Minor Hockey Moments

A little silly at the end of Game 5 in the playdowns between West London and Brantford midgets.

First product of Nashville minor hockey reaches NHL

My favourite sports columnist, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, writes about Blake Geoffrion, the first product of Nashville minor hockey to reach the NHL. Of course, his bloodlines had a lot to do with it. His grandfather from Mitchell, Ont., was the legendary Howie Morenz, one of the most driven hockey players in history. His grandfather, Boom Boom Georffrion, invented the slap shot.
Question is, how much better would Blake be if he had been nurtured in Canadian minor hockey?
Here is an exerpt from Steve's column. FYI, he also has a book being published about Mike Danton, the former St. Louis Blues player who was jailed for trying to have his controversial agent killed.


A first in Nashville
When Blake Geoffrion was called up by the Nashville Predators, it marked two different kinds of history well worth noting.
Not only is Geoffrion the first fourth-generation NHL player, and what bloodlines -- great grandfather, Howie Morenz; grandfather Boom Boom Geoffrion; dad Danny Geoffrion -- but maybe more significantly, he is the first graduate of the Nashville minor-hockey system to make it to the big leagues.
That is unique on its own.
And never mind just making it to the NHL.
He's playing for the home-town Predators.
Imagine what that feels like for kids playing hockey in and around Nashville.
The long-term affect (sic) of Geoffrion's rise could serve as wonderful motivation in a non-traditional hockey market.
Geoffrion is the first: Here's hoping we see many more.

Here is the full Steve Simmons column.

Hockey Tonk: West London Hawks in Nashville

Our midget hockey team's foray into Nashville and Franklin, TN., in January 2011 is documented on You Tube by yours truly.

Psychiatrist appeals to NHL to end fighting in hockey

Dr. Peter Jaffe is a leading figure in London, but is he right about fighting in hockey?
Here's a link to The London Free Press article about Dr. Jaffe writing NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about hockey fights and below is the text of the letter. Parents of kids in minor hockey must read points 2 and 3.

An Open Letter to Gary Bettman and the NHL Board of Governors

We are enthusiastic, lifelong hockey fans who want to lend support to Mario Lemieux and many commentators' views that the recent incidents of fighting in hockey cannot be tolerated. In particular, we endorse Mario Lemieux's words after a recent Penguin-Islander brawl: "It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow . . . . The NHL (needs) to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport." We agree with these sentiments.

As fans, we note the level of self-control that players at the junior and NHL level can demonstrate during international competitions such as the World Junior Championship and the Olympics. Even the NHL players reduce fighting by almost 50% during the Stanley Cup playoff without affecting attendance or TV viewers. Scandinavian countries have banned hockey fights and other leagues such as college hockey have managed to eliminate this part of the game.

We know that the NHL wants to put the best possible product on the ice and you are always looking for ways to improve the game. We would ask you to consider a number of points in your upcoming discussions:

1. There is increasing research and public awareness about the short- and long-term harm from concussions. We have gone from celebrating Sidney Crosby's gold medal goal last year to worrying about his future as a result of several blindside hits to his head. Other stars like Marc Savard are facing uncertain futures from repeated hits to the head. What is frequently missed is that there is no difference in a hit to the head by an elbow or shoulder than a punch to the head in a fight. Recent fights have sidelined a number of NHL players with concussions and other injuries. Fights are not always consensual acts between players of the same size and experience.

Hockey is an intense and physical game that requires protection of players and prevention of injuries wherever possible.

2. What message do we send junior hockey leagues and younger players when we don't send stronger messages against hockey violence? NHL players are role models and set the standards for youth playing hockey. Junior hockey players who aspire to be drafted by the NHL have to fight and risk injury in order to prove their worth and full potential. These young men are teenagers and face unnecessary risks of concussion to pursue their dreams. Junior hockey team owners have stated that their teens have to fight since they are suppliers to the NHL. Hockey should be about athletic speed, skill and determination rather than becoming a goon for a team. In a recent Bruins-Stars game, there were three fights in the first six seconds of play.

It is hard to argue that fighting is essential to the game and is part of the flow of the sport under those conditions.

3. Many parents and educators are worried about the impact of media violence on our children's development. The fights and hits to the head have become a form of entertainment such as videos which glorify these incidents and sports shows that highlight the fights of the week as part of a hockey entertainment package. The media promotes the most negative aspects of the game and signals to our youth that this unsportsmanlike conduct is to be admired.

We understand that there is tremendous resistance to change. We recognize that some fans and commentators support the violence and see it as inevitable in a high-speed contact sport like hockey. The Olympics prove the opposite. Fighting and violence sells but we would argue that the fans would not turn away. In fact in some of the U.S. markets, you might find more families interested in the game without the fighting.

We know that fighting has always been part of hockey but rules change in hockey on a regular basis from penalty calls to the size of the goal crease.

Goalies wore no masks in the NHL just 30 years ago and junior players didn't have to wear mouth guards or helmets with visors. Eliminating all intentional hits to the head including fighting should be part of that same shift and would send a strong message that violence is no longer acceptable to our hockey heroes and our national pastime.

Peter Jaffe PhD, professor, faculty of education, University of Western Ontario

Graham Pollett MD, medical officer of health, the Middlesex-London Health Unit

Hockey-playing cancer survivor helps child with leukemia

This is a teen hockey player who was raised - and coached - right. Here's hoping this hockey-based fundraiser for a child with cancer is a success. CBC reports on the plan.

Waterloo parents reject AAA merger

A vote by Waterloo parents put the kibosh on a plan to unite elite AAA bantam and midget hockey in the Twin Cities, according to the Waterloo Region Record.
The plan was to reduce the number of AAA players and place teams until the tutelage of the Major Junior Kitchener Rangers. It was a brilliant and forward-thinking way to focus on developing the most skilled athletes at an earlier age and give K-W a reasonable chance to play with the big boys of Southern Ontario minor hockey - Toronto, London Junior Knights and Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs.
Alas, most Waterloo parents elected for have more "AAA" spots available for local kids and, quite understandably, the community pride of fielding totally local AAA teams.
Truth is, just because a player is given a spot on an AAA team doesn't mean he is truly AAA calibre.
And a merger like this one doesn't mean kids are drummed out of hockey. Cities of Waterloo's size have the right level of hockey for everyone.
The original decision of the Waterloo minor hockey board was the correct one. AAA players at the bantam and midget level should be aiming for Jr. B, provincial A or Major Junior hockey by the time they are 16. The proposed, and now rejected, reorganization in K-W would've helped them get there.

Kids and concussions

Still wondering about minor hockey kids and concussions?
Read this CBC story about a 17-year-old from Prince Edward Island, who was forced to quit the game he loved because minor hockey couldn't police headshots.

Hockey Canada on right track with minority campaign

One of my son's first hockey teams had an East Indian boy on it. The kids were little, but this boy was already ahead of the curve and one of the smartest, better skilled kids on a team of six-year-olds - an age before kids scatter into various levels of competitive and skill-based teams. Most parents expected him to move beyond house league.
His dad was actively involved with his son's teams, volunteering for tasks such as scorekeeping.
Fast forward two years and I run into the dad in the community and ask about his son's hockey. Turns out he had quit hockey at the tender age of nine, mid-season, because of taunts on the ice. His final game ended when he was hit and hurt on the ice and his dad, not the trainer, helped him to the dressing room.
The boy concentrated on soccer where he excelled.
All of this comes to mind as I read about Hockey Canada now trying to recruit minority kids to play hockey - CTV has the full story.
Hockey, whether house league or competitive, is the greatest sport a Canadian kid can take part in. Done right, minor hockey teaches skills to last a lifetime, builds communities and forms family friendships.
But too often minorities, at best, don't feel at home with the sport or, at worst, try it and get driven out because the experience was not positive.
Let's hope Hockey Canada's campaign changes all that.

AtoMc power

Kudos to McDonald's Canada for upping its involvement in minor hockey with the new atoMc program.
Announced today by Hockey Canada, the program focuses on the most pivotal - and some would say the most fun - age of hockey when kids are still in awe of coaches, have the skill to execute instructions and don't yet have the attitude to reject all coaching advice.
In a way, McDonald's is catching up to Tim Hortons, the iconic Canadian coffee and doughnut shop, which sponsors the Timbit program for first-year players in communities from sea to sea.
Wonder if that's why Tim Hortons coffee is the official drink of Canadian hockey parents.

Captain, oh my Captain

What is it about former Toronto Maple Leafs captains who find themselves facing impaired driving charges?
Rick Vaive, the first Maple Leaf to score 50 goals in a season, is on trial now and seems to have wet his pants after being stopped by police north of Toronto, according to the Toronto Sun.
A few years ago, Rob Ramage was convicted in the impaired driving-related death of ex-NHLer Keith Magnuson.
Role models for young hockey players? None here.
For the record:

• A few drinks with pals is good. 
• Getting drunk, not so much. 
• Driving after drinking too much - always wrong.

Colorado Eagles coach strips

Not sure why this type of behaviour keeps popping up among hockey coaches. First time I remember seeing a coach strip was Graham James of the Calgary Hitmen - and we all know how well that guy turned out.
Does coaching hockey attract the immature of athletics?

Minor Hockey Moments

Ironic? In their midget playdown series, the West London Hawks lost to Brantford 7-1 on Friday night in Brantford. On Sunday night, West London beat Brantford by the same 7-1 score to even the eight-point series at four each. Looking forward to next Sunday and Game 5.

Live chat: What should be done about concussions

Canada's CBC is hosting a live chat on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011 beginning at noon to discussion concussions in sport.
Concussions are, or should be, the No. 1 concern for parents who have children enrolled in contact sports such as minor hockey. For that matter, count soccer among the sports with a concussion risk. Read Sean Fine's article about his daughter in the Globe & Mail.
Here is the link for the concussion discussion.
Bruises and sprains, cuts and broken bones can heal. Concussions are with your child for life. 

Take it outside

It was a cool sight Friday night as we drove up to Lions Park arena in Brantford.
Under the lights next to the arena parking lot, it was game on - fitting to see on the weekend of the NHL's second outdoor Winter Classic of the season.
At first glance, I thought it was an outdoor ice hockey game, but my player son was quick to notice that despite only seeing the tops of players that they were running, not skating.
Killing time before a midget hockey game, more than one curious out-of-town parent checked out the ball hockey game being played outdoors, on a special rubberized surface, with hockey boards and a scoreboard. Top drawer stuff.
Just a little chilly, though.
It made me wonder if it would work to play some minor hockey games outdoors - the current big marketing thing with the NHL as discussed at length on last night's Hot Stove.
If conditions were perfect, it would be fun and different. But Londoners of a certain age remember when kids' hockey outdoors was the norm, and not always a comfortable, pleasant experience. At least one of the city's most popular minor hockey rinks, Kinsmen arena, rose from an outdoor pad. Ditto the notorious Silverwoods arena, which has the distinction of being the last choice facility for everyone.
I should have snapped a shot of Brantford's outdoor ball hockey rink. Next time.

Globe & Mail weighs in on minor hockey fighting

Linesmen save teenage players from West London
 and St. Thomas from their
youthful impulses. (Wayne Newton photo)

Are parents rejecting minor hockey because of fighting?
That might be the case according to today's Globe & Mail, where familiar themes are raised.
While fighting in teenage minor hockey is present, it's not that common and rarely significant. More dangerous are blows to the head, elbows and stickwork.
Still, the Globe raises a key point - parents are looking to enroll their kids into activities where sportsmanship is the centrepiece. We all know that's not always the way with minor hockey. If the sport is to continue to thrive and grow, creating an atmosphere were kids are treated holistically as active and athletic teens and not vicarious pawns of dads reliving their childhoods is a must. Minor hockey will get there, no worries.

West London Hawks Midgets vs. Brantford playdowns

Concussions are not child's play

Chris Stevenson has a must-read column in the Toronto Sun and its affiliated newspapers today for all minor hockey parents and players.
It's about a young Calgary player and his experience with a concussion, an all-too-common injury in minor hockey.
While our hockey-playing son has never suffered a concussion, many past and present teammates have. They've been forced to miss school, huge chunks of the schedule and, in one case, forced to leave hockey.
It doesn't have to be that way.
Coaches, referees, parents and players need to be on the same page when it comes to contact with heads and the significant, life-changing injuries which can result.
The NHL doesn't help matter much. The league every minor hockey kid follows and looks up to needs to set a better example in eliminating head shots and taking more seriously the concussion recovery process.

West London Hawks Midgets vs. Brantford playdowns

Hockey's everywhere in this country

You know you're in Canada when a plug for hockey pops up in a column about politics, a la Rob Granatstein and the Toronto Sun.

Girl talk: Ice time debate

Is minor hockey getting in the way of women's recreational leagues?
London, Ont., adult player Katie Harding should have been so bold as to make that argument in her Vox Pop column published and posted by The London Free Press.
Her argument is the standard one heard in many communities. Prime ice time in public arenas is grandfathered to traditional renters such as minor hockey, figure skating clubs and long-established men's leagues. New users wishing to use taxpayer-funded public arenas are left with the crumbs or forced to turn to more expensive, and sometimes ramshackle, private venues.
Some might say women's hockey could rent late-night hours, but seriously how safe is it for women, even athletic ones walking in groups, to be leaving arenas in dubious neighbourhoods at 1 a.m.?
The solution, at least in London, Ont., is to look at minor hockey hours.
How can it be that youth registration is declining, with entire organizations being forced to fold in recent years, yet there is still a crunch in finding hours for new users? Could it be that overly enthusiastic, pie in the sky coaches are renting too much practice time? Could it be that well-meaning league officials are creating schedules that are too long?
Is it possible that marrying minor hockey organizations catering to girls and boys would result in better allocation of precious ice time?
Food for thought.

Here's Hockey

Kids, here's your grandfather's hockey: Outdoor rinks for minor hockey, no glass on the side boards in the NHL. Follow this National Film Board link.
The writer for this short film also wrote Hardy Boys books and was the father of Brian McFarlane, who for years was a commentator on Hockey Night in Canada.

Just another job in Quebec City

Since the chatter about the NHL returning to Quebec City is heating up, I thought I would point hockey fans to this 1972 NFB film about the Nordiques and coach Rocket Richard.

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.