Ferguson Hit

The recipient of this check in teenage Ontario Jr. B hockey ended up in hospital in London where he underwent major facial reconstruction - a plate and mesh - and also suffered a concussion. Afterwards, the Strathroy Rockets player who delivered the check put his hands together and mocked the injured player "sleeping". He's been suspended indefinitely. Was this injury the fault of the player who delivered the check, the injured player for skating with his head down, or the league for not mandating full cages on helmets to protect the faces of kids who, most likely, will never play professionally?
Here's the link to the excellent Sarnia Observer story about the incident.

Should kids skip hockey for parties

Toronto Star's Parent Central has a nice piece today about kids missing hockey for parties.
It's a tough call, whether its family, friends or other activities such as church.
Most parents follow the money, making sure kids choose the activities that cost the most - which of course would be minor hockey.
But there are many hockey games, but only one family Christmas event. And keeping connected socially through birthday parties with non-hockey playing kids is important.
Then again, there are times when hockey must trump all. Like the time our team of 11-year-olds was entered in a tournament a couple of hours away. The father of one of our best defencemen had missed the memo and booked a family vacation to Florida, thinking his son wouldn't be missed too much before the playoffs.
But things started to look grim when the team's best forward proclaimed he wanted to stay home so he could attend his girlfriend's birthday party - at age 11! His dedicated dad soon talked to him about dedication to his team.
By the way, he's still playing minor hockey, this season for his high school team. Don't know what happened to his 11-year-old squeeze.

Long, losing winter

Not sure how to survive this season because in minor hockey, luckily, I've never been here before.
Our kids have played on losing soccer teams before, but this is the first time in 11 seasons of minor hockey I've had a son who's playing on a team that can't win. Not just a losing record here. We're talking about a team that cannot expect to win a game, period.
It's a bit of a change from one year when he was on a team that went undefeated through the regular season or won an Ontario championship (of which there are many at several different levels and in many geographical areas). Nor is it like the Ontario "A" teams he was on which hit above their weight in a league of "AA" teams.
This is juvenile hockey where everyone plays (that's good) but the painstaking process of analysis, assigning points for skills and creating house league teams of equal skill went out the window. No draft, no thought. Just a divvying up of names based on where they played before and clusters of friends who wanted to hang out together for the winter, including a team of guys born in 1992 who wanted to be their own team.
It's taken as seriously as spring 3-on-3 leagues, which means it's only exercise.
Oddly, the many part-timers got clustered on my son's team meaning the coach is constantly asking for players from two other neighbourhood teams to volunteer to play and fill out the minimum roster and avoid defaulting. That's actually kind of good - the influx of talent makes the games competitive, but still not winnable.
Unfortunately, the schedule was written with conflicting or back-to-back games which means asking a lot of kids to play for their team, then help another.
Life's further complicated by two kids, the coach's son and the single goaltender, can't now play because they're hurt.
Juvenile hockey has only recently returned to London and I'm not sure what the best way to organize it is. Obviously people on winning teams where the kids who paid their fees are actually showing up like the current setup.
Part of me wished the team would be collapsed and the kids who really can make the time commitment to play distributed to the other teams. But that would mean less ice time in already quick 50-minute curfewed games.
Maybe we should just turn off the scoreboard and let them scrimmage.

New sexual assault investigation

On the heels, finally, of a conviction of former minor hockey coach Graham James against a teenage Theo Fleury, comes a new story about a minor hockey coach being investigated for sexual assault crimes.
This one's in British Columbia.
There may be nothing to it, and this time it likely doesn't involve future NHL players having their privates fondled, and worse, by their "trusted" coach.
Still, it's a reminder of why hockey volunteers take courses such as Speak Out.

Minor hockey costs add up

Sure, minor hockey costs a lot especially when families add the cost of hotel accommodation. But what else would you do with your hard-earned money?
Not sure what the tally is for our family's minor hockey exploits, but I'm pretty sure I could have had a new car instead.
Here's a take on the expense from the Globe and Mail.

London's gift to Washington

Dale Hunter spent more than a decade coaching some of the best teenage hockey players in the world with the major junior London Knights, Corey Perry, Patrick Kane and Rick Nash among them.
Now Hunter's back in the city where he gained fame himself - Washington, D.C. Hunter's taken over as the head coach, looking to embrace the lifestyle with the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. I wonder if they'll break the ice with a beer or vodka. Someone needs to have taxis on speed dial in every city.
Hunter and his brother Mark have created a hockey goldmine in London, transforming a sleepy, ordinary major junior franchise only the diehards cared about into the centrepiece of this city. The Knights are likely the most valuable major junior franchise in Canada, regularly selling out the 9,100-seat John Labatt Centre.
An NBC sports website has a great piece on why Hunter made the move to the Capitals. Here's hoping he has great success as an NHL coach - and that the Knights rock on without him.

The best use for outgrown sports gear

It's always a dilemma what to do with outgrown hockey equipment. Kids can grow so fast, shin pads, skates and pants can become too small within a season. Gloves and shoulder pads seem to hang in longer.
I used swap outgrown stuff for a discount on bigger used stuff at a local store in London, which started with an accent on used gear. But over the years, outside of skates, the store's interest in used stuff seemed to fade and the prices between buying new and used narrowed. Credit to Chinese manufacturing mills, I guess.
During the summer, London hosted a used hockey gear giveaway/swap, which was an excellent, community-minded idea.
Donating the gear, with the exception of skates, to a charity seems ineffective as the people spending big bucks to enrol their child in minor hockey are unlikely to be same people who hunt for gear at Goodwill, Salvation Army or St. Vincent de Paul. I suspect hockey equipment is not wanted at these stores because it doesn't move, although volunteers are too polite to say so.
The perfect solution comes with people such as Linda Grainger.
Her son, Derek, played minor hockey with the same organization as my son, the West London Hawks. Derek and his girlfriend, Brandy Dobbin, who played minor hockey in the Oil Springs area, are now teachers working in the remote Northern Ontario community of Pikangikum 
Linda has become a sort of southwestern Ontario godmother to the kids of Pikangikum, an impoverished mostly Native community. When Derek and Brandy decided they'd like to organize hockey teams for kids in their school, Linda rolled up her sleeves.
Through various means, including scouring Kijiji, she sourced 22 hockey bags worth of gentled used equipment. My son, Adam, and I rounded up various sizes of shoulder pads, shin pads, elbow pads and pants. Others donated similar items, including helmets which were meticulously checked for expiry dates by Linda's husband.
The next challenge was transporting the gear, bulky as you might imagine, to the far reaches of Ontario.
Linda won the co-operation of AMJ Campbell Van Lines which agreed to take the equipment from their London depot to Thunder Bay.From there, Courtesy Transportation took the gear to Red Lake. From Red Lake, they passed it to Superior Airways for the final leg to Pikangikum - at no charge.
The end result: Enough hockey gear to outfit two complete kids teams in Pikangikum. Derek is setting up a boys' grades 5 and 7 team; Brandy is leading a girls' grades 5 and 6 team.
The effort to collect sports gear, not just hockey equipment, for the kids in Pikangikum doesn't end with this successful first shipment.
Linda continues to collect equipment (and financial donations to help cover packing and shipping costs) with the aim of sending more gear at Christmas.
If you have used stuff to donate, please contact Linda by email at linda.grainger@sympatico.ca.

Girls denied dressing room access win case

Minor hockey is better than this now, right?
Two sisters who were given a rough ride by the coach and association while trying to play on "boys' " teams in Brampton 10 years ago have finally been awarded settlements - #12,000 for one, $4,000 for the other and $2,000 for their mom, who lost her volunteer position with the association when she spoke up for girls.
Unfortunately, Brampton minor hockey did not have the diplomacy to comment for the Toronto Star story. They should have seized the opportunity to explain how far gender equity has come in minor hockey.

Edmonton midget player dies

A midget AA minor hockey player has died in Edmonton after being hit in the neck by a puck, the Edmonton Journal reports.
There was confusion through the day as social media was remembering Kyle Fundytus while mainstream media was reporting the official comment that he was in critical condition in hospital.
According to the Journal story, Kyle was the son of the team's manager and he was hit while blocking a shot during the third period of a game.
The Edmonton Sun notes the obvious, that mandatory neck guards are protection against skate blades, not pucks.
The thoughts of the hockey community are with Kyle's family, friends, teammates and members of the opposing team, especially the boy who took the shot.
Accidents happen.

Midget hockey player hit in neck by puck

A midget hockey player from Edmonton is in critical condition - one report said he had died - after being hit in the neck by a puck while trying to block a shot, according to the Globe and Mail.

Back on the bench

Strange things can happen in juvenile hockey, like me finding myself back behind the bench for the first time in years as assistant door swinger and crafter of words of encouragement.
Not counting 3-on-3, I think the last time I took to the bench was seven or eight years ago when the coach was suspended during an exhibition game in Waterloo for asking my son, Adam, if his glasses were OK. Turned out the comment came after a controversial call against our team and the referee's name was also Adam.
I ended up behind the bench last night after the coach's regular 2IC opted to take a client to the major junior Knights game, where the teenagers play at a slightly higher tempo than the juvenile kids.
Not that I object to that, especially when I can't hide behind the glass as sane observers of hockey do.
I made it clear to our defence corps that their No. 1 job was to make sure I wasn't hit by a puck. Juvenile being what it is, shots off the boards don't always go where they are intended. Or, come to think of it, maybe they do.
Pucks to the head were on my mind because before the game I ran into a longtime kids' sports volunteer who's both a cop with lightning-fast reflexes and a trainer. A couple of years ago, he got bopped with a puck off the forehead, creating quite a flood and sending others rummaging through his first aid kit.
Last year, the head coach ducked in time so that his assistant coach, who usually has cat-like reflexes, could take a puck to the noggin. Shots by major midgets have a lot of zip.
Fortunately, last night our defence did its job and no pucks made it to the bench. Of course, we lost the game ... but you have to set your priorities.

Mould closes arena

This puts a crimp in the hockey season. An arena in Winnipeg is closing for the season after troubling and unhealthy mould was found, CTV says.
I've been in some pretty dubious arenas over the past 10 years or so. Now I'm wondering about that cough ...
Ironically, the problem in the 'Peg might've been caused by repairing the roof and adding insulation.

Guilty as charged

There are too many cases of trusting minor hockey executives and parents being victimized by volunteer treasurers. The most recent case to work its way through the court system involved the girls' hockey organization in Woodstock, Ont., which lost about $50,000. They realized the fraud when ice rental bills went unpaid.
To their credit, the former treasurer and family members have repaid the organization, Sun Media's London Free Press reports.

NHL prospect victim of hit to head

Just when you thought hockey was through with headshots, along comes this hit in the Ontario Hockey League.
Let's hope Murphy recovers well and goes on to enjoy the career that's waiting for him in the NHL.

How to organize house league teams

No.1 question for adults organizing house league hockey teams: How would the kids themselves organize a neighbourhood road hockey game?
Methinks they'd make the teams even to have a good game and adjust it on the fly if things were lopsided.

Major midget binges

Another minor hockey season and a new story about drinking games involving midget hockey players - this one a major midget team in LaSalle, Ont.
It's alleged a hazing game involved players, none of whom are of legal drinking age in Ontario, drinking until they passed out. The event was at the home of a player.
Last year, an Ontario midget team was folded for the season due to drinking.
And on the hazing front, a team in Manitoba got into trouble for an incident involving trying water bottles to players' genitals.
The Montreal Gazette has the story.

Perry honoured

How much does playing major junior hockey mean to a teenager?
Ask NHL superstar Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks, who cried Friday night at the John Labatt Centre when his number 94 was retired and raised to the rafters.
Perry, for my money the best Knight ever, couldn't contain his emotions as he recalled arriving in London as a 16-year-old, armed with dreams and desire but uncertain of where hockey would take him.
Turns out it took him to a Canadian major junior Memorial Cup, Stanley Cup and Olympic gold medal.
Not to shabby.
By the way, Corey makes his off-season home in London. Just a two-hour drive to Toronto and the Maple Leafs.

Hockey moms with a Cherry on top

London, Ont., hockey moms and Don Cherry meet at centre ice in this London Free Press tale.

Oops, you're not my teammate

Ever celebrate a goal with a player from the opposing team? It happens. Also produces jabs - verbal and physical.

Minor hockey's slide ...

If enrolment in minor hockey in Canada continues to slide, will that mean municipalities will shift money to other youth sports? Will it mean a drop in interest in the NHL and major junior games?
It's been suggested in this letter published in The London Free Press by an astute observer - and dedicated  hockey dad and hopeless Leafs fan.
Don't ask me how I know those last two things.

Knights honour Perry

Corey Perry, the best player to lace up for the major junior London Knights in the past decade, will have his No. 94 retired on Friday. His jersey joins those of successful NHLers such as Darryl Sittler (9), Rob Ramage (5), Dino Ciccarelli (9) and Brendan Shanahan (19). Oh yeah, Brad Marsh (22).
Ceremonies like this are fun, but largely overdone. I prefer the Toronto Maple Leafs system of honouring, but not retiring, numbers. Otherwise, it gets silly as is the case with the Montreal Canadiens, who have no cool numbers left after retiring so many numbers of so many great players.
Details about the Perry event are here.

Concussion prevention

Scientists think they have a solution to prevent concussions in hockey. the Toronto Star reports.
It's a ring device which holds promise to be both effective and inexpensive - unless there's a Nike swoosh on it.

Museum evicted for hockey arena

The birthplace of the Avro Arrow and current home to the under-visited Air and Space Museum in Toronto might soon give way to a new four-pad minor hockey palace, according to the Toronto Star.
As much as I like brand spanking new hockey arenas, and I recall a sad, cold and out-of-date arena around the corner from this museum, I'm not sure I'd favour the demolition of the deHavilland building and eviction of a museum which includes a reproduction of the Arrow.

Broken door policy

Always something new when the minor hockey kids get bigger and arenas get older.
Miffed by the referee's call, an opposing 18 (or 19) -year-old player took out his frustrations on the rink door at his home arena while playing my son's juvenile team Friday.
The slam was only something a motivated teen could do and when the door bounced back, one hockey dad tried to latch it, followed by one referee, followed by another hockey dad who, despite being an engineer by training, decided to revisit earlier attempts to kick the door into submission so the game could continue.
Last season we wouldn't have cared so much, because in competitive midget hockey a game is a game, no matter how long it takes to play. In house league juvenile, at least in London, a game is 50 minutes of rented ice time. Six games in and we still haven't gotten a complete game in without the curfew buzzer.
The referee saw the broken door as a chance to knock off for the night early, but enterprising hockey dads soon realized arena staff might have a tool and a technique. He did, and fixed it so the door couldn't open.
But the game could continue, perhaps to the chagrin of the ref.

Hockey violence subject of debate.

Or, put another way, hockey fight breaks out in University of Western Ontario lecture hall.

Season starts with arena in receivership

How would you feel if you'd paid your money for a minor hockey program and then found out the arena the league uses has been placed in receivership?
That's what faces players and parents of the Ice Dawgs, a non-affiliated kids' league in London, Ont.
The privately owned twin-pad London Ice Park has gone into receivership with a threat of closing in November, leaving the Ice Dawgs and other programs, mostly men's leagues, without ice.
Local radio station AM980 has the story this morning, on air and on its website.
The Ice Dawgs have rented ice elsewhere, but parents will have to fundraise to pay for it after already shelling out for ice time at the London Ice Park.
Ice Park used to be heavily used by the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs, a AAA minor hockey program. But a new arena has opened in the nearby Middlesex County community of  Komoka and has become the home rink for the Chiefs.
London Ice Park has had a checkered past. It started as a curling club and is still referred to by many as Brookside arena. It features a huge restaurant/banquet area between the ice pads. But the changerooms are dark and damp and located in the basement. Players walk up stairs to reach the ice.
It's filled in over the years to provide ice time while city-owned arenas were being renovated, but hourly charges at London Ice Park were always higher than the tax-subsidized rates minor hockey received from the city.
This could be the end of the line for London Ice Park, unless a new owner with deep pockets is willing to reinvest and bring the place up to current standards.

Schooled in university intramurals

Took the time to look in on my son's intramural hockey game at the University of Western Ontario tonight.
It's fast and skilled - very much comparable to the A-AA midget league he was in last season, minus the heavy hitting.
And a UWO intramural team could smoke juvenile house league teams in London.

Londoner looks at ECHL team

I met Shmuel Farhi more than 20 years ago when I was the city hall reporter for the St. Thomas Times-Journal and he, recently arrived from Israel, was buying up historical buildings right and left in St. Thomas, Cambridge and later London. He also was involved, along with a St. Thomas housing developer and former mayor, with a team called the St. Thomas Wildcats in a defunct semi-pro league called the Colonial Hockey League.
Now the largest landlord by far in downtown London, he's set his sights on being a hockey owner again, apparently buying a professional team for his son, Ben, a business school student and former minor hockey player in London, to help run.
Not in London, mind you. California. In the 11,000-seat rink the San Jose Sharks once used.
It's a franchise in the ECHL, whose letters used to stand for East Coast Hockey League. (Now, in an odd marketing decision, the league's initials officially stand for nothing. But I digress.)
What's more Shmuel thinks owning the ECHL San Francisco Bulls could be a stepping stone for ownership of and NHL franchise, according to a story in The London Free Press.
Not in London, of course. But someone's got to own that second NHL franchise in the 905 area of Toronto when the NHL inevitably approves it. Who knows? Ten years from now, it might be Shmuel.

Classless

How can Sidney Crosby talk about class and sportsmanship in hockey when he has a teammate like this guy? Arron Asham might be the new Sean Avery of the NHL. Here''s his reaction after a fight with Jay Beagle of the Washington Capitals.

Slurmon time

Ah, just two games into the London juvenile schedule and controversy erupts in the form of a familiar theme - bias shown by a referee toward a home team.
The teams pay for 50 minutes of ice time in a curfewed game. Usually they get the games in, sometimes with two or three minutes left on the clock, but this time it was almost 10. A tribute to the parade of penalties dished out to my son's West London team and the debate that eventually erupted.
There were calls for contact with heads. Calls for body contact in a non-contact league. West London likely played three or four minutes at full strength during the entire game, with perhaps the two highest skilled forwards each tossed for separate infractions, perceived or real.
It was the first extraction from the game that was the more curious. An opposing player repeatedly described a West player, who happens to be in a longterm (for a teen) committed relationship with a member of the opposite sex, a homosexual - not that there's anything wrong with that. When the West player replied something like, "Nice Sean Avery act," he was tossed in the penalty box. When he was in the box and asked the referee, "Are you kidding me?", he was tossed from the game.
Apart from breaking the rule that silence is a virtue in minor hockey, the West player did little to justify an early end to his recreational hockey.
Perhaps his real sin was showing a lack of research with his own try at a witty response, as all hockey observers realize that former NHLer Sean Avery is an advocate for all and would never use one's sexual preferences as a slag, slur or silly taunt.
Maybe teenagers should take note. After all, next time the ref might get it right.

Minor hockey equipment causes infection

Amusing that a millionaire pro hockey player gets an elbow infection from equipment he's had since age 12. Wash that stuff, Clarke MacArthur!

Are the big hits of the NHL proving deadly? - Sport - Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English reports on brains and hockey.

Cherry and the pukes

Don Cherry is out-of-touch and misinformed on fighting in hockey, calling former NHL tough guys who are speaking out against fighting "pukes" on last night's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. A sad misstep for an iconic Canadian hockey commentator.
Kids, never listen to this guy.

Minor hockey players grow up to be stars - sometimes

Fun exercise from the Toronto Star has Maple Leafs fans guessing who the minor hockey players pictured grew up to be.

Making contact

Here's a familiar tale in the Globe and Mail  from a mom of an 11-year-old Canadian competitive hockey player entering his first year of bodychecking.
We had the same concerns when our son was 11 started checking. Turns out he was one of the best body checkers in each league he played - especially skilled at hip checks when he was 12 or so, much to everyone's entertainment.
Maybe we should have worried about the other kids, not ours. 

Faith in goal

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer has three favourite Bible verses he uses when preparing for games: Matthew 14:31, Isaiah 41:1- and Colossians 3:1, the Toronto Star reports.
Tyler Bozak plays video war games and researches opposition centres. Jay Rosehill watches hockey fight videos.

Juvenile hockey reborn

Kudos to minor hockey volunteers in London, Ont., for relaunching the city's juvenile hockey program. In its second season after being resurrected, the recreational program for 18-, and 19-year-old players seems to be yielding spectacular results, at least within our home association of West London.
My son started in tyke when there were five house league teams in West London. This year, he's joined the juvenile program which is fielding three teams this season in the city-wide Community Hockey League.
Considering the players are at an age where many have left town for university or college, are working part-time or even full-time jobs, discovered other sports to spend money on, or dedicate all their spare time to their squeezes, having this number of teams from one city neighbourhood is impressive.
Years ago, juvenile hockey in London was organized in an interesting way, but it was ultimately unpopular with the people who mattered the most - the customers, aka the kids playing the game.
Under the old system, after spending years representing the neighbourhoods in which they lived, all juvenile-aged kids were placed in a draft. Kids found themselves in changerooms without friends and playing with people they had competed against for years. Interest faded, despite the convenience of a steady Sunday night schedule.
The program returned last season with neighbourhood associations organizing teams. In West London's case, there were enough kids last season to form two teams. The core for each focused on kids from each of two major high schools.
This year in West London, one team has clustered all players born in 1992 - guys who have played together, off and on, since they were six. The two other teams divvied up kids born in 1993 to form, hopefully, equally talented squads while trying to accommodate requests for groups of friends to play together.
My son, who's now in university but living at home, will be playing with at least one kid he hasn't been a teammate of since tyke, maybe one or two he played A-AA with, and some he played AE with.
It's a mixed bag and a specturm of talent. But they're all doing it for the right reasons - fun, friends and fitness - and just like in tyke, they hope to win a lot and be the champions, but if it doesn't happen the season will still be a success.

Hockey night tonight

He doesn't need me. He drives himself, packs his own equipment and definitely ties his own skates. It's a city-wide house league juvenile sorting skate, and not a competitive A-AA tryout where relationships matter as much as talent sometimes.
Nevertheless, I'm tagging along as my son goes to what might be he last minor hockey start-of-season tonight.
Just when I thought it was over, his passion for playing takes hold on two fronts this season. First, he signs on for the city juvenile league and is destined to play with a radically different group, and skill level, than he's been used to for the past five seasons.
Second, he double dips by signing on to play for the King's University College team in a league at the University of Western Ontario. Considering he's paying out only $75 to play every Monday night from tomorrow until March at the classy Thompson arena on campus, who can blame him? It's a staggering bargain compared to more than $500 for a season of city juvenile.
Both are great for the core reasons of friends, fitness and fun. When he was a little kid, making friends was the big reason for taking part in both soccer and hockey. Now that he's in university, I'm calling it networking.

Making my pitch

A little bit of hockey overlaps with travel. I explain here.
And, coincidentally, Maclean's thinks so, too.

League deals with taunt

There's more today on the midget hockey case from Ottawa where a 15-year-old black player was taunted.
I find it hard to believe the referee or other officials did not hear the racial slur. Maybe it was easier not to make the call and pretend this kind of thing is just part of the rhythm of minor hockey for teens.
Fortunately, others did hear it, the organization caught up with the offending player, who admitted his action, apologized and has been sent on a sensitivity course.
Here's the story from the Ottawa Citizen.

New season, old taunts

The hockey season has barely begun and already racist slurs are casting the world's greatest sport in a bad light. The most recent incident to get publicity (there's tons of this stuff that goes on and never gets reported) involved an elite 15-year-old player from Ottawa. An opposing player used the N-word,. CBC Sports has the story.
Here's the thing. If kids want to intimidate the opposition in a game, just score lots of goals.
Hockey - in kids' leagues or the pros - belongs to everyone whether they are white, native, black or Asian.

London minor hockey product cashes in

Congratulations to London minor hockey grad Drew Doughty on his newly minted $56-million, eight-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings. Pretty sure this makes Doughty the highest paid athlete from the London region, ahead of Jeff Carter of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks and Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers.
Personally, I was hoping the contract impasse with the Kings would lead to a swap of Luke Schenn and someone to LA for Doughty.
No such luck.
Here's what hockey writer Damien Cox of the Toronto Star said about the Doughty deal - and the very real possibility the Kings will win the Stanley Cup this season.

Teen player dies in Quebec

Sad news from rural Quebec just as we're getting ready to drop the puck on a new minor hockey season. A 17-year-old has died at the rink, according to this QMI story.

Henderson scores!

Thirty-nine years ago today, Henderson scores for Canada. If I have to explain this, you are not a hockey fan. All Canadians remember where they were that day.
Tell me again why Paul Henderson is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Banana embarrasses London

Yep, classless hockey fans are found everywhere, including the normally classy London, Ont., where a "fan" thought it was "funny" to throw a banana at a black NHL player during a pre-season game at the John Labatt Centre.

O Canada cutting edge

OK, the Toronto Maple Leafs are not a minor hockey team, albeit close. They're auditioning performers for O Canada, including this saw musician reported by the Toronto Star. If you can't win, at least be entertained. TheStar Leaf anthem hopeful is on the cutting edge

Twilight season

Playing his twilight season in minor hockey brings new scheduling issues for my juvenile/hometown university student son.
Keen to play city juvenile, even if it means no body contact and being in a house league instead of a competitive loop, his big issue is the schedule. University classes trump all other activities, and if there are a lot of games on Tuesday nights when he has classes, it's game over.
Always keen to lace 'em up, he's also added to the mix by signing up for the University of Western Ontario intramural league. He's already reconnected with teammates who were with him on teams when he was a tot, or older, to represent Kings University College at UWO, along with new friends from near and far. That league always plays Monday nights and, he says, will trump juvenile commitments.
It's good he's still interested in playing and finds it fun, but we're rapidly moving along to new priorities.
Keeping kids involved in minor hockey through their teens is a challenge, even here in the heartland of minor hockey. For example, our home West London Hawks are unable to field an "A" major midget team this year due to a lack of qualified players born in 1994. This comes on the heels of a remarkably successful run by local boys born in 1993 who fared well in an A-AA league last season.
But back to my main point. We'll see how this season goes - my son might be one of those dreaded part-timers or fade from the scene altogether.
Usually by this time, he's been confirmed as a competitive team member. First sorting skate for juvenile is two weeks from today.

Fellow goalie pays tribute to Jenkins

Nice tribute to Ian Jenkins by fellow goalie Brandon Hope of the OHL Sarnia Sting.
Hope's mask this season honours Jenkins, the 15-year-old Michigan goalie who died in an accident before realizing his dream to play in the Ontario Hockey League. Jenkins was a prospect of the London Knights.
Hope and Jenkins were friends whose minor hockey careers intersected.

Bank on it

Royal Bank of Canada is providing $1 million to help hockey organizations. Taking a page from America's Got Talent, RBC is having people vote for who gets money through this Facebook page.
All very cool because, as parents and volunteers know, without corporate donations and taxpayer subsidies, there would be no minor hockey in Canada.

Finished at 16

As we ramp up for the minor hockey season, here's an important article published today in The London Free Press about a skilled teen player forced out of the game after suffering six concussions. He's 16.
No Sidney Crosby press conference here, just a kid playing a game.
It's a pre-season reminder that kids need to play the game safely and that it's the responsibility of parents, coaches and referees to make certain they do.
In my son's years in minor hockey, I know of three of his teammates who suffered serious concussions resulting in, obviously, lengthy absences from hockey and, more importantly, school.
The attitude, at least in southern Ontario, is shifting and this upcoming season should see a crackdown against head shots effectively enforced.

Knights land Max Domi

To no one's great surprise, hot major junior prospect Max Domi has arrived as a member of the London Knights after failing to report to the Kingston Frontenacs, the team that drafted him a few months ago.
Max, a skilled forward and sure bet to have a pro career, postured about playing NCAA in the U.S. But whispers, nods and winks always had it that Doug Gilmour's Frontenacs and Mark Hunter's Knights would swing a deal.
The London Free Press has the story and an official press conference is on at the John Labatt Centre in downtown London as I write this.
Max starred for the Don Mills Flyers midgets and is expected to be a key cog in the offensive wheel of the Knights for three or four years. Landing him creates a team that should contend for the OHL crown a year or two from now - maybe even the Memorial Cup for the first time since Corey Perry led the team.
The next shoe to drop is whether or not Knights owners Mark and Dale Hunter will give Max's dad, Tie, a job with the club. Assistant coach, anyone?

Gretzky's hometown hockey embraces sportsmanship

Playing in the same league as the Brantford 99ers generated more than its fair share of complaints stories from the stands during the past few seasons. From "line fights" to celebrating injuries of opposing players, Brantford kids gained a reputation as being the misfits of the league.
No longer - hopefully.
With leadership from the top down, Brantford Minor Hockey is initiating a new program that isn't a magic bullet, but should help shift attitudes to the sport.
Although they bury the lead, the Brantford Expositor reports hockey parents will soon be required to take a one-hour online course impressing upon them the influence they have on the kids (on both teams) playing the sport. Calgary already has a program like this in place where kids can't play until parents complete the courset.
In Brantford's case, it's being rolled out with the city's high-skill AAA and A teams first, then to house league. The course is professionally designed by Respect in Sport. Watch for it to be rolled out at other minor sports associations - not just hockey.
It looks like a great season ahead for Brantford, where renovations are complete at the Gretztky Sports Centre, the city's minor hockey palace. The association is also rolling out newly designed jerseys.
By the way, competitive teams in Brantford are nicknamed for Wayne Gretzky - the 99ers.

GM uses its head

Kudos to General Motors and its new marketing program to provide free helmets to five-year-old hockey players. All the car company asks for in return is that the kids sport the Chevrolet logo on the side - another form of valuable sponsorship that makes minor hockey tick.
A story about the helmet campaign is published today in Merritt, B.C., News. Parents can get a helmet for their entry-level minor hockey kids by going to www.chevrolethockey.ca (I assume the offer is only good in Canada). GM provides a voucher parents can take to any one of several popular sporting goods stores.
It's a timely move in that rookie parents are often reluctant to start their kids in hockey due to the risk of head injuries and the cost. It's also an excellent marketing move by GM to connect child athlete safety with its vehicles.
In the heartland of minor hockey - London, Ont. - city GM dealers have combined forces to sponsor an entire house league division, similar to what Tim Hortons has done for years with pre-novice (aka tyke) hockey.
GM, through its Chevrolet division, has long been a supporter for safe and fun minor hockey. Good on them for making this direct connection with new players.

Is Crosby at a crossroads?

Here's why, according to a Toronto Star columnist, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby should retire now, at age 24, rather than risk further brain damage.
He's won the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal and has enough money to keep himself and his heirs comfortable for lifetimes in Nova Scotia.
He's also had two serious concussions, the second of which is going to keep him from starting the season despite eight months of recovery. Forget that his agent and team are in denial - they have financial interests in making sure Crosby plays.
One more ugly NHL hit and Sidney could be in miserable healthy by middle-age.
If there ever was a siren for hockey at all levels to get hits to the head out of the game, this is it. The world's No. 1 player at a crossroads. Maybe Crosby, if cleared by doctors, should stay out until the league fixes the safety of the game.
Do it to keep the stars healthy and with long-term careers. And do it for the kids who'll never be paid to play the game.

No fee ride for travel hockey kids from poor families

It's common for minor hockey associations to offer subsidies to players whose families could not otherwise afford to have their son or daughter play.
But should those subsidies be offered for kids who want to play on competitive teams, where upcharges and tournament fees can be double the fee charged for house league players?
Minor hockey officials in St. Thomas, Ont., think not, according to the local Times-Journal, where a columnist declares it smacks of discrimination.
While I empathize with kids who want to play and whose families can't afford it, I understand where St. Thomas hockey people are coming from. If families can find the money or sponsorship for the ride that is travel hockey, then why can't they find it for the basic registration fee?
On the other hand, skilled kids should be playing on the appropriate level of team, no matter what their economic circumstances.
Wonder how other hockey families feel.
In a perfect world, a kid-minded, hockey-minded benefactor would emerge to help players who are truly skilled and have the dedication and desire but not the family financial means move forward in hockey. Wouldn't it be nice, for example, if the greatest athlete ever from St. Thomas, San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton who makes $8 million a year, could quietly help advance the sport in his hometown.
In the shadows, of course, is the enormous economic hardship being experienced by St. Thomas, which is one of the hardest hit cities in Canada in terms of job loss during the recession.

NHL inspired by minor hockey overtime rules

Love this comment from the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons in his column today about pro hockey looking at ideas from minor hockey: "Anyone who has been around minor hockey long enough has witnessed tournament games with 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 in overtime. Funny to see the big boys stealing ideas from the little guys."
Are there more ideas the NHL should take from minor hockey? Likely.

Lotsa skill, little luck

Have you seen this cool shootout goal from the NHL test game in Toronto? London Knights Andreas Athansiou showed great flare. Maybe Londoners will catch some more this upcoming season.

11 Year Old Makes an Amazing Shot for $50,000

An 11-year-old made a one-in-a-million shot to win $50,000 in a Minnesota hockey contest - shooting the puck into a 3 1/2 inch opening. Trouble is, he was subbing for his twin brother who had actually bought the ticket but wasn't in the arena when his name was called.

Politically correct

Is midget hockey politically correct, or should it be the little people division?

Juvenile deadline

The deadline is almost here and I'm still waiting for a decision from my older, hockey-playing son about whether or not he wants to return to the ice to play juvenile.
The on-again, off-again minor hockey program for 18-year-olds who don't have the time or talent to play Junior Development or Jr. C or B is on the upswing in London after collapsing in a bog of disinterest and dishonour a few years ago.
Back then, kids who wanted to play juvenile were subject to a city-wide draft which put on-ice foes from different neighbourhoods together on the same teams, disrupted friendships and eliminated the joy of representing the association some kids had played for since tyke.
The new system sees teams fielded representing neighbourhood associations and, usually, tries to accommodate friendships, although I hope not at the expense of competitiveness.
Other communities, Collingwood for example, have rebooted their juvenile programs to keep kids in hockey. That and the fact that more registration money is needed to keep programs viable as numbers fall in younger age groups.
In London, playing juvenile means playing by house league, not competitive, rules. Therein lies the rub for my son, along with the fact he'll be starting university classes at Western. His joy, his biggest contribution as a West London Hawks defenceman was a spirited willingness to play the body. That won't be the best skill in house league rules juvenile.
Whatever he decides will be fine, although if he doesn't play I'll miss the minor hockey experience greatly. I'm thinking his ultimate decision rests will whatever his friends and past teammates decide.

Beckham the hockey dad?

If Wayne's Gretzky's son can be a pro baseball player, I wonder if soccer star David Beckham's kids can become pro hockey players?
Beckham, fresh from having Canadian superstar Justin Bieber sing for his children at a private party, was at a minor hockey registration when he caught the attention of hockey moms, according to E!.
Of course, if he really wants his kids to become hockey stars, he'll want to decamp for Canada.

Hockey moms face reality check

Hockey season is long over with even three-on-three fun leagues wrapped up. Time to think about registration. teams . . . and hockey moms, who all must be calmed down by now.
One could write a book about raging hockey moms, including an case from Connecticut, which shows our American friends are embracing all aspects of minor hockey behaviour, including embarrassing mommas.
Then there's this 2008 case from Rockland County, U.S.A., where the hockey mom thought she was supporting her team by hosting parties for teen players.
Or from small town Ontario, a little hair pulling in Mildmay, where it was all a mistake as the mom beat the charge.
Or Timmins, Ont., last season where a mom was charged after confronting an 11-year-old player.
And of course, there's the Canadian coffee case where a hockey mom/team owner from Oshawa, Ont., was ordered by a judge to perform 100 hours of community service after tossing a cup of coffee at a player, according to a report on CTV News.

I hope it was arena coffee and not Tim Hortons.
Sometimes, hockey moms behave like groupies as was the case when some average-looking soccer player in Los Angeles arrived to sign up his kids for hockey. Anyone heard of David Beckham? I think having Justin Bieber at a Beckham kid's birthday party must have included a pep talk about the best youth sport in the world.

The behaviour of hockey moms has not escaped the attention of reality TV producers. Cineflix Productions, the company behind Nothing Personal, Conviction Kitchen and Canadian Pickers, might have something up its sleeve. Blogger Hockey Mom in Canada is reporting Cineflix is looking for hockey moms for a show proposal. 

It's got potential, doesn't it?

Hockey mom convicted of assault - CTV News

Teen son of NHL star a budding singing talent

Remember NHL star Luc Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, et al? This is his 16-year-old son, Jesse.

Shower water to be used for ice

Here's a cool idea from Winnipeg. There's a plan to re-use shower water on ice surfaces. No jokes about body debris suspended near centre ice, please.
Here's the story from Winnipeg via Metro.

'Tired' from hockey

It's Canada Day July 1 and last season's minor hockey tales continue. Could be teen team members are starting to come down with mono after sharing beverage containers at the team wrap party.
What a way to miss final exams. What a way to start, or not start, summer jobs.

Kariya retires due to concussions

Paul Kariya is forced to retire from the NHL after multiple concussions. He says hockey still hasn't done enough to remove hits to the head from the game, reports the Globe & Mail.
Easy to agree, isn't it?

Canada's New Tourism Ad After Stanley Cup Loss

U.S. talk show host Jimmy Kimmel debuts a new tourism ad for Canada following the Vancouver Stanley Cup riot.

Clever.

Minor hockey checking debate goes on and on

The debate about body checking in minor hockey seems to go on and on. Logical compromises are being found in most jurisdictions - no checking in participation-oriented house leagues at all ages; checking at peewee for competitive teams where tryouts are involved.
The point of eliminating this aspect of hockey in the kids' game is obviously twofold: No one wants kids getting needlessly hurt in athletics and no one wants enrolment to drop.
Checking works when coaches and referees are skilled in their roles. It works when kids are allowed to make contact with the body, not the head or knees, and when all kids on both teams are generally of the same athletic and skating skill.
Height difference is not an excuse - a head is a head is a head.
Preying on a child who finds himself in a league over his head is not fun, fair or sporting.
Here's the latest media coverage on the issue from CBC.

Father's Day hockey dad

In Tweet world, TSN's Bob McKenzie is giving away copies of his Confessions of a Hockey Dad book, a tome recommended by one of the smartest hockey guys I've ever met, verbal reviewer James Gardiner. To get in on the contest, find Mackenzie on Twitter at TSNBobMcKenzie.
Or buy it here from Amazon.

Vanloser riot

How not to act after losing a big game? See Vancouver, post-Stanley Cup. As the black eye for Canada and hockey spins around the world, here is a take on events from an animator in Taiwan, via former Sun Media mate Stephen Hui of Georgia Straight. Here is the riots cartoon link.
My favourite late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live (I get home after midnight, so what can I say?), mocked hockey fans in his opening monologue last night. If you are reading my blog from the United States, here is the Kimmel link. Readers from Canada and elsewhere are banned from viewing it.
It goes on and on. Thank you Vancouver hockey fans/hooligans.

Junior

What's it like for a teen to take a shot at junior hockey in Canada. Our National Film Board answers the question here.

Caps coach helps minor hockey development

Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau is coming back in St. Catharines, Ont., running his hockey school and supporting local minor hockey. Good!
But let's hope his choice of words is different from how he rants in front of his NHL players .

Max Domi dance with Knights continues

Morris Dalla Costa of The London Free Press writes that the Max Domi saga is far from settled, and maybe has as much to do with a battle of wills between ex-NHLer and hockey dad Tie Domi and his ex-wife, Max's mom.
Seems mom favours a hockey and American university development program for Max.
Tie, maybe prefers the OHL, but only if it's the London Knights under the wing of Dale Hunter.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Doug Gilmour, GM of the OHL Kingston Frontenacs, drafted Max one spot before the Knights got to pick in the recent minor midget draft.
Dramas like this play out often, but this one has gained special attention because Max is almost certainly a future pro.

Horton hit aftermath

The Niagara Falls Review went back to Boston Bruins Nathan Horton's minor hockey roots in Welland, Ont., in the aftermath of that awful, stupid hit on Horton by Vancouver Canucks Aaron Rome in the Stanley Cup final.
Horton's former junior coach called for a five-game suspension for Rome. Wasn't too far off - the NHL suspended Rome for four games.

Meet the Gretzky who can't skate

Love the headline - yes, I've borrowed it - for this National Post article about Wayne and Janet Gretzky's son, Trevor.
Growing up in New York and California shaped the athletic Trevor into a baseball player instead of the hockey (or lacrosse) player he might've been if he'd grown up in Brantford, Ont.
Trevor, 18, has been drafted by the Chicago Cubs and while he has a long way to go, he just might have a pro career in his future.
Who knows, maybe he'll get traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, fall in love, get married, have kids and raise them as ... elite hockey players.

Rome falls

Congratulations to the NHL for getting it right and suspending Vancouver Canucks defenceman Aaron Rome for his late, stupid, concussion-causing hit on Boston Bruins Nathan Horton.
The NHL suspended Rome for four games - the rest of the Stanley Cup final.
It is just and sends the right message to professional players and kids alike.
Here's a link to the Globe and Mail story about the suspension and the hit.

NHLPA gives bantams a boost

There's a nice program being offered by the NHLPA for bantam players to build their skills. In a perfect world, there'd be more of this sort of thing, particularly involving NHL retirees. Trouble is, the swagger of pros and ex-pros is not always conducive to moulding young minds.
Here's a link to information about the NHLPA program.

Is NHL serious about concussion prevention?

We'll soon discover just how serious the National Hockey League is about concussion prevention - and how much of a role model the professional game wants to be for the millions of minor hockey players in the world.
A nasty, stupid blindside hit by Vancouver Canucks Aaron Rome on Boston Bruins Nathan Horton is the icing on the cake in a season which saw the world's best hockey player, Sidney Crosby, sidelined by NHL concussion-causing hits.
If the NHL is serious about bringing sportsmanship back into the professional game, then Rome will be suspended for at least Game 4. Never mind that the rules get more lax during the playoffs, particularly the final. Are we playing this sport with standards or not?
The NHL judgment on Rome will have a ripple effect on kids' hockey, setting an example for what is and is not acceptable.
Meanwhile, on another issue of sportsmanship, what immaturity by the millionaire professional athletes on the Boston Bruins, giving the finger to opposing players at the end of the Game 3 routing. Not classy, not sporting, not right. It's the kind of action we'd expect from 16-year-old minor hockey players who don't have the benefit of strong coaching or good parents.

New rules on head contact for hockey in Canada

Hockey Canada's annual general meeting has resulted in a new policy on head contact: Zero tolerance.
About time.
Here's the Hockey Canada link and a story in the Globe & Mail.

Sometimes, being a tough hockey player is wrong

Present day hockey fans know Bill Masterton as the name of a trophy for the NHL player showing dedication to hockey.
But those of us of a certain age remember Masterton's true life storyline. How he tried to crack the NHL when it had only six teams, gave up and started a successful career and family only to return to the game in his late 20s when expansion doubled the number of NHL teams to 12.
Masterton landed a spot with the Minnesota North Stars, where he became the only NHL player to ever die as a result of playing.
Now, a Toronto Star investigation reveals the full story of what happened in 1968 and how, by today's standards, having Masterton on the ice was foolhardy and dangerous as he was playing with an untreated concussion. When he suffered a second hit to the head, it was fatal.
I recommend the story, especially for parents who have to hold back kids champing at the bit to play when they are hurt.









TheStar Star investigation: What really killed NHL's Bill Masterton

Hockey game honours Ian Jenkins

This is a very good idea.
As part of the funeral arrangements for 15-year-old Ian Jenkins, friends will play a hockey game, with everyone wearing Ian's No. 35.
The London Knights prospect from Michigan died Monday from head injuries suffered when he fell from a pickup truck.
Here's a link to a story from AnnArbor.com.
Here's a link with the details of the post-funeral hockey game.

15-year-old Knights prospect dies

The always excellent Morris Dalla Costa of The London Free Press wrote an excellent column today about Ian Jenkins, the London Knights goaltending prospect who died of head injuries Monday (May 23, 2011) after falling out of a pickup truck near Ann Arbor, Mich., last week.
Life's not always fair.

Celebration sours with fall from truck in Thamesford

On the heels of a similar accident in Michigan which killed 15-year-old future London Knight Ian Jenkins comes this story from Thamesford, Ont., where a junior hockey player fell off the tailgate of a pickup truck following a Victoria Day parade.
He was airlifted to hospital and it sounds like, thankfully, he's going to be OK.
But one wonders, are athletically gifted young people bigger risk takers than other kids? Is their judgment powered by joy and adrenaline instead of making more boring but safe choices?
Here's the Thamesford story link to The London Free Press.

NHL fighters have regrets

We're reading more and more that retired NHL tough guys hated what they were doing at the time, are worried about longterm health issues and regret the influence their fighting had on minor hockey players.
In the wake of the alcohol/prescription drug death of New York Ranger enforcer Derek Boogaard, here an excellent piece from The Globe and Mail quoting the likes of Stu "the Grim Reaper" Grimson, Tasered retired NHLer Ryan VandenBussche, former Toronto Maple Leaf Kurt Walker and, the gentle giant, Georges Laraque.

15-year-old goalie off life support

Ian Jenkins of Michigan had a bright future ahead of him in major junior hockey. Drafted two weeks ago by the London Knights, everyone expected he would eventually become the team's No. 1 goaltender.
No longer.
Ian was thrown from the back of a pickup truck near Ann Arbor, hit his head and has now been taken off life support in hospital.
His father issued a detailed statement, reported by Morris Dalla Costa of The London Free Press. On behalf of the family, Joel Jenkins expresses heartfelt appreciation for the concern and sympathy of the hockey community.

Fraudster's house for sale

In southwestern Ontario, this house represents the granddaddy of youth sports fraud. It's the upscale place now for sale by the former athletics director for high school sports in the region. He used $800,000 in fees paid by parents for their kids to play high school hockey, football, basketball, etc., to build a spectacular backyard and feed an untraceable lottery ticket buying habit.
If I were a catty comment kind of guy, I'd wonder if the athletics fees I paid on behalf of my two kids count as a downpayment on his house, which is now for sale as reported in The London Free Press.
Proceeds from the sale are supposed to help make some restitution.

More minor hockey fraud

Is it too tempting to rip off youth sports organizations?
The latest allegations come from Petrolia Minor Hockey, where $124,000 is missing. It's the second minor hockey group in southwestern Ontario to call the police regarding missing money this spring.
Here's the Petrolia Topic story.

Money missing from girls' hockey association?

Is it just me or are we reading too often about money missing or allegedly missing from youth sports organizations?
West London Optimists Minor Hockey Association, where my son played, lost maybe $200,000 to a longtime volunteer treasurer with a gambling addiction who, sadly, committed suicide when the crime was discovered.
High school athletics in the London area lost $800,000 to its former director, who spent it on his home and, apparently, lottery tickets.
The latest questions raised come from the girls' hockey organization in Woodstock, where $45,000 is missing and the treasurer has resigned, according to this story.
What goes wrong? Is it sloppy systems or a warped sense of volunteer entitlement or just plain criminal minds?

Bobblehead Buff

Every sports-minded kid has at least one, and Steve Buffery is no exception.
The Toronto Sun sportswriter and my Berkshire travel buddy celebrates sports dolls in this clip from the Sun.
Amusing how few of his bobbleheads actually look like the athlete. My favourite is the black Doug Gilmour.
Many thanks to Twitter connection Rob Granatstein for tweeting about Steve's dolls.

Max Domi: Knights or nothing?

Interesting that the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons suggested weeks ago that future pro Max Domi would only play major junior in the OHL if it could be with the London Knights. Interesting that famous dad Tie Domi is rumoured to be interested in becoming an OHL assistant coach and the Knights have an opening. Interesting that London Knights coach Dale Hunter and general manager Mark Hunter each played a style of NHL hockey Tie (and likely Max) admired. Interesting that London has a history of developing NHL-bound talent.
This story of a deal with Kingston is also interesting, as reported on London's AM 980 website.

Windsor would've done better

Do you think the Memorial Cup should have been held in Windsor instead of Mississauga? I do. This sort of confirms it, courtesy of the Toronto Sun.

Max Domi taken in OHL draft

Future pro Max Domi, the 15-year-old son of former Toronto Maple Leaf Tie Domi, was drafted in the first round by Kingston in the Ontario Hockey League draft, despite his dad insisting Max had decided to go the U.S. college route and that there was no "deal" that Max would change his mind if he could play in Kingston with Doug Gilmour's team.
Good to know trash talk is not limited to on the ice. Nevertheless, all the best to Max and his hockey endeavours.

The Last Supper

Tonight's the wrap party for this season's hockey team. It was my son's major midget year and, unless he decides to taper down with juvenile or decides to coach, marks the end of his minor hockey team involvement.
It's a pot-luck house party, a tip of the hat to frugality after mounting an epic road trip to a tournament near Nashville last January.
Over the years, the team parties we've attended have taken many forms, from cramming into restaurant booths, to renting a bowling alley, using a community hall and trucking barbecues from whomever lived closest to backyard parties and the aforementioned pot luck. Loved them all, but the best was likely reserving a private room at the Mandarin and letting the teens go wild at the buffet.
For the third year season in a row, I've taken the best of our hockey photos from the winter and compiled them as a slide show on a DVD, complete with family-friendly music. I've already put snippets on YouTube and Photobucket (55,000 image views since November!), so much of it won't be a surprise.
But I did sneak something in that'll surprised our 20-something coach, thanks to his mom.

Ontario ends body checking in house, select minor hockey leagues

With safety and participation in mind, the Ontario Hockey Federation has opted to ban body checking for all age groups in house and select minor hockey leagues.
This is a good thing.
It allows parents to rest easy and for a more broad spectrum of kids to get involved with hockey, focusing on the fun of skating and puck handling without worrying about getting smoked by someone with a body size advantage. It brings house league into line with adult beer leagues, where exercise and fun are the order of the day, not fantasies about playing in the NHL.
Appropriately, body checking remains part of the complete game in competitive leagues where the level of skating skill, anticipation and coordination is higher and where kids can do a better job of protecting themselves.
The move also creates two distinct products for kids and parents to choose, without giving up on hockey totally.
The OHF news release can be read here.

Former Flyers captain adds to concussion discussion

Wondering what former Philadelphia Flyers captain Keith Primeau is up to, years after being knocked out of pro hockey with a series of concussions?
He's helped launch a website, with information of interest to minor hockey players and officials called Stop Concussions. The site had a launch ceremony today at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Support the greatest playoff beards

Playoff beards are an NHL tradition - sometimes even for junior hockey for those who can.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation has partnered with the NHLPA in a beard fundraiser in which fans can sponsor their favourite NHL players' beards or grow one of their own during the playoffs.
To encourage a fuzzy face, click NHL beards.

Long-time volunteers bow out

Nice piece in the Dunnville Chronicle about a pair of hockey buddies - 

Mel Langkamer and Dave Dunham - retiring after volunteering together for 40 years. It's a minor hockey not without the expected political overtones. Among the pros they influenced: Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins. Read it the Chronicle.

One to admire

Wasn't it only about five years ago when Steve Downie's future as a hockey player was in tatters? There were odd incidents involving a black teammate, nakedness on a team bus and cramming rookies into the bus's toilet. There was the bounce from the Windsor Spitfires, a blip with the Philadelphia Flyers. But look at him now. Downie is the most impressive member of the upstart Tampa Lightning in the NHL playoffs. Says so here.

Clever tactic or skirting the rules?

Here's a tactic that seemed worth a try, but ultimately ran afoul of the league for cheating.
In a Toronto house/select league, a team essentially pulled its goalie for the entire game, dressing the girl who usually played goal as a skater. The tactic, discussed with referees before the puck dropped, worked and the team won. But upon review, the game was recorded as a 5-0 default win for the other team.
Was that the right decision for this level of hockey - house league 10- to 12-year-old girls and boys?
Likely not. The No. 1 rule of the game at this level is to have fun. Making friends and keeping fit would follow as rules two and three.
For details, read the full story in the Toronto Star.

Car!

Why Toronto is a silly city. Can't offer decent minor hockey rinks. Can't play road hockey. Can't build a decent NHL team.
Here's what happened on the street hockey debate, as reported by the Toronto Star.

Simmons on Gillis, Frost and Danton

On the eve of playoff elimination for the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Sun sportswriter blogs about GM Mike Gillis and his role in the David Frost minor hockey strange behaviour/Mike Danton case. Interesting reading here that may make some of us jump off the Canucks bandwagon.

The goal and the glory ...

The last year my son played house league before making the jump up to competitive hockey was remarkable. The team went through the entire regular season undefeated in London's Community Hockey League and it was, for most of us, a foregone conclusion that we'd play in the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario championship down the road in Brantford.
There was a hiccup. The tournament was scheduled for Easter weekend with the opening games on Good Friday and championship on Easter Sunday.
One parent spoke up to say there was no way he and his son would play in the championship tournament. Another parent, obviously not a church-goer, piped up asking if Good Friday was big deal. The conversation went downhill from there.
Turns out we didn't have to worry. The no-loss kids were defeated in a deciding game after a "hand of God" play in which a key goal by our kids was disallowed after the referee asked the opposing goalie if the puck went in the net. I kid you not. The young goalie gave the answer you'd expect and the dilemma over playing on Good Friday and Easter was passed to another team of 9 and 10-year-olds.
I'm reminded of this story not just because it's Easter weekend, but because of a story published earlier this month by the Globe and Mail about Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer, who is only one of a handful of publicly devout Christian athletes in the NHL.
We all like to balance all aspect of family life -  kids' hockey and church are often in conflict.
Wonder what James Reimer, Mike Fisher or Jarome Iginla would do if some goof asked them to play on Good Friday?

Domi watch

Not many 15-year-olds generate a buzz like that surrounding Max Domi of Toronto, who is eligible for this year's OHL draft.
The Hockey News calls Max "easily" the best player at a recent NCAA showcase. And while the future seems to point to an eventual career with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (and who wouldn't want to play at Yost Arena?), some believe Max would play in the OHL if the right team drafted him. Rumour has it the only right team would be the London Knights.
We'll soon see.

Canadian sledge hockey team wins in London

The London Free Press came up with some great shots from the gold medal game of the World Sledge Hockey Championship in London today. Canada won as expected, although the 8-0 final score over Norway wasn't as close as many hoped.
For some reason, The Free Press used coverage of the sledge hockey championship in its news section instead of sports. Was it because the athletes were disabled?

Sledge tournament prompts renovations

Western Fair Sports Centre in London, Ont., is usually known as the home of a Jr. B teen hockey club and a minor hockey palace. But this week, it's become headquarters for the World Sledge Hockey championship.
The facility has completed a bunch of renovations that startle. In the main, Olympic-ice rink, clear plexiglass has replaced the solid boards so that sledge players can watch the game when they're in the bench area. We can't say they're on the bench as it has been removed.
Plastic ice sheets line the hallway so players can slide from the dressing rooms to the ice surface.
Great coverage of the tournament - which I expect Canada will win - is available at lfpress.com. London Free Press reporter Deborah Van Brenk (debatlfpress) is tweeting from the tournament tonight. Click here for Deb's video report.

Couture in running for Calder

Congratulations to London, Ont., minor hockey product Logan Couture for being one of the three finalists for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.
A former Junior Knight (naturally), Couture is a buddy of the greatest young defenceman in hockey, also a London product, Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings.
Couture stars for the San Jose Sharks - amusing that the Sharks and Kings are playing each other in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Toronto Star has the rookie nominees story. And The London Free Press has a great piece about this city's Stanley Cup participants.

Takin' it to the streets

Road hockey, street hockey, ball hockey ... call it what you will. Fact is, it should be allowed on quiet residential streets. Apparently some in Toronto are sour on it. Some, such as Counc. Josh Matlow, are sweet.
The Toronto Star has the latest flare-up.

Trevor Gretzky: Future pro

Wayne Gretzky's 18-year-old son is talented athlete with pro potential - but not in hockey.
Trevor Gretzky is aiming for a pro career in baseball. Click here for the Toronto Star story.

Crowded crease

How many goaltending prospects do the Toronto Maple Leafs intend to stockpile? The latest is a 21-year-old from Sweden, who is a musician when he's not flopping around in the Swedish Elite League. Read about him by clicking here.
Any truth to the rumour the Leafs are also interested in signing Alex Weitzel of London, who is also skilled in Guitar Hero?

The risk of better protection

Do sports helmets lead to more concussions? Interesting thought, the theory being that wearing protection spurs us to act or play more recklessly. Canada's Globe and Mail raises the topic and will be hosted a live discussion, the text for which you can still read by clicking here. 

Is minor hockey hurtin'?

Nobody ever claimed minor hockey was for the meek, but is it intended to cause long-term damage?
Of course that's not the intent of hockey. But until the sport gets control of the game, there will be more and more reports like this one by Terry Davidson in the Toronto Sun about brutal hitting (both legal and illegal) causing injuries with life-long ramifications such as concussions.
Whether it's the fault of the amour-like equipment, a size differential of players, too much sugar, odd coaching or under-skilled referees ... I don't know. But there's an increasing buzz about serious injuries in minor hockey.
As one tiny example, I have never seen so many players miss games due to injuries as I did this past season with my son's midget team. Concussions. Broken bones - arm, collar, hand. Broken molar. We even had a goaltender go back into a playoff game after suffering a significant cut. A backup goalie wasn't dressed because he was out with a concussion.
No one signs his kid up for athletics to get hurt. If the reputation of the sport becomes a "hurt factory", parents will keep their credit cards in their wallets and sign up little Johnny for guitar lessons instead.

Red and Yellow (Black and Yellow Wiz Khalifa Parody)

Great work involving a two kids my son has played hockey with over the years. A fundraiser for cancer by Saunders Secondary School of London, Ont.

Season slur story, take 2

Is this the season of the slur among teenage hockey players?
First, in November, we had house league teens in Peterborough embroiled in use of the n-word to taunt a black teen. So serious was the incident that the coach of the black player refused to continue the game and was suspended.
Now, at a higher level of competition, we have the Jr. B St. Thomas Stars and London Nationals in a similar situation. The Nationals are accusing players on the Stars of hurling insults laced with the word "Hitler" at two members - Noah and Brendan Schwartz - of the Nationals who happen to be Jewish.
Not a suitable tactic.
The incident happened in Game 6 of a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League playoff. Game 7 is tonight in London.
Morris Dalla Costa of The London Free Press reported the slur story.

Hockey words as quick art

Ever goof around with Wordle? Here's what happened when I dumped in a bunch of words and names connected with last season's midget team. Click Wordle.