NHL combine, Teemu Pulkkinen

The NHL held its annual draft combine in Toronto this past weekend, and one of my favourite reporters, Patrick King, was there.

And while there, Mr. King did DubNation a great favour by tracking down Teemu Pulkkinen, an 18-year-old forward from Finland who’s expected to be selected at the NHL’s entry draft June 25 to 26 in Los Angeles. Pulkkinen played for his country at the 2009 world under-18 championships in the U.S., where he recorded 13 points in six games, good for third place in tournament scoring.

His WHL rights are owned by the Kelowna Rockets, who selected the 5-foot-10, 175-pound left winger 50th overall in the CHL’s 2009 import draft. The Rockets say they don’t know whether he’ll commit to playing in the WHL this season, and it seems Pulkkinen doesn’t know either. But what he does know is this: He likes to score.

“I always have said that my favourite players have been good goal scorers, like Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Steven Stamkos, all the right-handed guys who can shoot the puck and are very good goal scorers,” Pulkkinen told King. “I always love to score goals and I try to shoot the puck as many times as possible in a game. I like to score.”

Now, what about this Kelowna thing?

“It’s like a 50-50 thing what I’m doing,” said Pulkkinen. “I have a one-year contract with Jokerit, but I have a window to come over to North America to play, in Kelowna, so it’s like 50-50. We’ll see what happens.”

King then asked if he was contractually bound to play with Jokerit this season.

“No, no. I’m free if I play in Kelowna,” said Pulkkinen. “After that, I’m free to do what I want.” 

King then asked the most important question: Do you want to play in the WHL?

“The best thing for me . . . I have had problems with injuries, so the good thing for me (in the WHL) is that I would get lots of games, so that’s a positive thing in Kelowna, to play a lot,” said Pulkkinen, who would likely play for a men’s team if he were to stay in Finland this coming season. “They have about 70 games in the regular season, so that’s a positive thing.

“But I have to think which one is better: Canada or Finland for myself.”

Pulkkinen went on to say he knows 19-year-old right winger Toni Rajala, a fellow Finn who played last season with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and also with Finland’s national junior team. Rajala had one goal and two assists for three points in six games for Finland at the WJHC.

“I had a little talk with him, but not too much,” said Pulkkinen. “Right now, he’s in Finland, so after this trip, when I’m back home, I’ll talk to him.”

King also asked Pulkkinen that, if he gets drafted, will his decision to play in either North America or Europe be made for him?

“That’s a big thing if the team wants me,” said Pulkkinen, adding he’s heard Kelowna is a great city and is a great place to play. “I have to really, really think which (route) is better for my career.

“I haven’t talked to Kelowna yet, but, after this trip, I will talk to them.”

The draft combine featured 100 players; 70 from North America and 30 from Europe. Pulkkinen, who started last season with Jokerit and wound up getting sent down to the junior ranks, was ranked 17th in NHL Central Scouting’s list of European skaters eligible to be drafted.

For more on the NHL scouting combine, click here.

Stanley Cup

As a writer for a daily newspaper, it’s easy to see both sides of a hockey game, since the job entails talking to both sides.

With that in the background, it’s hard to find a sports writer, who, over time, doesn't get jaded following endless say-nothing quotes, or how coaches, players and management play the safe card when, really, it's easy to see what they really want to say but don’t for fear of repercussion. But here I am, my jaded writing coat tossed aside and cheering on my favourite team, the Chicago Blackhawks !

Finally, a real shot at the Cup! Take that, Canuck lovers! (Let the flame wars begin!)

And, yes, I’ve been a card-carrying member of the Hawk nation since I was a kid, so don't bother saying I’m jumping on Chicago's now-overcrowded bandwagon with Vince Vaughn. Yet . . . a good part of me wants Philadelphia to win as well.

For those who don’t know, there are 16 WHL graduates playing the 2010 Stanley Cup, and throughout my writing career, I've interviewed eight of them — Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien (Brandon, Prince George), Kris Versteeg (Lethbridge, Kamloops, Red Deer), Troy Brouwer (Moose Jaw), Andrew Ladd (Calgary), Colin Fraser (Red Deer), Brent Seabrook (Lethbridge) and Duncan Keith (Kelowna) plus Philadelphia's Braydon Coburn (Portland) and Riley Cote (Prince Albert Raiders). Toss in OHL alumni Jeff Richards (Kitchener Rangers) and David Bolland (London Knights), and it's 11.

There's not one player in the above list who doesn't deserve to win. Sadly, only one side will win, and who knows if the other side will ever play in a Cup final again. Would I like to see Duncan Keith bring the Stanley Cup to the Okanagan? Sure I would, because a lot of people here would enjoy touching and seeing hockey’s Holy Grail. But at the expense of Coburn? Or Richards? I can't say yes to that.

As a sidenote, I’m sure if NHLers ever truly understand the impact they have on peoples’ lives. My cousins in Regina once billeted a Regina Pat who went on to a pro career, and, two decades later, they still proudly talk about him. And that’s just one player and one set of billets. Also, it’s easy to see why Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest find this matchup engaging.

But back to my topic. I found  Richards’ actions in grabbing the Prince of Wales trophy after Philadelphia won the Eastern Conference quite refreshing. In lifting it up, he broke with the ridiculous hockey tradition of not lifting any trophy over thy head except for the Stanley Cup.

When this nonsense started, who knows — maybe in 1994 when Trevor Linden had the Campbell Bowl lid fall off when he lifted it up and the Canucks went on to lose in seven to the New York Rangers — but it’s absolute bunk. Anybody with thoughts on this superstition can post them here.

So, my thoughts on Chicago captain Jonathan Toews staying away from the Clarence Campbell trophy, as if it had SARS? Not much. In fact, about as much as Toews’ ultimate decision to play one whole year in the NCAA instead of playing for the Tri-City Americans, who selected him first overall in the WHL’s 2003 bantam draft.

Bad decisions? You bet. Especially when compared to Sidney Crosby, who had a pretty good major-junior career and also posed with the Prince of Wales trophy last year before winning the Stanley Cup.

NHL markets

Gary Bettman tugged a lot of Canadian heart strings on Friday in Chicago. 

But that’s all he did, tug, when, on the eve of the Stanley Cup final between  Chicago and Philadelphia, he mentioned in his annual state-of-the-league address there was interest in seeing teams return to Winnipeg and Quebec. In fact, in a story done by Chris Johnston of The Canadian Press, Bettman said he still regrets allowing the Jets and Nordiques to move.

"I'd like to try and fix something that I wish might not have happened in the first place," said Bettman. "Not unlike what we did in Minnesota."

The commissioner also confirmed that David Thomson and Mark Chipman recently made an offer to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move them back to Winnipeg. The league had that as a backup plan in case the city of Glendale wasn't prepared to cover the team's losses next season.

Bettman believes Thomson and Chipman will wait for another opportunity.

"They are very comfortable with the process," he said. "They understood that the likelihood was that the team was going to be remaining in Phoenix. They wanted us to know of their interest and they have told us that they are prepared to be patient."

He's reluctant to say how long it will be before the NHL makes a return to Winnipeg.

"I'm not going to put a timeline on it because I do not want to raise expectations," said Bettman. "The interest is clear and bonafide. It's gratifying."

For those reading between the lines, Bettman is saying it’s nice for the attention, but don’t hold your breath. And if I lived in either city and honestly looked at the odds of the NHL returning to those markets, I wouldn’t be holding my breath, either.

But wait, you say. The NHL is a gate-driven league, has struggling markets and relocation appears to be a certainty. OK, you got me on the relocation aspect, but if you were rich enough to own a team, where would you place it: In small city with a diehard fan market but not much business capital or a much bigger city that’s home to several big businesses? That’s a no brainer and why Winnipeg doesn’t hold a candle to cities like Seattle or Houston.

Forget Kansas City, even though there’s a ready-built rink. Look long-term. Houston has a population of 2.2 million and has a metropolitan population of 5.9 million. There’s a plethora of big business there and the city already has some hockey history, with the AHL’s Houston Aeros.

And besides, if Dallas (pop. 1.3 million/6.45 million) can make a go of it — the recent money struggles of owner Tom Hicks notwithstanding — why not Houston? Of course, the fatal flaw with Houston is that it’s a sunbelt market, and most, if not all NHL sunbelt markets are financially hurting. That’s not news to hockey folk. But what would be news is the NHL taking a serious look at Seattle.

Think about it: Seattle has a metro population of 4 million and is a proverbial stone’s throw from the border and Vancouver. Best of all in Seattle is that there’s no other winter sport (read: NBA) to go head-to-head with. Unless, of course, you’re the Seattle Thunderbirds or Everett Silvertips, but that’s another story.

And before people laugh and brush off Seattle, there’s this nugget: The Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) has just as many major-junior teams as Alberta or Saskatchewan, let alone Manitoba, so, yes, hockey is being supported in the region.

Now, admittedly, there’s a big rink issue in Seattle, but that’s a bump in the road, and here’s why: The 2005 world junior hockey championship in Grand Forks, N.D., was a hit because of Canadians crossing the border to watch the tournament. It’d be the same thing with Seattle, only on a much bigger scale with Vancouver and B.C. fans.

From Seattle to Vancouver is an approximate two-hour drive. From Victoria it’s a short ferry, and Kelowna has an airport with direct flights. While not every Vancouver fan would make repeated trips, there’s more than enough interest in the province who would make the odd trip to Seattle to catch a game. For proof, the next time the Toronto Blue Jays visit the Seattle Mariners, look in the stands to see how many Toronto supporters there are.

Junior B team officially relocates to Kelowna

Well, it's officially official: the Chiefs are coming to Kelowna.

A press release concerning the relocation of a junior B team from Chase to the Central Okanagan was sent out today. Below is the press release, though the move isn't surprising, as it's been well documented the past few weeks in the print media.

Kelowna, B.C. — There will be a new junior B hockey team in Kelowna for the 2010-2011 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season.

The team will be hosted in the Rutland Arena and will be called the Kelowna Chiefs. They will play in the Okanagan Division of the KIJHL which includes Revelstoke, Princeton, Osoyoos, Penticton, Kamloops, Sicamous, and North Okanagan.

As of (Friday) morning, the Kelowna Chiefs and the Kelowna Rockets have an agreement in principal with respect to the Kelowna Chiefs operating a Junior B franchise here in Kelowna, and the Kelowna Chiefs note that while the Rockets have the ability to restrict the operation of other junior franchises in Kelowna, in this instance, the Rockets are supportive and their consent that has been granted is for this team only.

The Kelowna Chiefs are very appreciative of this support received from Bruce Hamilton and the Kelowna Rockets. The Chiefs also confirm their understanding that the underlying basis for the Rockets' support of the Chiefs operations here in Kelowna stems from the Rockets support for the creation of quality opportunities in the Kelowna area for advancement of young hockey players, and the belief that the Kelowna Chiefs will offer exactly that type of opportunity.

To date the team has already experienced great community support and in addition to the Rocket’s support, the inception of this team has been made possible by efforts from Kelowna Minor Hockey, BCAHA, the City of Kelowna and their staff, and the KIJHL.

The team will be 100% locally owned and the staff and coaches are based in Kelowna. After coaching together for many years, Ken Andrusiak and Grant Sheridan will once again join forces to act as the Head Coach and Assistant Coach respectively. The general manager will be Fred Pittendreigh who formally owned the Junior B franchise in Chase and who is very involved with the KIJHL.

To get things going, the Chiefs will hold their Inaugural Spring Camp this weekend (May 28th to 30th) at CNC with main camp to be scheduled later this year in August. Season Tickets will go on sale July 1.

WHL notes

Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Travis Hamonic is off to pro life in hockey, having signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL's New York Islanders. As usual, the Brandon Sun did a bang-up job on the story, and writer Rob Henderson pulled out two good quotes from Hamonic, who was selected by New York in the second round, 53rd overall, in 2008.

"The last three years, I've been rockin' the same suit," said Hamonic, who plans to go clothes shopping. According to the Sun, terms of the deal were not disclosed, though he said it "beats the $120 I make every two weeks in Brandon."

It's good reporting like that which makes covering junior hockey so fun......

And in a column earlier this week in the Prince George Citizen, Jim Swanson talked about former Cougars in the NHL, including Chicago Blackhawks swingman Dustin Byfuglien and Blair Betts of the Philadelphia Flyers. In his story, which touched many topics, Swanson came across a satyrical nugget revolving around Byfuglien's almost-impossible-to-pronounce last name. For more, look here.

Also, Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post is reporting that former Moose Jaw Warriors general manager will now be the Regina Pats' GM. The Pats are holding a 3 p.m. conference (local time) to announce that Lang has accepted an offer to replace former GM Brent Parker, who is now the team's president and governor. For more, visit the Leader-Post here.

Memorial Cup mumblings

Now that the 2010 Memorial Cup has come and gone, with the Windsor Spitfires having successfully defended their championship from a season prior, it’s now time to look ahead.

Just four days before the puck dropped on the 2010 edition in Brandon, Man., the OHL announced on May 10th that the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors will play host to the 2011 tournament. Frankly, and there’s no way to sugar coat this, I view this as a mistake. A big mistake, and here’s why.

In the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of sports, Windsor has done a lot. As in back-to-back OHL championships followed up by back-to-back national titles. The Spitfires also averaged an unofficial 6,278 fans per game last season, which equates to 96.6 per cent capacity, and was second only to London’s average of 9,015. The Spits have also successfully held three high-profile events in the 2010 Top Prospects Game (notably on short notice after Montreal dropped out), an OHL all-star game and a Canada-Russia Super Series game.

So, what have the Majors done? Nothing. The only notable items on the Majors’ resume since 2001 are a pair of regular-season pennants (2001-02 and 2003-04) plus four consecutive distant-memory playoff runs to the third round (2001-04). Notably, the Majors also went to the third round this year, but all this fluff is backed by the undeniable fact that the Majors have no conference titles and no league titles. And yet despite this lack of recent success, the OHL saw fit to give Mississauga the 2011 tournament.

“We’re really disappointed, not just for the Spitfires organization but for the whole city of Windsor,”  Spitfires GM Warren Rychel told Yahoo! Sports. “We’re disappointed because we’ve had the best team in Canada for the last three years basically with our wins and we’ve done all these (events) at our arena which the city has hosted before. We’ll boast six possible first-round (NHL) picks next year, (Mississauga) has got a good team, but so do we.”

The OHL didn’t release an official decision as to why Mississauga beat out Windsor, but there’s enough internet chatter out there that pegs it to two reasons: Majors owner Eugene Melnyk, who also owns the Ottawa Senators, outbid everyone else for the tournament rights, with some websites reporting a guaranteed bid of $3 million, and, OHL brass, a ‘need to grow the sport in Toronto.’

The drink I was sipping when I first read that last comment came gushing through my nose. Imagine that: OHL commissioner David Branch needing to ‘grow’ the game in the centre of the hockey universe. Grow the game . . . . in Greater Toronto. . . .  riiiiight.

Is there something wrong with that ludicrous statement or is it just me? I mean, if it’s just about the money, then say so. Don’t hide behind a sham of an excuse, saying Toronto needs to learn more about hockey.

Yet the worst thing about the OHL’s decision earlier this month was its timing.

The Spitfires’ roster for next season will certainly take a hit, and it won’t be the high-powered juggernaut it was this past season and last, but it’ll still be good — teams don’t suddenly forget how to win after making long playoff runs, even if there is a big roster turnover. With that in the background, Windsor now has a chance to Memorial Cup three-peat, and the OHL could have at least thrown the Spitfires a ‘thank-you-for-all-you’ve-done’ bone by holding its tournament-hosting decision after Windsor won its second national title.

That way, those involved in making the hosting decision could have at least entertained the idea of Windsor playing host and trying to pull off the impossible before handing Melnyk the 2011 keys. For those who don’t know, no team has ever won three consecutive Memorial Cups, though the New Westminster Bruins played in four consecutive Memorial Cup championship games (1975-78), winning two of them (1977-78).

And, yes, Melnyk certainly deserves a thank you from the OHL for purchasing the floundering Mississauga IceDogs and holding onto the team and finding a new owner instead of watching the franchise fold. However, Melnyk’s intentions included having the IceDogs move out of Mississauga so his Majors could move in, so a truly generous favour it wasn’t.

So what can only be called a shortsighted political decision, the OHL’s 2011 decision was made before the 2010 Memorial Cup came to a close.

Now, of course, there’s the chance Windsor could wind up in Mississauga as the league champion, but the odds of that are astronomical, given the revolving-door nature of junior hockey. However, had the Spits won the 2011 Cup bid, Windsor would have been forced to field a winner, even if it meant dealing with the devil and trading away future star players. Now, with no championship onus hanging over the Spits, Windsor will likely follow the same path every other two-time winner has done, which is to keep draft picks and rebuild.

Too bad, because watching a formerly favoured team turn into an underdog trying to pull off the impossible would have been neat to watch.

“We’d be excited to have it, even though there’s no financial gain to hosting it,” Rychel told DubNation just after winning the OHL title but before travelling to Brandon for the Memorial Cup. “But to sustain winning, and to stay at the top of the league, is very tough. You can reload a bit . . . but it’s going to be hard. You need to get breaks, you need to get (centre Scott) Timmins back from Florida like we did this year, or (right winger Dale) Mitchell as well, and we need Jack Campbell coming in next year.

“It’ll be tough, and I have no idea who’s going to (win the bid), but it’d be great for the city of Windsor, given what they’ve been through and how the city has really supported us. But not just us as well; the city has a big heart and it’s a fact the fans here have supported the CHL Prospect Game, the Russia game and the all-star game. We sold all three of those events out, and it’d be great to see the fans get that.”

Memorial Cup statistics

2010 Memorial Cup

Canadian Major Junior Hockey Championship

At Brandon, Man.

Round Robin

                               GP W L GF GA Pt

y-Windsor (OHL)         3 3 0 19 8 6

x-Calgary (WHL)         3 2 1 12 11 4

x-Brandon (host)         3 1 2 8 14 2

Moncton (QMJHL) 3 0 3 7 13 0

x — clinched semifinal berth; y — advances directly to final.

Note: Two points for a win.

Sunday, May 23 Result

Championship

Windsor 9 Brandon 1

Saturday, May 22 Results

No Games Scheduled.

Friday, May 21 Result

Semifinal

Brandon 5 Calgary 4 (OT)

Participants

Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL, host)

Calgary Hitmen (WHL champions)

Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL champions)

Windsor Spitfires (OHL champions)

Memorial Cup Champions

2010 — Windsor Spitfires

2009 — Windsor Spitfires

2008 — Spokane Chiefs

2007 — Vancouver Giants

2006 — Quebec Remparts

2005 — London Knights

2004 — Kelowna Rockets

2003 — Kitchener Rangers

2002 — Kootenay Ice

2001 — Red Deer Rebels

2000 — Rimouski Oceanic

1999 — Ottawa 67’s

1998 — Portland Winter Hawks

1997 — Hull Olympiques

1996 — Granby Predateurs

1995 — Kamloops Blazers

1994 — Kamloops Blazers

1993 — Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

1992 — Kamloops Blazers

1991 — Spokane Chiefs

1990 — Oshawa Generals

1989 — Swift Current Broncos

1988 — Medicine Hat Tigers

1987 — Medicine Hat Tigers

1986 — Guelph Platers

1985 — Prince Albert Raiders

1984 — Ottawa 67’s

1983 — Portland Winter Hawks

1982 — Kitchener Rangers

1981 — Cornwall Royals

1980 — Cornwall Royals

1979 — Peterborough Petes

1978 — New Westminster Bruins

1977 — New Westminster Bruins

1976 — Hamilton Fincups

1975 — Toronto Marlboros

1974 — Regina Pats

1973 — Toronto Marlboros

1972 — Cornwall Royals

1971 — Quebec Remparts

1970 — Montreal Jr. Canadiens

1969 — Montreal Jr. Canadiens

1968 — Niagara Falls Flyers

1967 — Toronto Marlboros

1966 — Edmonton Oil Kings

1965 — Niagara Falls Flyers

1964 — Toronto Marlboros

1963 — Edmonton Oil Kings

1962 — Hamilton Red Wings

1961 — Toronto St. Michael’s Majors

1960 — St. Catharines Tee Pees

1959 — Winnipeg Braves

1958 — Ottawa-Hull Canadiens

1957 — Flin Flon Bombers

1956 — Toronto Marlboros

1955 — Toronto Marlboros

1954 — St. Catharines Tee Pees

1953 — Barrie Flyers

1952 — Guelph Biltmores

1951 — Barrie Flyers

1950 — Montreal Canadiens

1949 — Montreal Royals

1948 — Port Arthur West End Bruins

1947 — St. Michael’s College

1946 — Winnipeg Monarchs

1945 — St. Michael’s College

1944 — Oshawa Generals

1943 — Winnipeg Rangers

1942 — Portage La Prairie Terriers

1941 — Winnipeg Rangers

1940 — Oshawa Generals

1939 — Oshawa Generals

1938 — St. Boniface Seals

1937 — Winnipeg Monarchs

1936 — West Toronto Nationals

1935 — Winnipeg Monarchs

1934 — St. Michael’s College

1933 — Newmarket Reds

1932 — Sudbury Wolves

1931 — Winnipeg Elmwoods Millionaires

1930 — Regina Pats

1929 — Toronto Marlboros

1928 — Regina Monarchs

1927 — Owen Sound Greys

1926 — Calgary Canadians

1925 — Regina Pats

1924 — Owen Sound Greys

1923 — Univ. of Manitoba

1922 — Fort William War Veterans

1921 — Winnipeg Falcons

1920 — Toronto Canoe Club

1919 — Univ. of Toronto Schools

Memorial Cup repeating champions

BRANDON, Man. — Teams which won back-to-back Memorial Cup championships:

2009-10 — Windsor Spitfires

1994-95 — Kamloops Blazers

1987-88 — Medicine Hat Tigers

1980-81 — Cornwall Royals

1977-78 — New Westminster Bruins

1969-70 — Montreal Jr. Canadiens

1955-56 — Toronto Marlboros

1939-40 — Oshawa Generals

Memorial Cup scoring leaders

BRANDON, Man. — Memorial Cup top-20 scoring leaders following the conclusion of the 2010 tournament:

SCORING

                        G A Pts

Hall, Wsr                5 4 9

Henrique, Wsr 4 4 8

Bubnick, Cal         3 5 8

Rajala, Bdn         2 5 7

Shattock, Cal 2 5 7

Shugg, Wsr         2 5 7

Foucault, Cal 3 3 6

Mitchell, Wsr         3 3 6

Fowler, Wsr         2 4 6

Wellwood, Wsr 2 4 6

Schenn, Bdn         1 5 6

Fehr, Bdn         3 2 5

Kassian, Wsr       2 3 5

Timmins, Wsr 2 3 5

Nemisz, Wsr         1 4 5

Ellis, Wsr         0 5 5

Calvert, Bdn         3 1 4

Ryan, Wsr         2 2 4

Lewadniuk, Bdn 1 3 4

Glennie, Bdn         0 4 4

Memorial Cup MVPs

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy Tournament’s Most Valuable Player

2010 — Taylor Hall, Windsor

2009 — Taylor Hall, Windsor

2008 — Dustin Tokarski, Spokane

2007 — Milan Lucic, Vancouver

2006 — Alexander Radulov, Quebec

2005 — Corey Perry, London

2004 — Kelly Guard, Kelowna

2003 — Derek Roy, Kitchener

2002 — Danny Groulx, Victoriaville

2001 — Kyle Wanvig, Red Deer

2000 — Brad Richards, Rimouski

1999 — Nick Boynton, Ottawa

1998 — Chris Madden, Guelph

1997 — Christian Dube, Hull

1996 — Cameron Mann, Peterborough

1995 — Shane Doan, Kamloops

1994 — Darcy Tucker, Kamloops

1993 — Ralph Intranuovo, Sault Ste. Marie

1992 — Scott Niedermayer, Kamloops

1991 — Pat Falloon, Spokane

1990 — Iain Fraser, Ottawa

1989 — Dan Lambert, Swift Current

1988 — Rob DiMaio, Medicine Hat

1987 — Wayne McBean, Medicine Hat

1986 — Steve Chiasson, Guelph

1985 — Dan Hodgson, Prince Albert

1984 — Adam Creighton, Ottawa

1983 — Alfie Turcotte, Portland

1982 — Sean McKenna, Sherbrooke

1981 — Dale Hawerchuk, Cornwall

1980 — Dave Ezard, Cornwall

1979 — Bart Hunter, Brandon

1978 — Stan Smyl, New Westminster

1977 — Barry Beck, New Westminster

1976 — Dale McCourt, Hamilton

1975 — Barry Smith, New Westminster

1974 — Greg Joly, Regina

1973 — Mark Howe, Toronto

1972 — Richard Brodeur, Cornwall

Memorial Cup Leading Scorer

ED CHYNOWETH TROPHY

2010 — Taylor Hall, Windsor

2009 — Jamie Benn, Kelowna

2008 — Justin Acevedo, Kitchener

2007 — Michal Repik, Vancouver

2006 — Gilbert Brule, Vancouver

2005 — Sidney Crosby, Rimouski

2004 — Doug O’Brien, Gatineau

2003 — Greg Campbell, Kitchener

2002 — Matthew Lombardi, Victoriaville

2001 — Simon Gamache, Val-d’Or

2000 — Ramzi Abid, Halifax

1999 — Justin Davis, Ottawa

1998 — Andrej Podkonicky, Portland

1997 — Christian Dube, Hull

1996 — Philippe Audet, Granby

Memorial Cup Sportsmanship Award

GEORGE PARSONS TROPHY

2010 — Toni Rajala, Brandon

2009 — Yannick Riendeau, Drummondville

2008 — Matthew Halischuk, Kitchener

2007 — Brennan Bosch, Medicine Hat

2006 — Jerome Samson, Moncton

2005 — Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Rimouski

2004 — Josh Gorges, Kelowna

2003 — Greg Campbell, Kitchener

2002 — Tomas Plihal, Kootenay

2001 — Brandon Reid, Val-d’Or

2000 — Brandon Reid, Halifax

1999 — Brian Campbell, Ottawa

1998 — Manny Malhotra, Guelph

1997 — Radsoslav Suchy, Chicoutimi

1996 — Mike Williams, Peterborough

1995 — Jarome Iginla, Kamloops

1994 — Yanick Dube, Laval

1993 — Jason Dawe, Peterborough

1992 — Colin Miller, Sault Ste. Marie

1991 — Ray Whitney, Spokane

1990 — Jason Firth, Kitchener

1989 — Jamey Hicks, Peterborough

1988 — Martin Gelinas, Hull

1987 — Scott McCrory, Oshawa

1986 — Kerry Huffman, Guelph

1985 — Tony Grenier, Prince Albert

1984 — Brian Wilks, Kitchener

1983 — David Gans, Oshawa

1982 — Brian Bellows, Kitchener

1981 — Mark Morrison, Victoria

1980 — Dale Hawerchuk, Cornwall

1979 — Chris Halyk, Peterborough

1978 — Mark Kirton, Peterborough

1977 — Bob Smith, Ottawa

1976 — Richard Shinske, New Westminster

1975 — John Smrke, Toronto

1974 — Guy Chouinard, Quebec

A look back at the 2009 Memorial Cup

Editor's note: This was posted just before the 2010 Memorial Cup started in Brandon, Man., on May 14th, 2010.

The Memorial Cup starts today, and tournament host Brandon, Man., will be front and centre in junior hockey’s floodlights.

For Taylor Hall, this is yet another chance to shine, as he did in helping his Windsor Spitfires to the national title in Rimouski, Que., last May. Maybe this time around, though, he’ll wind up outshining the event itself. Projected to be the number-one pick in next month’s NHL draft, anything seems possible for the 18-year-old who was born in Western Canada but now resides in Ontario.

But in discussing Hall, and how Windsor’s 6-foot-1 centre is the premier player in this year’s tournament, you can’t help but wonder what if. What if his parents hadn’t moved from Calgary, where Hall was born, to Kingston, just when he entered his teens. What if they had stayed?Would Windsor be the powerhouse that it is now? What WHL team would have drafted Hall? And how would have that team fared?

Of course, this is all moot, for it didn’t happen. But it does make for interesting talk, and the Spitfires know that when opportunity came knocking on their door, they answered by selecting Hall in the OHL’s 2007 priority draft. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Notably, the WHL holds an annual bantam draft, picking players who are either 15 or about to turn 15 in that calendar year, while the OHL holds a priority draft, selecting players who either are 16 or about to turn 16. In the WHL, a drafted player has to compete in one season of midget before playing full-time in the WHL, while in the OHL, a drafted player can make the team’s roster immediately.

In Hall’s case, after one season of playing minor hockey with Greater Kingston, he was selected second overall by Windsor, then made the Spits’ roster that fall.

“He came to Ontario, he was eligible for the draft and word was out that this kid was pretty good,” Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel said of Hall. “And, obviously, he was. He got better all season (with Greater Kingston). We had the second overall pick that year and we nabbed him with it. He should have been the first pick, and I don’t know why not, but he’s a heck of a player. He was available to us, and he’s pretty much the face of the franchise, now.”

Hall could have easily been the face of either the Red Deer Rebels, Chilliwack Bruins or Prince Albert Raiders. In 2006, the WHL held its bantam draft for 1991-born players (Hall’s birthdate is Nov. 14, 1991, which made him WHL draft eligible one year before the OHL draft), and selecting first were the Spokane Chiefs, who traditionally select Saskatchewan-born kids with their first pick. That year, the Chiefs were true to form, picking 6-foot-5 defenceman Jared Cowen of Allan, Sask. 

The Red Deer Rebels were next, picking six-foot centre Landon Ferraro, while the Chilliwack Bruins took 5-11 LW Ryan Howse third overall and the Prince Albert Raiders selected 6-1 LW Cole Penner in fourth.

Having Hall on either of those teams would have made a dramatic difference. For example, this past season, Prince Albert placed ninth in Eastern Conference standings and failed to make the playoffs with a losing record of 32-35-3-2. Red Deer (39-28-0-5) did better by placing sixth, but the Rebels certainly would have finished higher. Of the eight playoff teams, Red Deer had the lowest goal production at 202 — Brandon had the highest at 321; Hall finished tied for first in the OHL’s regular-season scoring race with 106 points (40 goals, 66 assists), the same as Seguin (48-58). As for Chilliwack, the Bruins (32-33-2-5) also had a losing season and had the lowest offence of the eight playoff-bound Western Conference teams.

Be that as it may, though, Hall’s time with Windsor is done after this tournament. Hall and Tyler Seguin (Brampton, Ont.) of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers are rated as the the top two picks in this year’s NHL draft. With the Edmonton Oilers holding the first pick, selecting a kid with Western Canadian roots in what amounts to be a pick’ em as to who’s better seems to be the logical decision.

“He’s really good and he wants to be a pro,” said Rychel. “He’s a fun-loving kid and he loves to come to the rink, loves to play the game. He’s very driven to be a pro, and to all the people who are going to be watching him at the Memorial Cup this year, he’s an even better player than he was last year. His velocity on his shot has really improved, he’s gotten stronger and is harder (to play against). And, before, he never was a high-end passer and now you can put him into that category.”

At last year’s Memorial Cup, the Spitfires pulled off the impossible, rallying from an 0-2 record and winning their next four games to win the annual event. Until then, no team in tournament history had won the title after losing their first two games. And that comeback started with a 2-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets, a game that was marred with controversy.

Heading into the contest, Kelowna had clinched a berth in the final, so playing Windsor was a mean-nothing game, barring the fact the Rockets had a chance to eliminate a team. For Windsor, though, it was do or die, and the Spitfires put on a defensive clinic near game’s end by bottling up the Rockets and holding on for a one-goal victory.

“There was not nearly enough (urgency),” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said after the game. “I guess with the situation (we were in), we knew Windsor would come out urgent. They had no choice. I thought they played very hard and they did a good job of giving us nothing, and we didn't respond the way we needed to try and eliminate a team from the tournament.

“A lot of the credit has to go to the way Windsor played tonight, but I also think we weren't at our best. We were standing around a lot watching them play tonight. It just wasn't enough urgency for this type of situation.”

The fans, however, didn’t see it that way. They booed the Rockets near game’s end, thinking Kelowna was trying to throw the game by forcing a tiebreaker and have the other teams beat each other up while they rested. The booing conveniently ignored the fact that Huska tried pulling goaltender Mark Guggenberger for an extra attacker, but Windsor hemmed Kelowna in its zone with a defensive wall of players at the centre line.

“We tried to (pull him), but we had to get the puck past the red line first in order for us to get him out,” a laughing Huska said in the post-game press conference. “We were trying for about a minute and 15 seconds to try and get him out.

“It’s funny . . . when it was dumped in the first time, we only had one guy going after it, so we were pretty much guaranteed that we weren't going to control the puck. After that, we never got ourselves close enough to the red line to get him out to get that sixth attacker.”

Said Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner: “(Against Kelowna), if we were going to have any chance of success, we had to play our best defensive game of the tournament. I'm very happy with the way we played defensively. We took too many penalties early on, but, yeah, it was a great defensive game.”

Looking back, Rychel agreed that Windsor’s defence, and not a subversive plan by Kelowna, was the telling tale of that victory.

“That’s for sure what happened; we had to throw that defensive gem there,” recalled Rychel, whose team outshot Kelowna 34-17. “We really locked it down. Mark Cundari was a big shutdown guy for us and Ben Shutron did a really good job against Jamie Benn and his line.

“Our backs were against the wall and we had to throw that defensive gem. And we did it. It was defence first, and (Boughner) had the same conversation with the team when we were down 0-3 to Kitchener (in the OHL Western Conference final). So we tapped into that (reservoir).

“Once we got one win (against Kitchener), we started rolling, and now we’ve won eight in a row. Guys have built on their success . . . it was a little scary there for a while, but the boys played well.”

Asked if he enjoys adding grey hairs as a GM, Rychel deadpanned “Yeah . . . (playing Kitchener) was real scary. Between that and Rimouski, that’s too much.”

Too much also described Windsor’s start in the championship game against Kelowna.

After playing Windsor on Tuesday, May 19th, the Rockets didn’t play again until the final on Sunday, May 24th. And in the final, the Spitfires quickly zipped out of the blocks, scoring three times on their first three shots for a 3-0 lead just seven minutes into the game. Guggenberger, who was battling a groin injury suffered earlier in the WHL playoffs, was pulled, but, by then, the damage was done, and Windsor skated to a 4-1 victory despite the Rockets playing the Spits evenly for the rest of the contest.

“Looking back, we were playing every other day, and what did Kelowna have? Four or five days off? That’s too much,” said Rychel. “It was almost too long for them and that’s kinda tough. Honestly, I think we had the hockey gods with us, but the quick start was kinda good.

“Basically, after the first period, we felt pretty good. Then we tapped back into what we did earlier against Kelowna, by trying to shut them down for the second and third periods. There were a lot of different scenarios and a lot of guys who really stepped up, but it was constant team play and we kinda frustrated Benn and (Colin) Long and the Bloodoff brothers.

“Just looking back, I’m getting excited talking about. Yeah, what happened, it was pretty cool. But we don’t want to start this one out the way we started Rimouski out.”

Admittedly, the Spitfires benefitted from what’s called the Doris Labonte rule, in that there’s a day of rest between the semifinal and final, unlike years past until recently. The rule change came after the 2005 Memorial Cup in London, Ont., where the host Knights beat the Rimouski Oceanic 4-0 in the final. Rimouski, coached by Labonte, beat Ottawa 7-4 in the semifinal on Saturday, May 28, then lost to London less than 24 hours later. Since 2006, the semifinal has been played on Friday and the final on Sunday.

“Definitely we benefitted from that,” said Rychel. “I guess Labonte petitioned for the rule change and the CHL agreed with it. So it was huge for us because we were banged up a bit, but it totally worked in disfavour for Kelowna. That made their break even longer, and they must have been getting restless.

“I guess (the end result) was our quick start with the way the games fell.”

In getting to the final, Windsor finished round-robin play with a 1-2 record, which wound up placing them into a tiebreaker with host Rimouski. Wound up, because one day after the Spits beat the Rockets, the host Oceanic had a chance to finish second overall, but lost 3-2 in overtime to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in what was the final round-robin game on Wednesday, May 20.

In the Thursday tiebreaker, Windsor beat Rimouski 6-4, rallying from a 4-2 deficit with a four-goal third period. Sparking the comeback was Dale Mitchell, who recorded a natural hat trick with goals at 4:11, 6:00 and 7:44. Greg Nemisz closed out the scoring with a power-play marker at 19:59. Windsor’s last three goals were all scored on the power play.

In the Friday semifinal, Windsor then beat Drummondville 3-2 in overtime, with the Spitfires outshooting the Volts 47-21. Marco Cousineau made 44 saves, while Adam Henrique netted the winner at 4:31 of the fourth frame.

After the game, and asked about facing Kelowna in the final, Boughner properly predicted that “Kelowna will be a little more rested. Sometimes that can work for you and sometimes it can work against you. Between each round during the OHL playoffs, we had a week off because we had some success in finishing teams off, and it seemed to hurt us.”

As the heavy favourites for this year’s tournament, Rychel said the club enjoying the notoriety.

“We’re going in knowing what to expect, even though it’s a different surrounding,” he said. “It’s kinda like Rimouski, around the same size, and going into the hostile Western League is pretty cool. But, at the same time, we know what to expect.

“We know we can’t go down 0-2. That’s big for us, but we also have a lot (11) of guys who were there last year.”

First posting

Hello, and welcome to the blog section of DubNation.

Originally, I was planning to open this blog just prior to the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, Man., earlier this month. However, my plans drastically changed with the passing of my mother on May 12th, thus the delay. So, without further delay, here's the first posting in what will be many.

And thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Doyle Potenteau