Are We Getting Better?

It's hard for me to understand what direction the NHL's Winnipeg Jets are headed in based on what they say compared to what they do. I understand that a trade for Connor Hellebuyck hasn't materialized, but we need to be honest in looking at other aspects of the team that can be improved in order to keep their star goalie happy in his crease. One of those ways would be to have a better defensive structure overall which had me questioning why the Jets were so giddy about Jonathan Toews when David Gustafsson was better in all facets of his game. Sure, Toews has the name recognition and the long list of accolades, but that's the past. Gustafsson had been a solid foot soldier for years, toiling in whatever role the Jets wanted as he waited for his opportunity to shine in the NHL.

Thanks to the infinite wisdom of Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, we could see how good David Gustafsson can be when he skates with the Pittsburgh Penguins next season after Cheveldayoff swapped him for AHL defenceman Jack St. Ivany. It's probably for the best when it comes to Gustafsson's career that he gets a fresh start because it seems the Jets were content to bury him on the Moose rather than giving him a real shot at making the roster next season.

To his credit, St. Ivany did have a goal and six points in eight games with the AHL Penguins last season, but he struggled hard in Pittsburgh when playing against upper-echelon talent. He's a third-pairing defender who can use his 6'4" frame to move bodies, but the Jets aren't getting better with this trade. In fact, they may have gotten worse by sending Gustafsson away in today's deal.

In an article I wrote on April 26 after the Moose eliminated Milwaukee, I had high praise for David Gustafsson's game at both ends of the ice as he was the best Moose player in the series. I wrote,

"In all three games, he was excellent on the defensive side of the puck which makes me wonder why he wasn't skating in Jonathan Toews' roster spot this season. He wins face-offs, he checks well, he doesn't cheat up the ice, and he's a leader on this Moose team through his play. He's not going to be the vocal leader in the room, but Gustafsson sees the game well and understands what makes him successful. Those are the players the Jets needed this season."

Gustafsson wasn't recalled once this season to the Jets despite his AHL successes and despite the Jets' struggles, so it seemed like the Jets once again failed to recognize the talent they had skating in their own backyard. Alongside players like Ville Heinola, Jaret Anderson-Dolan who wasn't qualified today, and Kale Clague who signed in Russia, the Moose via the Jets have seen some solid talent walk out the door already this summer. What is Chevy doing?

For a guy who ran a successful IHL club in the Chicago Wolves and a decent AHL club in Rockford, Cheveldayoff has to know the value of seeing players being promoted. After all, he had Corey Crawford and Bryan Bickell in Rockford and saw them promoted when Chicago began its resurgeance. Chicago always had a handful of good players waiting in the wings for their chances, but it's almost like he learned nothing despite how closely he worked with the IceHogs.

I had joked earlier in the week on social media that Winnipeg's mantra of "draft and develop" always had the last part of "for other teams" said quietly, and Gustafsson's trade is more proof of that. Gustafsson was taken 60th-overall in 2018, and was selected ahead of Lukas Dostal, Connor Dewar, and Joel Hofer. 17 players selected before Gustafsson have played less games in the NHL than him and he has scored more points than 25 of the 59 picks ahead of him. And yet Winnipeg trades him for a physical defender who doesn't skate all that well and doesn't defend well against good offensive players.

What exactly are the future plans for the Winnipeg Jets when it comes to keeping their franchise players in Hellebuyck, Scheifele, and Morrissey happy on this roster? Because I have no idea.

With Toews retiring this summer, it seemed like David Gustafsson was the perfect replacement for him. Of course, that would require the Jets playing Morgan Barron as the second-line centerman which they seem absolutely against at all costs, but maybe Gustafsson could have stepped in there as the responsible second-line, 200-foot centerman who could play in front of the net on the power-play like he did for the Moose. And scored clutch goals because he's good.

I wish David Gustafsson all the best as he moves to Pittsburgh. The Penguins clearly see more in him than the Jets did, and my hope is he finds a way on to the roster where his offensive game can develop further while still playing solid defensive hockey. I don't know if Kyle Dubas has a plan to keep Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson happy, but adding good players with unrealized offensive potential seems like a very low-risk move that offers all sorts of upside.

Frankly, it sounds like a philosophy Kevin Cheveldayoff should adopt.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

I'll Celebrate His Achievement

It's becoming apparently obvious that the people who run the conferences and the Canadian university hockey league simply don't care about taking easy wins. Some may point to the fact that university hockey in Canada has been over for a while and that school is out for the summer, but you'd think there would be someone at the wheel guiding the good ship U SPORTS and its conferences and member schools forward. I say this because the man pictured above in Joel Ward was named the head coach of the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights on June 25, and not one of U SPORTS, the AUS, nor UPEI have a single mention of it on their websites. For a man celebrated as the best player to come out of UPEI's program, you'd think someone would have written something about it, right? I guess that someone is me.

Joel Ward was born in North York, Ontario and grew up dreaming of playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. His parents, Cecilia and Randall Ward, were immigrants from Barbados, and they fell in love with the sport as Mom and Dad cheered for all three of their hockey playing sons. Joel, the youngest, was a mainstay on North York minor hockey rosters as he grew up, but there was talent in young Joel.

Joel worked hard and earned some looks from scouts, resuling in him being drafted in the 15th round of the OHL draft by the Owen Sound Platers where he'd make a bigger name for himself. In four seasons from 1997-2001, Ward played 235 games where he scored 76 goals and 152 points including a 62-point 2000-01 season that earned him a professional shot with the WCHL's Long Beach Ice Dogs that saw him skate in eight playoff games without registering a point.

UPEI head coach Doug Currie reached out to Ward to offer him an opportunity to join the Panthers men's hockey team, but Joel was still chasing his NHL dream as he had a professional tryout with the Detroit Red Wings. He didn't crack the Wings' roster in 2001, so Ward collected his gear and headed east to Charlottetown where he landed at the University of Prince Edward Island ready to play hockey!

As Currie's recruiting was rebuilding the Panthers following a 13-loss season in 2000-01, the Panthers struggled out of the gates in 2001-02, starting the season with a 4-7-3 record. UPEI would finish with an 8-6-0 second half as they showed some improvement, but UNB would sweep them out of the playoffs in their best-of-three series. Ward, however, was on fire the entire season as he registered 13 goals and 27 points in 22 games to be named Panthers Rookie of the Year.

UPEI started the 2002-03 season slow again, as they were 1-4-1 in their first six games, but they'd finish the first half at a 6-6-3 mark as they found their groove through November. Things fell off in the second half as the Panthers struggled to a 5-8-0 record, but they'd make the playoffs as the sixth-place AUS team before being swept out of playoffs by third-ranked StFX. Ward, to his credit, continued to show his talents with an 11-goal, 26-point season, earning him the Panthers' MVP award and an AUS Second Team All-Star selection!

There were big changes in 2003-04 as Doug Currie was out as head coach, replaced by former National Champion UNB head coach Mike Kelly. The other big change was the Panthers moved back to MacLauchlan Arena on the UPEI campus after last playing there full-time in 1974-75. That change happened in January, and the Panthers played the first half at the Charlottetown Civic Centre where they finished with a 7-6-1 record as looked forward to their new home.

After moving into MacLauchlan Arena, the Panthers rattled off three wins before going winless in five. They'd finish the second half with a 6-7-1 record for fifth-place, and Dalhousie would beat them in three games in the playoffs. Ward was once again impressive in his play, scoring 14 goals and 38 points to be named as the Panthers' MVP and an AUS Second Team All-Star again. He would add a little more hardware to his trophy case, though, as he was also named the AUS Most Sportsmanlike Player! Could he add a championship?

The 2004-05 season saw the Panthers start slow once again, but they would turn that slow start into a 6-5-3 record by the December break. An 1-5-2 January was as ugly as things can get, but the Panthers found their stride with a 4-1-1 finish to the campaign at 11-11-6 and in sixth-place. Another two-game sweep at the hands of Saint Mary's ended the season, but Joel Ward had the university hockey world talking. He brought home the Panthers' MVP award for a third-straight year and was named the AUS MVP after leading the conference in scoring with 16 goals and 44 points in 28 games!

He wasn't done racking up hardware, though. Along with those honours, Ward was named a First Team All-Star, a CIS First Team All-Canadian, won the nationally-awarded R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award as the most sportmanlike player in the nation, and was named UPEI Male Athlete of the Year for 2004-05! And while the AUS Championship and CIS National Championship never materialized, it's pretty clear that Joel Ward made an impact in PEI while skating with the Panthers.

Ward would sign with the AHL's Houston Aeros for the 2005-06 season, and that would be the start of an amazing professional hockey career that saw him play for four NHL teams including Minnesota, Nashville, Washington, and San Jose. He was never traded, moving only through free agency when teams sought his services. Over his professional career, Ward played 209 AHL games, scoring 38 goals and 86 points in three seasons, and 726 NHL games, totalling 133 goals and 304 points in eleven seasons. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 2006 from UPEI while skating with Houston and Minnesota.

Joel Ward is one of the most decorated players to come out of UPEI's program, and he joins the likes of Dave Cameron, Doug MacLean, and Al MacAdam as former UPEI Panthers players who have had the privilege of being a head coach at the AHL level. Again, this is an achievement that should be celebrated by a U SPORTS school and program at the very least, but the last thing posted on the UPEI men's hockey page came on March 3, 2026. The AUS could have an easy win with a story, but their most recent post was on May 27, 2026.

Ok, so maybe this is more of a social media celebration thing, right? Well, the UPEI Panthers posted nothing on Twitter and nothing on Instagram. The AUS hasn't posted anything on Twitter since January 13, and they have nothing on their Instagram. The U SPORTS hockey account last posted on Twitter on February 3, and their last Instagram post was in 2017. The main U SPORTS Twitter account has three posts about former Western player Olivia Ghosh-Swaby and flag football, but none about Joel Ward and his appointment to head coach in the AHL. Ditto for their Instagram feed. That's unfathomable.

I'm excited to see what Joel Ward can do in his AHL coaching debut. I think he has the make-up to be a solid coach as he was always a good communicator, understood systems well, and certainly can relate to players who are chasing down their dreams in the AHL. I'm also happy to give Joel Ward some celebration for this achievement as a former U SPORTS player because he's earned everything that has been bestowed upon him including this opportunity with Henderson.

It just amazes me that I'm always the only person talking about U SPORTS hockey when there are stories that could promote the programs and leagues just sitting there. There won't be any easy wins for Joel Ward next season, but I'm sure he prefers to earn every win.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Four-Jersey Xenophobia?

The ECHL will hold their annual All-Star Game in Boise, Idaho this season with the Idaho Steelheads serving as hosts to the rest of the league. The Steelheads have been a solid team for a long time so having them host the annual event makes sense despite their remote location to most of the ECHL teams. It will be their second time holding the event after being awarded the event back in 2007, and they become just the third team to host the event twice since 1988. This year's game, however, won't be the same as the 2007 one.

The ECHL has changed its all-star game formats several times since they added the event to their calendar in 1993. The first three games saw a traditional East-vs-West matchup. The 1996 game in Tallahassee saw the league pit the Northern Conference against the Southern Conference before the 1997 game switched to the hosts playing the ECHL All-Stars. Three different formats over five years is a bit of a head-scratcher, but we're not even close to being done with format changes. The good news is that some last longer than others.

1998 was the first time we saw a Canada-vs-USA all-star game format in Lafayette, Louisiana before the league swapped the format back to the Northern Conference-Southern Conference format in 1999 in Biloxi, Mississippi. That format would last until 2004 when the league went back to East-vs-West matchup, and that was shelved in 2005 when the ECHL switched to a National Conference versus America

In 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, the ECHL went back to the host team playing the ECHL All-Stars while there was no All-Star Game played in 2012, 2014, or 2016. I'm not sure these gap years make any sense for the ECHL, but that's how the ECHL operated for seven seasons. In 2018, they went to the four-division tournament format in Fishers, Indiana, and 2019 saw the ECHL All-Stars play "Team Fins" in Toledo, Ohio. 2020 went back to an East-vs-West format, and 2021 saw the game cancelled due to COVID as Jacksonville did not get to host.

2022 would see the game arrive in Jacksonville as the ECHL All-Stars played the Icemen before the ECHL went back to a modified four-team tournament in 2023 that saw the Norfolk Admirals split into two squads - the Cruisers and Destroyers - while the other two teams were the Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Stars. 2024 saw the ECHL All-Stars battle the Ghost Pirates in Savannah, Georgia while 2025's game was cancelled in favour of the ECHL Winter Classic played between the Kalamazoo Wings and Toledo Walleye.

2026's game in Allen, Texas saw Team Stars and Team Stripes battle in the ECHL All-Star Game where the Allen Americans' players were mixed in with the ECHL All-Stars on both sides in a unique twist. And that leads to Wednesday's announcement of the ECHL returning to the Canada-vs-USA all-star game format in Boise next season which, when you consider some of the past recent all-stars, makes very little sense when you read that "United States-born ECHL All-Stars will take on Canadian-born ECHL All-Stars over a two-day format" in Idaho.

Where does that leave Swedish-born, Fort Wayne Komets goaltender Samuel Jonsson or Russian-born, Calgary Wranglers goaltender Arsenii Sergeev or Finnish-born, Hamilton Hammers goaltender Henrik Tikkanen who all were all-stars in 2026? Three of four goalies in last season's ECHL All-Star Game were neither Canadian nor American, and none of them will be able to play in this season's event because of where they were born? How is this even being discussed?

I get that the vast majority of ECHL All-Star selections are players who were born in Canada or the US, but Russian-born Max Andreev tied for tenth in league scoring last season with Maine. Russian-born Nikita Sedov was the second-highest scoring defender in the ECHL's regular season last year, and Hungarian-born Kristof Papp had 20 goals and 46 points for Norfolk. None of those players made the All-Star Game last season, but they won't be invited this year based on the format no matter how many goals or points they score.

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Swedish-born, Augusta Lynx forward Jonas Poling of the Southern Conference was the ECHL All-Star Game MVP in 2001 and that Russian-born, Huntington Blizzard forward Andrei Bashkirov was the ECHL All-Star Game MVP in 1997. I know they can switch formats after next season's game once again, but switching back to a format when the game is more international than ever makes zero sense from a hockey business standpoint.

The ECHL can pat themselves on the back for the jerseys shown in the lede photo all they want, but it makes no sense to exclude good players who simply were born outside North American borders. According to their release on Wednesday about the event,

"The United States jerseys for the skills competition are a dark blue base featuring a star design and lighter blue highlights with USA prominently in the middle while Canada's jerseys are a dark red base, with a maple leaf and Canada displayed in a brighter red. The shoulders of both jerseys will include the All-Star Classic logo and the participant's team logo."

The jerseys have a fun element to them for the skills competition and they'll likely get a pile of bids during the jersey auction that will follow, but, as a foreign-born player, it's hard to see just those two countries celebrated in a league that features players from numerous countries. The league, however, will double-down in the game with another set of Canada and USA jerseys that are uniquely ECHL.

"... both teams will wear retro-inspired jerseys. The United States jerseys are a cream base with red stripes and blue shoulders, with the USA letters inside a shield on a red star. Canada's jerseys are a red base with white stripes, with a red maple leaf featured inside a white shield. Similar to the skills jerseys, the shoulders of both jerseys will include the All-Star Classic logo and the participant's team logo."

I'm generally not a fan of these jerseys in most years, and it seems the Skills Competition jerseys are superior to the actual All-Star Game jerseys based on the image above. With the very limited scope of this event in pitting Canadian all-stars against American all-stars, I understand why design options may be limited. This is just another reason why the format of the 2027 ECHL All-Star Game is a mistake.

I'm not rating jerseys that exclude good players based on where they were born. If hockey is supposed to be working to be more inclusive of all people, pitching the idea of United States-born ECHL All-Stars against Canadian-born ECHL All-Stars is incredibly xenophobic. I know that likely wasn't the intention here, but that's the path the ECHL has chosen to follow for its 2027 ECHL All-Star Game in Boise.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

I'll Read The Recaps

Congratualtions to the city of Buffalo and the Buffalo Sabres on hosting the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. I'm not watching the event tonight because I'm working, but let's be honest in saying that it's hardly "must-see TV". Yes, there will always be a few surprises, but the analyses of these players have been happening since they were twelve. There's nothing new to know about these players, so it's strictly up to the teams to make the selections they want.

It was no surprise when Gavin McKenna went first-overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs followed by San Jose selecting Ivar Stenberg with the second pick. Caleb Malhotra was chosen by Vancouver with the third pick and will play for his dad at some point, and Buffalo may have shocked a number of people by choosing defender Daxon Rudolph with the fourth-overall pick. It's not earth-shattering.

Rudolph's selection kicked off a run of defenders as Alberts Smits went fifth-overall to the New York Rangers, Carson Carels went to Calgary with th sixth pick, and Chase Reid "fell" to Seattle at seventh-overall. The key with all these defenceman choices is that none of them will likely step in and pull a Matthew Schaefer next season. Don't get me wrong: they're good, but I just don't see it.

There were many people hoping that the Winnipeg Jets would have the potential to choose a game-breaking centreman with the eighth pick, and Viggo Björck could turn into that player. No one will question his work ethic nor his drive to be better, and there's hope that he adds a few inches in height as a late-bloomer. Again, I don't see Björck being in Winnipeg unless he's playing with the Moose for a season or two, so the Jets need him to take big steps next season with Djurgårdens IF in order to speed up his route to the NHL club.

As a side note, can we speed this entire ordeal up? The NHL dragged its rear end through another first six picks as each team seemingly got 20 minutes to figure out who they were going to choose when they already had known for days who was going to be picked. Why does it take so bloody long for NHL teams to make selections? Why does the NHL drag this out to clawing-my-eyes-out lengths?

Anyway, the draft will continue tomorrow with Rounds Two through Seven. I may watch a little of it while I do some chores around the house, but it's not must-watch for me at any time. Give me the recap and I'll be fine. Nothing matters until these players reach the NHL.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 718

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back tonight at the UMFM studios where we're one day away from the NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, New York. Since we rarely talk about mock drafts and who should be selected by which team, don't expect anything like that tonight. Instead, we have some topics that need discussing and we'll even be joined by a special guest for the show! Tonight should be fun with stories, news, and laughs all going down on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason welcome Jenna Thompson back to the show! Jenna's been itching to chat about hockey, so we'll let the former co-host back into the studio to discuss the enormous expansion price tag if an owner wants to set up an NHL franchise in Houston, USHL expansion locations and who will be backing these teams, the ECHL's New Mexico Goatheads now have an identity, and there has to be a discussion about Mike Babcock's new job with the Edmonton Oilers. It's going to be a show with some opinions, some disagreements, some emotions, and lots of chatter between our three hosts, so make sure you're ready to go tonight for 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, Jason, and Jenna will chat about insane costs, lots of expansion, seed money, new jerseys, new coaches, morality in sports, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: June 25, 2026: Episode 718

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

A Delicate Balancing Act

Television is the one medium where live sports does well when it comes to viewers and advertising revenue. The NFL, for example, saw its media partners generate a combined $5.87 billion in revenue with $5.19 billion of that total coming from television. The NHL likes to remind everyone of their successes on television when it comes to money and viewers whenever it can, but what about the smaller leagues? Do they do as well as everyone else? That might be a question worth examining after reading Mick Hatten's article on St. Cloud Live today.

Hatten's article takes a look at the relationship that the NCAA's St. Cloud State has with television with respect to fans attending games in-person. The first line of his article reads, "St. Cloud State University Athletic Director Holly Schreiner is trying to find the right balance for the TV coverage of the school's men's hockey program," and that's an interesting premise coming out of the State of Hockey if the Huskies are struggling to attract and retain in-arena fans.

There's no doubt that NCAA hockey teams makes money off their streaming services, but there is a major asterisk on the totals they generate. League members received a combined $1.19 million in profit from NCHC TV, via Sidearm, during the 2025 fiscal year, but $704,705.50 went to the University of North Dakota. In fact, they dwarf everyone else COMBINED in the top-ten school revenues by nearly $217,000, so let's be brutally honest and say that UND benefits almost exclusively from NCHC TV. No other program hit six-digits in revenue in 2025, and 59.2% of all streaming revenue went to UND.

With costs escalating across all facets of hockey, NCAA teams have to be mindful of generating revenue in order to help offset their budgeted amounts of money they receive from their respective schools. Having fans in seats helps to sell concessions, merchandise, and parking which, in turn, helps those teams. But if games are available via streaming and television platforms, the convenience often outweighs the effort it takes to head out to the hockey game.

"Do you lose more than you gain if you get rid of it?" Schreiner asked Hatten rhetorically. "That's a hard one. We know that the university does a great service through Husky Productions and what these students can do and put out a broadcast that is so high quality.

"It's going to be hard to say that we're not going to do that live," she continued. "I think they deserve to have that on live TV. But maybe it's too good of a job. That's a good problem to have. In a perfect world, we have it broadcast live, lots of viewership and yet we have a nice, full crowd every weekend."

The NHCH also seems to recognize that only one team has a solid revenue stream combined with solid attendance as North Dakota led both categories, causing NCHC Commissioner Heather Weems to tell Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald in April that "the league will hire a consultant to help schools navigate their options".

"I'd expect in the next six to nine months, we'll go through the process with the consultant and we'll have an announcement in the spring or the late winter," Weems told Schlossman at that time. Obviously, there won't be any changes made for the 2026-27 season based on Weems' timeline, and any chamges recommended will still need some time to be implemented. For St. Cloud State who averaged just 3561 fans per game last season, that's valuable time where they can make their own changes to bring more fans to games.

"I think anyone who was at games this year would look at us and say that butts in seats weren't good," Schreiner admitted. "But I go back to streaming... that's a hard conversation to have. When it's 20-below zero, or even just zero, and you can watch a stream from home — what's the incentive to come and be here in person? That's the one thing that we're working on this summer."

The one thing that always puts people in seats is winning hockey. St. Cloud State was 9-14-1 in-conference and 16-19-1 overall. That's not winning hockey when one considers they missed the playoffs, so making the trek to see the Huskies play when there's a likely chance that they'll lose doesn't make for a fun night out in the dead of winter. However, as an illustration, consider the following:

• 2025-26: 9-14-1 (7th in NCHC attendance - 3658)
• 2024-25: 7-16-1 (9th - 3046)
• 2023-24: 11-9-4 (6th - 3540)
• 2022-23: 12-9-3 (6th - 4206)
• 2021-22: 10-10-4 (6th - 3981)
• 2020-21: 15-9-0 (4th - 404**)
• 2019-20: 10-12-2 (6th - 3981)
• 2018-19: 19-2-3 (6th - 4260)
• 2017-18: 16-4-4 (7th - 3995)

Aside from the pandemic-affected numbers in 2020-21, St. Cloud State has flirted with 4000 fans per game every season including when they finished atop the NCHC standings in both 2017-18 and 2018-19. The recent drop could be due to having another professional team in the state in the PWHL's Minnesota Frost who could affect St. Cloud State's attendance if people living closer to Minneapolis/St. Paul opt to spend their hockey dollars there. Again, it's a balance.

St. Cloud State has seen nearly 550 fans stop buying tickets since 2023, and that has to be concerning. Is that due to games being availabl e via streaming services and/or television? I'm not so sure that those two things are correlated unless there's some sort of examination where viewers are going up for the televised games, but Schreiner's asking that question based on the empty seats she sees.

"Does having our games televised live help us or hurt us?" she asked. "At the same time, we get sponsorships that advertise during that time that we otherwise won't have without that partnership. Being on TV, we have great viewership in the Twin Cities metro areas. It's hard to say you want to give that up. Yet there are days when you see almost no one at a game and I say, 'Let's get rid of that opportunity.' That's a hard one. I'm not sure what the right answer is."

Therein lies the problem: the right answer isn't clearly evident. We heard the same argument about UMFM's radio broadcasts taking money out of the pocket of the Manitoba Bisons due to how good our production was compared to what was being streamed. That was part of the reason that the Bisons walked away from renewing the contract with UMFM. They'll never reveal their numbers, but I can't imagine that their Canada West TV numbers went up once they ditched the radio broadcast. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

So how do schools balance putting people in seats with the need for television exposure? Again, there is no eas answer. A winning culture combined with high standards and a pedigree of developing high-end talent would help. There are no big-name CHL players headed to St. Cloud State this fall to play hockey, so the Huskies won't have a must-see player on their roster. I'm not saying that will solve their attendance problems in one season, but it would be a good start.

Schreiner is aware of the changing sports landscape regarding how people watch, telling Hatten, "I think the way sports are now, it has shifted who our target audience is. Youth hockey parents are never free on weekends. We've been brainstorming a bunch of different things. Whether it's getting more season tickets sold, or whether it's single-game tickets from promotions to the way we advertise and see our information. It all needs to be looked at differently."

Schreiner is entirely right with her last sentence as attending games is more of an experience now than just being the game. Vegas has their elaborate productions before every game. Nashville has intermission concerts with well-known musicians and bands. Carolina does the tailgating experience before games. Each of these unique attractions help to sell the hockey experience, and this is what St. Cloud State has to tap into: find something fun and unique they can build on. Once they have that, winning hockey brings people back.

As much as it seems sensible that abandoning television and streaming services would drive people back to the rink, I'd argue the opposite is never truer than before, and the Chicago Blackhawks are the perfect example of how not being on television hurt their attendance at games. Of course, playing winning hockey helped, but, as the old saying goes, "the worst thing about being talked about is not being talked about." I can't tell St. Cloud State what to do nor do I have a crystal ball to tell the future, but abandoning video media would be the wrong direction to take if they want to sell tickets.

As I said off the top, it's a delicate balancing act for teams.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

It's Hard To Like You

Over the last number of months, it has become increasingly hard for me to justify my enjoyment watching hockey when the game seems to have gone morally corrupt. There are other problems that bother me as well like the valuation of NHL teams and league broadcast rights, the constant need to monetize every facet of its business, and the lack of player safety from the Department of Player Safety, but the last few months have really tested the ol' moral compass when it comes to trying to be a fan of the game.

We hear how the NHL has never been in a better place financially and how all its 32 teams and markets are succeeding, and I'm not here to contest that. After all, I don't have the depth of knowledge about their financials nor their market research to know more than what I can piece together from news articles. Instead, I want to look at the Edmonton Oilers' announcement where they hired Mike Babcock, his response to questions at the press conference, and how this example plus a few others should make the lede image more relevant.

The Edmonton Oilers made it official today when they introduced the nineteenth head coach of the Edmonton Oilers as 63 year-old Mike Babcock. From a hockey perspective, one should have many questions as to why the Oilers would hitch their wagon to a coach who hasn't done a lot of winning over more than a decade, but I want to take hockey out of it for a second to ask about why the Oilers felt they needed this specific man to guide their players to bigger wins.

While I fully get that the NHL and, by proxy, the NHLPA cleared him of wrongdoing during his time in Columbus, there is still a pattern of malignant narcissism, player humiliation, and unpunished bullying Babcock has shown over his years in hockey. From Johan Franzen and Chris Chelios to Frankie Corrado and Jason Spezza to Mike Modano and Mike Commodore, there are corroborated stories from across hockey that should serve as evidence for reasons not to employ Mike Babcock. Yet the Oilers chose to ignore all of these red flags.

Mike Babcock had a chance to say all the right things today at his press conference regarding his resignation in Columbus. When asked about the issues in Columbus, he said, "I hadn't benched anybody, I hadn't talked to anybody, I hadn't sat anybody out, and it was evident that we weren't together as a staff right from the get-go. My wife gave me a call, and she said it's time to get out of there. I've been retired, I was pretty good at it. I got back to being retired."

He said nothing about the allegations that he invaded players' privacy by reviewing private photos on their personal cellphones. He said nothing about learning from that experience and understanding boundaries. He said nothing about his "unorthodox" method of getting to know players. Mike Babcock's answer about his time in Columbus was "it wasn't a good fit". I have no idea how the NHL cleared him of the allegations, but it seems very evident that Mike Babcock feels he did nothing wrong during his 78-day coaching stint in Ohio.

Not only did he make it clear that he did nothing wrong in Columbus, he doubled-down on his ability to "tell the truth" to players as "a good human", saying, "A lot of times being hard on people is confused with telling the truth.... Sometimes the truth is hard. No matter what happens when you coach, when you scratch people, when you sit them, when they're at the end of their career and you don't play them, it's hard for them for sure. You try to do that as respectfully as you can. Why? Because you think you're a good human and that's the right thing to do. Sometimes it's not perceived that way."

This is a man who healthy-scratched newly-acquired Jason Spezza of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first game of the season against Ottawa with his family and, reportedly, his hospitalized father in attendance. This is a man who healthy-scracthed Mike Modano, who signed with his hometown Red Wings, in the final games of the season, preventing him from hitting 1500 NHL games. This is a man who scratched Chris Chelios in a Winter Classic between Chicago and Detroit. None of those players deserved that kind of treatment.

It's one thing to scratch an underperforming player late in the season when it comes to needing points for playoff spots. It's another to scratch respected veteran players from opening night games, outdoor games, and milestone games. Normally, one would look at those opportunities to make someone's life a little more special and grant those moments. Not Mike Babcock, though. That's "telling the truth".

This is a man who verbally assaulted Red Wings legend John Franzen on a daily basis, according to teammates, to the point where his mental health was affected. This is a man who told Anaheim's Tony Mårtensson that he was scratched before a game against Colorado and made him change out of his hockey gear in the shower. This is a man who made former Maple Leafs forward Daniel Winnik hate hockey. Somehow, the Oilers weren't worried about any of this.

All of this was known, though, so this goes higher than just Stan Bowman making a terrible decision. Daryl Katz, Jeff Jackson, Bill Scott, and Justin Mahe all would have known Mike Babcock was on Bowman's short list to replace Kris Knoblauch, and the players such as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all apparently gave their sign-offs on this hiring as well. The fact that no one took a stand morally about hiring a known bully tells me that the Oilers put personal gain over their moral consciences.

The Oilers have Connor Ingram penciled in as one of their goalies right now, and he's been a prominent voice and advocate for players' mental health. Ingram's coach is now a guy who plunged Johan Franzen into deeper mental health anguish through his bullying, so did Connor Ingram agree to this hiring? Did anyone even ask him because I'd think his opinion is pretty strong in this subject.

Oilers defenceman Spencer Stastney nearly retired in 2024 after battling "anxiety and depression" that kept him out of Nashville's lineup for most of the 2024-25 season. Again, Mike Babcock bullied Johan Franzen while he was suffering from anxiety and depression, so should we be worried about a Spencer Stastney giveaway ending his career? Does Babcock even know who Spencer Stastney is?

The NHL doesn't seem to care about the behaviours of people off the ice, but this isn't new. We've seen incidents come to light elsewhere, and it doesn't seem to matter to the NHL if it prevents one of its teams from winning hockey games. Winning is all that matters.

The Vegas Golden Knights employed a goaltender this season and beyond that would be radioactive for most other businesses. Having sexual assault and rape allegations would significantly limit one's job possibilities, yet this one person landed in the crease in Las Vegas where he competed for the Stanley Cup. People will say he was acquitted which is true, but would you morally want him working next to you knowing the text messages about what he allegedly did?

Let's not pretend that this hasn't happened before either. NHL teams employed all of Scott Stevens, Dino Ciccarelli, Geoff Courtnall, and Neil Sheehy long after their allegations of sexual assault where the jury voted not to indict them. While none of these four men were found guilty, it sends a strong message to everyone that crimes be damned as long as teams win with these players in their lineups.

The public outcry over the Boston Bruins signing Mitchell Miller gave me hope that we might be turning a corner. Miller was involved "in multiple racial bullying incidents with a special needs student in Sylvania, Ohio" while in high school, resulting in him being charged with assault and a violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act. Somehow, Bruins GM Don Sweeney thought it was a good idea to sign Miller before they changed their minds seven days later.

At the time of Miller's release, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said of Miller, "... what he did as a 14-year-old is reprehensible, unacceptable," so explain to me why is it "reprehensible" and "unacceptable" for a 14 year-old, but not a 63 year-old man?

I guess the bigger question here is "what does it take?" when it comes to finding your morality. If you were calling previous employers about a potential hiring and all of them said he was a bully and a narcissist, would you hire him? What if they said he had been alleged to have been part of a sexual assault or rape? How about a vehicular homicide conviction? How about a guy who organized a murder? Maybe domestic abuse is more to your liking for potential hires?

While Craig MacTavish and Mike Danton served time in prison for their crimes, the rest did not. Don't mistake this as a comparison of which crime was worse - all of them are bad. The fact that Mike Babcock is allowed to coach after showing zero regard and zero remorse for what he did is proof that the NHL is only concerned with "do as I say" rather than leading by example. At some point, there has to be a line drawn when it comes to giving these people a pass just because they're involved with hockey. I may have reached that line today.

If winning hockey games matters more than being a morally good person or team, I'd rather go 0-84 next season. Sports are supposed to be an escape from our daily lives, but they appear to also be an escape from the rules that govern society. What's right isn't always popular, but it was evident that not many people wanted Mike Babcock back in the NHL except the Edmonton Oilers' front office.

It's hard to like the NHL when the people running it suck so much.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Kalamazoo Does It Right

The image above is one of Western Michigan University's Waldo Stadium where the Broncos football team usually practices and plays. While it's a solid stadium for most of the year, it sits empty duirng the winter when snow occupies the seats and the field. That won't be happening this season, though, as Western Michigan University and the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings have come together to make Waldo Stadium far more fun for university students and hockey fans!

While I found it strange that Western Michigan University didn't make this announcement, the K-Wings announced today that "the team will host an Outdoor Game versus the Toledo Walleye" at Waldo Stadium on January 31, 2027 in what will mark a partnership between WMU and the K-Wings when it comes to hockey. In 2027, the WMU Broncos men's hockey team will move into the Kalamazoo Event Center, sharing that arena with the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings moving forward!

"In many ways, this Outdoor Game is a preview of what's ahead," Toni Will, Kalamazoo Wings general manager and governor, said in the press release about the outdoor game today. "Beginning in 2027, Broncos and K-Wings alike will call the Kalamazoo Event Center home, creating a shared space for hockey fans of all ages and backgrounds. This partnership with Western Michigan University reflects a bigger vision of growing the game, creating unforgettable experiences and bringing our community together through hockey."

Clearly, this is a smart move for both the K-Wings and the WMU Broncos as the brand-new Kalamazoo Event Center becomes the sole venue for hockey, college basketball, concerts, and events that pass through Kalamazoo. It replaces the old Wings Event Center which sat 5113 people and up to 6323 for concerts and trade shows. The new Kalamazoo Event Center, opening next year, features the arena, practice facilities, other sports-related amenities, and a dedicated parking area for fans. It will hold up to 8000 people for concerts and 6,500 people when configured for hockey and basketball.

Clearly, having two teams that draw smaller crowds to their games wouldn't work in cavernous arenas, but having both teams splitting weekend games and using the facility for other events makes sense for the $515 million event center. In a feasibility study conducted in 2021 by Conventions Sports and Leisure International for three Kalamazoo groups, it was estimated that this new event center would see an estimated 236 events held there annually, and Greenleaf Hospitality Group, who owns the facility, wanted it to be a place where the community can gather. The privately-funded facility looks to draw fans, students, and visitors to all sorts of events.

WMU student Brent Robinson told FOX17's Julie Dunmire, "It's going to be nice. It's going to be definitely a new experience for the town as well. It's going to bring a lot more people in," while Rebecca Macleery, owner of the Kalamazoo Dry Goods, wants to see more shoppers, telling Second Wave Media's Sage Lee, "People do drive here from a couple of hours away to come specifically to my store, and I want to see more of that. At the same time, I want to see more small businesses in this area that are catering to the local community rather than just trying to attract or serve tourists."

Assuming everything goes well, the new events center should be a gem for Kalamazoo. For now, WMU and the K-Wings are working on another venue, albeit temporary, at Waldo Stadium this winter as both teams will take the ice in games on January 30 and 31, 2027! The Western Michigan Broncos will host the Michigan Wolverines on January 30 in an NCAA clash between the two Division-1 univerisites, and the Kalamazoo Wings will host the Toledo Walleye on January 31 in their third outdoor meeting between the two ECHL teams!

Kalamazoo holds a 2-0 record over Toledo in their outdoor meetings with the K-Wings posting a 2-1 victory in the first-ever ECHL outdoor game on December 27, 2014 in Toledo at Fifth Third Field. They doubled their total outdoor wins on December 26, 2021 with a 3-2 shootout victory at Fifth Third Field, so they're looking to continue their winning ways with this third game. It will also mark Michigan's third outdoor professional hockey game after the Toronto Marlies and Grand Rapids Griffins battled in 2013 at Comerica Park in Detroit, and the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings met in the 2014 Winter Classic at at Michigan Stadium. How cool is that?

The average temperature at night in Kalamazoo is reportedly around -10°C, so hockey should be enjoyable if Kalamazoo is getting seasonal weather. The Broncos and K-Wings will look to avoid the weather that Hastings, Minnesota got last year when the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals and Iowa Wild took the ice at -22°C for their outdoor game, but I expect the students and fans in Kalamazoo to bring the heat when welcoming the Wolverines and Walleye to Waldo Stadium!

While today's announcement was mostly about an outdoor game from the K-Wings perspective, it's pretty incredible that an ECHL ownership group has invested in a new facility not only for its team, but for the community team as well. Having Greenleaf Hospitality Group cover the costs for this new facility means that no public taxpayer money was used, allowing the city of Kalamazoo to continue funding maintenance and growth without raising taxes or issuing bonds, meaning taxpayers pay nothing for this new events center.

That's a municipal improvement of which I approve because there is an effort being made to make things better for the community as well. We know that citizens of Kalamazoo and the surrounding areas support both K-Wings hockey and Western Michigan University sports, so seeing this kind of investment by the K-Wings in their community by building new facilities and organizing outdoor hockey games that welcome its community is how Kalamazoo does things right.

2027 could be a massive year for hockey in southwest Michigan!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Fully Committed To This Team

I can't predict the future in any way, but the image to the left could be what press conferences in Sunrise, Florida look like next season after the trade today that saw Brady Tkachuk acquired by the Florida Panthers where his brother, Matthew, plays. We already now that these two second-generation NHL forwards and brothers have combined to do a podcast, but now they set up their gear anywhere they want as they'll be playing for the same team for the foreseeable future. With a healthy team next year, Brady Tkachuk could make Florida better.

Florida certainly mortgaged their future by trading this year's ninth-overall pick, this year's 25th-overall pick, a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2029. The return of Brady Tkachuk, though, seems to indicate that Florida is following a "win now" philosophy like the Vegas Golden Knights do as the "win at all costs" mantra might be a better fit based on this trade. For a team without a bonafide starting netminder, the Panthers seem to be on the Vegas blueprint in building a team.

Ottawa, meanwhile, can either package up one or more of these picks and make immediate moves to help their future or they can use them to add more firepower down the line. It was clear in their series against Carolina that they have the foundation on which they can build towards something bigger, but they're still a few pieces away from contending. Making this move today opens up valuable salary cap space and provides them with options moving forward.

Some may question why this deal was done now, and the Ottawa Citizen's Bruce Garrioch indicated that his sources were saying that "Tkachuk had indicated to the Senators that he had no plans to re-sign after his contract expired". Losing him for nothing simply wouldn't be an option, but the deeper message of Tkachuk wanting to be elsewhere gave Ottawa GM Steve Staios the evidence he needed to explore a trade. The easy solution was the Florida Panthers.

Having the two Tkachuks makes the Panthers even tougher to play against as they admittedly bullied both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes into submission in past playoff series. Depending on who he plays with in Paul Maurice's system, he could be the 30-goal scorer he once was with Ottawa, the physical force seen in international games, or the annoying pest that he can often be. The scary part is that he could be all three of those, giving the Panthers a headache combination of Marchand and the Tkachuks.

Taking a step or two back, I simply don't like this trade for two reasons: Tkachuk basically was able to demand where he goes thanks to his no-trade protection, and the Ottawa Senators came away with nothing more than future assets when it comes to building their team. I get that Staios had to accept the latter if he wanted to move Tkachuk and rid themselves of the questions surrounding his future in Ottawa, but the no-trade protection limited where Staios could explore when it came to getting the best deal for the Senators.

I made the case a couple of weeks ago about how any player who asks to be traded should have that protection waived, but this one seemed to be the team asking if Tkachuk wanted to be there, and he said, "Eventually, no," prompting Staios to initiate trade talks. Again, this is the danger of no-trade clauses in contracts, and it should be a stern warning to all general managers to tread lightly when it comes to this kind of protection. Staios likely will in the future.

For a guy who, on April 29, said, "I have been fully committed to this team, to this city and (the talk), it's just become a distraction. Frustrating to deal with," he won't have to worry about that distraction any longer as he's no longer an Ottawa Senator.

For a guy who, on April 29, said, "We have great communication with our players, so we really don't focus on it," he won't need to focus on it because that distraction is now a Florida Panther.

If there's one thing of which I think every can be certain, it's that both men got what they wanted with this trade. Gone is the media circus that would surround Tkachuk and the Senators for the entire upcoming season, and Tkachuk can go to a place where his unique skills and occasional lapse in maturity will be tolerated. I guess you can say that both men are fully committed to their teams.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

No Butting Heads Here

When it comes to team branding, we've see a number of minor-professional hockey teams use unconventional names - Knight Monsters? Ghost Pirates? Hammers? - for their franchises. The key to these franchises is that they can save their weird names by having good jerseys, a solid mascot, and an ability to have fun with their names. That's where the New Mexico Goatheads come into play because their choice of team name was, in a word, questionable. I get the tie-in to local flora with which people of the Rio Rancho area are familiar, but it's just not a great name. Today, the team held an event where the jerseys would be shown, so let's see how this party went!

I don't know how the jersey reveal actually went because I can't find a lot of great images of the event, but we did get to see the jerseys.

At first glance, these aren't bad at all. I like the simplicity of the jersey as the logo pops off the chest without the shoulder yoke. The colours are bold with enough striping on the sleeve and jersey hems to complement the logo, but I'm not certain the added colours on the neckline were needed. It doesn't detract from the jersey, but it feels little unnecessary. The thorn logo above the Athletic Knit logo is entirely unneeded, and these jerseys would be improved if there was only one logo on the neckline. That's the only major problem I see.

I went to the Goatheads' store to see if I could dig further into the jerseys when it came to secondary patches and fonts used, but they only had the white replica jerseys up for sale. More on that in a moment, but you can see the Colorado Avalanche logo on the right shoulder while the New Mexico state wordmark logo is on the left shoulder. This is pretty standard with the NHL affiliate being represented, and I have no problem with the New Mexico state logo being used as representation of the community they represent. Again, the major thing that sticks out to me are the two logos above the Goathead logo. Someone needs to do something about that. It's going to bother me every time I look at these jerseys despite the AK logo needing to be there.

Regarding the lack of photos at the event and just the white jerseys in their online store, Jared Chester of KRQE Sports spoke to Goatheads GM Jared Johnson who said, "Unfortunately, we were only able to get 100 of each color here today, but we're expecting to get the rest here in the next couple of weeks to a month. They turned out unbelievable. We're really excited to get those out to the fans. That's been one of the biggest requests we’ve had so far."

Clearly, there's a demand from fans for their new team's threads, so that's a good sign for the expansion franchise. Of course, having a winning team helps to sell tickets and merchandise, and the Goatheads made an announcement at the event as to who will guide this franchise in their inaugural season with a head coach unveiling! The man to the left is who will take the reins this season as former NHLer Zach Stortini is the team's first head coach! The former hockey pugilist was an assistant coach with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves before joining the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners as an assistant coach in 2022. This will be his first head coaching gig in professional hockey, so we'll see how the 40 year-old handles the pressures of managing and deploying his ECHL roster!

Before I wrap this up, I do want to bring attention to one thing that I noticed in the Twitter photos posted by the New Mexico Goatheads. I'm not here to question anyone's jersey choices, but there was a fan at the event today that was wearing a jersey that caught my attention. As you can see to the right, there was a gentleman at this event wearing what looks like a Paul Shmyr California Golden Seals jersey with #22 on the back. Except Shmyr didn't wear #22 and it's not a California jersey because someone needs to appoint this guy as New Mexico's greatest hockey fan. That jersey he's wearing is a Dean Shmyr jersey from the Albuquerque Chaparrals from either 1996-97 or 1998-99 when the CHL's New Mexico Scorpions wore those throwback jerseys! That is some awesome jersey history! Good on that dude!

Amazing historical jerseys aside, the Goatheads should look pretty solid next season. The jerseys are simple, they don't get crazy with colours or added features, and the double logo on the front above the main Goatheads logo is my only major quibble. Yes, there was no font shown for names and numbers, but we'll get there. Of course, these may look different once the Goatheads take the ice, but the initial jersey unveiling looks pretty good. It's certainly not the greatest of all-time, but the Goatheads are ready for business!

And yes, I despise the GOAT acronym. People need to stop using it.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Staying In Canada

It isn't often that I celebrate anything Toronto, but I have to give them a nod tonight as the Toronto Marlies won their second Calder Cup and Canada's tenth championship as the AHL's best team. It took them five games to win over a very good Chicago Wolves team who seeking their fourth Calder Cup since joining the league after their IHL history, but the Marlies never seemed to be in jeopardy in this final after building a 3-0 series lead that included winning both games in Rosemont, Illinois. There's no telling how many of these players will be Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Marlies are, once again, Toronto's best hockey team in terms of placement in their league.

With the Abbotsford Canucks winning last year, the Calder Cup will remain in Canada for a second season. The last time that Canadian teams won back-to-back Calder Cup was when the Nova Scotia Voyageurs won in 1976-77 and did it again in 1977-78. Toronto last won the AHL championship in 2017-18 when Sheldon Keefe was running the bench and Kyle Dubas was managing the team, and a handful of those players eventually landed in the NHL. Of course, it takes a solid team playing good hockey to win the Calder Cup, and the Marlies pulled everything together at the right time.

This was a team that wasn't expected to be standing atop the mountain at the end of the AHL season after finishing in fourth-place in the AHL's North Division behind Laval, Syracuse, and Cleveland. They needed all three games to eliminate the Rochester Americans in the opening round, and all five games to eliminate Laval in the second round, winning two of three games in Laval. Cleveland was merely a bump in the road for Toronto as they needed just five games to eliminate the Monsters, and they defeated the WBS Penguins in six games to reach the final. Cinderella, figuratively, made the ball.

In all but the series against Laval did Toronto win the first game, putting their opponents in catch-up mode immediately. Toronto was 8-0 in games where they scored five-or-more goals, and they won elimination games by one goal in four of five series. They went 3-1 in overtime, losing their only OT game in Game Four of the final, and they were 7-2 overall in one-goal games. For a team that seemed like underdogs in ever series, they showed the hearts of champions!

Good teams usually see good players rewarded with better contracts, and there are a number of Marlies players who probably deserve more than a cup of coffee at the NHL level. Will this year's victory for the Marlies see the Leafs take a longer look at some of the players that helped their AHL affiliate win? Maybe, but maybe not.

Leading playoff scorer Vinni Lettieri was on a one-year deal, and the 31 year-old will head back to free agency if the Leafs don't re-sign him. He was waived in September by the Leafs for the purpose of playing in the AHL, and he had a solid season with 41 points in 55 games. He turned it up a notch or two in the playoffs with another 26 points in 23 games, but will the Leafs take a look at a 31 year-old centerman for their third- or fourth-line? I can't see that happening.

24 year-old William Villeneuve had an incredible playoffs this season, notching 23 points in 24 games after a solid campaign where he led the Marlies' blue line in scoring with 30 points in 61 games. However, the addition of Darren Raddysh combined with the Leafs already having five players under NHL contracts for this season makes Villeneuve's chances of cracking the roster harder. He's a restricted free agent, and there may be teams who take a look at him.

Easton Cowan had a solid playoff run with 18 points in 22 games, but the rumours of him going elsewhere simply won't go away. Cowan had a solid campaign with the Maple Leafs with 11 goals and 29 points in 66 games, but he'll be limited in his opportunities with the Maple Leafs as he plays behind a number of talented players. Cowan likely wants a shot at finding a home in a top-six situation, and it might serve the 21 year-old well to embrace that if he's on the depth chart behind Knies, Domi, and Joshua. Expect teams to ask about him.

This is the difficulty with putting together an AHL team that can win year after year: players are always seeking better opportunities. Perhaps there's a chance that the Leafs bring all three players back, keep playoff MVP goalie Artur Akhtyamov in the AHL, and acquire enough depth to make another run at a Calder Cup next season, but it's a tough ask for any player to stay a step below the NHL. The Hershey Bears went back-to-back in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but hardly saw any players leave or be promoted to the Washington Capitals.

Since 1990, there have been three repeat champions - the Springfield Indians and the Hershey Bears twice. It would seem like the deck is stacked against Toronto repeating their success, and we know that all of Abbotsford, Belleville, Calgary, Hamilton, and Manitoba have NHL teams that either on the verge of a rebuild or in the process of rebuilding. In short, it may come down to Toronto and Laval as Canada's best hope for a third-consecutive Calder Cup championship.

For now, though, the Toronto Marlies can enjoy the summer as champions before free agency opens. Some players will look for deserved NHL contracts and opportunities, some will leave for other AHL teams, and a handful may seek opposrtunities in other leagues. At the end of the day, though, the city of Toronto will have a championship parade for one of its professional hockey teams. It just won't be the one team that desperately needs a championship. Again.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 717

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with a full roster after having one of the hosts in Montreal where he was answering questions and networking with authors and publishers! Obviously, there will be a discussion on how Montreal is faring after the recent run by the Canadiens before our hosts get into the hockey news and stories that need to be covered. There are championships, drafts, and losses to discuss, so we'll get that going tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Oh, we'll be talking about these guys who threw a celebration and more down in North Carolina! Teebz and Jason will have Travis (Montreal) do his exit interview and, potentially, Matt (Vegas) do his exit interview before they discuss the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup, the Florida Everblades winning the Kelly Cup, and the Toronto Marlies being in the verge of winning the Calder Cup. There will be some discussion about the PWHL Draft, the loss of a Canadian institution, and how both of those could be improved if U SPORTS gave a damn. It's another fun show where we'll offer up our thoughts on these topics, so hunker down by your radio or internet-connected device tonight for 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 will look to send two more entrants home off Survivor: NHL Playoffs island before talking champions, dynasties, drafts, television, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: June 18, 2026: Episode 717

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Deserved, But...

Tonight, the PWHL welcomed a pile of players into their ranks as the PWHL Draft took place in Detroit, Michigan. I'm not sure if there were any surprises when it came to the first dozen picks made, but the Seattle Torrent decided to give one woman a shot who has certainly earned a look when it comes to professional hockey as UBC Thunderbirds forward Grace Elliott was selected 38th-overall in the fourth round! There may have been some familiarity for Seattle when it came to picking Elliott which I'll look at below, but it was another night where a pile of very good, very capable U SPORTS players were left without a team when the draft concluded. I'm not surprised considering how little U SPORTS does to promote these exceptionally-talented women, and it makes me wonder what exactly U SPORTS does to help its athletes achieve their athletic goals and dreams.

Make no mistake that Grace Elliott deserved to be drafted tonight. She's a two-time Canada West Player of the Year and the 2025 U SPORTS Player of the Year after blowing away most of UBC's school scoring records and placing her among the best historically in both Canada West and U SPORTS. Grace was always a good player, but her size, her skill, and her smarts became quickly evident as her efforts helped the UBC Thunderbirds reach new heights each year.

If there's one woman who knows how good she was, it is new Seattle Torrent head coach Christine Bumstead who often watched Elliott work her magic from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies' bench. In 15 regular season and playoff games between the Huskies and Thunderbirds between 2021 and 2025, Elliott scored seven goals and seven assists. The catch, however, is that she scored three goals and four assists in the two games played between the two teams in 2024-25, so Coach Bumstead is very aware of how explosive she can be.

Elliott will likely get every chance to crack the Torrent roster, but I wouldn't expect that Bumstead will guarantee anything with the influx of talent she has at her fingertips. Elliott will need to earn every inch of ice and every second of ice time just like she did in Vancouver, but we've seen how good she can be when she's focused. Having her alongside Lexie Adzija gives Seattle two impact power forwards, but she has proven time and again that she has the scoring and skating to play with almost anyone on the Torrent roster.

If I were Bumstead, I'd be looking at Jenna Buglioni as her linemate. Buglioni was her high-scoring teammate with the Greater Vancouver Comets where Buglioni had 26 goals and 52 points in 29 games while Elliott had 27 goals and 50 points in 32 games during the 2020-21 BCFAAA U18 season! That was the only season they played together, but it seems pretty clear that they had an incredible season playing together! Could we see them reunited in Torrent colours?

What I do know is that Grace deserves all the kudos for being drafted and moving one step closer to her hockey dreams. Congratulations, Grace, and we'll be cheering for you as this season gets underway!

Erica Rieder, who played for the University of Manitoba, was selected 60th-overall in the fifth round by Montreal, but Victoire GM Danièle Sauvageau knows her very well from her U SPORTS days with the Montreal Carabins. Rieder, who was playing for Lulea in the SDHL, has always been an incredible two-way defender who can skate, but she'll get a chance to step into the Montreal lineup this season.

Gabriella Durante, who suited up for Italy in the Olympics and won their only game in that tournament, was picked by Seattle with the 62nd-overall pick, but there's an obvious tie there to Christine Bumstead again who saw her play with the Calgary Dinos. Durante earned her role as Italy's starter at the Olympics with her solid play, and she should be just as good on the west coast stopping pucks.

Montreal used the last pick of the draft to select Concordia Stingers forward Emilie Lavoie who had a solid season in the RSEQ, and she was even better playing in Kitchener at the U SPORTS National Championship. Lavoie is one of those players that Sauvageau loves - an engine that doesn't stop, the puck seems attracted to her stick, and she can finish. She'll need to work hard to crack that talented Montreal roster, but Lavoie is a steal for the Victoire at 72nd-overall.

If you're waiting for the other shoe to drop with the "But..." in the title, the conjunction has nothing to with the players above. These four players earned their accolades and opportunities, and equally deserve the celebration for their personal achievements.

It does, however, have to do with the fact that there was virtually zero promotion or hype done by U SPORTS to elevate the profiles of all the players who played in their conferences. I find it baffling that U SPORTS wants to be taken seriously as a viable option for women who want to chase their hockey and PWHL dreams, but they do little to help those women who have excelled at the U SPORTS level.

Maybe they produced a whole package that was distributed to all twelve PWHL teams and didn't mention it, but I can almost guarantee that didn't happen. I can say this because only four U SPORTS players were taken in the six rounds of the PWHL Draft that saw 72 players selected. Yes, the argument can be made that every player picked was chosen for a reason by each team, but dynamic players like Jessymaude Drapeau, Tatum James, and Courtney Kollman were all left watching rather than being selected by any of the teams.

Tory Mariano, who didn't play last season, was chosen by the Ottawa Charge 13 picks before Rieder despite having six goals and 25 assists in 131 games with Northeastern University over her four years of defence for the Huskies. I'm not saying she isn't good enough nor should she not be picked, but what qualities does she possess after sitting out last year that are better than a defender like Waterloo's Lyndsy Acheson or Olympian and former Toronto defender Gabrielle de Serres who weren't picked tonight? Did I miss something here?

The Ottawa Charge, Toronto Sceptres, Vancouver Goldeneyes, and Hamilton Whatevers took a grand total of zero U SPORTS players in this year's draft. I can understand the American teams not taking U SPORTS players due to a lack of scouting thanks to streaming paywalls, but Troy Ryan, San Jose's GM and head coach, is a former Dalhousie Tigers women's hockey head coach. Both Seattle and Montreal took two players each, and both of those teams have women in positions of leadership with strong U SPORTS ties.

I'm not saying that Seattle nor Montreal made their picks with a need to draft U SPORTS players, but they're drafting from a larger pool of players and talent by looking at U SPORTS players. We saw how important the U SPORTS players were for Montreal this season as Alexandra Labelle, Catherine Dubois, and Kaitlin Willoughby played key roles for the Victoire in their Walter Cup victory. I'm not saying that every U SPORTS player will bring that return, but teams like Vancouver and Toronto who missed the playoffs should be capitalizing on the talent found in their own backyards before other teams do.

In lamenting the above, I will admit that I have a significant bias when it comes to seeing U SPORTS players getting their fair shakes. Four players were chosen tonight, and that's entirely worth celebrating when it comes to competing in the best women's hockey league on the planet. I just struggle to understand why U SPORTS isn't putting all twelve teams on blast when it comes to how good these players are. Why is this a task that seemingly no one wants?

Congratulations to Grace, Erica, Gabriella, and Emilie who, I'm hoping, will be on the opening night rosters for the Torrent and the Victoire, respectively. These women deserve the accolades they've earned, and I'll be cheering for them with every career moment they reach. I just wish there were more players for whom I could cheer.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

It's Just Business, Right?

The announcement today was certainly a long-time coming, but it was still unexpected in its arrival. The costs of broadcasting NHL hockey have risen beyond any sort of comprehensible amount of money that you and I will ever know, and CBC's involvement in the game that they helped to popularize, to curate, and to advance was already done outside of a sublicensing agreement from Rogers Sportsnet that was, at best, a charitable offering to keep the public broadcaster involved. Yes, the CBC showed games on their network, but their involvement in making the game better through Hockey Night in Canada was already dead.

Today, the final nail in the coffin was hammered home as Sportsnet and CBC announced that CBC would be stepping away from broadcasting NHL games moving forward. For 74 years, the public broadcaster was bringing the game to places and homes that Rogers Sportsnet cannot reach, but that all ends today. Gone and never to return is the collective unity of a nation coming together on Saturday night to huddle around the television to watch "the game" on CBC.

For many, this will be an "old man yells at clouds" moment, but there was one thing growing up that was a constant for me in the winter: Saturday night was Hockey Night in Canada. Yes, I lamented over seeing the Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks every week, but I was addicted as a kid to watching as many games as I could. There were very few midweek games in that era unless the playoffs were on, so Saturday night really was hockey night for all Canadians.

For many Americans in Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle, and other border cities, picking up the over-the-air CBC signal with their rabbit ears or TV antenna was how they were exposed to the magnificence of Hockey Night in Canada. Thousands of Canadians in the north, in remote towns, and in cottage country would rely on that same signal to bring the sounds of Hockey Night in Canada to their TVs in their abodes. There weren't high-definition hockey broadcasts to worry about in that time. If you could get the signal, everyone was happy.

That was the beauty of CBC and Hockey Night in Canada - it didn't matter where you lived in Canada, you could find a place where CBC's signal would reach. Hockey Night in Canada became an institution that saw generations of kids dreaming to play in the NHL one day becoming parents who watched their kids have those same dreams. There simply wasn't another weekly program like it on television.

We welcomed men into our homes that we didn't know, but who we trusted to describe the action from their seats high above the ice. From Foster Hewitt to René Lecavalier to Danny Gallivan, the early days of Hockey Night in Canada had its iconic voices that brought the action to life on the screen. Bill Hewitt and Dan Kelly gave way to Bob Cole and Dick Irvin Jr., and we have been blessed with the sounds of Jim Hughson and Chris Cuthbert who have called some of the biggest games in hockey's history. These men ARE hockey's historians.

We've watched, laughed, disagreed, and cheered other personalities that include Frank Selke Jr., Dave Hodge, Brian McFarlane, George Stroumboulopoulos, David Amber, and Ron MacLean as hosts who tried to guide the many panelists featued on Hockey Night in Canada. John Bartlett, Harnarayan Singh, Don Wittman, Dave Randorf, and Paul Romanuk have all called games for the public broadcaster while the likes of Harry Neale, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healy, Howie Meeker, Greg Millen, and Mike Johnson have made the game better as analysts. Making the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast booth roster was always the ultimate job for many sports broadcasters in Canada.

You can thank George Retzlaff in 1955 for inventing the instant replay while working with Hockey Night in Canada before it was perfected in 1965. Gerald Renaud introduced the multi-camera option for sports, which is now a standard, when he set up three cameras to broadcast the very first game. In 1965, Hockey Night in Canada was one of the early adopters of broadcasting sports in colour with all games in 1966-67 being broadcast on "colour TV". Hockey Night in Canada was an innovator in producing telecasts in Inuktitut, Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog and Punjabi. Cassie Campbell-Pascall was the first woman to call an NHL game on national television in 2006 on Hockey Night in Canada. All of this was done with the support from the CBC.

Dolores Claman, a Vancouver-born composer and accomplished jingle writer, gave Canada its unofficial "second national anthem" with her song "The Hockey Theme" which started Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. It was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010, and Bell Media bought the rights to the song in 2008 when the CBC reportedly declined to renew their rights. It was being used on TSN hockey broadcasts after Bell Media acquired it, and the first few notes of the song are recognized by almost all Canadians.

Sure, there were stumbles and questionable decisions made over its history, but 74 years of innovation, broadcasting excellence, and a reach like no other program in Canadian television history had were ended unceremoniously and rather callously with one brief announcement. We've talked about the loss of regional carriers for teams on The Hockey Show as broadright rights fees shot through the roof, but seeing Canada's trusted hockey institution close its doors today is a kick in the gut that I never saw coming despite me knowing that it was always on the timeline. Hockey Night in Canada is over.

I respect the fact that CBC wasn't making one cent off showing NHL hockey thanks to all of the ad revenue going back to Sportsnet, but there will be a void on Canadian TV now. CBC Sports did announce that they will launch a new Saturday night show that will focus on Olympic-oriented competition as they continue to be Canada's best media supporter of amateur athletics, and they can actually make a little money by earning ad revenue during this new show. That's a good thing when it comes to their continued support of amateur Canadian athletes and sports. I can't fault them for this decision.

With Rogers Sportsnet moving into a 12-year, $11-billion rights deal next year, it seems that cost for CBC to air games skyrocketed as well. It doesn't matter that the televised product got worse with Sportsnet involved, that innovation was all but killed under their watch, or that regional blackouts still plague the network. For $11 billion, Sportsnet got what it wanted all along as they're now only Canadian network where NHL games can be broadcast in Canada.

But as Ted Rogers and Gary Bettman will say, it's just business, right?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!