The Hockey Show - Episode 734

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with our two usual gunslingers as Sophie is already booked as she tries to take over the world. That leaves our two opinionated hosts to discuss a number of hockey topics from this past week, and they may even chat about something fun as well! What may that be, you ask? Well, you're going to have to find a seat, a radio or internet-connected device, and tune into The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason will look at what seems to be a "canary in the coalmine" situation when it comes to the Vegas Golden Knights' sellout streak ending. There are lots of reasons for it, but the comments on one blog along with comments collected by the author might surprise you when it comes to why Vegas saw a pile of empty seats last Thursday. Beyond that, our hosts will chat about a coaching being dismissed, the continued misuse of public funds to help billionaires, a significant drop in fans in one market, and something big happening in the Winnipeg market near the end of October! It's going to be a busy show with lots of chatter, so make sure you're ready for the discussion on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's 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.

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 examine a harsh reality, a vacant job, misappropriation of funds, empty seats, a fun event, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

A Fun Side Quest

I don't normally spend a lot of time pouring over the transaction list in hockey, but I do keep an eye on the ECHL transactions during this time of year to see if any U SPORTS players have been added or released. One name on the list jumped out to me on October 10, and I decided to look into this person because I don't know many men named "Colleen" who play hockey. Might we be seeing the Stingrays with a female goalie?

Before we get into this, let's just remember that an EBUG in the ECHL is a contract that guarantees nothing more than a few days of working in practices. They are vitally important, though, because they fill in when goalies are moving between leagues or when a netminder gets injured. We saw how important the EBUG was to the Fort Wayne Komets back in 2002 as they earned a win with EBUG Joe Franke between the pipes! Clearly, EBUGs serve an important role.

With ECHL teams currently running through training camps and preseason games, EBUGs become important as teams wait for goalies to arrive from AHL clubs or release goalies who may not be ready for ECHL action. There have been a handful signed in the last week as teams sort out their rosters, and the South Carolina Stingrays appeared to need one on Saturday as they tapped into their local Charleston Youth Hockey Association where Colleen Jacoby was working as the association's goalie coach! The Muskegon, Michigan native last played competitive hockey in 2015-16 for the ACHA Division II University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, but she was on the ice this weekend stopping pucks in an ECHL crease as she broke out the pads and mask for the Stingrays! How cool is that?

It should be noted that Colleen Jacoby wasn't likely looking for an ECHL job as she currently works as an attorney at Tecklenburg, Jenkins & Jacoby. She keeps her skills sharp through coaching and playing adult hockey around Charleston, though, so it's not like the Stingrays were throwing an untrained, unprepared player in the crease. She's still a Red Wings fan in terms of her hockey love, and her goaltending numbers at both Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota-Duluth shows she knows how to stop pucks!

Jacoby was splitting goaltending duties over the weekend with Ben Kraws who played with the Idaho Steelheads last season, and it's expected that there will be a goaltender sent to them eventually by the Hershey Bears as they're currently carrying three goaltenders on their roster. Until they do, though, it seems that Colleen Jacoby will be wearing a Stingrays jersey! For how long is the big question.

South Carolina doesn't play a game until Friday when they travel to Jacksonville to meet the Icemen to open the 2026-27 ECHL season. On Saturday, October 17, they'll be back in Charleston for their home opener against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, and I'll be keeping my eye on the transactions records for the next few days to see if Colleen remains with the club. It's very likely that she'll be released before the team travels on Thursday, but any injury in Hershey or Washington may change those plans. Such is the nature of hockey.

You might be thinking that the Stingrays would be taking it easy on our lawyer-turned-pro-goalie, but it looks like Jacoby is holding her own in camp to the delight of her new teammates and coaches!
It's always awesome to see head coach Jesse Kallechy and the team's starting netminder and Jacoby's goaltending partner Ben Kraws excited about how she's been playing in camp, and that will only extend her stay with the Stingrays. Again, I'm not saying she'll be on the opening night roster or anything, but the fact that she can hang with ECHL shooters shows she has the talents to be in their camp.

I love stories like this and I'm glad that Jacoby's getting her chance to shine. She's a successful lawyer who clearly loves the game, but it seems she's living a dream this week as she's in a professional training camp with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. Even if she is released by the team, she showed she can do the job if needed. Perhaps there's some room on the Stingrays' payroll for an EBUG who is skilled enough to negotiate her own professional hockey contract?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

***UPDATE: Colleen Jacoby was released as the EBUG with Hershey assigning Garin Bjorklund to South Carolina late on October 12. As a result, Jacoby will not be on the Stingray's official roster for this week's opening games in Jacksonville and against Greenville.***

Just Dumb Scheduling

I know this seems like I'm already breaking my plan of not posting daily, but I did something last night that I haven't done in a while: I watched a hockey game without looking for a story angle. Being that I was switching into fan mode for the first time in a long time, I decided to tap into my roots by watching the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. I grew up a Penguins fan and I still quietly cheer for the team, but last night was where I just wanted to watch Crosby, Malkin, and Letang potentially play together for one final season. Instead, play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff dropped some peculiar news during the broadcast that left me scratching my head when it comes an oft-heard reason for ticket pricing and playoff format from the NHL's head honchos. And quite honestly, it doesn't make much sense from a fan's point of view.

The NHL has claimed over and over that the reason for not seeding playoff teams from one through eight is due to developing the natural rivalries between teams. By having stornger local rivalries, the NHL believes that more people will buy tickets to see games in-person, thereby justifying the supply-and-demand angle of raising ticket prices, specifically for certain games. After all, a rivalry between two teams generally gets the blood pumping in those fanbases.

In saying that, it left me wondering who was designing the NHL's schedule because Getzoff, during a discussion of Igor Shesterkin's season-ending injury, mentioned that the Penguins will not play the New York Rangers this season until January 29, 2027! How on earth in this age of the NHL do two divisional rivals not see each other in the first three months of the season? Who came up with this idea?

The catch, though, is that it's not just the New York Rangers. The Penguins have a deep-rooted rivalry with their Pennsylvania cousins in the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins opened the season by laying a 7-0 beating on the Flyers which will surely amp up the rivalry for this season when the two teams meet again, right? Except that doesn't happen until January 31, 2027 - exactly four months after that season-opening game! Does anyone feel like that 7-0 score, which helps to fuel the rivalry, won't be as fresh in anyone's mind?

The New York Islanders, who share a long and storied rivalry with the Penguins, won't see the Steel City team until January 13, 2027 this season either. And while I get that playoff races are more fun with in-division games later in the season, there's also a chance that one of these four teams will not make the playoffs nor be in a playoff race at the end of the season. I'm not here to speculate on which team(s) that might be, but one team just lost a world-class goaltender for the season and another has only scored seven goals in six games.

If the NHL wants rivalries within divisions to grow, sprinkle in the hatred throughout the season more. I want the bad blood, the hurt pride, and the general dislike to carry over week to week so that when that logo pops up on the calendar, both teams' blood starts to boil. I want the chirping and the face-washing and the slashes across the back of the legs to be a way of life when two divisional rivals meet. I want fanbases that breathe fire towards the other city.

That doesn't happen if teams don't play each other in meaningful games. No players are willing to put life and limb on the line if there's no chance of playing in the postseason. Alternatively, there might be more reason for players to take cheap shots against good players if those players aren't heading towards the postseason because the race already doesn't matter if he gets suspended. That will develop bad blood between teams, but that's not how one fosters a burning rivalry. That's why playoffs SHOULD feature rivalries.

The Penguins will play the Rangers three times between January 29 and April 6, and those games may not matter if they can't find decent goaltending to replace Shesterkin. They'll play the Islanders three times between January 13 and April 1, and those games could potentially be interesting if both the Penguins and Islanders stay healthy. And they'll play the Flyers three times between January 31 and April 3, and those games may not matter if the Flyers continue to struggle to score. That's not how to build rivalries between teams.

I clearly don't understand what goes into scheduling the entire NHL season because rivalries should be built and cultivated with games more often than the last three months of the season. Right now as a Penguins fan, the Rangers and Islanders are just two teams in the division. There isn't a rivalry there because there's nothing between the teams that would foster any sort of dislike other than past games and transgressions. After a summer apart, though, I need something to spark that hate again. Waiting until January isn't that spark.

Like a fire, you have to feed it fuel and stoke it every once in a while to have it burn hot. The NHL, it seems, believes that pouring gasoline onto a fire will make it burn hotter which is true, but only for short periods of time until that fuel is burned. That's the problem with how the NHL is treating these rivalries - it's a long-burning fire that requires fuel and stoking rather than an immediate, flammable fuel source. Unless that flammable fuel source is being used to re-ignite a long-burning fire that already existed, there's nothing there to stoke.

Penguins and Flyers fans will still dislike the other's team. Rangers and Islanders fans will never mix like oil and water. But the rivalry between the Penguins and Islanders won't get better or run deeper without playing one another more often. The same goes for the Rangers and, to some extent, the Flyers, yet the NHL will tell you that these rivalries have never been stronger at any time in history.

It's just not true, though, and their scheduling is part of the problem because I don't hate the Islanders like I did in 1993 when David Volek ended the Penguins' shot at a three-peat. That hatred doesn't exist with Bo Horvat, Matthew Schaefer, or Ilya Sorokin like it did with Volek, Rich Pilon, and Darius Kasparaitis. And squeezing three games into three months won't re-ignite that hatred for the Islanders in me.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

HBIC's New Direction

As we got closer to the number shown in the picture to the left, it's hard to believe that I've written this many articles here on HBIC. I often wonder how I've attracted 22 million hits on this page, but it seems like I've written a few articles that were read by people on this planet and that's not lost on me as I write this final daily entry. I'm one of the few independent bloggers who is still writing on a daily basis, but all good things do come to an end. HBIC will persist, but it will exist in a new format beyond today.

Blocking off free time to commit to writing HBIC was something that I always tried to do, and I'm grateful that people took the time to read the articles I've written to an extent that I cannot say "thank you" enough. I'm not here to do a top-ten list or anything, but I'm proud of the research and collaboration that went into articles like "Where The Shirts Have No Names", "Benny, Mick E., and Icy?", and other articles where good people like Rob Ullman and Fiona Quinn have given me story ideas. Not everything comes from this writer's noggin.

I certainly haven't avoided trouble when it came to what I wrote as I was threatened by a handful of organizations with some sort of legal action for what I wrote, but, thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and the threat of lawsuits remained as threats. The University of Lethbridge was none too pleased about my "Extinction Of The Pronghorns" article nor the "Hiding The Real Message" follow-up article, but they seemed to get over their anger. There were things said during negotations between the Manitoba Bisons and UMFM that ended a partnership in "The Art Of Negotiation?", and The Hockey Show and UMFM were threatened with a lawsuit if we reported about a major incident that happened on campus that we investigated.

Speaking of The Hockey Show, that will continue and I'll still post show previews here on HBIC as we push forward with some fun radio opportunities. Teebz's Book Club will take advantage of having more time when it comes to reading hockey literature, and there are a ton of books that I want to cross off the "To Read" list. More than anything, though, I want to get out to rinks more often and watch hockey. I honestly don't care if it's TimBits hockey or NHL hockey, live hockey is certainly better when one is watching in the arena.

On that note, expect us to have a lot of fun calling games at the Female World Sport School Challenge this November, we'll get out to call a handful of sledge hockey games alongside the great people from Sledge Hockey Manitoba, and we'll work with the Balmoral Hall Blazers to schedule a few broadcasts of their games as well. We're always looking for fun games and events to call, so feel free to reach out if you want UMFM at your event! We'll try to make it happen!

I want to be clear: HBIC isn't going away. There just won't be daily posts any longer. I'll still have a voice on here when it comes to covering big stories, looking at hockey history, and posting fun articles like "Musicians in Jerseys", but I want to use my time more effectively for me. Besides, there are 7000 articles on this site, and I don't know if anyone has read them all. For all the ones you have read, though, thank you. You made the last two decades worth it.

This isn't good-bye as much as it is "see you soon". Whenever that is.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 733

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, returns tonight with a full house in the UMFM studios! It's always good to have fun guests join us who have a lot to talk about, and we have that tonight with two guests who are joining us. However, we also will add another voice to the fun as we welcome a young lady who wants a future in broadcasting to sit in with us for this show and, possibly, more in the future. In short, the studio's chairs will all be full tonight as we hit the air, so get ready and take your seat tonight for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason and Sophie welcome back two of the people making a difference in Manitoba as Shay and Les from Sledge Hockey Manitoba are back to chat about everything happening on the development side of things! We'll chat with them about summer developments, tournament results from last season, growth of the programs, making new connections, bringing home hardware, and the always-persistent challenges that they face in trying to grow sledge hockey enrolment and participation in Manitoba! It should be another very interesting show with lots of news from two of Sledge Hockey Manitoba's most important people in Shay and Les, so we'll get into everything happening on the sledge hockey scene tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's 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.

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 and Sophie chat with Shay and Les from Sledge Hockey Manitoba about summer fun, growing numbers, winning hardware, having fun, attracting talent, making connections, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: October 8, 2026: Episode 733

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Another Idea Blows Up

I'm not one to celebrate failure because I often see the importance of learning from one's mistakes, but I will celebrate another failure by the NHL when it comes to capturing popular culture in a marketing campaign. The NHL certainly brands itself as being modern and hip, so seeing it follow a trend that it once held in such contempt makes this failure all the better. After all, if the NHL had wanted to make inroads with this specific marketing effort, they could do so by being a better organization morally and ethically. Since that seems like too much work to do when it comes to simply making money, the NHL opted to go in a different direction that ended with this idea blowing up in their faces once again. That quiet sound you hear in the background is me screaming "I told you so."

On October 2, the NHL decided it was going to publish romance novel-inspired short stories starring the league's players on audiobook platforms as part of their new "Hot For Hockey" marketing campaign. The first set of stories that made it onto audio platforms like Spotify featured players like Philadelphia Flyers' Trevor Zegras, the Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho, and the Las Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel. If you're reading this and already thinking this is a bad idea, you're only seeing the tip of the iceberg sticking out of the water.

The NHL decided to collaborate with popular hockey romance writers on this project who could "romanticize" the players with these stories. The stories were then hyped in 60- or 90-second ads that appeared to be nothing more than bids to get people to watch the actual games, and the stories themselves were nothing close to hockey romance stories as the players weren't paired with romantic partners. The story arc for Trevor Zegras is as follows:

"Trevor Zegras came to Philly looking for a fresh start. But after battling with Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year, he found out how gritty things could get. One heated summer later, Philly's pretty boy is looking a whole lot grittier."

There is A LOT to unpack in that short paragraph, and none of it even has to do with Gritty, the Flyers' mascot. If you downloaded the story thinking you were getting the NHL's version of Heated Rivalry, you signed up for the wrong set of stories, but there's a large chunk of ignorance shown by the NHL's infinite big brains in floating this idea.

For a league whose rosters currently feature three men named in an alleged criminal case for sexual assault, romanticizing players in the league is definitive proof that the NHL is completely out of touch with its fanbase. Two prominent hockey romance writers, Emily Rath and Chelsea Curto, both declined participating in the project with Rath posting on her social media, "Yes, the NHL contacted me to participate. And I have never turned down an offer so fast."

Lacey Conine, the founder of Double Hockey Stix, a business that makes a clothing line for underrepresented hockey fans, says she initially thought news of the NHL's romance-centric audiobook campaign was satire, telling Wired's Kate Taylor, "I had so many comments of people just being like, 'This is disgusting. We hate this. What is this? How is the NHL this tone deaf?'" And she's right.

With the Dallas Stars announcing that they were cancelling Pride Night this season, it seems entirely disingenuous of the NHL to try and ride the coattails of Heated Rivalry's momentum. Using the romance-in-hockey theme is something that can be done by people not associated with the NHL in terms of writing fiction, but adding real players to the mix opens up a can of worms that no one wants.

In 2023, Alexander Wennberg, and his wife, Felicia, posted on social media about an influx of "predatory and exploiting" comments after the Kraken posted content aimed at TikTik's BookTok scene. Earlier this summer, there was an alleged inappropriate relationship between a billet mom and a teenaged player in the OHL. Of course, there was also the online abuse to which Connor Hellebuyck and his wife, Andrea, were subjected as one of his reasons for his trade demands out of Canada. This kind of behaviour cannot be glorified through the romanticism of young NHL players, and the NHL was insane for even trying to capitalize on that. Someone had to see this coming, right?

Well, fast forward to today, just four days after the NHL's marketing wizards launched the audiobook stories, and this campaign has been shelved by the NHL. In full spin mode, the NHL said "the episodes were meant to be a limited-time offering" in their reason for removing them from audio platforms. In what has to be the biggest "yeah, we didn't think this one through," the NHL's four-day campaign might be the most limited of limited-time offers they've ever done.

That didn't stop NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman from celebrating an opportunity, stating, "I will tell you the data was overwhelming in terms of new fans that we acquired last year who were first introduced to hockey either through 'Off Campus' or 'Heated Rivalry.' And if new people want to come and be a part of game, we’re thrilled to have them."

Again, open your eyes, Gary. While both TNT and ESPN spouting off about female viewership being up 66% and 106%, respectively, the NHL celebrating "Heated Rivalry", which is about two gay hockey players, becomes laughable when the NHL is seeing teams cancel Pride Games and having players openly refuse to wear LGBTQ+-inspired clothing. "Off Campus" might be the one the NHL can support because of their lack of concern towards promiscuity, fighting, and domestic abuse, but that might be giving them credit where it simply isn't due. They didn't earn these fans through any effort on their own.

"If the NHL is trying to reach the female fan base, which is obviously what this is an attempt to do, there are so many better and stronger ways to do that," The IX Sports PWHL senior writer Melissa Burgess told the AP. "Honestly, it's the best thing the NHL could do is scrap it, put it in the past and make it a distant memory."

At the end of the day, imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but there wasn't one person asking for the NHL to do this. Like any business, the NHL always wants to expand its market share to capture the largest amount of female fans it can, but marketing itself and its players as some sort of romantic heroes in hyperbolized scenarios is only going to attract ridicule. This was one area of hockey into which the NHL didn't need to wander, yet someone in their offices pitched this idea well enough to make others go, "We can profit off of this."

Four days is all the "Hot For Hockey" audiobook campaign lasted. That was literally 96 hours too long, but at least the NHL came to its senses quickly before they "found out how gritty things could get".

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Tour May Continue?

Back on August 10, I wrote an article about Russian star Evgeny Kuznetsov signing with Sibir Novosibirsk where I joked that he could "suit up for every team by age 44 if he keeps up his current pace" of switching teams. I'm completely in the camp that Kuznetsov doesn't read HBIC, but it feels a little coincidental that Kuznetsov left Novosibirsk after just eight games yesterday. According to several posts on Instagram, it appears that Kuznetsov's father's health is behind his sudden and surprising departure from the team, but that will mark the fifth KHL team he's skated for in his career. Will he reappear elsewhere?

I take nothing away from Kuznetsov if he is spending time with his father during this time. Kuznetsov doesn't need the money that the KHL pays, and having him play with his father's health weighing on him likely wouldn't have been good for Sibir Novosibirsk who needed him at his best. My hope is that his father recovers because no one needs that kind of dark cloud, so here's hoping he's back on his feet soon and Kuznetsov can get back to playing hockey somewhere.

Assuming his father lives in Chelyabinsk where Kuznetsov was born, Kuznetsov could sign a deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk once his father recovers in order to remain closer to him. Kuznetsov got his start with Traktor Chelyabinsk back in 2009, so it would be a homecoming of sorts for the once-prolific scorer. Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg is three hours to the north of Chelyabinsk as well while both Ufa and Magnitogorsk are just over three hours away. The last two teams, however, have already had Kuznetsov on their rosters last season.

In short, the 34 year-old is running out of options quickly if he wants to remain close to home to be near his father for health reasons.

Others, meanwhile, have suggested that Kuznetsov's departure from Sibir might have something to do with the fact that Sibir is a bad team. Currently, Sibir sits with a 3-7-0-2 record for eight points which puts them at 11th out of 11 teams in the KHL's Eastern Conference. They've surrendered the most goals in the Eastern Conference and the third-most in the KHL, and have only scored more than two goals in three of their 12 games thus far. It's been a rough start so far.

I'm not here to suggest that Kuznetsov gave up on Sibir Novosibirsk, but winning once in their last five games when they were tied or led going into the third period certainly isn't a selling feature to a guy like Kuznetsov. The lede photo is of him in street clothes early in the second period of an October 29, 2025 game between Ak Bars Kazan and Metallurg Magnitogorsk after Metallurg head coach Andrei Razin benched him for poor play after the first period. I'm not saying these situations are the same, but Kuznetsov doesn't do himself any favours when he leaves a team without a clear explanation for his departure.

Whatever the reason is for him leaving Sibir Novosibirsk, Evgeny Kuznetsov is, once again, a free agent. With five out of 22 KHL teams off his list, will he add a sixth team this season or will he return to one of his previous teams? If his father's health doesn't improve, will he return at all? Here's hoping the elder Kuznetsov's health recovers so we see Evgeny Kuznetsov back on the ice somewhere in Russia.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Major Uniform History Day

Imagine for a moment that it's the fall of 1974. Colours are changing on the trees, leaves are beginning to fall, and the fashion world is wearing earth tones and flared- and wide-leg pants. There were design changes to the Ford Mustang and Pontiac Firebirds, Lamborghini introduced the world to the Countach, Richard Nixon had just resigned as President of the United States due to the Watergate scandal, and the UPC Barcode to scan products at stores was still in its infancy. The world was a different place 50 years ago as Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record, People magazine first appeared on newsstands, and Chinese farmers discovered the Terracotta Army.

We're going to focus on fashion, though, and specifically on the NHL because October 4, 1974 is a day where something happened in a preseason game that maked a major moment in uniform history as per a social media account called KingsUniHistory. As per that account, the LA Kings "wore their gold home uniform with forum blue pants for the first time in 4 years in a preseason game against the Golden Seals". I know that a lot of people will read that and think, "That's not very significant," but it was because the Kings began wearing gold pants at the start of the 1970-71 season with their gold jerseys, meaning that the "forum blue" pants were used exclusively with their purple road jerseys throughout the decade!

If you know anything about me, I much prefer hockey uniforms to have contrasting pants colours to break up the monochrome look that happens when pants and jerseys match. The Kings actually wore that contrasting uniform style from their first time on the ice until the end of the 1969-70 season as shown to the right, and that looks all sorts of correct compared to the single-colour gold choice they opted to wear in 1970-71 and beyond. Make no mistake that there were some questionable uniform decisions made in the 1970s by a handful of teams, but gold-over-gold by the Kings is a head-scratcher.

The gold-over-purple combination would only be worn on October 4, though, as the Kings continued to use their gold pants throughout that season. As the KingsUniHistory account describes, "It was the only time this uniform faced California's all teal 1974-76 road uniform," meaning that every other date between 1974 and 1976 featured the all-gold Kings versus the all-teal California Seals! Finding any sort of record of these games is next to impossible, however, but we'll go with KingsUniHistory's knowledge that the gold-over-purple only saw the all-teal Seals once in the preseason on October 4, 1974.

The other major note is that the Seals' all-teal look also debuted in this game as the California Seals went from their Oakland Athletics-inspired kelly-green-and-gold look in 1973-74 to their uniform their new look for the 1974-75 season. With Charlie Finley selling the team in 1974, the colours were swapped to a more traditional west coast feel by the NHL who owned the franchise. That all-teal look debuted on October, 1974 in the preseason game against the Kings as well, so there were two major uniform events that on occurred that day!

You might be asking if the Kings, in their first gold-over-purple game in four years, won the game against the Seals, and they did not. They didn't lose either, though, as the game ended as a 1-1 tie. As shown to the left, Mike Murphy opened the scoring for the Kings before Seals' rookie Wayne King scored off a rebound to square the score, and the final score would be recorded as a 1-1 preseason tie. Just for fun, the California Seals found a way to break through for a win two days later as they downed the Kings by a 5-2 score on October 6, 1974.

The rivalry was already starting to simmer between these California rivals as they battled for west coast surpemacy, and the weird part was they weren't even in the same division in 1974! The California Golden Seals would play in the Adams Division that season with Boston, Buffalo, and Toronto while Los Angeles was in the Norris Division with Montreal, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Washington. Both the Adams and Norris Division played in the Prince of Wales Conference that season. The NHL cared not for your geography lessons.

I searched everywhere for reasons as to why the Kings wore their purple pants on October 4, 1974, and I can't find any site or newspaper article with a reason for that uniform decision. I will say it's the right one, though, because the gold-over-gold uniform was a bad look, even for the disco era. As for the Seals, they wouldn't last past 1976 so they never saw the Kings in purple pants again.

How often do we get a uniform debut for one team and a one-game uniform note for the other in the same game? Not very often, and that's why October 4, 1974 was a major uniform history day!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Two Touchdowns Is Enough, Right?

Being that this is a Sunday, any other season would see The Rundown make an appearance in this spot. With HBIC only a few articles away from hitting 7000 on this blog and because I'm a man of my word, that's not appearing here today despite us being one week out from the Canada West regular season beginning. I do want to rekindle one thing from The Rundown, though, and that's my dislike of teams running up scores. I know that coaches don't want teams to develop bad habits by letting up, but being up two converted touchdowns on a team should be a sign that one has scored enough to win a hockey game, right?

Pictured above is Boston College and Stonehill who met this weekend for Stonehill University's home opener. The Skyhawks came into the came with an 0-2 record after dropping both games against Syracuse in western New York by a combined score of 7-1, so the Skyhawks were looking to bounce back at home against one of the best teams on the east coast in the Boston College Eagles who were kicking off their season with a game at Warrior Ice Arena yesterday.

Again, I cannot stress this enough, but running up a score against an opponent just makes good teams look bad. Setting a program record for goals scored would be fun if the game was close in score, but Boston College not only set a program record, but an NCAA record for the largest goal differential in NCAA women's hockey history on Saturday. I already have a sour taste in my mouth about this game.

Prior to this season, Boston College and Stonehill had only met once for a regular season game, and the Eagles came away with a 5-1 win on September 28, 2024 which was the game from where the lede image above was taken. Lily Geist scored Stonehill's lone goal that day which tied the game at 1-1 just 4:14 into the first period, but that would be as close as the Skyhawks got in that September game.

Saturday saw Boston College score early, score often, and score a lot more than just five goals on the Skyhawks. In fact, it took the Eagles just 12:13 to score five times in this game as they took a 7-0 lead into the first intermission, a 10-0 lead into the second intermission, and they'd retire to their locker room after the game's final horn with the scoreboard showing the score to the right. So I have to ask what would possess Boston College to run up the score like this in a non-conference game against a clearly weaker opponent? What exactly did this score prove other than Boston College is in a different tier of hockey teams than Stonehill is? Is Boston College proud of this score? How does this blowout help them be better?

Boston College used three goaltenders in this game as Avah Sedore stopped five shots in the first period, Bailey Callaway was the busiest of the Eagles' goalies with nine stops in the middle frame, and Bella Pomarico stopped six shots in the third period to keep Stonehill off the scoreboard. In contrast, Stonehill's Nicole Schumm stopped 11 of 16 shots she faced before being pulled after the fifth Boston College goal at 12:13, and Maria Duffer was thrown to the wolves as she made 32 stops on 44 shots. Again, how does this help either team?

If you believe in karma and that kind of stuff, know that the "Hockey Gods" frown on this sort of score and that Boston College likely has some sort comeuppance awaiting them down the line. I'm not wishing any player harm in any manner, but you know that Boston College will be in a tight game at some point where they need a goal and the puck simply won't bounce their way. Don't say I didn't warn you when the Eagles need a win in the Beanpot or the NCAA National Championship and some weird bounce leads to a goal against them.

Stonehill opens their NEWHA Conference schedule against Saint Michael's College this weekend, and they'll likely play with a little snarl after yesterday's game. Boston College will be in Worcester, Massachusetts for a game against Holy Cross where they'll find stiffer competition. Both teams will likely forget about yesterday's game in quick fashion for different reasons, but you have to wonder if this blowout will have an effect in future years when it comes to having these teams play again. If Boston College is just going to beat up Stonehill, why would the Skyhawks agree to play the Eagles?

Blowout scores do nothing for either program when it comes to tactics, strategies, and positives to build on as the season begins. Stonehill will likely watch a lot of video to see where things went wrong while Boston College will go back to work full of false confidence after posting two converted touchdowns and a field goal.

For outsiders, though, this is a bad look for the NCAA when it comes to how far apart these teams may be in terms of talent, recruiting, and execution. I never expected to be talking about a 17-goal difference between two teams in a single game, and I assure you that I never want to be talking about that kind of disparity again.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

I'm Booked Today

My whirlwind start to October will continue today as I am booked for the entire day. The image to the left is related to the reason I'm booked as I'll be emceeing a wedding today that features two people who are genuinely awesome. Neither are Boston Bruins fans nor are they even big hockey fans, but the wedding cake to the left is pretty amazing in terms of how it looks. I know weddings are mainly about the bride, so I'm assumning the bride who had this cake is a huge fan of the Bruins. In any case, I'll be running the music during the ceremony in the early afternoon before keeping everyone on time at the reception as the master of ceremonies. I'm honoured to have been asked to be part of this day, and I'll deliver my best.

Wedding chatter aside for a moment, I did want to draw attention to the list of EBUGs that the NHL published yesterday. Feel free to read through that list if you like, but I want to point out two of the goalies on that list who have U SPORTS experience! It's pretty awesome to see a couple of guys who played at the Canadian university level getting a chance to sign a contract with an NHL team, and no, it doesn't matter that it's an EBUG contract. It's still a valid NHL deal.

We'll start out in Calgary where the Flames signed former Mount Royal Cougars netminder Dustin (Dusty) Nickel! Nickel actually joined the Cougars in 2011-12 for their final ACAC season where he played in one game, but he was on the roster for the 2012-13 season when Mount Royal made the jump to the Canada West Conference! He was listed as one of four goalies on the Cougars' roster that season and didn't get into any Canada West games in that season.

His 2013-14 season would end early thanks to Nickel suffering a knee injury in training camp. That knee injury would require him to miss the entire season in his third year of eligibility, and his fourth year was spent in the pressbox as well. Nickel never actually got to wear his #32 jersey on the ice in a regular season game for Mount Royal which seems cruel. He did graduate, however, with his business degree from Mount Royal University, and he's putting that to good use today as he owns his own construction business and works as a senior coach for Apex Goaltending! Not bad for a guy who missed time!

What makes this story cooler, though, is that Nickel's name should ring a bell for Flames fans as he was the team's old EBUG before the new rules went into place! Back on November 27, 2023, he nearly got his shot to stop pucks for the Flames after Jacob Markstrom was deemed to ill to play after the daily transaction period had passed, leaving Calgary with only Dan Vladar as a goalie. The Flames quickly signed Nickel to an Amateur Tryout Contract, and all eyes were on #40 after Vladar was bowled over by Golden Knights forward William Carrier minutes into the game! Would Nickel get his chance to shine?

"There was so much going through my head at that point," Nickel told the assembled media post-game. "I was hoping he would get up... especially when you look up and there's 55 minutes left in the game."

Vladar would recover, though, and the Flames went on to win 2-1 that night, but Nickel had been a mainstay with the Flames for some time before his night as the backup goalie as he was practising with both the Flames and the AHL Wranglers. In fact, he suffered a torn groin in 2022 while stopping pucks during a shooter's drill, but the Flames organization never asked anyone else to be the EBUG once Nickel was healthy again, bringing Nickel back for 2023 and beyond.

"The guys love Dusty," head coach Ryan Huska said. "Dusty comes out with us a fair bit whenever we need to rest a goalie, or if we have someone that needs some extra time. They love having him around."

The other guy who will do his best to not be pressed into action, but be ready if he is needed, is former Nipissing Lakers and former MacEwan Griffins netminder Brett Epp! The Edmonton-born Epp was signed by the Edmonton Oilers this season after serving as an unofficial EBUG over the last couple of seasons. Epp, however, actually got his university career started south of the border with the Nichols College Bison in Dudley, Massachusetts where he was 10-16-3!

After transferring to Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, he spent two years at Nipissing where, unfortunately, the COVID pandemic limited him to six games where he went 4-2-0 with a 2.78 GAA and a .915 save percentage before he signed with the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers. Epp would bounce around the SPHL and a few lower leagues, but he'd resurface back in Alberta in 2024-25!

Epp would use his final year of eligibility to play with his hometown MacEwan Griffins where Epp would make a little history. His regular season wasn't all that great with the Griffins as he went 3-9-1 with a 3.90 GAA and an .888 save percentage, but he did record the program's first Canada West playoff win with a 41-save effort in a 3-2 overtime win over UBC on February 21, 2025! UBC would win the next two games to eliminate MacEwan that season, but Epp's name went into the record books for picking up that win for the program!

Epp has yet to play a single minute for either of the Oilers or the AHL's Bakersfield Condors, but he'll be listed on their roster this season as the official EBUG! And, despite his lack of experience, he seems to be the right guy for the job as Edmonton goalie coach Peter Aubry told Janson Duench of The Athletic, "The big reason he’s here is the guys like him. Fortunately, we had a free peek last year where Brett had come out and done a few practices with us, so that was a good thing and gives everyone a little bit more comfort."

What makes both of these stories even better is that, as per the NHL's mandate, both men will wear #00 on their jerseys if they ever are pressed into action or to backup one of the everyday NHL netminders. On that note, Epp had an even cooler story that he told to the Edmonton Journal's Gerry Moddejonge on Thursday, saying, "My grandma had her birthday last week, and we went out and got a double-zero jersey made for her, so that was pretty cool."

While a handful of teams have yet to have an EBUG on NHL.com's list, the fact that both Alberta NHL teams have local kids who played for a university in their repsective cities as their EBUGs is pretty cool. Frankly, it would be awesome if Montreal and Vancouver signed local guys who played for universities in their cities, so I'll hold onto the hope that the Canucks find a UBC or Trinity Western goalie while Montreal looks at a Concordia or McGill netminder for their EBUG.

As for me, the only letters I'll wear today are M and C. I'm definitely not qualified to be an EBUG in any capacity, but I don't think a wedding needs nor have I ever heard of an Emergency Backup Groom either. I'll let the couple who have been preparing and rehearsing for this day handle those responsibilities while I make announcements. An an wedding emcee, that's the kind of pressure I can handle.

I'm off to get things organized, so enjoy your day, folks. I know mine will be fantastic as I witness two people wed in a beautiful union that will last forever because they're awesome and make a heckuva team!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

It Took Three Days

I will fully admit that I have not been watching a lot of hockey thanks to life being one event after another right now. For as much as I need and want some time to relax, it seems I'm just as busy as I was through the summer. Of course, my drive to watch NHL hockey has been low as I already admitted that I was already disappointed in the NHL in many ways which doesn't help, but being busy virtually every night hasn't allowed me to settle down in front of a broadcast and watch. Last night, though, the NHL delivered one of the things I absolutely enjoy seeing in any season, and all it took was three days into the 2026-27 season for someone to add his name to the NHL history books last night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were in Manhattan to play the New York Rangers last night, and things weren't going well as they trailed 4-1 late in the game. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper rolled the dice and pulled his goalie for an extra attacker to close the gap, and that gave Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin the opportunity he wanted.
Igor Shesterkin becomes the 18th NHL goaltender to be credited with a goal as he netted the fifth Rangers goal in a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay! He also becomes the first New York Rangers goaltender to accomplish the feat while making 24 saves to help New York pick up its first win of the season! That's a solid night by any measure!

What's even crazier is that Shesterkin didn't see the puck slide into the yawning Lightning cage, telling reporters, "I didn't see the puck land so I didn't know can I celebrate or not." Celebrate he did, though, as he was mobbed by his teammates after scoring the 21st goalie goal in NHL history. Officially, Shesterkin's first NHL goal came at 17:26 of the third period to put the Rangers up 5-1. With a goal and a win under his belt tonight, he joins a long list of NHL goalies who have celebrated scoring a goal in a game. They include:

• Billy Smith, NY Islanders – Nov. 28, 1979 at Colorado
• Ron Hextall, Philadelphia – Dec. 8, 1987 vs. Boston
• Ron Hextall, Philadelphia – Apr. 11, 1989 at Washington*
• Chris Osgood, Detroit – Mar. 6, 1996 at Hartford
• Martin Brodeur, New Jersey – Apr. 17, 1997 vs. Montreal
• Damian Rhodes, Ottawa – Jan 2, 1999 vs. New Jersey
• Martin Brodeur, New Jersey – Feb. 15, 2000 vs. Philadelphia**
• Jose Theodore, Montreal – Jan. 2, 2001 at NY Islanders
• Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose – Mar. 10, 2002 at Vancouver***
• Mika Noronen, Buffalo – Feb. 14, 2004 at Toronto
• Chris Mason, Nashville – Apr. 15, 2006 vs Phoenix
• Cam Ward, Carolina – Dec. 26, 2011 vs. New Jersey
• Martin Brodeur, New Jersey – Mar. 21, 2013 at Carolina***
• Mike Smith, Phoenix – Oct. 19, 2013 vs. Detroit
• Pekka Rinne, Nashville - Jan. 9, 2020 at Chicago
• Linus Ullmark, Boston - Feb. 25, 2023 at Vancouver
• Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh - Nov. 30, 2023 at Tampa Bay
• Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota - Oct. 15, 2024 at St. Louis***
• Alex Nedeljkovic, Pittsburgh - January 17, 2025 at Buffalo
• Ilya Sorokin, NY Islanders - March 1, 2025 vs Nashville
• Igor Shesterkin, NY Rangers - October 1, 2026 vs Tampa Bay

Some quick notes: the italicized goals above were scored in the playoffs. The single asterisk denotes a shorthanded goal, the double-asterisk goal denotes a game-winning goal, and the triple-asterisk goals were scored on the power-play. The Islanders, Pittsburgh, and Nashville have had two different goalies score for them in NHL history. Brodeur and Hextall have scored more than once.

If you're scanning that list, Shesterkin's goal last night was also the earliest goalie goal scored in any season, beating Minnesota's Filip Gustavsson by two weeks! It should also be noted that Shesterkin reportedly scored while playing for Spartak Moscow in the MHL in Russia when he was 17 way back on October 31, 2013. It marked the first time that any goalie had scored in the MHL, and it helped Spartak Moscow down Red Bull Salzburg by a 4-1 score that night.

Now at age 30, the netminder can officially add a second puck to his trophy case to commemorate his first professional hockey goal!

Congratulations to Igor Shesterkin for his historic goal last night, and let me just reiterate that goalie goals at any level are awesome. That's one in the books for the 2026-27 season; how many more will be scored by goalies this year? I'm hoping we get a pile more!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 732

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back in the UMFM studio tonight as we get set for another big show. This one will have our hosts looking at one main topic that likely needs some explaining with all the circumstances and details that surround the story, so be prepared for a lot of examination with fine-toothed combs tonight. There will be a handful of other smaller stories for those looking to avoid the elephant in the room, so make sure you find a seat near an audio device for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason are going to tackle the big story in hockey right now as they'll break down the last month of news coming out of Arizona State University and the myriad of problems that institution faces with respect to Matthew Mayich. Assuming we get through that discussion, we'll also chat about something that hasn't happened for nearly forty years, the new NHL equipment rules and Trevor Zegras' tuck, the new NHL Board of Governors leadership, an NHL player with some artistic talent, and how CBC can make the PWHL better by doing what it always did best. There's going to be a lot to discuss and break down in that ASU conversation, though, so make sure you're ready to go for all the chatter tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's 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.

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 Arizona State University, a missing piece, equipment rule enforcement, new leadership, arts and crafts, rediscovering talent, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: October 1, 2026: Episode 732

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Truth And Reconciliation Day

Today is a stat holiday in the province of Manitoba. It's an important day in Canadian history when it comes to the past and improving the future for everyone, and I spent the morning reading about the gravesites that contained the bodies of children who never returned home. It was and is a sobering and heartbreaking thought to know that children who were simply being children were punished and abused so brutally by people who claimed to be imposing those punitive measure for good. My hope is that Canadians work to understand the atrocities that were suffered by our Indigenous neighbours regarding the legacy of the residential schools.

I am always impressed when I see sports teams acknowledging the land on which they compete as part of The Canadian Numbered Treaties. Winnipeg lies within Treaty 1 Territory which contains the Treaty Territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline and Nehethowuk Nations. Manitoba is also located on the Homeland of the Red River Métis while northern Manitoba includes lands that were and are ancestral lands of the Inuit. If you visit the Grant Park location of McNally Robinson for any of their events, you'll also hear them acknowledge their location standing on lands that were once occupied by Rooster Town as well. All of these acknowledgements are vitally important.

In Manitoba, there were a number of residential schools that were operated by Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Church, Presbyterian, and non-denominational leadership in locations across the province. Despite records being incomplete, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified at least 338 student deaths during attendance or shortly after discharge from residential schools. To me, that's an incomprehensible and horrific number of children who died.

Fourteen schools have been officially recognized under the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement. All of Manitoba's largest centers are included as places where these schools were located, and a number of smaller communities near Indigenous communities also were identified as school locations where the Canadian government looked to "educate and assimilate Indigenous children into mainstream Canadian society, and to convert them to Christianity."

Again, it's hard to stomach the atrocities that were committed against these Indigenous children, but, on June 11, 2008, the Canadian government issued a formal apology for the damage done by the Indian Residential School System and, on September 1, 2020, "it was officially announced 'the residential school system will be designated as an event of national historic significance, which will help to educate all Canadians on the system and its consequences, and ensure that this part of our history is never forgotten or repeated.'" This is where reconciliation and remuneration began.

Let me be clear: there is no dollar amount that can account for the lives that were lost. There is no cheque that can be written nor monetary amount that will fix this. There is no apology in any language that can erase the losses and pain and suffering that have been felt by Indigenous communities across Canada.

But we can do better by acknowledging that the Treaties signed on these lands are a lifelong, enduring relationship and that we can uphold the spirit and intent of these Treaties. We can do better by ensuring that the horrors and tragedies that took place in residential schools never happen again. We can do better by acknowledging and owning the harms and events of the past and the present. We can do better by asking for understanding and committing to support our Indigenous Canadian neighbours through active reconciliation, meaningful change, and the creation of spaces that are grounded in respect and reciprocity where everyone can thrive equally.

I have no power to enforce anything on anyone, but I will make it my pledge to deliver the Traditional Territories Acknowledgements before all of the hockey games that we call at the Female World Sport School Challenge in November that recognizes the Indigenous land upon which the arena and the sixteen teams compete. Being that all sixteen teams are Canadian, it's something that I hope will be received positively by listeners from those respective communities.

As much as this is a hockey blog, it's important not to forget that hockey is a microcosm of society. Players like Fred Sasakamoose, Kelly Bull, Chris Cromarty, David Wesley, and Willie Littlechild along with entire teams of Indigenous players suffered the horrors imposed upon them by school leaders. Their stories show the dichotomy these residential schools operated in as these amazing athletes were often abused mercilessly for simply being. And they were the survivors.

Despite the unspeakable acts committed long ago, it's encouraging to know that Indigenous hockey players have become household names with players like Carey Price, Brigette Lacquette, Abby Roque, and Jordin Tootoo being known across North America. Seeing people like Wes Studi, Adam Beach, and Lily Gladstone breaking through in Hollywood with high-profile roles should also be celebrated. It means that dreams for Indigenous youth aren't just dying as they get older because society, as a whole, is changing for the better albeit slowly.

This is the importance of acknowledging and embracing Truth And Reconciliation Day. It's about owning what happened and vowing to never let those horrific acts happen again so all kids get every opportunity to pursue their dreams regardless of creed, colour, race, or religion. That's not an unreasonable ask for anyone to support.

We can accept that the past can't be erased, but the future can be written better for everyone. Let's make sure we do that together.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Give Me A Little Journalism

It was opening night for the NHL this evening with five games on the schedule, but I really didn't care to watch any of them. However, getting an invitation to head out with friends for some socializing over good food and beverages is something I won't turn down, and we landed at a lounge where the TVs all had NHL hockey on. Discussions and debates were had throughout the night, but there was one where I sat quietly and listened as my party on this night discussed the return of Hockey Night in Canada to CBC carrying PWHL games.

Make no mistake that there was nothing overly disrespectful said in this discussion as everyone agreed that having Hockey Night in Canada on CBC felt like hockey season was indeed back. No one really had a problem if here was no Ron MacLean nor Bob Cole on the women's hockey broadcasts, but there was concern over how the CBC would approach subjects where the PWHL seemingly gives no clear answers. As one person at the table made clear, "This can't just be another network that smooths over the potholes they created."

That line hit home for me because there are still topics that the PWHL does its best to avoid and journalists seemingly never press them on when it comes to the operation of the league. We saw Ron MacLean and Gary Bettman clash a handful of times during interviews about topics where the NHL was trying to control the narrative, and we've seen the PWHL begin to use this method when temperatures rise surrounding certain subjects. Transparency would be better.

When Jason and I spoke to Karissa Donkin on The Hockey Show, we made it a point to ask Miss Donkin if she had heard any news about the PWHL's gender policy with respect to transgender players. Karissa confirmed at that time that there had been no new developments on that front, but that she would ask more questions when she could. With the NWHL having had Harrison Browne and the CWHL having had Jessica Platt on their rosters of players, you'd think that the PWHL would have already crafted some sort of policy to help transgender players understand where they fit or don't fit into the PWHL.

That policy still hasn't materialized despite the league preparing for Season Four of play. How much longer will they avoid this topic?

Perhaps the PWHL is avoiding the topic altogether due to the current legal battles going in the United States where eight of their twelve teams play. It even reached the highest levels of the US government, but that shouldn't allow the PWHL to just fade into the background over this topic. Why not say they're awaiting a clear decision from US government amidst the current political debate on the topic?

That's just one of the topics that the PWHL needs to address along with ownership questions and investments made, Mark Walter's future support of the league with the US government investigating him, and the constant talk of future expansion, and this is where the CBC and Hockey Night in Canada could really emerge as the leader in women's hockey if they push their interviewers to dig into stories, not shy away from potential league criticism of coverage, and hold people accountable in similar fashion to how Hockey Night in Canada did.

It seems pretty obvious that Andi Petrillo will be joined by The Athletic's Hailey Salvian who has asked tougher questions of the league at times, and my hope is that they bring Karissa Donkin in for her work in covering the game. I don't know if Jennifer Botterill will have time, but any combination of her, Sami Jo Small, and Christine Simpson would be good people to really push PWHL executives for answers as they know about the gaps the league needs to address.

It's the journalism done by Hockey Night in Canada that made it the institution that Canadians relied upon for hockey news. The Satellite Hotstove component with some the brightsest women's hockey reporters - Emily Kaplan, Saira Peesker, Jacinthe Taillon - could be an incredible place to break stories, discuss topics, and inform viewers on more of the inside stuff happening arounf the league. The CBC simply cannot shy away from hard questions when it comes to interviews. The journalism is what set CBC's Hockey Night in Canada apart from its competitiors, and that effort needs to continue.

Am I happy that Hockey Night in Canada is back? Absolutely. As stated, it's a Canadian institution, and I'm happy that the CBC is moulding to be something more. However, if it's just going to another facade for the PWHL where everything is rainbows and butterflies, expect me to sour quickly on it. Journalism was one of the best parts of Hockey Night in Canada in the past, and my hope is this new venture will uphold that standard set in the progra's coverage of the NHL. Journalism is about finding transparency and accountability, and Hockey Night in Canada set that standard with its hockey coverage.

Maybe my expectations won't be met with this new iteration of Hockey Night in Canada. Maybe I'll continue to be frustrated by the lack of transparency and accountability shown by the PWHL when it comes to long-term strategies and policies. What I can't be disappointed in, however, is CBC finding a way to resurrect the Hockey Night in Canada brand where, I hope, its journalistic efforts will be identical or better than what we saw with their NHL coverage.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

I Hate It So Much

Hockey is a fairly simple game where the winning team is the one who outscores the opponent. Normally, goals happen as a result of mistakes make by players, so human error is needed in the game if we want offence. I enjoy watching hockey to see good players exploit those errors and light the lamp, so here's hoping there are many for players this season. What I don't need to see nor will I ever care about are the "pregame fits" that seem to have invaded hockey at every level. Wins and losses matter; clothes do not.

If you're thinking this is a "you kids get off my lawn" moment from me, you're probably correct in that assumption. I was always taught to let your play on the ice speak for you, so coming out and being ready to play was vital. What didn't matter to me was what I wore to the rink to put me in a mental state to win. People have held onto the idea of "look good, play good", but would it matter if the NHL's best player showed up in sweatpants if he scored 60 goals?

Across social media sites, though, teams and their social media administrators are posting images of the walk-ins done by players to show of their fashion senses. And while I'm sure they deserve a nod for looking like they just stepped out of Milan or Paris, I could not care less if players from my favorite team showed up to the rink wearing the latest Armani suit or the world's comfiest hoodie as long as they win games. What they wear to the rink prior to suiting up does not matter and yet these "fits" images are everywhere.

As you likely know, the current CBA has eliminated the mandatory suit and tie that teams wore to the rink for decades. Players wanted the same options to wear what they wanted just as athletes in other leagues aren't restricted to a formal dress code. With the NHL going that route, my hope was I'd see less walk-in images and videos of players who were arriving at arenas for games. Instead, it feels like there may actually be more of those posts on teams' social media.

What's worse is that these posts literally add nothing to the story of the game. At what point do teams get back to talking about specific plays and posting images and video of tactics being used on the ice? Social media has the ability to be a place of learning by breaking down plays seen on the ice, but teams are instead using it to celebrate the clothes that players wear. And we wonder why Nikita Kucherov described the game as "faster, but it's very dumb. Low IQ"?

Maybe I'm in a very small minority here, but it might be part of my hatred for all things done by influencers to try to convince younger people that what they say and do is important and will improve one's social status. Having kids wear expensive suits to the rinks is simply ridiculous, and showing millionaires wearing top-of-the-line suits that cost more than some people make in two weeks is completely unnecessary and dumb. As long as they win hockey games, why does it matter what they're wearing when they show up to rink?

The NHL and NHLPA don't care if players wear suits and ties after they agreed to remove that language from the Collective Bargaining Agreement, so why do teams keep doing this? I hate it so much and it's truly one of the things I want to see eliminated from social media, so let me make this even easier to understand by posing this question: do you know what looks good on any and every player?

Championship rings. And winning always is en vogue at any level.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Pushed Aside By Size

THe old way of thinking in the NHL never seems to go away. No matter which general manager is running a team, the idea that size and experience are better than youth and speed always seems to be prevalent in the NHL. That became more evident today when the New York Islanders signed former Jets and Sabres defender Logan Stanley to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, far less than most pundits had predicted he'd get on the open market after last season's explosion of goals. That's not to say that Stanley didn't have a good season, but that his time in Buffalo may have been more telling than what he showed in protected minutes on the blue line with the Jets.

It seemed like the Islanders were content to have either 2025 first-round pick Kashawn Aitcheson or 22-year-old Isaiah George start the season on the team's third pairing alongside Scott Mayfield, but somewhere that dream died as the team went to the free agent market to find Stanley. As a result, both Aitcheson and George were sent to AHL Hamilton where they'll start the season with the Hammers. While there's nothing wrong with giving these two a chance to play top minutes in the AHL, one has to wonder if the Islanders would get better results with either of them over Stanley.

All of Stanley's advanced stats point to a defenceman whose offensive abilities are limited by his biggest weakness: skating. Yes, he's got a big shot thanks to his size, but 90 of his 260 shot attempts last season were blocked (34.6%) as per MoneyPuck. 74 of his 260 shot attempts also missed the net (29.2%), meaning that 63.8% of his shots never reached the intended target. It's not like these shots were being deflected by teammates; these were shots that were blocked or missed the net entirely. Despite taking 80 more shots than he did in 2021, his percentage of shots that didn't hit the net actually went up!

Maybe the Islanders wanted him for his size and defensive play, but I'm going to pump the brakes once more. In no season was Logan Stanley's expected goals-against worse and high-danger chances against worse. It became much more obvious in Buffalo where he was exploited a handful of times before being relegated to the pressbox by head coach Lindy Ruff, but the fact is that his team's defensive play got worse in both cities when Logan Stanley was on the ice. For a bubble team like the Islanders may be, that doesn't help.

I have no idea why a poor-skating, defensively-challenged defender is something that Mathieu Darche wanted on his team, but Logan Stanley will start the season patrolling the blue line on Long Island. I get that he has experience at the NHL level which is something that should help him and his team, but getting Kashawn Aitcheson or Isaiah George that experience would also be beneficial for the Islanders. In fact, it may be better that they get it in a season where the Islanders aren't considered as Stanley Cup contenders because mistakes made by Aitcheson and George won't be as glaring.

If Aitcheson and George are ready to play at a high level in a year or two, they'll have one of the most young, dynamic blue lines in all of hockey with Matthew Schaefer, Alexander Romanov, Aitcheson, and George all under the age of 29. Every NHL GM would be salivating over the possibility of keeping that defensive core intact for a number of playoff runs in similar fashion to how Montreal's blue line currently has them on the precipice of something big. Of course, there are a number of factors that go into winning a Stanley Cup, but having a four-man unit of Schaefer, Romanov, Aitcheson, and George would make the Islanders a formidable foe in the Atlantic Division.

Instead, Islanders fans will get a season of Logan Stanley on the blue line. Maybe Stanley will impress and play a sound defensive game while chipping in on the offence where he can, but that never materialized in Winnipeg nor in Buffalo. There will be games where he looks and plays like the Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara for a number of shifts, but he's far too often the New York Islanders' version of Chara where he was big, prone to mistakes, and not very good on his skates. Like Chara, Stanley will throw hits and get into fights, but I'm assuming most Islanders fans don't need that memory again.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!