Hockey Season Is Done

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League took it upon themselves tonight to cancel all games remaining in the regular season and the playoffs for the 2019-20 season, thereby ending the season for all its member teams. There seems to be a lot of anger among those teams when every other league in the province has already absorbed this news from their own commissioners, so I'm confused as to why the MJHL teams seem so angry. Not playing is definitely not good for anyone, but neither is COVID-19. I struggle with the outrage seen on social media tonight when hockey players of all ages not playing professionally are now in the same boat in terms of seasons being done and, for some, careers at various levels being done.

As stated above in the opening paragraph, I get that everyone wishes they were playing. Whether it be the MJHL, the MFHL, the MWJHL, Canada West, high school hockey, or your local Timbits hockey, no one is playing indoors this season as per the province of Manitoba's health and safety guidelines for this pandemic. Holding onto this dream that somehow the province would reverse its decision and allow MJHL teams to play seemed foolish at best, but, as the saying goes, it's the hope that kills you.

We've seen cancellations across western Canada from governing hockey bodies, and it seems like a pretty intelligent decision based on the COVID-19 statistics and feedback being seen in leagues playing elsewhere. The NHL, for example, has suffered setbacks in its scheduling thanks to the pandemic, and Marco Rossi's struggles with COVID-19 have been well-documented. Head coaches who were exposed got it. On-ice officials got it. Oh, and that new variant of coronavirus that's more transmissable? It's here in Canada and it's already doing what it does best.

Remind me again why the MJHL thinks it's special and should be playing? I can do this all day if you want.

You can tell me about all the safety precautions that the MJHL was proposing to keep its players and staff safe, but it's pretty clear that, after a year of dealing with this virus, we should be smarter than this. We know that research is showing that the lack of ventilations in hockey arenas combined with the cold air allows the virus to be spread easily in arenas. Knowing how old and how cold some of the MJHL rinks are in Manitoba, this seems like a perfect scenario for an outbreak based on the research.

It seems pretty selfish to me for the MJHL to demand hockey be in session for only its league and for no one else. There are men and women in university who may not be able to return to play their final seasons just as the MJHL is making clear about its players. The same goes for the women in the MFHL and MWJHL who both have age limits for their players who won't get a shot at showcasing their abilities in their final years of eligibility at that level. Kids at all levels are missing a year of on-ice learning and development, yet the MJHL is crying foul over their league not being able to play, at most, a month or two of games.

I hate to break it to you here, MJHL, but you're just like everyone else not playing this winter. Every single league, every coach, every player, and a lot of the parents have wanted hockey back for their kids just like you want hockey back for the players in your league. As shown above, hockey has been affected time and time again by COVID-19, and it seems like we should listen to doctors and want to err on the side of caution when it comes to COVID-19 based on scientific findings.

Let's stop worrying about a month or two of hockey and get ourselves ready for September when hockey can make a triumphant return to the rinks. While I empathize with those players who may not play another season of high-level hockey after this pandemic-filled nightmare of a winter, the best thing and the right thing to do is to ensure this doesn't happen next season in any capacity. That means preparing now for the 2021-22 season rather than bemoaning the fact that starting or resuming a season in February won't happen.

The hockey season in Manitoba is, for better or worse, done for any player not wearing a Jets or Moose jersey. There's no turning back time or rewinding the tape on that fact, so we need to look to the future to ensure that not only does hockey start in September, but we can play through to February next season without any stoppages or hiccups in the schedule.

It leads me to think about a moment in the amazing sitcom Ted Lasso with the titular character being played by Jason Sudeikis. His words ring true about this moment of disappointment in that we can be sad. We can be angry. But there's nothing worse than being sad or angry, and being alone. MJHL players, coaches, and staff aren't alone in this, and we need to remember this moment so we can all move forward together. Here are Ted's words about how to deal with this moment.

Let's all be goldfish today.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 438

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, changes it up a little tonight for your broadcast enjoyment as Jenna is off while writing exams, so Teebz went out and recruited a couple of people to fill in for her because that's just how good Jenna is. In all honesty, finding these two guests to come in makes for a good show in light of everything we'll go over because they have good handles on what's happening in hockey. In saying that, let's get to the discussion then!

Teebz welcomes oft-heard Jason Pchajek back to the show while featuring GM Jared in his first full episode of The Hockey Show while Jenna's making her brain smart! The three gents discuss a couple of retirement announcements, Patrik Laine being benched in Columbus, Jack Roslovic looking the second coming of Rick Nash, Pierre-Luc Dubois' debut with the Jets and how roster mismanagement is killing the mojo the Jets seemed to have had, the new bosses in Pittsburgh, and the loss of TSN radio in Winnipeg and why Bell's corporate greed likely has ended any chance of there ever being a "Bell Let's Talk" day again. It's a fun, passionate, and lively discussion tonight, so make sure you tune in on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com at 5:30pm CT!

Where's the best place can you hear tonight's show if you're outside Winnipeg or not near a radio, you ask? The new UMFM website's online streaming player is pretty awesome if you want to listen online. If you're using an Apple device, the player doesn't seem to like Safari yet, so if you want to stream the show I'd recommend Radio Garden to do that as it works nicely with Safari. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store. If you do use the TuneIn app, you won't be disappointed. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard!

Tonight, Teebz, Jason, and Jared talk benchings, succeeding, managing, hirings, firings, coaching, exploiting, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: February 11, 2021: Episode 438

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

An All-UBC Wednesday

It's not often that two UBC Thunderbirds find their way into interviews on social media on the same day by two different entities, but it happened today when former UBC Thunderbird Cassandra Vilgrain and current UBC Thunderbird Jaedon Cooke had interviews posted! Having been lucky enough to watch these two players from the broadcast booth, both are excellent hockey players of whom UBC should be proud, and their interviews today were fantastic as we got to learn a little more about each of them!

The first interview comes from Hockey Alberta's Ted Emmett and was posted on the Hockey Canada website as part of Hockey Canada's Black History Month as Emmett sits down with Cassandra Vilgrain remotely to discuss her experiences in hockey. Vilgrain is the daughter for former NHL forward and Team Canada forward Claude Vilgrain, and she discusses the experiences she had in hockey as a Black woman while playing at a high level.

Honestly, to hear some of the experiences that Cassandra went through is pretty terrible, but I can tell you that she was a standout hockey player at the University of British Columbia despite some of these negative moments. Vilgrain played a pair of seasons with the UBC Thunderbirds as #91, amassing 14 goals and 26 assists in 49 games. She led the squad in point in the 2016-17 season while helping them earn a U SPORTS National Championship bronze medal with a win over the Concordia Stingers. As seen above, she's still quite active in the Hockey Alberta scene with clinics and coaching, and it's good to see Cassandra Vilgrain doing extremely well after completing her eligibility at UBC!

The other UBC Thunderbirds player giving an interview today was Jaedon Cooke! Cooke is still a Thunderbirds forward today, and she spoke with UBC's Jeff Sargeant, Coordinator of Media Relations & Communications, about what she's been up to with no Canada West hockey happening!

Cooke, as stated, was at home in Manitoba for Christmas, and it's always nice to see those who grew up learning their craft here come home for a while. Cooke wears the highest number for the T-Birds in #98, and her four seasons thus far have seen her play in 67 games while scoring six goals and adding seven helpers. She was part of the 2017 team that captured the bronze medal at the U SPORTS National Championship long with Vilgrain. She played three years with the MFHL's Westman Wildcats before heading to the west coast!

If the adage is true, the worst thing about being talked about is not being talked about, and I feel it's my duty to promote any and all Canada West women's hockey news whenever possible. It has been tough not having a season not only for players, but for coaches, parents, fans, staff, and broadcasters like myself. Because of that, seeing these two amazing women get a little airtime today made me smile.

When university makes its return, please get out and support the game for both the men and the women. It's fast, exciting hockey, and the UBC Thunderbirds have an exciting team with great goaltending, a few key sharpshooters, and a ton of personalities like Cassandra and Jaedon! Get out of your nest and go see the T-Birds in action in September!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Fire And Ice

The search for the new general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins is over and it's not two men, but both will have input. The new man taking over for Jim Rutherford is Ron Hextall who is an interesting hire based upon his long association with the Philadelphia Flyers, but the second man that was hired was Brian Burke - yes, THAT Brian Burke - who takes over in the newly-created role of President of Hockey Operations. While I'm not concerned at all about these two men working together, I am concerned about the Penguins believing the window to win is still open.

I'm actually quite excited for a general manager like Ron Hextall to take over as Hextall was responsible to amassing a ton of the talent one sees in Philadelphia today. Hextall drafted Travis Sanheim and Oskar Lindblom in 2014, Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny in 2015, Carter Hart in 2016, and Nolan Patrick in 2017. All of six of those players have been contributors in the Flyers' success over the last two seasons, and it appears they have a strong future moving forward.

Where Hextall was criticized at times was his refusal to trade for older players when proven talent became available. It's clear, though, that by holding and developing those younger players seen above has paid off with the success that the Flyers are having. Fans criticized the slow, patient growth strategy that Hextall employed that, combined with Dave Hakstol's coaching, never seemed to find a groove, but it's pretty obvious that Carter Hart, Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Sanheim have been instrumental in Philadelphia's start this season.

With Pittsburgh, the cupboards are bare as Ray Shero's work to bolster the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with all sorts of quality college players and solid draft picks was decimated under Jim Rutherford's efforts to keep the Pittsburgh Penguins as a Stanley Cup favorite. Hextall, who was tasked with the same work when he took over in Philadelphia in 2014, will need to find some quality players quickly through free agency to rebuild that minor-league system.

Knowing some of the other teams' pipelines from his work in Los Angeles will also help Hextall unearth talented players who may have been buried or fallen down depth charts for some reason. There are players who seemingly should be playing in the NHL but can't find that roster spot for whatever reason - Josh Ho-Sang, for example - who could really bolster the Penguins at both the NHL and AHL levels, but it will up to Hextall to find those players and pry them away from those teams.

The roster that the Penguins currently employ has enough talent to be dangerous, but ownership is lying to themselves if they believe the Penguins are still in the championship chatter. This team needs an overhaul on defence, likely needs upgrades or more time for their goaltending to improve, and likely an injection of more talent on the bottom-six or at least a handful of players who aren't on the injured list regularly. Ron Hextall should be emphasizing the rebuild while remaining competitive, but temper expectations while doing it.

Brian Burke's role is less clear as to how much input he will have when it comes to personnel decisions. Burke likes the proven guys and the veteran players over the younger kids, and he isn't know for being patient as a general manager. There are player decisions to be made about aging stars - Malkin is 34, but still effective, while Crosby is 33 and still one of the better players in the league. Kris Letang, whose game seems to be deteriorating in his own zone, is also 33, and there will be questions swirling about his future.

Am I happy about these moves? I like Hextall in the role of GM better than I liked Rutherford, but Burke worries me due to his title and what he'll do if he's instructed to win now. I'm ok with Hextall rebuilding the farm while icing the best team he can, but they'd be wise to find ways to rid themselves of a bad Michael Matheson contract, an insane Brandon Tanev contract, and a ridiculous John Marino contract extension that was in no way necessary for Rutherford to do.

It will take some creative accounting and imagination by Hextall and Burke for some of these things to happen, but there might be enough gas left in the tanks of Crosby and Malkin to make another deep run. For the first time in a long time, I feel like the two men who are steering this good ship Penguins might actually be able to set it on the right course.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Difference In Philosophies

Patrik Laine might have had the best seat in the house for tonight's Columbus Blue Jackets win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The star winger has three goals in four game since he swapped jerseys, but tonight was the first time he was stapled to the bench by head coach John Tortorella for what seems to be a lack of effort and urgency in the defensive zone. While this should come as no surprise as Paul Maurice begged Laine to give the same effort in Winnipeg, Tortorella benching a gifted scorer while tied 2-2 speaks volumes to what he wants out of Laine.

The big question: will he get what he wants?

Look, it's no secret that Laine loves scoring goals. He's made it clear that he wants to score goals as a top-line winger in the NHL, and, based on his stats, he has a case for that philosophy. Laine's shot is seen in very few players, and he's used that to his advantage at every opportunity. This Columbus team certainly could use that infusion of offensive talent, but John Tortorella has made it clear to the other 25 guys skating with the club that no one - not even Laine - will be free from preventing goals at all costs.

Tortorella didn't send Laine back over the boards after the 13:41 mark of the second period which led many to speculate that a missed check on Brock McGinn's goal that tied the game at 2-2 was the reason. Tortorella was quick to point out that wasn't the reason.

"It wasn't because of the missed assignment," he told reporters. "There's a number of things that come into play with that, and that will stay in the locker room."

In looking at the video, I tend to agree.

In the scheme, Laine is checking the right defender based on who he picks up coming back into the zone. The two Columbus defenders who get tangled up lose McGinn on the play, allowing him to score the easy goal. While one could argue that Laine should have picked him up or shown an effort to check McGinn, I see miscommunication and a mistake by the two Columbus defenders as the reason for this goal occurring. As Tortorella said, it wasn't a missed assignment.

In looking at the overall arc of the four games he's played in Columbus, Patrik Laine finds himself under a coach who demands a better defensive effort from him than Paul Maurice did. John Tortorella isn't getting that, so, in the coach's view, it's better to remove the defensive liability who might score you the game-winner than it is to keep him on the ice and risk being scored on. It's a bit of a gamble when you have a sniper like Laine who can score that goal, but Tortorella rolled the dice with his chips on the defence as opposed to the sniper. It paid off with a 3-2 win.

Let's be clear here as well: his record of benching people seems to be indiscriminatory as to who the players is as the likes of Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cam Atkinson, Anthony Duclair, Roberto Luongo, Adam McQuaid, Brandon Dubinsky, and others have all spent time in the doghouse at the end of the bench in his time as a head coach. Heck, Dean Kukan, who got the top-pairing role with Werenski out, was also sent to the end of the bench when he struggled last night too. I'm not saying this strategy is sound by any means, but it removes a matchup option that the coach feels isn't working for his squad in the short-term.

It will be, as Tortorella stated, a chance for Laine and Tortorella to "talk about certain things that we're looking for here, and I'll try to make him understand and I've got to listen to him also and get about it here," and that's where a coach should be looking for input and ideas from his star player while emphasizing the structure of his system while reinforcing the key elements to that system's success. Laine is brand-new to Tortorella's defensive scheme, so this might be a good meeting between Laine and Tortorella if it's approached well by both sides.

What Tortorella needs to do is convince Laine that playing to defence leads to more offence just as Barry Trotz did with Alexander Ovechkin in Washington. It's not so much that their philosophies can't merge as much as finding a way to do so. Tortorella wants an airtight defensive zone while Laine wants to light up the scoreboard. There's a happy medium in there somewhere as seen in Washington, but it's up to both the player and coach to find it, embrace it, remind one another of it, and ensure others are onboard with it too.

Being benched for 27 minutes of hockey won't be the end of Patrik Laine, John Tortorella, or the Columbus Blue Jackets. It should prompt questions from all involved, though, and that should lead to a better path forward for everyone. It's up to them to find that happy medium now. It begins as soon as the door to the dressing closes on their 3-2 win tonight.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!