That could be true, but Canora has the same cable package as everyone else and it was -20 on Saturday night.

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