Here We Go Again

This feels like an annual post for me, but we're going to do this again until someone gets it right. I have documented on this blog how the U SPORTS' calculation for the weekly Top Ten is flawed, yet U SPORTS continues to go back to the same calculations despite me documenting how poorly they serve the teams. When trying to determine a national ranking system, there should be some truths that are seen, but every single metric one would use in a national ranking system seems to be ignored by U SPORTS. Today's Top Ten list - the first this season - only serves to annoy me more because nothing makes sense when it comes to how these rankings were determined.

First, let's look at that Top Ten list crafted the geniuses at U SPORTS.

Yes, it's the same cast of usual suspects at the top. Concordia is last season's National Champion and Mount Royal is the 2023 National Champion, so it seems like they should be included. UBC, Waterloo, Toronto, Montreal, and UNB were all at the National Championship last season, so five more teams could have cases made for their inclusion. Guelph is playing strong hockey in the OUA, Alberta looks good in Canada West, and Saint Mary's is playing well in the AUS.

Of course, you're expecting the hard turn from me, so let's show you why I find these rankings hard to believe. Specifically, let's look at the RSEQ standings as of today as shown to the right. What do you notice about those standings besides all four teams being tied? If you said "none of them have played a regular season game", you deserve some congratulations on having keen observation skills. That means that the top-ranked Concordia Stingers who have yet to play a game are, according to U SPORTS, better than the 4-0-0 Mount Royal Cougars who swept the third-ranked UBC Thunderbirds this past weekend. That makes complete sense, right?

Perhaps we'll consider the case of the Toronto Varsity Blues who are 1-1 this season and ranked sixth-overall following a loss to Waterloo and a win against Laurier. They've scored four goals in two games while surrendering three, yet they're somehow ahead of the 3-0-1 Saint Mary's Huskies who beat eighth-ranked UNB 6-2 while scoring 16 goals in four games and only surrendering eight. Along the same lines, UNB is 3-1-0 with their only loss coming to Saint Mary's, yet UNB is ranked ahead of the team that beat them decisively in regulation time. Of course, that all makes sense, though, right?

Even worse, the AUS conference-leading Saint Mary's Huskies trail in the Top Ten rankings to the Montreal Carabins who have yet to skate in a regular season game. How does one explain that? A team with three wins, including one over a top-ten team, who is leading the AUS is ranked BELOW a team that hasn't played one second of regular season hockey! Can anyone explain how these calculations are done?

Of course, the biggest kick in the pants for all of these teams is that only two teams from each conference will go to the U SPORTS National Championship in Waterloo, and their rankings won't matter all that much unless they qualify for Nationals. Even then, the conference champions will be seeded from 1-4 while the finalists get spots 5-8. And if the rankings shuffle out where teams from the same conference may face one another in the first two rounds, the rankings will be "adjusted" to prevent that from happening.

Those facts alone means the rankings are pointless until March.

Is it nice to have bragging rights? Of course, and I won't hold that against any of the schools' athletic departments for celebrating the inexplicable rankings they're assigned. I have, however, warned everyone over and over again that the rankings are meaningless when there are no national crossover games nor are there any measures or metrics that would allow comparisons across conferences.

If the RSEQ can send half its conference to the National Championship - they only have four teams this season - winning two games in the playoffs is the easiest ticket to the National Championship. The fact that two of Concordia, Montreal, Bishop's, and McGill will compete for the Golden Path Trophy after winning just two games in the playoffs is ridiculous, yet both teams that qualify will finish the season ranked in the top eight positions.

Enjoy the weekly rankings that are published by U SPORTS, but until they fix their broken system they should be viewed just as an exercise where one attempts to compare teams that never play one another. If you remember last year's chaos leading up to the National Championship, the only "Top Ten" teams to make it to Sasaktoon were top-ranked Concordia, second-ranked UBC, sixth-ranked StFX, eighth-ranked Toronto, and ninth-ranked UNB.

When half of your Top Ten teams miss the National Championship, it doesn't give you much faith in the ranking system, does it?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Long Weekend Feast

A lot of people will see the image to the left and think that's a delicious meal. I'm not arguing that it probably is, but it's not for me. I'm not a big Thanksgiving dinner person whatsoever and most of that comes from the fact that I'm not fond of turkey. I've been offered several different options for turkey consumption including deep-fried and barbecued, but none of it sounds remotely interesting to me. I'm not against side dishes like potatoes, carrots, or any other vegetable, but that main dish just ain't for me. In saying that, I opted out of Thanksgiving dinner this year and I don't regret that decision whatsoever.

The historical aspects aren't lost on me of why turkey is served at this time of year, and I don't want to hear about American Thanksgiving either. Canadian Thanksgiving is a unique observance that hasn't always landed in October, though, as it moved from April to November before a 1957 decision by the Canadian government made the observance happen annually on the second Monday in October. By doing so, the Canadian government also ensured that Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day didn't overlap or land on the same day as well. In short, it kept the Canadian observances separate.

I'm grateful for that decision because I honestly believe that we should honour the brave men and women who fought to protect our country and other countries who lost their lives in the line duty. Of course, I'm also grateful for my family, friends, and colleagues who enrich my days, and I feel pretty lucky to live in a great country like Canada. Yes, there are days where finding positives are more difficult, but I'm giving thanks today for all the good stuff in my life.

Because today is a holiday in the Great White North, I'm taking the day off. I've been watching hockey this afternoon, and I'll likely continue that activity into the evening. Of course, all of the US TV networks are gearing up for Halloween with every scary movie ever made being aired, but I'm going to stick with hockey. There's still lots of time before we get to that next annual October observance!

Just remember, folks: Jake Peralta of Brooklyn 99 fame wasn't wrong!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Rundown - Week 2

The ninth and final team to begin play in Canada West hockey took the ice this weekend as the Manitoba Bisons got their schedule underway by hosting the Alberta Pandas. With all nine teams playing at least two games, it will give us an idea of who may be among the contenders this season, and which teams will need to up their games over the course of the season if they hope to have a shot at winning the Canada West banner. Unfortunately, it seems this article won't be very in-depth because very few schools are making highlight reels, so let's get to the minimalist version of The Rundown for this week!

For those who skipped last week, the format of The Rundown has changed based on the efforts given by the schools when it comes to marketing themselves and their players.I'm not the marketing department for any school or the Canada West conference. If you want this to change, you know where to direct your displeasure.

FRIDAY: This weekend's games were highlighted by a potential Canada West Final preview as the 2023 U SPORTS National Champion Mount Royal Cougars travelled to Vancouver to play the three-time defending Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds. For all the intrigue and potential action this weekend set offered, we got a grand total of zero highlight reels despite UBC posting a clip of every single one of their goals scored on Twitter. It makes you wonder why they can't just string those clips together and post it on YouTube, but I don't work for UBC. Here's your recap.

Thunderbirds goals: none
Thunderbirds assists: none
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (16/18)

Cougars goals: Athena Hauck (2), Sydney Benko (1)
Cougars assists: Breanna Comte (2), Alexandria Spence (1), Aliya Jomha (3), Summer Fomradas (2)
Cougars netminder: Kaitlyn Ross (29/29)

Result: 2-0 victory for Mount Royal over UBC.

SATURDAY: It's rare for UBC to lose on home ice, but Mount Royal looks like a solid team from top to bottom this season. Seeing these two clash again on Saturday has me looking forward to playoffs already! Again, I wish I could show you why, but I'm not doing UBC's work for them. If you're not happy with the recaps, tell your athletic department to meet me halfway.

Thunderbirds goals: Grace Elliott (2), Jaylyn Morris (2), Jaylyn Morris (3)
Thunderbirds assists: Jaylyn Morris (1), Annalise Wong (3), Grace Elliott (2), Jacquelyn Fleming (2), Kailee Peppler (1), Grace Elliott (3)
Thunderbirds netminders: Kayla McDougall (5/9) through 40:00; Elise Hugens (5/5) through 18:16

Cougars goals: Aliya Johma (2), Gabby Lindsay (1), Lyndsey Janes (1), Aliya Jomha (3)
Cougars assists: Allee Gerrard (1), Sydney Benko (2), Aliya Jomha (4), Gabby Lindsay (1), Ava Metzger (1), Sydney Benko (3)
Cougars netminder: Kaitlyn Ross (31/34)

Result: 4-3 victory for Mount Royal over UBC.

FRIDAY: Perhaps the early surprise of the season are the Regina Cougars, and they were in Edmonton looking for wins against the MacEwan Griffins who were looking for wins as well. This one ended with all sorts of drama as it looked like one team was victorious only to end up losing the game after a rule was enforced. Again, I'd love to show you the video of this drama, but MacEwan will, at some point, figure out this whole internet thing. What's weird is that they posted clips of goals on Twitter like other teams do, but they can't seem to make those into a highlight reel for some reason. Until they get that under control, here's your recap.

Griffins goals: Ashton Bender (1)
Griffins assists: Tess Collier (1), Jennifer Andrash (1)
Griffins netminder: Lindsey Johnson (20/21) in 65:00 and 4/6 in the shootout
Griffins shootout scorers: Sydney Jack

Cougars goals: Lauren Focht (1)
Cougars assists: Julianne Girardin (1)
Cougars netminder: Arden Kliewer (13/14) in 65:00 and 5/6 in the shootout
Cougars shootout scorers: Paige Hubbard, Pippy Pritchard

Result: 2-1 shootout victory for Regina over MacEwan.

SATURDAY: Following a heartbreaking loss the night before, the MacEwan Griffins looked to regroup against the undefeated Regina Cougars on Saturday. For as even as these two teams played on Friday, one had to hope the result of the night before wouldn't linger in the minds of the Griffins as they prepared for Saturday. Once more, there are no highlights from the Griffins, so if you want to see better recaps for your team, speak to your athletic department sooner rather than later.

Griffins goals: Tess Collier (1), Allee Isley (1)
Griffins assists: Joie Simon (1), Rian Santos (1), Kori Paterson (1), Ali Macauley (1)
Griffins netminder: Brianna Sank (16/18) in 65:00 and 4/5 in the shootout
Griffins shootout scorers: Sydney Jack, Sydney Jack

Cougars goals: Jordyn Blais (1), Paige Hubbard (1)
Cougars assists: Lauren Focht (2), Kaylee Dyer (1), Makena Kushniruk (1)
Cougars netminder: Lexi Peace (13/15) in 65:00 and 3/5 in the shootout
Cougars shootout scorers: Paige Hubbard

Result: 3-2 shootout victory for MacEwan over Regina.

FRIDAY: You wonder if the Canada West schedule makers are testing the Calgary Dinos by giving them last year's playoff opponents in the opening two weeks, but the Dinos were in Saskatoon for a weekend set with the Huskies. Saskatchewan needed a bounce-back after dropping two games the week before, so Friday's game looked like a good one! The only thing missing? Highlight reels of the action, and this comes after both squads posted goals on Twitter all weekend. I cannot stress this enough: speak to your athletic department sooner rather than later if you want full recaps on here.

Huskies goals: Kendra Zuchotzki (1)
Huskies assists: Bronwyn Boucher (1), Julianna Herman (1)
Huskies netminder: Clara Juca (25/27)

Dinos goals: Kate Wagner (1), Jess Martens (1), Sydney Mercier (1), Sophia Zuck (1)
Dinos assists: Brooklyn Anderson (1), Kyla Mitenko (2), Rebecca Clarke (1), Caitlyn Perlinger (1)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (28/29)

Result: 4-1 victory for Calgary over Saskatchewan.

SATURDAY: When things aren't going well, it seems every little mistake ends up in the back of one's net. The Huskies have that kind of luck right now, and they were looking to turn it around on Saturday. The Dinos, meanwhile, were looking to double the number of wins they had on the season with a sweep of the Huskies, so I was expecting another entertaining game. Don't look for highlights, though, because we both know there aren't any to be found.

Huskies goals: Kaylee Hill (1)
Huskies assists: Paris Oleksyn (1), Bronwyn Boucher (2)
Huskies netminder: Colby Wilson (24/26)

Dinos goals: Brooklyn Anderson (3), Brooklyn Anderson (4), Brooklyn Anderson (5)
Dinos assists: Kyla Mitenko (3), Kyla Mitenko (4)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (23/24)

Result: 3-1 victory for Calgary over Saskatchewan.

FRIDAY: The final team to open their season this weekend was the Manitoba Bisons as they welcomed the Alberta Pandas to town. Alberta was impressive in the first week of play, so the Bisons had to be ready to hit the ground running against their opponents. There are no highlights because Manitoba doesn't believe in that, so you'll speak to your athletic department if you want recaps to start showing up for games in Winnipeg.

Bisons goals: none
Bisons assists: none
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (20/21)

Pandas goals: Maia Ehmann (3)
Pandas assists: Holly Magnus (2)
Pandas netminder: Grace Glover (19/19)

Result: 1-0 victory for Alberta over Manitoba.

SATURDAY: Manitoba was looking for the split, but the Pandas were proving impossible to score on as they has pitched three-straight shutouts to open the season. The Bisons would have to dent twine at least once, but likely a few more times, if they hoped to earn that split while Alberta was aiming for the sweep. Highlights? Nope.

Bisons goals: Jessica Haner (1), Norah Collins (1), Kelsey Huibers (1), Norah Collins (2)
Bisons assists: Sophia Anderson (1), Sadie Keller (1), Ashley Keller (1), Rachel Gottfried (1), Camryn Gillis (1), Norah Collins (1), Camille Enns (1) Emily Shippam (1)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (19/21)

Pandas goals: Jadynn Morden (1), Ryann Perrett (1)
Pandas assists: Madison Willan (1), Payton Laumbach (1)
Pandas netminder: Misty Rey (18/22)

Result: 4-2 victory for Manitoba over Alberta.

No, I'm not doing the stupid East and West Divisions on the standings board. One conference, nine teams, let's see who is best.

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
Mount Royal	4-0-0-0	8	12	3	W4	@ CAL
Regina	2-0-1-1	7	6	4	L1	vs MAN
Alberta	3-1-0-0	6	9	4	L1	@ SAS
Calgary	2-1-0-1	5	12	10	W2	vs MRU
UBC	1-2-1-0	4	11	11	L2	@ TWU
MacEwan	1-2-0-1	3	3	10	W1	BYE
Manitoba	1-1-0-0	2	4	3	W1	@ REG
Saskatchewan	0-3-0-1	1	3	10	L4	vs ALB
Trinity Western	0-2-0-0	0	0	6	L2	vs UBC

Honour Roll

I'm adding this new feature to every edition of The Rundown I post where I highlight the best performances from the weekend's games. It won't always be the top scorer or the best goalie, but I'll have a reason for who gets picked each week. This week's Honour Roll candidate is Mount Royal Cougars forward Aliya Jomha!

She's often forgotten in the conversation where consistent scoring is discussed, but Jomha plays a very smart, very responsible two-way game where she often is helping in the defensive zone before tearing down the ice to set up a goal or score one herself. She had ten goals and 26 points two seasons ago followed by a four-goal, 21-point season last year, and she's already one-third of the way to that total after four games as she sits with three goals and four assists in helping Mount Royal start the season 4-0-0 that included a pair of wins over UBC where she had two goals and two assists.

Jomha may not end up atop the scoring leaderboard this season, but she will be among the leaders because she plays the game the right way: she gives everything she has at both ends of the ice while never taking a shift off. A big weekend in Vancouver doesn't go unnoticed, though, and that's how Aliya Jomha had her name added to the Honour Roll this week!

It's Simple Math: Part One

Statistics in Canada West are always something I urge teams to review before submitting them. One mistake can skew an entire season for some players, and it really shouldn't be hard to get things right. After all, most of the statistics that are tracked by Canada West are can be totalled by counting.

That being said, what exactly was going on in UBC's Saturday game?

UBC has 20+ people doing analytics, yet they can't even assign shots-on-goal correctly on the Canada West website. As such, Elise Hugens' stats are now incorrect as it shows her with 61 shots-against rather than 66, and that means her save percentage is wrong as well. I'm not going to correct this error, but someone from UBC should if they want Elise's stats to be correct. If they choose not to, there better be no complaining with Elise's save percentage if it falls slightly below someone else's save percentage at the end of the year.

It's Simple Math: Part Two

Maybe goaltending statistics are harder to track than other stats, but I believe it should be pretty easy to reconcile saves made in a game with the number of shots on net. In Friday's game between Calgary and Saskatchewan, Calgary scored two empty-net goals en route to their 4-1 victory. Of course, there would be no shots recorded against the goaltender, so total shots faced by the goaltender that night would be X-2 with X representing total shots on net.

Saskatchewan's statistics people are still struggling this season.

Clara Juca is missing one entire scoring play from her total as she made 26 stops on 28 shots on Friday unless she was on the bench for Kate Wagner's first period goal or Jess Martens' shorthanded goal. Being that I watched the goal clips on Twitter, I know she wasn't. Yet the lone game in her game log shows the correct numbers.

Don't ask me how the gamesheet doesn't match the actual statistics. Nothing makes sense in this instance except Clara's game log and the goalie stats page. If you total up her numbers from the gamesheets, they don't match. Simple counting, right?

Pro Camps

The six PWHL teams submitted their rosters for training camps on Thursday, and I went looking for Canada West talent on those rosters. There is one team who invited a couple of Canada West products, so we might be forced to cheer for Toronto if both players make the roster. Former Saskatchewan Huskies forward Kaitlin Willoughby was invited to camp again this season, and she'll be joined by former UBC Thunderbirds defender Rylind MacKinnon for the Toronto camp!

Both Lindsey Post (NY) and Alex Poznikoff (MTL) have moved on from the professional hockey life they sought, it seems, but both players saw action last year and I'm happy they did. They were incredible players at the Canada West level, and here's hoping the new chapters they're writing bring them as much joy as their hockey careers did!

Pro Signing

On Friday, the Calgary Dinos announced that goaltender Gabriella Durante had left the team to make her way over to Italy to play hockey. I had spoken about this last week, but the Dinos also gave a little more information about where she was going on their tweet about Durante's departure as Gabriella will be in Turin, Italy for the foreseeable future!

Real Torino returned to the Italian Women's Hockey League for the first time since since 2014-15, and there's a lot to be excited about for that city as they'll host the 2025 FISU Universiade Games from January 13-23, 2025 while also having a professional women's hockey team for the first time since 2018-19. Only two players on Real Torino's roster at this moment are over the age of 18 - American defender Maleah Gillette and Ukrainian forward Antonina Rohanova - while four players are aged 16 or under. Durante will be the veteran goalie for Real Torino the moment she lands there, and she'll likely do some coaching in practices with her experience!

I want to wish the best of luck in Turin for Gabriella, and here's hoping that her Olympic dream is realized!

The Last Word

If you had told me that you had picked the two Cougars team to be leading the divisions two weeks into the season, I wouldn't have believed you. Mount Royal would be a pick I could believe, but Regina may be surprising everyone with their play early in this season. We'll see if Regina can beat a Manitoba team who just handed Alberta its first loss of the season next week when they host the Bisons, but Regina earning seven of eight points early this season is a huge help in their efforts to make the playoffs!

Regina didn't earn their first win until October 21 last season, and they hit the seven-point mark on November 10 when they earned their fourth win of the season. Clearly, the changes being made under interim head coach Brandy West-McMaster are working for the Cougars, and we'll see where they are when they finish next weekend's set against Manitoba as they head into their bye week.

With the new divisional format that Canada West moved to this season, two of Regina, Alberta, Manitoba, MacEwan, and Saskatchewan will miss the playoffs. With Saskatchewan's start, they're going to have to pick up the pace in their next few games if they want to make a push while Manitoba and MacEwan will sort themselves out as the season progresses. Seeing Regina take seven points from Saskatchewan and MacEwan means they're sitting in a good spot, and it should have Regina Cougars fans invigorated as they look forward!

If there is a disclaimer on this, though, it's that Canada West might be the toughest conference in U SPORTS women's hockey as anyone can beat anyone else on any given night, so the Cougars will need to be ready anytime they take the ice. Thus far, they've shown a readiness not seen in the Cougars of recent, and that bodes well if they want to play in late February!

To everyone, enjoy your long weekends, be grateful for the great hockey, and have yourselves a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Returning To The Hammer?

I'm not one to believe that "The Voice" in Field of Dreams was right about building baseball fields to attract players or fans, but it seems that Hamilton, Ontario is working on the "If You Build It, He Will Come" idealism. According to a report by Bret McCormick of Sports Business Journal, Oak View Group is currently renovating Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre in an effort to land an AHL franchise for the city. The most recent AHL team in Hamilton were the Bulldogs who left in 2015, so landing a seventh AHL franchise north of the border certainly is something this blog will notice. The question is whether or not that is realistic.

The $280-million renovation happening at FirstOntario Centre includes the building of ten floor suites "combining bunker suite privacy with direct visual access to the seating bowl and the event taking place." With the current operation of the arena focusing on live music and entertainment, the new bunker suites will allow bowl-seating access while maintaining the privacy of the suite.

"It's the right size from a suite perspective in the market," OVG Canada President Tom Pistore said of the renovated arena.

With the changes slated to be done by the autumn of 2025, it seems that Oak View Group and the city-owned FirstOntario Centre are looking to add a few more nights of entertainment by attracting "at least one, maybe two, minor league pro sports tenants" to play in the arena. According to Pistore, "an announcement could reportedly come as early as next year".

One has to wonder which AHL franchise would land in Hamilton considering that all 32 NHL teams have a direct AHL affiliate, so adding a 33rd team to the AHL wouldn't make much sense unless there's a pending major announcement from the NHL about expansion. With NHL teams looking to keep their affiliates close for easier player movement, you'd have to believe that a Hamilton-based team would mean that an Eastern Conference NHL team would be its direct affiliate based on location. If we're looking at attendance trends, it would seem that the Bridgeport Islanders or Utica Comets may be the teams targeted for a move. But will they?

Bridgeport City Council voted in 2021 to keep the team in Bridgeport, Connecticut for ten years while investing "$28 million to return the arena to like-new condition." It seems like the Islanders are neither for sale nor moving any time soon, so that relocation option appears to be off the table based on that report.

Over in Utica, it seems like the Comets won't be going anywhere either as the New Jersey Devils and the city of Utica signed a ten-year deal in 2021 to have the Devils' AHL affiliate in the New York city after moving the franchise from Binghamton. Comets President Robert Esche stated in the release, "We are pleased to announce that this is a ten-year partnership which establishes a mutual commitment between our organization and the city of Utica," so that relocation option seems to be off the table as well.

It's not out of the realm to see another team possibly move, however, as we saw the Vegas Golden Knights swoop in and purchase the San Antonio Rampage, moving them to Henderson, Nevada to become the Henderson Silver Knights. The difference, though, is that the Vegas Golden Knights are an NHL team who wanted to own and control their own AHL franchise while FirstOntario Centre is simply trying to attract a tenant. Unless there's a need for the Maple Leafs to abandon the Marlies (will never happen), the Ottawa Senators to give up on the Belleville Senators (very unlikely), or the Buffalo Sabres to walk away from the Rochester Americans (extremely unlikely), an AHL team in Hamilton seems like a pipe dream.

You know who does need a place to play, though? The ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs who once were the Newfoundland Growlers! And if you look at the divisional alignment for the ECHL, resurrecting the Hamilton Growlers would make a lot of sense considering they'd play most often against the Trois-Rivières Lions, the Worcester Railers, the Maine Mariners, the Norfolk Admirals, the Reading Royals, and the Adirondack Thunder. Add in the fact that they wouldn't be far from the Fort Wayne Komets, Indy Fuel, Bloomington Bison, Toledo Walleye, or Cincinnati Cyclones, so Hamilton makes a pile of sense as an ECHL city.

Putting the ECHL into Hamilton would solve two problems as the Maple Leafs could have their ECHL affiliate much closer to the Marlies and Leafs while the ECHL would benefit by moving into one of southern Ontario's largest markets while being far more centralized for easier travel. As stated on this blog,

"Portland is the closest rival the Growlers have and it's still a 29-hour bus ride to and from St. John's in each direction. With players needing meals and bus drivers under stricter laws regarding the amount of time they can safely drive, that's a two-day trip in each direction. With some teams arriving on game day in St. John's based on their schedule, it's understandable that the logistics may have doomed the Growlers when it came to costs for the opposing teams, let alone the Growlers themselves."

I'll give Oak View Group some wiggle room here because the Hamilton Bulldogs were a solid draw in the AHL, never once falling below 4100 fans per night in a season. Selling the ECHL might be harder than selling an AHL team, especially if it's linked to Toronto, but I believe Hamilton fans want good hockey. The Newfoundland Growlers played good hockey based on their successes, and there's absolutely no guarantee that whatever AHL franchise lands in Hamilton will be good at any point. Fans will come out in droves for any team that's a winner, and there would be a greater opportunity for the Growlers to win in Hamilton sooner than an AHL relocated franchise. Winning means a greater attendance which means a healthier franchise.

I'm hopeful that the Oak View Group is successful in their attempts to attract an AHL franchise to Hamilton, but it almost seems like a sure bet if they approach the ECHL for a "minor league pro sports tenant". Whatever franchise lands there will undoubtedly be supported by the people of Hamilton and I think it would be great to see another championship hockey team in The Hammer, so I'll keep my eyes on this story moving forward.

Of course, there's always the remote, minute chance that Hamilton will do something wild like having an AHL and an ECHL franchise? Wouldn't that be something for hockey fans in Hamilton!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Opening Doors For Others

No one is looking at Italy as the next superpower in women's hockey. As of right now, the IIHF has them ranked as the 19th best country on the planet - just behind Netherlands and Korea and just ahead of Poland and Great Britain - so they're in that group of countries that's emerging on the scene. With Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo hosting the 2026 Olympiad, the Italians want to prove to the rest of the world that they're ready to take the next step in hockey by joining the top teams at the best tournaments regularly. Like host countries before them, it looks like Italy is speeding up their progress by recruiting established hockey players to help them take that next step.

There's nothing wrong with this from an IIHF standpoint. We've seen Kazakhstan recruit multiple North American players who play for the KHL's Barys Astana squad as they've granted those players citizenship. China did the same thing when they hosted the Olympics in Beijing, and I suspect we'll see more countries who want the Olympic bump use this tactic as well. As long as the IIHF sees no issue with it, this practice will continue for the next Olympiad and beyond.

As indicated on The Rundown last weekend, Calgary Dinos goaltender and Canadian citizen Gabriella Durante opted to head to Italy to follow her roots as she has plans on playing for Team Italy. The Calgary Dinos made it official today, however, as they announced that Durante was headed to Turin, Italy to join Real Torino for the 2024-25 season! It should be noted that her single game against the Saskatchewan Huskies last weekend would officially qualify as her fifth and final year of eligibility in U SPORTS, so Gabriella Durante would not be able to return to any U SPORTS hockey team in any future season even if she wanted to play again.

She may not have to worry about that, however, because it sounds like she'll be busy in Turin. According to hockeyitalia21.com, "Real Torino announced that it will enter a team in the next Italian IHL Women 2024/25 championship" as the team rejoins the women's Italian Hockey League to give Turin a hockey team at that level for the first time since the 2018-19 season and it will mark the first time Real Torino HC has played at the IHL level since 2014-15.

Turin will play host to the 2025 FISU Universiade Games from January 13-23, 2025, so it seems that Italy is looking to have more women playing at a higher level in more cities as they approach both the Universiade and the Olympics. We'll see the Italians return to the IIHF Women's World Championship Division I Group B tournament after earning a bronze medal there last season, so getting more women playing at a higher level will be crucial for the Italians if they hope to repeat the success they saw in 2024.

Bringing in players like Gabriella Durante to help at the internal league level will promote growth and development so that the Italians see better players develop along the lines of Martina Fedel, Laura Lobis, and Anna Caumo at the international level. If a few of those players they bring in to help become naturalized citizens as well, the Italian hockey federation won't complain, I'm sure.

For Gabriella Durante, she'll get to stop pucks against the likes of EV Bozen's Kristin Della Rovere, EV Bozen's Justine Reyes, and Neumarkt/Egna's Olivia De Ciantis. All of those players have North American ties, but they'll all skate in the Italian Hockey League this season with the potential to be naturalized for the 2026 Olympics. The key is that they'll all make their teammates better as they skate in the IHL this season and beyond, and there's a good possibility that they'll help to make Italy a better hockey country in the long run whether they suit up for the country themselves or they continue to play for one of the teams in the Italian league.

No one is expecting Gabriella Durante to change Italian hockey in any way, but her presence both in the country's top league and playing for the Italian national team may very well do that incrementally. With her and Martina Fedel potentially being the Italian netminders at the 2026 Olympics, Italy will have a pair of backstoppers who could potentially steal games like they did when they beat Slovakia and Slovenia at the 2024 IIHF World Championships.

I want to wish Gabriella Durante all the best this season with Real Torinto, and my hope is that she plays as well as she did for the Dinos while she earned her degrees. Seeing Durante at the 2026 Olympics would be incredible, so here's hoping this opportunity goes well for her. Knowing the type of person she is, though, I suspect she'll have a major impact on Italian hockey not only as they approach the Olympics, but well beyond it as well.

She'll make players better through her play, her positive attitude, and her approach at the rink, and that's the kind of leader that Team Italy needs when it comes to establishing themselves as hockey nation. This is a big oppotunity for Gabriella Durante, but I suspect she'll open doors for so many more Italian players during her time in Italy. That's just who Gabriella Durante is.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!