WHL Line Combinations September 23

Brandon

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
21 Coulter	19 Patrick	12 Mattheos	5 Higson	7 Bukac	33 Papirny
14 Lewis	24 Gutenberg	13 Anholt	32 Shearer	6 Wharrie	1 Thompson
26 McCorrister	25 Campbell	11 Daley	3 Sambrook	34 Jameson
18 Armour	23 Reinhardt	15 Bettens

Calgary

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
23 Sanheim	12 Kastelic	18 Stratton	6 Gordon	8 Yeryomenko	31 Porter
19 Grishakov	15 Nielsen	28 Mrkonjic	10 Prefontaine	4 Zipp	33 Dumba
9 Brown	14 Cullen	26 Fyten	22 van de Leest	5 Esposito
29 Platt	16 Martin	7 Dorsey

Edmonton

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
16 Koch	25 Bauer	27 Fix-Wolansky	3 Gorda	24 Irving	1 Dea
18 Mohr	21 Robertson	17 Roach	8 Cap	2 Yewchuk	35 Hughes
11 Berg	20 Klatt	23 Kehler	7 Dawson	4 Warm
34 Gable	13 Bowman	9 Baltruk

Everett

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
22 Millar	17 Fonteyne	8 Bajkov	24 Skrumeda	38 Davis	31 Petit
15 Richards	43 Dewar	33 King	23 Christainsen	4 Walker	35 Peterson
14 Sutter	28 Skoleski	19 Kindopp	29 Wylie	5 Onyebuchi
13 Mucka	47 Kemp	44 Gerth

Kamloops

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
16 Chyzowski	15 Shirley	21 Balcers	37 Gatenby	42 Vala	31 Ferguson
					35  Phair

Kelowna

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
14 Kryski	24 Topping	16 Lind	4 Ballhorn	25 Foote	30 Herringer
					31 Salmond

Kootenay

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
22 Zborosky	21 Alfaro	18 Loschiavo	8 Hines	4 Fleury	30 Lee
27 Stewart	25 Sidaway	17 Wellsby	2 Murray	3 Schaufler	1 Hobbs
10 Sheen	12 Philp	23 Patterson	5 Radzivilyuk	7 Pouliot
26 Taphorn	20 King	14 Taphorn

Lethbridge

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
22 Babenko	15 Bellerive	17 Kroeker	20 Pankewicz	28 Reagan	74 Skinner
14 Davis	16 Lindgren	10 Zaharichuk	8 Watson	11 Merezhko	33 Gilchrist
21 Vandervlis	23 Joseph	18 Nagel	4 Shamray	2 Addison
29 Lyons	12 Tarzwell	25 Franklin

Medicine Hat

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
18 Shaw	21 Butcher	9 Fischer	5 Rubins	4 Kirichenko	33 McGovern
16 Geerlach	7 Bradley	11 Owre	2 Forrest	15 Schultz	35 Morrissey
27 Rassell	10 Hamblin	14 Jevne	26 Gally	6 MacPherson
23 Fantillo	29 Chyzowski	22 Prezuiso

Moose Jaw

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
71 Popugaev	22 Gregor	10 Jeannot	59 Sozanski	47 Thrower	35 Wilms
29 Watts	12 Halbgewachs	17 Bowen	5 Paradis	2 Brook	39 Evanoff
27 Burzan	36 Odgers	23 Jangan	3 Gardiner	4 Woo
7 Kaluski	16 Wood	11 Petruic

Portland

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G

Prince Albert

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
23 Stransky	15 Glover	21 Holowko	5 Hayes	2 Heid	33 Scott
27 Kelly	25 Montgomery	16 Vanstone	12 Riddle	8 Morrison	38 Meger
20 Andrusiak	26 Olynek	17 Williamson	32 Thompson	10 Kirk
22 Miller	24 Fonstad	11 Moe

Prince George

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
9 Morrison	21 Bethune	26 McDonald	4 Lakusta	29 Martin	35 Edmonds
					1 McBride

Red Deer

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
10 Polei	16 Pawlenchuk	20 Bains	3 Bobyk	2 Strand	33 Lamb
24 Roy	14 Pratt	27 Rattie	7 Sass	4 Alexeyev	35 Martin
19 Martin	9 Hiltz	15 Pratt	26 Shmoorkoff	6 Sakowich
8 Herauf	21 Schellenberg	18 Cutler

Regina

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
71 Leedahl	19 Leschyshyn	21 Henry	6 Harrison	34 Fredrich	31 Brown
61 Ahl	15 Buziak	39 Zablocki	3 Hilsendager	36 Barteaux	30 Hollett
13 Woods	20 Smith	22 Cole	55 Schioler	38 Williams
29 Gardiner	32 Holmes	18 Lockner

Saskatoon

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
23 Shmyr	14 Shynkaruk	5 McCarty	6 Rubinchik	47 Reid	35 Flodell
13 Sloboshan	41 Christensen	8 Hausinger	52 Caller	2 Leslie	30 Hamm
21 MacKenzie	61 Paterson	27 Farren	3 Kustra	4 Sayers
20 Bruce	44 Wouters	18 Braid

Seattle

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G

Spokane

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G

Swift Current

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
17 Steenbergen	20 Heponiemi	10 Elder	4 Jensen	5 Minulin	30 Burman
18 Johnson	29 Chaulk	28 Adams	7 King	6 Khaira	31 Child
25 Miller	12 Stotts	21 Spencer	32 Stanley	3 Schmiemann
39 Arnold	24 Blocker	26 Mole

Tri City

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G

Vancouver

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
39 Wesley	18 Flaman	14  Malm	23 Brown	22 Osipov	20 Kubic
					30 Tendeck

Victoria

LW	C	RW	LD	RD	G
24 Nagy	19 Hannoun	27 Dmytriw	3 Gagnon	4 Jarratt	30 Outhouse
					33 Myskiw

 

Memorial Cup

Junior hockey is in the spotlight for the next 10 days with Memorial Cup tournament in Red Deer.
This is a unique format that is totally different from the regular league playoffs.
This is a round robin format with very little room for error.
In a best of 7 series you can have a couple of off nights and know there are many more games to make up ground. Your goalie can have an off night and have a chance to rebound. Your team can have a game or two of being undisciplined and take too many penalties. You have up to 7 games to feel out your opposition and take advantage of their weaknesses that you have discovered.
In a 3 game round robin it is very important to get your first win as soon as possible. When you win a game you are guaranteed to at least get to the tiebreaker game. Win 2 games and you will at least get into the semi-final game or may even get a bye all the way to the Final. In a short tournament you can’t plan to hope to get better later in the week because you could find yourself going home really quick. Every game is a game 7. The longer you go without a win the more pressure you will feel later in the week.
Another factor is that you are playing in a neutral site. The Rebels are the home team and every time they play the building will have a playoff atmosphere. But for the other games the majority of the fans will not be routing for either team. There is no loud encouragement when you are playing well. There is no booing like when you are playing in a rivals’ building. It has the feel of being at a minor hockey tournament.
London appear to the best team and should be playing at WHL team in the Final.

Uniforms

CFL teams unveiled their new jerseys today and there will be lots of praise and lots of negative reaction.
When it comes to uniforms there are 2 ways you can go. Pay tribute to the colors of the franchise or go totally different from what your team tradionally has done in the past.
It’s evident that every CFL uniform revealed today honors each team’s history.
There are also 2 types of uniforms. One that looks good when you are 10 feet away from the person wearing the jersey and one that looks good when out on the field.
For example the jersey’s that are a dark color and then use dark numbers may look impressive up close but when watching them in a game you have no chance at identifying the numbers.
Early impressions are that the uniforms are user friendly, unique to each franchise and hey I can see the numbers when watching for the stands or on TV.

Leicester City

I don’t watch soccer except when it’s the World Cup and even then I just get involved in a prediction pool and wait to see the results.
But there has been a lot of attention this year for the Premier League as Leicester City has won the Championship.
At the beginning of the season the odds were 5,000-to-1 that they would win.
Actor Tom Hanks has said he has money on this happening.
Not sure how much he may or may not have bet but a $100 wager is worth $500,000.
How big is it to be a 5,000-to-1 underdog?
Team USA beating Russia in the 1980 Olympics was probably at 10-to-1.
William Hill is a bookmaker in England and are famous for taking bets on more than just sports.
The odds on Simon Cowell becoming Prime Minister is 500-to-1.
Loch Ness Monster to be discovered is 500-to-1.
Kim Kardashian for US President in 2020 is 2,000-to-1.
Elvis is found alive is 2,000-to-1.
Leicester City at 5,000-to-1 is the longest of longshot odds.

WHL Final

It’s the WHL Final as the Eastern Conference Champion Brandon Wheat Kings meet the West Conference Champion Seattle Thunderbirds.

Both teams are on a roll as the Thunderbirds have a record of 12-1 in this years’ playoffs while Brandon is 12-2 since losing the first 2 games of their 1st round series.
The clubs’ met once during the regular season and that was over 6 months ago. On October 27th in Seattle the Thunderbirds won 7-2.
This will be the first ever playoffs meeting between the organizations.

Seattle has only made it to the WHL one previous time when in 1997 Patrick Marleau and the Thunderbirds lost in 4 straight to Chris Phillips and the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
This is the 7th time that Brandon is in the League Final. The Wheat Kings won in 1979 against Portland and 1996 versus Spokane. Last year the Wheat Kings lost in the WHL Final to Kelowna.

Experience could be the difference in this series. The Wheat Kings have 16 players who played in the League Final last year and they have 10 players who are 19 or 20 years’ old.
The Thunderbirds have 10 players who are 18-years-old who should make them one of the teams to beat next year.
But this year is the year for the Wheat Kings.
In September I picked Brandon to beat Seattle in the WHL Final and I will stay with that pick. So far in playoffs I am 13-1.
Prediction – Wheat Kings in 5.

Islander Over Panthers

The time is now for the Islanders and the time is coming for the Panthers.
Florida reminds me of the Islanders from a few years ago.
After not making the playoffs for many years and getting some high draft picks the Islanders made the 2013 playoffs.
They met the Penguins in a series that went 6 games but New York just didn’t have enough experience, didn’t have the star quality to match Sidney Crosby and didn’t have what it took to make a big play at the right time. Even though the Islanders seem to outplay Pittsburgh it was only a matter of time until the Penguins would win the series.
The Islanders missed the 2014 post season when Tavares got injured in the Olympics and then last year lost in the 1st round to Washington. The series went 7 games and the Islanders failed to score a powerplay goal in the entire series.
In 2016 the Islanders looked better prepared, Tavares has the star power and they won a playoff series for the first time since 1993.
The Panthers showed they will soon be a team that can not only make the post season but will find a way to get past the 1st round.

WHL Playoffs Round 3

It’s the WHL’s final 4 as the East Conference Final has Brandon and against Red Deer and the West Conference Final is Kelowna versus Seattle.

During the regular season the Wheat Kings and Rebels split their 4 head-to-head meetings.
November 11 in Brandon – Rebels 4-0
January 2nd in Red Deer – Rebels 10-0
January 15th in Red Deer – Wheat Kings 4-0
January 30th in Brandon – Wheat Kings 2-1
This will be the 5th time they will meet in the playoffs and the 3rd time they face-off in the East Final.
2003 – East Final Rebels win 4-1
2002 – East Final Rebels win 4-3
1999 – 1st round Rebels won 4-1
1996 – 2nd round Wheat Kings won 4-0

During the regular season the Rockets and Thunderbirds split their 4 head-to-head meetings.
November 25th in Kelowna – Rockets 5-2
January 31st in Seattle – Thunderbirds 2-0
February 8th in Kelowna – Rockets 7-4
February 9th in Seattle – Thunderbirds 6-0
This will be the 7th time they will meet in the playoffs and the 2nd time they will battle in the West Final.
2014 – 2nd round Rockets win 4-0
2013 - 1st round Rockets win 4-3 (Thunderbirds led the series 3-0)
2008 – 1st round Thunderbirds win 4-3
2005 – 2nd round Rockets win 4-3
2003 – West Final Rockets win 4-1
2001 – 1st round Thunderbirds win 4-2

Back in September I picked a Brandon-Seattle WHL Final so I have to stick with those teams. So far in the playoffs I’m 11-1.
Predictions – Wheat Kings in 5, Thunderbirds in 6

CFL Drug Testing

The CFL and Players’ Association have agreed on expanding testing for performance enhancing drugs.
They should be applauded for increasing the number of testing from 35% of the players to 100%.
It includes recognizing sanctions from CIS, NCAA, NFL and other Wada tested sports. If you cheated before it will be held against you.
The problem is that a 1st time violation is a 2-game suspension, 2nd time is 9 games, 3rd time is a 1 year penalty and a 4th time violation is a lifetime ban.
If you really want to stop players from using illegal performance enhancing drugs shouldn’t the penalty be lifetime for the first time?
Why give players a chance to try and beat the system with a minor suspension?
What are they saying when you can break the rules 4 times before the CFL says that’s enough?
I’m sure it’s something the players’ association bargained for but who are they trying to protect and why do they want to give them 4 strikes before they are out?
These rules hurt only one type of player and that’s the athletes who don’t cheat.

Prince

2016 has been a horrible year for music will the loss of David Bowie, Glenn Frey and now Prince.
I was never a super big fan of Prince but when I was a Music Director at a radio station all of his songs were an instant add to the rotation.
His music was unique and his songs have stood the test of time.
My favorite story of how big of an icon he was came from earlier this year after the SNL 40th Anniversary show. At the after party with the likes of Paul McCartney, Beyonce and Taylor Swift in attendance it was Prince that got everyone’s attention. The whole room of celebrities stopped to look and listen. It was everyone’s favorite part of the night. In says a lot that famous celebrities were in awe in his presence.
https://youtu.be/CMNKnC9K8Uo

Offside

It’s been a rough first round of the playoffs for the NHL.
Along with the officiating being the center of attention we have seen everything from dangerous hits, fans throwing things on the ice, inappropriate slurs, players being suspended and replay reviews on almost every goal.
Most fans are frustrated on goals being taking away after a coach’s review that a play was offside.
The main focus of the NHL is to have the right call to be made.
To me it doesn’t matter if it takes 30 seconds or 3 minutes to make the decision.
Get it right.
It doesn’t matter if the play is 1 inch offside.
Get it right.
It doesn’t matter if the flow of the game is slowed down.
Get it right.
If you disagree with any of these thoughts then just imagine if your favorite team lost a game where the winning goal shouldn’t have counted because the replay showed it was offside.
Now do you care how long the review would take, how close the play was or if the game is delayed?
I’m not sure if like offsides being reviewed but since the rule in being used by the NHL, do what it takes to get it right.
The one change that has to be made is have all replays reviewed by the Head Office who have access to watching on 50 inch monitors and not by the on-ice officials looking at a mobile device.
By the time the officials ask for a review, the head honchos in Toronto would already have the final decision.
Get it right by doing it right.

NHL Draft Lottery

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The NHL Entry Draft was created decades ago to help the weaker NHL teams get better quicker.
It worked.
Then in 1995 the lottery was introduced in which the lottery winner could move a maximum of 4 spots.
A few years ago the rule where changed again to where any of the lottery picks could win the 1st overall pick.
On April 30th the NHL will do the lottery for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall selections.
Why the changes? To prevent tanking.
The feeling is that if you aren’t guaranteed the 1st overall pick it will prevent teams from losing on purpose. This idea was good in theory but history show teams would rather have a 20% chance of being 1st overall than a 3% chance. It’s simple math. The only way to prevent tanking is to give every non-playoff team an equal chance at every pick.
Fans and hockey people were also tired of the Oilers always getting the 1st overall pick. They were in that spot in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Last year, without the lottery, Edmonton would have picked 3rd. The lottery changes actually helped the Oilers.
The only time I would like the lottery system is for the years where there is a once in a decade type player like Connor McDavid, Sydney Crosby and Mario Lemieux. Most years the best player could come from anywhere in the draft.
Having a higher pick doesn’t guarantee getting the best player.
Having a higher pick doesn’t guarantee your scouting staff will make the right decision.
Having a higher pick doesn’t guarantee your team will develop the player into being a star.
The only good thing about the lottery draft is that it’s must see TV.
The old method worked and there was no reason to change it.