The Rundown - Going Pro

Today, we'll take some time to look at another aspect of women's university hockey that a lot of people seem to ignore: what happens after these players graduate? As we know, they have degrees and can go off and work in those chosen fields, but a lot of women want to keep playing hockey as the competitive fires continue to burn. Where can they do that? Who might be looking for talented hockey players to improve their standing in their respective leagues and capture a championship? Today's all about who's playing where (and how you can watch them) on The Rundown!

I spent some time scouring all the leagues I could find as I was looking at all the former U SPORTS players who are off playing professionally at some level across the planet. Some leagues have many while other leagues do not, but the coolest part for me is being able to see how many women are still pursuing their dreams while, in some cases, travelling to amazing places to play hockey. I won't lie when I say I'm envious of some of these players based on where they call home for this season, but that's the benefit of being an outstanding player whose talents are coveted.

Let's get into these leagues as I'll start with the leagues who have the most former U SPORTS players and work down to the leagues with very few players. What should be noted is that the schools who once had these women playing for them have done very little to draw attention to the success they're having after left those respective campuses, so I'll once again fill that void. Without further adieu, though, let's take a look at who's playing where.

SWHL - Switzerland

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Elizabeth Lang	HC Davos	19	18	18	Calgary
Estelle Duvin	SC Bern	15	20	20	Montreal
Joelle Fiala	HC Davos	12	19	18	UBC
Courtney Kollman	HC Davos	8	23	18	MRU/CAL
Maggie Burbidge	Fribourg	11	9	17	StFX
Lea MacLeod	SC Bern	9	14	20	StFX
Lauren Dabrowski	Fribourg	7	8	17	StFX
Rosalie Begin-Cyr	Neuchatel	8	5	19	Concordia
Kaleigh Quennec	SC Bern	7	7	19	Montreal
Holly Reuther	Langenthal	6	4	16	Calgary
Jessika Boulanger	Langenthal	5	0	8	Montreal
Dominique Scheurer	ZSC Lions	0	3	15	MacEwan
Sophie Lalor	ZSC Lions	0	0	5	Saskatchewan

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	GP	University
Sandy Heim	ZSC Lions	n/a	2.31	n/a	10	MacEwan
Dayna Owen	Langenthal	n/a	4.12	n/a	9	ALB/CAL

There is an immense amount of talent that U SPORTS has produced that is currently playing in Switzerland. As it stands, all of Lang, Duvin, Burbidge, Begin-Cyr, and Reuther lead their respective teams in scoring while Lang leads the entire PostFinance SWHL in scoring. Former MacEwan Griffins netminder Sandy Heim is among the top goalies in the circuit, and former StFX X-Women defender Lauren Dabrowski is second in scoring among all defenders.

You should be watching these games as the hockey is fast, entertaining, and quite fantastic. The good news? You shouldn't have any problem doing that as every game is offered for free via Red Sport in Switzerland and online. You can watch games on Red Sport's website or via the PostFinance SWHL site.

There are lower Swiss leagues that players can be moved to and from, and it should be noted that Sophie Lalor started with EHC Brandis in the SWHL-B league where she simply scored 25 goals and ten assists in ten games. As it stands, she's still 18 points ahead of the next closest scorer after being called up to Zurich, so Lalor was absolutely dominating that league before Zurich called.

Jessika Boulanger started with Lausanne HC in the SWHL-B where she had four goals and four assists in three games before moving up to SC Langenthal whereas Dayna Owen started the season with SC Rapperswil-Jona where she sports a 2.00 GAA in three games only to get bumped up to SC Langenthal where she's been serving mostly as a backup netminder. Life as a hockey player in the Swiss league means there could be player movement!

EWHL - Central Europe

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Hannah Tait	SKN Sabres	17	18	18	Guelph
Cassidy Maplethorpe	Almaty	18	14	16	BRK/ALB
Lauren Nicholson	Almaty	11	14	13	TMU
Breanne Trotter	Almaty	6	10	17	Mount Royal
Olivia Atkinson	Budapest	5	7	12	McG/CON
Rylee Davison	SKN Sabres	4	7	18	Guelph
Emma McKnight	SKN Sabres	6	4	7	Queen's
Roxanne Rioux	Almaty	5	4	17	Ottawa
Mariah Hinds	Almaty	3	6	8	TMU
Marie-Camille Theoret	Neuberg	4	4	6	Bishop's
Alex Gowie	Neuberg	4	4	10	CAL/ALB
Katherine Birkby	Budapest	3	3	12	Ottawa
Justine Larkin	Karnten	0	4	15	Carleton

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	GP	University
Rachel Seeley	Almaty	n/a	0.99	.963	9	TMU

We're got ourselves a good, old-fashioned OUA scoring race as former Guelph Gryphons forward Hannah Tait leads the EWHL in scoring while former Brock Badgers and Alberta Pandas forward Cassidy Maplethorpe sits three points back. There are a lot more OUA players skating in the EWHL than anywhere else, the Kazakhstan-based Aisulu Almaty has a lot of U SPORTS players, and it seems everyone is doing their parts for their respective teams while Rachel Seeley is the lone former U SPORTS goalie in the league. Her stats, however, may have other teams looking for Canadian talent!

The EWHL doesn't livestream every game, so it's harder to follow one specific team with the lack of streams they offer. That being said, they do have livestreams of their games linked on the EWHL website at times, and I often watch games on OnHockey.tv. There are some teams who stream through YouTube - EVB Eagles South Tyrol, SportFanAustria, and Women's Hockey as examples - but there doesn't seem to be one specific place to get all the games.

SDHL - Sweden

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Jaycee Magwood	Lulea	4	11	24	Regina
Erica Rieder	Lulea	4	10	24	Manitoba
Emma Bergesen	SDE	2	10	21	Mount Royal
Lillian George	Leksand	2	3	21	UNB
Isabella Pozzi	Skelleftea	1	1	14	Saskatchewan
Sarah Bujold	Lulea	0	1	2	StFX
Audrey-Anne Veillette	HV71	0	1	1	Montreal
Mathea Fischer	SDE	0	0	0	UBC

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	University
Camryn Drever	Skelleftea	5-8-0	2.20	.929	Saskatchewan

In a league considered to be the second-best professional women's league based on the number of Olympians and high-level players on the rosters, it's encouraging to see three former Canada West players doing well. Magwood, Rieder, and Bujold play for the league's best team while Bergesen has been a bright spot for a struggling SDE team. George is doing all she can in Leksand where that team is almost mathematically eliminated from the playoffs already, and Veillette joined HV71 who are battling Pozzi and Drever's Skelleftea team for the eighth-place spot in the standings. The weird one is Mathea Fischer who hasn't played yet this season despite her being listed on SDE's roster, and there seems to be no information as to why she's not on the ice for the Swedish club.

Almost all of the SDHL's games are behind paywalls despite them having a pile of players that fans want to see, but you can find games on OnHockey.tv at times. The SDHL schedule is here, so keep an eye on the offerings on the OnHockey.tv site to see some of these games!

DFEL - Germany

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Lindsey Donovan	HK Budapest	2	6	11	StFX
Lore Baudrit	ERC Ingolstadt	3	4	12	Montreal
Alix Yallowega	ERC Ingolstadt	2	1	12	Dalhousie
Dana Wood	EC Bergkamen Baren	1	2	11	Calgary
Isadora Quirion	Eisbaren Juniors Berlin	1	2	13	Moncton
Cassandra Call	Eisbaren Juniors Berlin	1	0	13	Moncton
Annalise Meier	EC Bergkamen Baren	0	1	11	Calgary

Germany is playing host to a number of former U SPORTS players as the AUS and the University of Calgary are well-represented. Lindsey Donovan is helping Budapest in the standings in their first season in the DFEL while Lore Baudrit has played all over the world since leaving France for the University of Montreal so her experience is paying off. Yallowega, Wood, Quirion, Call, and Meier are all finding their way through a very competitive DFEL for four teams. The major exception is Bergkamen where they've scored just seven goals in eleven games thus far while sitting with an 0-10-0-1 record.

The schedule for the DFEL can be found here, and it seems they have their games on the German version of Red+. It appears one may have to pay on this version of Red+, so I'm not signing up for the service. In saying that, I've never seen the DFEL on the OnHockey.tv site, but I'm going to start looking a little more for it moving forward.

NDHL - Sweden

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Alli Borrow	Farjestad BK	14	16	11	LET/CAL
Hunter Mosher	Sodertalje SK	11	12	12	Nipissing
Kara Kondrat	Team Uppsala HC	3	3	5	Saskatchewan
Adela Juzkova	Farjestad BK	1	5	11	Regina
Olivia Hilton	Rogle BK	1	2	11	Toronto
Maddie Nicholson	Team Uppsala HC	1	1	6	Brock

We head back to Sweden where the Division-1 Swedish league known as the NDHL features a handful of U SPORTS players. Alli Borrow, who seems to be scoring at will, is actually fourth in league scoring while Mosher is second on her team in scoring. Kondrat has only played a handful of games for some reason, Juzkova has become more of a defensive defender, Hilton always was a solid defensive defender, and Nicholson was moved up from Division-2 Sollentuna to join Uppsala. Perhaps that's possibly to fill in for Kondrat if she's injured?

Like the SDHL, finding places to watch these games without logins or payments seems to be a tougher ask than to find out where players are playing, so I'm going to throw it back to the OnHockey.tv site as I've watched a handful of games there. Honestly, the schedule isn't easy to follow either, so do your best when looking for NDHL games.

PWHL - North America

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Jade Downie-Landry	New York	1	1	4	McGill
Rylind MacKinnon	Toronto	0	2	5	UBC
Emmy Fecteau	New York	1	0	4	Concordia
Catherine Dubois	Montreal	0	1	3	Montreal
Kaitlyn Willoughby	Toronto	0	0	5	Saskatchewan
Alexandra Labelle	Montreal	0	0	4	Montreal

The U SPORTS numbers in the PWHL should concern Hockey Canada who apparently are going to try to help U SPORTS develop more athletes at a high level, but the six players skating on three teams have certainly carved out impressive university careers. While the PWHL hasn't played very many games this season to this point, it should be noted that there's also a pile of former U SPORTS talent working behind the benches and in front offices in the PWHL.

As you're likely aware, the PWHL signed Canadian national broadcast partnerships with TSN, CBC, and Prime Video while exclusive French-language coverage will be provided by RDS and Radio-Canada for all 30 Montréal Victoire games. The schedule of all of these broadcasts can be found here. Depending on where you live and what you have available in your cable package, Boston can be seen on NESN, New York can be seen on MSG Networks, and Minnesota has a deal with FanDuel Sports Network. Or, if you want a one-stop shop, the OnHockey.tv site carries all the broadcasts as well.

IHLW - Italy

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Olivia De Ciantis	AHC Eurospar Lakers	4	12	12	York

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	University
Gabriella Durante	Real Torino	n/a	1.40	.964	Calgary

De Ciantis is playing a big role in helping AHC Eurostar get out to a 9-4-0-0 record and first-place in the IHLW. While former McGill head coach Kayla Tutino had announced her retirement from professional hockey in 2018, she's back and leading AHC Eurostar in scoring while De Ciantis is third in team scoring and tied for third-overall in assists.

Gabriella Durante has also played a major role in Torino's climb up the standings to a 5-5-1-0 record and fifth-place out of eight teams. Her GAA is third among goalies with six-or-more games played, and her save percentage is tops among goalies with six-or-more games played. In short, she's been a key part of Torino's success!

The IHLW schedule is here, but it seems they have no broadcast partners who are showing games. The few times I've been able to catch a game were on the OnHockey.tv site, so you may be best to check there if you want to watch either Olivia or Gabriella play.

Auroraliiga - Finland

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Emma Hall‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	KalPa (Kalevan Pallo)	4	3	13	UBC

Emma Hall is the lone U SPORTS skater in Finland's top league, and she has helped KalPa to a 7-13-2-3 record. KalPa's had an up-and-down season so far where they win one and lose two, but they just don't seem to have consistent scoring.

If you want to watch Auroraliiga games, you have to pay for Leijonat TV. I just watch streams on the OnHockey.tv site. Save your cash.

Naisten Suomi-Sarja - Finland

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Miressa Makela‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎HIFK Challenger‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	3	2	2	Manitoba

Regarded as Finland's Division-II level of hockey, Miressa was injured in her only season of play with Manitoba before heading back home. She did take some time off, but it looks like she's back on the ice with HIFK's team in Finland's lower division. Two games isn't a lot of history, but those five points shows why Manitoba wanted to see what she could do as a player in Canada West.

This league is not being broadcasted anywhere. I couldn't even find a proper schedule, so these games will be tough to find.

Women's Extraliga - Czechia

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Martina Maskova	HC Banik Pribram	2	6	3	Regina

Maskova never really found her game in southern Saskatchewan, but she went home and joined a Pribram team that's been pretty solid over the years including a 12-0-0-0 run this season to begin Extraliga play. While she's certainly not the top scorer just three games into her season, Pribram does have the top six scorers in the league and seven in the top-ten scoring list. Needless to say, Maskova has a pretty nice setup going back in Czechia.

Not surprisingly, there aren't many broadcast options for the Women's Extraliga. That might be ok, though, as the league is on a break until January 25, 2025. In any case, there's a login and cost on the Czech Ice Hockey TV site. I have yet to see the games shown on the site, but the OnHockey.tv site might be your best bet.

WCIHL - China

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Danielle Fox‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎KRS Shenzhen ‎ ‎ ‎	12	15	24	TMU

Don't expect much information on this league. Danielle Fox is part of the Shenzhen team which seems to be stacked with North American talent every year, and Shenzhen usually wins the WCIHL every season. Take nothing away from what Danielle is doing there, though, as 27 points in 24 games is nothing to shrug off.

Because it's China, there are no TV feeds nor is there even a schedule of games that I can find without learning Mandarin.

FFHG Féminin Élite - France

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Emmanuelle Passard	Jets d’Evry-Viry	34	32	7	Montreal

No, I didn't miss a number in the games played number above. Emmanuelle Passard really does have 66 points in seven games. She leads the Jets in points, and they currently have 113 goals-for and only eight goals-against. I'm not saying that the Jets are the favorite in the FFHG Women's Elite league, but they do have seven players in the top-ten scorers in jumping out to a 7-0-0 record.

The schedule for the French women's league is here, but their YouTube channel seems filled with only men's hockey. That being said, you can try your luck with the OnHockey.tv site, but French women's hockey may be tougher to find.

In total, there are 64 former U SPORTS players shown above playing in twelve professional leagues across the globe, representing 35 professional teams and 26 U SPORTS programs. If that's not an impressive number to you, I'm not sure what else I can say to convince you that U SPORTS women's hockey has a pile of talent in it. My hope is that Hockey Canada would notice this, but I'm very aware that they don't read this blog.

Every Canada West team except Trinity Western has at least two players playing professionally this season, and I'm pretty sure they could have had one had Neisha Germann gone back to Neuberg in the EWHL as she did last season. Calgary leads the way with nine players who wore Dinos colours, but they do share three of those players with other teams as Courtney Kollman suited up for Mount Royal and both Dayna Owen and Alex Gowie were Pandas. Saskatchewan has five players playing pro, UBC has four, all of Regina, Mount Royal, and Alberta can claim three, and both Manitoba and MacEwan have two players in the professional ranks. In total, 27 former Canada West players are skating professionally.

Potentially, there could be a lot more playing as well, but circumstances change. As mentioned, Neisha Germann didn't go back to the EWHL, all of Anna Purschke, Tatum Amy, and Autumn MacDougall aren't in the SDHL any longer, Alex Poznikoff retired from the PWHL, and Bailee Bourassa is following her nursing career rather than playing another season in the SDHL. Danielle Stone's situation in the SDHL changed last year, Lilla Carpenter-Boesch moved on from the SWHL, and Jordan Kulbida left the EWHL behind.

As you can see, the talent coming out of Canada West and the other three conferences is considerable, and these players need to be recognized for what they're doing now and what they did at their schools while attending those campuses. Once again, The Rundown is proud to post this kind of information and recognize these women for all that they've accomplished, and I hope that you'll watch them play with their new teams just as did when they were playing for the U SPORTS team(s) you follow.

The Last Word

This was a long entry that took a lot of time to compile and write, so I hope you enjoyed the look at all the players professionally. These women still are, in this writer's view, some of the best to have ever played the game at any level, and I wish them all the best this season and beyond, even if that beyond takes them away from the game.

For all players, coaches, staff, fans, parents, and former players who make this game so good, I hope everyone has a very merry holiday season, that health and happiness find you in whatever form you desire, and that everyone is surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones during this season. It's the most wonderful time of year, and then we get the rush of playoff races before the big dance starts!

Happy holidays, everyone! All the best to you and yours!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

I've Heard This One Before

December 21, 1983 should be a date that sticks in the minds of all hockey fans in Winnipeg. For those that have bveen around long enough to see the NHL's Winnipeg Jets leave the city and the WHL's Winnipeg Ice leve the city, there was a void left in Winnipeg hockey fans' hearts back in 1983 before it became reality in the summer of 1984. Today is the anniversary of the the announcement that the WHL's Winnipeg Warriors would be leaving Winnipeg for greener pastures in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for the 1984-85 season.

Founded as an expansion team in 1980, the team struggled from the moment they went head-to-head with the Winnipeg Jets for a slice of the hockey fan market in Winnipeg. Attendance problems were evident through their first season of play, and that problem plagued the franchise until the packed up their bags and headed west. What I find interesting is that the Warriors had been warning people that low attendance numbers would force a move like this, yet it seems like no one bothered to listen in the early-1980s.

This article from the Brandon Sun sums up that situation.

As the article clearly states, the Warriors had "drawn about 1,900 fans at 16 home games" through the 1983 portion of the '83-84 season, and it was about 1100 fans short of 3000 fans needed to break even. As the author of the article pointed out, just 837 fans came out to watch the Kelowna Wins beat the Warriors 5-4 in overtime which meant that over 14,000 empty seats in the Winnipeg Arena watched that game. Yikes.

It would appear that the breaking point happened sometime in late November or early December as the Warriors were sold to a group of 25 investors from Moose Jaw who were moving the team to the Saskatchewan community after four woeful seasons in Winnipeg. In their four campaigns in the Manitoba capital, the Warriors made the playoffs just once, being swept by the Lethbridge Broncos in three games in 1982-83. The 1983-84 record of 9–63–0 stands as the second-worst record ever in WHL history, and three of the four seasons saw them finish with less than 60 points.

What is baffling to me is that at the time the article was written - December 21, 1983 - the Warriors had a 7-24-0 record, but would finish the season with a 9-63-0 record. That means from December 21 until the end of the season, the Warriors went an incredible 2-39-0 before the arena went dark. Goaltender Doug Lunney, who played 50 games that season, finished the campaign with a 9-36-0 record, a 6.91 GAA, and an .824 save percentage. His backup was Jamie Dubberley who went oh-fer the season in 36 appearances as he finished the 1983-84 season with an 0-25-0 record, a 9.68 GAA, and a .764 save percentage! Holy moly are those crazy numbers!

In any case, the Warriors announced they were moving on this day back in 1983, and it was because they went head-to-head with an NHL team for fans, it seems. Having a poor product didn't help them, but needing 3000 fans per game as a demand seems like a pipe dream back in the early-1980s. Heck, seeing those kinds of demands today is still a hope and prayer, but at least we know that hockey has learned from its own history when it comes to building successful franchises.

What's that line about not knowing history and being doomed?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Spengler Roster

The one hockey tournament that I look forward to every year when it comes to watching hockey on TV is the Spengler Cup played in Davos, Switzerland. Would I love to attend this tournament some year? Absolutely, but I also like not spending $10,000 on vacations. In saying that, the Spengler Cup is a fun tournament where players that teams seem to have forgotten pop back up thanks to their selection to the Team Canada roster. This year, however, there appears to be less surprises thanks to who was selected to go to Davos by Team Canada management.

The 26-player roster was named today, and it shocked me that 13 players currently skating in the American Hockey League were named to the team. Usually, there are a handful of guys who come over from the AHL to help make up Canada's roster, but a full 50% of the roster this season is from the North American developmental league. Will that give Canada any sort of advantage? We'll find out starting on December 26, but let's take a look at who is going to Switzerland as part of their holiday plans this year.

Team Canada

Forwards

Name	Team	G	A	GP	League
Daniel Carr	Lugano	6	16	29	NLA
Philip-Michaël Devos	Ajoie	15	7	30	NLA
Tanner Fritz	Rapperswil-Jona	0	0	0	NLA
Logan Shaw	Toronto	4	14	25	AHL
Manix Landry	Ambri-Piotta	8	8	31	NLA
Curtis McKenzie	Texas	6	8	26	AHL
Joseph Carroll	Wichita	8	6	17	ECHL
Jonathan Hazen	Ajoie	4	7	19	NLA
Charles Hudon	Ontario	11	11	24	AHL
Phillippe Maillet	Ambri-Piotta	6	10	22	NLA
Brett Seney	Rockford	4	13	26	AHL
Brandon Coe	San Jose	1	5	15	AHL
Josh Jooris	Geneve-Servette	4	5	28	NLA
Sam Gagner	Free Agent	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

This might be one of the least offensively-gifted Spengler Cup teams that Canada has sent to Davos in a while. Just two players have double-digit totals in goals while players like Daniel Audette, Derek Grant, and Michael Joly were all left off the roster. Perhaps Canada was looking for more speed as they went with younger AHL players, but the players from Switzerland all have miles on their skates. I'm not exactly sure what Canada was aiming for in their build of this forward group, but they may have win with defence this year.

Defencemen

Name	Team	G	A	GP	League
Thomas Gregoire	Kloten	6	11	32	NLA
Layton Ahac	Abbotsford	0	0	4	AHL
Kodie Curran	Ambri-Piotta	1	4	23	NLA
Noel Hoefenmayer	Laval	1	7	13	AHL
Colton White	Utica	1	7	20	AHL
Madison Bowey	Cleveland	0	4	22	AHL
Jonathan Aspirot	Calgary	2	13	25	AHL
Matt Irwin	Free Agent	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Mac Hollowell	WBS Penguins	0	16	22	AHL

Again, the complete lack of offence shown by this group has me puzzled as to what Team Canada was doing when asking players if they want to play in Davos. Bringing seven defenders with AHL experience who have five goals between them doesn't scream "offence from the blue line". This group will need to defend well if they're going to challenge for a spot in the final.

Goaltenders

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	League
Dylan Ferguson	Iowa	3-4-0	3.30	.900	AHL
Colten Ellis	Springfield	8-5-2	2.80	.916	AHL
Antoine Bibeau	KooKoo Kuovola	6-10-7	2.67	.902	Liiga

Team Canada is putting a lot of faith in three AHL-level goaltenders, two of which are backup netminders for their teams. Bibeau has played in big games before, but his best years between the pipes came before the pandemic. Ellis may win the starting job just by being the best goalie Canada has on its roster, but he's going to need help to get Canada to the final. Ferguson is a fine goaltender as well, but he needs to make more saves than what he's shown in Iowa.

Things won't be easy on Boxing Day as Canada has a showdown with HC Davos in their first game, and Davos has all sorts of talent playing for them. Adam Tambellini is tied for sixth-place in Swiss league scoring, they have Filip Zadina and Julius Honka skating for them, big Klas Dahlbeck and known pest Brenden Lemieux will likely be on the ice, and they have to get through netminder Sandro Aeschlimann who sports a 1.99 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

Depending on Canada's result in that game, they will play Germany's Straubing Tigers on Friday or Saturday, but Straubing won't be a pushover either as they were in the Champions' League playoff bracket, they boast former Flyers forward Taylor Leier and former Jets forward JC Lipon, Philip Samuelsson, Nelson Nogier, and Justin Braun control their blue line, and Zane McIntyre is their starting netminder. Straubing has a ton of experience and skill, so Canada will be in for another test regardless of a win or less against Davos.

This team could either surprise a lot of people - myself included - or disappoint a number of fans, but it will be up to Gerard Gallant, Dave Hakstol, and Mike Kelly to get them playing as a team that looks more like a polished squad than a group of guys thrown together a week before the tournament starts. If nothing else, though, I want to see Canada work their tails off in out-hustling their opposition. Canadian teams that do that often win at this tournament, so it will have to be sixty-minute efforts every game.

The Spengler Cup tournament starts on Boxing Day. Are you ready?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 639

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back tonight with a fantastic guest who has literally played hockey everywhere. Ok, that might be a stretch, but he's certainly been on the ice in more places than the average hockey player in this country and he documented this in recently-released book. If you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift, our guest's book would be an excellent choice as it really takes a good look at how important hockey is to the communities in Canada!

Who is this guest? Teebz and Jason are proud, honoured, privileged, humbled, and pleased to welcome author Ronnie Shuker to the show tonight as they discuss Ronnie's book, The Country and the Game: 30,000 Miles of Hockey Stories published by Sutherland House, as he drove across the country, speaking with many people along the way about the importance that hockey plays in those communities. We'll chat with him about a few of those communities while touching on some of the difficulties the game faces in smaller communities as we get to know Ronnie! If you missed the review for The Country and the Game, you can read HBIC's review here!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat with Ronnie Shuker, author of The Country and the Game: 30,000 Miles of Hockey Stories, about his travels, the communities he visited, the state of the game, being a Maple Leafs fan, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: December 19, 2024: Episode 639

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Banned In Canada

Say what you want about enforcers in the NHL, but the days where there was a legitimate heavyweight rumbler on a roster are long gone. While these guys were heroes to their fans, we know the toll it took on a lot of them thanks to science today that the NHL continues to deny. One of the guys who suffered before his tragic ending was Bob Probert who stood among the toughest hombres to ever wear skates and throw knuckles. For a time, though, he wasn't allowed to cross the border into Canada thanks to his repeated run-ins with the law, and that story made headlines on December 18, 1991 as Probert was left in Detroit by the Red Wings again while they travelled across Canada on a road trip!

The story, written by Corky Meinecke of Knight-Ridder Newspapers, was published in the Winnipeg Free Press on this day 33 years ago.

Of course, I'm not here to defend Probert's legal problems as he is responsible for the consequences of his actions. The fact that he was banned from crossing the border into Canada is one of those consequences, and he was finding ways to deal with the periods of time his teammates were playing hockey and he wasn't. However, it sounds like he was doing all he could in finding ways to join them on their treks through the Great White North.

As Probert told Meinecke, "I just don't understand why I ca't get a trial permit, why I just can't play a game and come right back. They could even escort me there and back. They keep telling me, 'We're getting closer.' But it's been three years."

In fact, as Meinecke wrote, it was three years and seven days from that point where the two spoke as the last game he had played in Canada came on December 10, 1988 in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. The Red Wings clobbered the Maple Leafs by an 8-2 score, and Bob Probert scored the opening goal of the game unassisted for his second marker of the season. It should be noted that Probert got five for fighting and two for instigating a fight with Toronto's Brian Curran at 9:39 of the second period, and he was given a ten-minute misconduct at 9:35 of the third period for attempting to injure a Leafs player. In short, it was a good day at the office for Probert.

For nearly four complete years, Probert was banned from playing in Canada as part of that ban saw him suspended by the NHL on March 4, 1989 before being reinstated by the league on March 9, 1990. He also spent three months in a correctional facility in Rochester, Minnesota and another three months in a rehabilitation center near Detroit. Those periods of time stemmed from his arrest in March 1989 where he attempted to smuggle cocaine into the United States in his underwear at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

On December 7, 1992, his fortunes changed as Probert's waiver request was granted by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.

"Sufficient time has passed and Probert has demonstrated since his drug conviction that he has been properly rehabilitated," INS District Director James Montgomery said in a statement. "Over the last several years, since his conviction, he has not had any criminal misconduct. He has cooperated fully with the United States Department of Probation. He has cooperated fully with us and has made numerous speeches in the community in regard to speaking out against drugs and alcohol."

In a weird twist of fate, Probert's first game back in Canada would come in Toronto against the Maple Leafs on December 9, 1992. He was hardly a factor as Toronto scored five power-play goals en route to a 5-3 victory, but Probert did what he was known for as he scrapped with Wendel Clark at 2:32 of the third period before picking up a roughing penlaty at 10:18, a kneeing penalty at 19:17, and a second fighting major for that kneeing infraction after squaring off with Clark once more. 14 minutes in penalties in his return sounds like a very Bob Probert-like effort back in early December 1992.

Of course, we lost Bob Probert after he died of a heart attack on July 5, 2010. On September 25, 2010, Probert's family made the courageous decision to donate his brain to science as part of Boston University's Sports Legacy Institute where the effects of concussions and other sports-related head injuries are studied. It was found that Probert had been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition that the NHL has repeatedly denied any responsibility for and any link to the suffering some of their most feared warriors are facing.

For four years, though, teams in Canada could breathe a little easier knowing the Red Wings were visiting without one of the most feared players in the NHL on their roster. It's a shame that we lost him so prematurely after he worked his tail off being one of the most entertaining players of his time.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!