Hockey Hall of Fame offers deal for families

Every young hockey player should visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto - and there's no better time than the Family Day holiday (Feb. 21, 2011) when the hall offers free admission for kids accompanied by an adult.
The first time I took my sons to the hall was in the spring of the last playoff run by the Toronto Maple Leafs - so you know this is a long, long time ago.

Stanley Cup on display at HHOF,
a former bank in downtown Toronto.
(Wayne Newton photo)

Adam and I were near the puck shooting skills area when I turned around and came face-to-face with Leafs legend Borje Salming, who was in town to watch a playoff game. He was taking a quick scoot through the hall and I had to choose between asking for an autograph or taking a photo. I chose to ask for an autograph, and Borje obliged by jotting a note to Adam on a page from my reporter's pad. In hindsight, I wish I had snapped a shot of the two of them instead. Ten years later, I'm not sure where the autographed piece of paper has gotten to.
Last time I was at the hall was in December when I was in Toronto for a travel writing assignment. The place was filled with Edmonton Oilers fans - their team was in town to play the Maple Leafs around the corner at the Air Canada Centre.
Walking through the hall on your own is OK, but the real thrill is touring it with a young child who loves the sport.
This Family Day, I hope the place is packed with parents and kids, sharing a special hockey experience.

Hamilton minor hockey coach faces sex charge

It's always troubling for parents of kids in sports to read stories like this one - a peewee hockey coach in Hamilton, Ont., charged with sexual assault.
We like to think all people who volunteer with youth sports are upstanding citizens with no ill intentions toward the kids.
Organizations screen volunteers through courses such as Speak Out and police checks.
But despite the efforts, bad things can happen and awareness and a willingness to speak up are important elements in making sure kids are protected from sexual, physical or verbal abuse.
Kudos to those who spoke up in this Hamilton case. The rest is now up to the Ontario justice system.

K-W merger miffs London Knight

Count London Knight Michael Moffat, a product of the Waterloo Wolves AAA system, as an opponent of the merger between Kitchener and Waterloo AAA teams. He calls it one of the best rivalries going - the best kid hockey players from neighbouring cities playing against each other.
Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press caught up with Moffat recently. One wonders how, in his AAA days, Moffat might've enjoyed playing on amalgamated teams that could have challenged the best in Ontario, not just bragging rights in the Twin Cities.
Once the new system gets rolling, people will settle in and embrace it as the best thing since sliced bread.
People in London know all about hockey organizations which once thought they were bitter rivals coming together to form teams, albeit at lower levels than AAA. Hockey families from London Minor Hockey Association in the city's east end and the South London Flyers were brought together to form competitive teams under the South-Southeast Wild moniker. Before that, the entire Southeast Bruins organization was folded into the Flyers.
As for the rivalry between Kitchener and Waterloo, that will continue at lower categories of minor hockey and between high schools.
And least until Kitchener, Waterloo and neighbouring Cambridge finally get around to amalgamating their municipalities. The AAA minor hockey merger is just a warm-up act for that.

We'll take football over minor hockey today

Right about now my son's midget team was supposed to be playing in the final for their last West London tournament championship.
But, alas, last month the convener cancelled the midget 'A' division after receiving interest in only three teams and after seeing no hope of sourcing a fourth to make it worthwhile.
Other midget divisions did go ahead - just not at our level.
I'm think most players and dads might've missed hockey Friday and Saturday or even this afternoon. But right about now, as 6:20 pm EST approaches, no one is thinking minor hockey. It's the beginning of the end of all those dreams by Pittsburgh Steelers players and fans as the Green Bay Packers prepare to become this year's Super Bowl champions.

Let's name the Detroit-Windsor bridge for Gordie Howe

This is an excellent idea: Let's name the new Detroit-Windsor international bridge in honour of Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe.
Howe, born in Canada, starred for the Red Wings for 25 years and retired to Traverse City, Mich. Detroit (aka Hockeytown) loves the sport; Canadians love the sport. It's a bridge (pun intended) between Ontario and Michigan cultures.
The idea to name the new bridge for Mr. Hockey should have wings with this story in the Toronto Star.

My Nashville published in the Toronto Sun

In January when my son's West London midget team was in Franklin, TN., for a tournament, I used my "down" time to do a little travel writing. The first of two stories I researched that weekend is published today in the Toronto Sun and posted on canoe.ca. Everyone should visit downtown Nashville at least once - put Music City on your bucket list. There's also more on my travel blog, Wayne's World of Travel.

We nose hockey is rough

Moms, don't look at this photo posted by Toronto Maple Leafs Darryl Boyce after his nose was cut in an NHL game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Boyce took it all stride and tweeted that he didn't know why his face hurt.
This would be why minor hockey kids wear cages.

Minor Hockey Moments

West London Hawks 5, London Junior Knights 1.
In his first game back after suffering a knee injury in a tournament in Nashville two weeks ago, defenceman Riley Croke scores first hat trick of his
minor hockey career - including road hockey.

Waterloo OK's AAA merger with Kitchener

This is a brave move by Waterloo minor hockey - an AA merger with neighbouring city Kitchener has been approved, according to radio station 570 News.
It means fewer elite spots for kids in K-W, but also means stronger teams. That should put the Twin Cities on the same level as the London Jr. Knights, Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs and Toronto teams.
Hockey parents need to realistic. Just because your son is occupying a spot on an team labelled AAA doesn't mean he's an elite player.
Some may argue that spots in AAA should be occupied by teens and pre-teens who have realistic athletic skills, desire and interest to shoot for Major Junior or Jr. B.
Of course, that begs the question why there are AAA major midget teams.

Home Chiefs Home

The kids and volunteers involved in the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs organization deserve all the respect in the world. I bet few organizations have people giving so much in terms of organization and travelling time as the AAA Chiefs, who draw elite players from small towns and farms in Elgin and Middlesex counties.
Players and parents on the same team can live hours apart and "home" games and practices are rarely around the corner in the community rink. With no home community, no home rink, games and practices could be anywhere the ice convener can buy ice, including in the City of London, which sits in the middle of the Elgin-Middlesex catchment area.
Created to give small town and rural kids a chance to play elite hockey, the Chiefs have not just survived but thrived, graduating oodles of players to major junior and some to the pros, including San Jose Sharks Captain Joe Thornton of St. Thomas. I believe Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers might've played for the Chiefs after not being selected for a London Jr. Knights team.
Without the benefit of playing with hometown pride, without the budget advantage of getting favourable ice rental rates, without a home rink to hang banners and display trophies, the Chiefs, its coaches and parents have created one of the most successful AAA programs in the province during the past 20 or so years.
Ten years ago, it looked like the Chiefs were going to have a home rink when the City of St. Thomas began planning a new twin-pad facility in which the Chiefs and St. Thomas Jr. B Stars were to be the main tenants. But the thought of so many out-of-town kids involved with the Chiefs using an arena complex paid for by St. Thomas taxpayers and donations sent a chill through the city - OK, it was a backlash that dried up fundraising.
Now, finally, the Chiefs organization has found an arena to call home. The London Free Press's Ryan Pyette writes about the new twin-pad arena in Komoka, on the outskirts of London, being the new, truly, home rink of the Chiefs.
It's as centrally located as a home rink could be for the Chiefs program. As the major tenants, the Chiefs will have their logo front and centre, a special dressing room and, hopefully, a trophy case and the right to hang banners.
Happiest of all might be the ice convener for the Chiefs!
The Chiefs are planning to showcase the new arena, which opens for the 2011-12 season, as the home of their annual AAA tournament.
Congratulations to the Chiefs - and kudos to to Komoka and its parent municipality of Middlesex Centre for making this happen.