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.