THURSDAY COMMENTARY – JR NEWS & NOTES

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD Radio)

It is, quite frankly, my favourite topic and I’m not totally sure why although that doesn’t really matter. I just wish more people were into it.

Junior hockey is always front and centre in my mind and if you don’t pay attention the rest of the year, now’s the time to take some notice.

There are three items which caught me eye in the last 24 hours, in no particular order:

• We will remember the Connor Bedard Show for the rest of our lives. And it’s not just a Saskatchewan story. I’m lucky to experience the view of what Bedard’s doing from both inside and outside the 306. TSN’s running nightly Connor Bedard updates and when I tell my U.S. hockey fan friends that, they just smile and shake their heads. Here in Calgary, they were providing Bedard updates on the radio last night and that’s where I learned Connor had potted four points against the Wheat Kings in the Brandt Centre. There have been many great Regina Pats stories over the years but I’m starting to think this might be the best.
• The SJHL playoffs begin Friday night and there are some salivating match-ups in Round 1. Estevan faces Flin Flon in an interesting rematch of last year’s league final and this one opens with Game 1 at the Whitney Forum. A massive kudos to Cody Mapes for guiding the Weyburn Red Wings to the postseason for the first time in what seems like forever. Congratulations! You get the top-ranked Battlefords North Stars in Round 1. The other series feature the Humboldt Broncos versus Nipawin and La Ronge against Melfort. This is all leading up to the Canterra Seeds SJHL championship, and the eventual Centennial Cup in Portage, Manitoba.
• And lastly, word has come down that the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is making a move to ban fighting entirely. The report I saw stated that the “Q” is going to make fighting a black and white issue, i.e. once you fight, you’re gone from the game. Perhaps a suspension will follow? We haven’t heard all the details just yet but it’s created a heckuva debate. I’m wondering where you land on the topic? We’ll be debating it robustly on The RP Show today. You can’t stop progress and to be honest, if you’re a Junior A fan like me, you’ll know those leagues banned fighting ages ago and somehow survived. I’ll bet you all I got that the NHL never bans fighting however we’re getting closer to the day where players will experience their first ever fight once they’re in the NHL. Like everything else in life, there’s a first time for everything and you’re not always prepared for it.

Somewhere Kenny Rogers is shaking his head.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary

(The Rod Pedersen Commentary airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV, YouTube Live and WQEE Radio)