THURSDAY RUNDOWN: HUGE JUNIOR HOCKEY NEWS & MORE

It was a hockey show – spotted with some CFL talk – on Thursday’s Episode #450 of The RP Show – Canada’s Daytime Sports Talkshow! Here’s the rundown:

• RP and Moose Dupont opened with The Warmup for Four Seasons Sports Palace covering these Quick Six show topics: 1) It’s NBA Trade Deadline Day! Will Kyle Lowry remain a Raptor?, 2) Rod reported the BCHL is poised to leave the CJHL and Hockey Canada umbrella. He hears Alberta teams Brooks, Okotoks, Grande Prairie and Spruce Grove will join them, 3) Wednesday NHL leftovers (these aren’t your Dad’s Jets), 4) Dub Hub games, 5) Cody Fajardo says he’s been told to be ready for the start of training camp May 10, and 6) We left it blank!
• TSN NHL insider and Flyers/Bruins great Dave Poulin joined the show from Toronto for a deep dive on the NHL firing referee Tim Peel for admitting a “makeup call” on a live mic. Poulin said he’s got a swarm of thoughts on his mind about the subject, and they align with Rod’s feelings. He feels Peel got a raw deal. They agreed that hockey officials do an excellent job of a very difficult task. Regarding the struggles of the Calgary Flames, Poulin said he predicted Calgary would miss the playoffs at the outset of the season so their struggles aren’t surprising.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Who’s the greatest Toronto Raptor of all-time – Vince Carter, DeMar DeRozen, Kyle Lowry or Kawhi Leonard? At press time, Kyle Lowry was leading.
• In Hour 2’s Second Half kickoff, we were joined by the Voice of the Saskatoon Blades Les Lazaruk. Les talked about the Blades’ narrow win over Swift Current Wednesday night, discussed “The Code” of hockey as it relates to officiating, and said he fears for the future of the CFL particularly as a Winnipeg kid who grew up going to Blue Bombers games.
• Some CFL players have lashed out at Rod for saying they don’t want to hear the truth but he maintains they’re in a “take it or leave it” scenario. In the end he feels they’ll have no choice but to accept the owners’ 20% paycut offer.
• SJHL President Bill Chow joined the show to explain the decision to cancel the 2020-21 season. He was quick to clarify that their proposal was rejected by the Sask Government and they simply ran out of time to make adjustments. He said the City of Weyburn was prepared to host the SJHL bubble but there were also some complications involved which made the concept impossible. Regarding the financial status of SJHL teams, Bill reported no teams are in danger of folding. He later would confirm that the BCHL has notified the CJHL of their intention to leave Hockey Canada.
• Thursday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page, you can catch the replay at 4:00 pm ET on Game+, listen to our podcast by clicking on the CONTENT tab at the top of this page, or listen anytime to our 24-hour live audio feed at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive.
• See you at 12 pm ET/10 am MT on Friday on Game+ and YouTube/Facebook Live for a Flame Tech Football Friday! We’ll be joined by John Frenzy, NFL alum Brian Baldinger, Estevan Bruins coach Jason Tatarnic and more!