NHL realignment a boon for broadcasters

BRUCE DOWBIGGIN, Globe and Mail Update, Dec. 07, 2011


In a career filled with negotiating consensus among squabbling owners, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s chef d’oeuvre might be the proposed new realignment. What was once thought to be a simple flip of Winnipeg to the Western Conference became a complete re-think of the NHL’s dynamics. If the NHL Players Association agrees, the league map will be re-written.

Said an impressed Brian Burke, GM of Toronto: “It was like a Chicago election in the ’30s. He knew where the votes were coming from.” As a result, the league can easily expand its playoff format and possibly add two expansion franchises to create two 16-team conferences. If Bettman is able to negotiate a new collective agreement as effortlessly he might be up for the Nobel Prize.

What does the new four-conference format promise for teams’ TV and radio? First, it means everyone gets to see the league’s reigning deities (and duds) play the locals on their home broadcaster. Hello Sidney, ciao Alex Ovechkin. More importantly, the new intra-conference playoff format will create a more equitable travel schedule for all teams, not simply Eastern teams whose limited travel gave them a huge advantage in the past.

So in the first two playoff rounds Vancouver wouldn’t be playing three times zones away in Detroit, or Edmonton would not have long trips to Nashville or St. Louis in the central time zone. Instead they’ll stay in their time zone, a boon for broadcasters and fans who are always accommodating odd start times. (Eastern teams will see little change in their postseason time zone coverage.)

The downside for the seven Canadian teams is that they’re almost all in two divisions, meaning that while CBC and TSN will have plenty of domestic matchups in the early rounds the teams could wind up eliminating each other before we get to the Conference Finals.

Better, the smaller pool of potential playoff opponents in those first rounds will promote more regional rivalries created by recurring series. Remember the old Norris or Adams Division hate-fests created by playing year after year? This new format will deliver more ready-made animosity for TV to exploit. A must considering the supposed Battle of Alberta hasn’t had a postseason edition since the early ‘90s.

As well, a typical team in the Northeast can currently expect fewer than 10 games outside its time zone all season; teams such as Detroit or Vancouver play twice as many of their games in another time zone. For teams such as Detroit or Columbus, the new format means fewer starts at 9:30 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. ET, a boon for their ratings. For Winnipeg, there is no possible playoff match with a Canadian team till the third round, but a guarantee that all Canadian teams come to the MTS Centre at least once a year.

In the regular season, the new home-and-home format for every opponent should deliver more Eastern games in radio prime time (4:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.) for Western teams - a ratings plus. Conversely TV ratings would be hurt by more early starts when most people are in their cars coming home from work.

Adams Family Update: Best suggestion for names of the new conferences? Has to be characters from Slap Shot. Reg Dunlop, Ogie Oglethorpe, Dr. Hook McCracken and your choice of a Hansen Brother. Let the Americans say they’re confused by those names.

Burke’s Law: The pressure on an NHL general manager in a Canadian city is stifling. You are a combination of Wizard of Oz and Village Idiot in the eyes of most fans. The local media gives you greater scrutiny than Mark Carney gets as Governor of the Bank of Canada. In short, it can make you crazy.

So what do we make of profane, angry e-mails coming to media members from Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke? While contact by management figures unhappy with stories is acceptable (even encouraged) by most in the press, the tone is meant to be civil. Make the point, disagree, move on.

But Burke has gone beyond that standard in several of his missives to journalists. The best way to look at Burke’s broadsides? He wants his players to acquit themselves professionally with the media, but he wants to give himself an exemption from that self discipline. Leadership flows from the top. How can Burke ask his players for a level of civil discourse that he is unable to deliver himself?

Business As Usual: The news that ex-enforcer Derek Boogaard’s autopsy showed advance signs of apparent brain damage due to concussions sent a chill through hockey circles. Who might be next and how many players are carrying the same CTE signs already? It gave almost everyone pause.

Not a problem at TSN, apparently, where the network was blithely extolling fights on Monday night’s version of Sportscentre. Host Darren Dutchyshen was happily chortling about players “getting the flippers up” in the Rangers/Maple Leafs contest while co-host Kate Beirness joined in the yukfest, approvingly describing players on the Bruins and Penguins pounding each other in another highlight pack.

Counted Out: Speaking of NHL fighters, Matthew Barnaby is apparently not a quick study. The veteran of seven NHL clubs was fired by ESPN Monday after being pulled over by Erie County (N.Y.) sheriff's deputies who saw an SUV driving erratically without a front tire. The former Buffalo Sabre now faces DWI charges and possible deportation for violating an agreement reached to avoid potential deportation following an arrest on a domestic charge earlier this year.

Picture This: Lights, camera, action... hey, where’s the camera? “A hand held CBC TV video camera, was taken some time on the 4th of December from the Lake Louise Ski hill on the World Cup Race Course. The Camera was with a Skidoo and other equipment by the start line of FIS World Cup down hill. The camera is a specialized TV Camera and is un-usable to the general public and un-sellable. The CBC would like the camera returned by calling crime stoppers 1-800-222-8477, type at www.crimestoppers.ca or text at tttTIPS to 274637. The CBC Calgary can be contacted 403-521-6200 or to their website at www.CBC.ca .”

Louis, round up the usual suspects.

Punjabi HNIC Returns: CBC is bringing back Hockey Night In Canada in Punjabi on Saturday with an all-Canadian doubleheader.

The Punjabi Bob Cole, play-by-play voice Harnarayan Singh, returns for a third season. Two games will be available every Saturday night during the regular season, as well as one series per round during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Deserving honour: Finally, props to our colleague Bob Elliott, the long-time baseball writer for the Sun chain who was named the first Canadian winner of the Taylor Spink Award, presented annually by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.” After starting as a Montreal Expos reporter for the Ottawa Citizen Elliott joined the Sun chain in 1987 and covered his 33rd consecutive Opening Day in 2010.

It’s no exaggeration to call Elliott the dean of Canadian baseball writers. Now he’ll have his name recognized in Cooperstown. Well done.

Hockey Day in Kyrgyzstan: Ambitious new IIHF member undergoes first hockey audit

MARTIN MERK, IIHF.com, Dec 8 2011


BISHKEK – Adam Sollitt, the IIHF’s Project Coordinator Research & Audit, recently travelled to Kyrgyzstan, the IIHF’s newest member nation.

The Central Asian country that lies between Kazakhstan and China was accepted as the 70th IIHF member by the IIHF Annual Congress in May. Last winter they won gold in the second-tier ice hockey tournament of the Asian Winter Games.

IIHF.com asked the Canadian based at the Vierumäki Sports Institute of Finland about his impressions from the recent trip and his work with the audits.

Tell us a bit about your recent trip for the audit to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

It was a well-organised audit by the local federation. You could see that they are excited to be a member of the IIHF and they really pushed to speed up the audit process and to have it early. After their success at the Asian Winter Games they’re now really motivated to do well internationally. That’s why they joined the IIHF. They want to compete in the IIHF World Championship and of course before they compete we need to understand their programs better. We need to understand what they have and what their current situation is. Because they really want to participate as fast as possible they pushed us to do the audit as quickly as possible, so I went there together with Harald Springfeld, our Asian Sport Development Manager.

What impression did you get?

It was only a three-day audit, but it was organised very well. They wanted to make a good impression and also organised meetings with various politicians like the Minister of Sports, the Prime Minister, the President of the Olympic Preparation Centre and the Mayor of Bishkek to discuss the future of Kyrgyz hockey. Our impressions were quite good. For a country that’s so young in the IIHF and rather small in the number of registered players they have a lot of attention right now because they won a gold medal in the Asian Winter Games. They have a lot of opportunities to develop because they have the commitment and backing of the political leaders. In this sense it’s a very promising nation because they have something that a lot of other countries don’t have and that’s really good communication lines with the political leaders.

What are Kyrgyzstan and its capital Bishkek like?

Bishkek is kind of a big city of about one million people. It is their largest city. It’s quite clean, with most buildings being from the Soviet times.

I didn’t see much of the country because we were only there for three days and it takes a lot of time to go through all the documents. But I heard that the country is very beautiful and they gave us a DVD so we can see what we missed.

In Bishkek we went to the ice rink and for lunch we went to these traditional yurts, some kind of tents, and we had horse meat, one of their national dishes. Once we also ate at the president’s building, which is also called White House in Bishkek.

Actually their one ice rink was pretty nice. It’s relatively new, just three years old, and it was in good condition. But they forgot benches for the players and officials. They have doors so the players have to sit in the stands, which might be interesting for the fans.

Did you watch a game there?

We did watch an exhibition game. Their league is split up into three mini-tournaments, but two of the teams that compete in this national championship played an exhibition game while we were there so we could get some kind of impression.

What’s most surprising is that there are also many older players who are still playing. A lot of players were over 40 years old and there was one player who was about 63. We have to keep in mind that there is only one indoor ice rink in operation right now. Therefore most of the teams are practising outdoor. That’s why their practice time and levels are not quite up to normal standards, although some of the players were pretty good.

There are also some Russian players who are playing in Kyrgyzstan and some of them are also living there.

Was it easy to communicate with the people during your trip?

We had a very talented translator in Kyrgyzstan, otherwise it would probably be difficult. Most time they spoke in Russian, but they also have their own language, Kyrgyz. When we were at the rink we also met some parents who were expats from North America. They and their kids are also playing ice hockey.

Did you have any special experiences during your time in Kyrgyzstan?

There was one evening we had a traditional Kyrgyz sauna night. The sauna was a bit like a Finnish sauna and they had a pool area where we were able to go. Afterwards they had set up a dinner where you could go between sauna and eat your food. And there it’s apparently a tradition to bring their guests of honour a head of a lamb. So they brought in a cooked head of a lamb and put it in front of us and asked us to cut up the head. This was an interesting experience. It’s something I haven’t been given before.

How many audits do you usually do per year?

It depends on the year. Last year was a rather quiet year, but we’re averaging about 20 audits per year. We’ve done totally 48 national association audits and seven female-specific audits for top countries.

What are you looking at when you go to a new country like Kyrgyzstan for an audit?

For a new member we’re mostly looking at what exists and what doesn’t. We need to know what opportunities there are for them and also for the IIHF. It’s a good opportunity for them to learn about our programs, not only the World Championship but also for example the Recruitment Program or the Learn to Play Program or that they can participate in Development Camps and look at our officiating manuals they haven’t been exposed to before. We’re also looking at their total structure and their organisation and strategies, their short-term and long-term goals. We are looking at all their programs and everything they do as a national association from organising their annual meetings to league operations. We’re giving them some directions on what they’re missing and what they could do and we give them some options and ask them to make decisions on where they want to improve and what is their priority and make it work together with us.

Do you actually rate the countries?

We give developing hockey nations a score based on what they have and what they do not have. We do that by going through their strategies and all their programs and give points for what they have and how it is used within their organisation. Like that we’re also giving them some kind of direction because all these programs are weighted according to importance.

What are the main goals of the audits?

The main premise in the end is to give us and our committees a better understanding of how the countries work and how we can better support them and develop programs that will address actual needs and not just perceived needs. Like that we can make decisions based on facts we know rather than what we think we know. At the same time we give countries a tool, the audit report, so they can address their weaknesses and address areas they want to focus on.

Which audits will follow in the next few months?

This year we are starting with the audit for the top-13 nations. These audits will be a little bit different. It will be more about benchmarking and collecting best practices and finding good examples that might benefit the other nations. And we want to analyse new trends and what the national associations identify as weaknesses and where they want to go.

Kennedy: No room for politics when creating WJC rosters

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News, 2011-12-07


Someone always has to stay home. It’s a fact of life a team can only have so many members and those talented enough to play outnumber the spots available. So with rosters for the World Junior Championship either set or getting pretty close, I just hope teams take the players they want and don’t discount anyone for political reasons.

The two countries that get brought up the most when this issue arises are the United States and the Czech Republic.

Starting off in the Czech Republic, the issue usually revolves around the talent drain leading players to major junior hockey in North America. This has been a serious problem for the Czechs, whose under-20 program has been flagging for years now. Top prospects leave for North America and the local teams don’t get the financial compensation they’re looking for in return – plus they’ve lost a marquee player that might attract some attention from Czech fans. In response, the Czech federation seems to have punished certain players who have jumped overseas.

“There’s the same chance it will happen again this year,” said one Czech scout. “They’re trying to keep the kids over here and they’ll do anything to stop them.”

Last year, Ottawa 67’s goaltender Petr Mrazek was left off the roster, despite being a Detroit Red Wings draft pick and one of the better netminders in the Ontario League, particularly in the playoffs the year prior. He’s there this year, but I have to wonder if it’s because the Czechs are in very serious danger of actually getting relegated and that would be worse than proving a point to a teenage eloper. The Czechs did, however, leave Patrik Bartosak off their preliminary roster. Bartosak happens to be one of the better netminders in the Western League this season and was even named Canadian League goaltender of the week in mid-October. Maybe the Czechs felt they only needed Mrazek for the tournament and Bartosak will get his shot next year. But wouldn’t Bartosak benefit from just being at the tournament? Curious.

With the Americans, there has long been the perception that Team USA punished kids who went the major junior route instead of the national team development program or college after that. Winnipeg’s Zach Bogosian, who played for the OHL ‘s Peterborough Petes, didn’t crack the 2008 squad, then promptly went third overall in the draft and straight to the NHL after that.

These days, it cannot be said the Americans discriminate. Nine players out of 30 on Team USA’s preliminary roster are from the CHL and both goaltenders are guaranteed to be OHLers in Jack Campbell and John Gibson (Andy Iles of Cornell has already been established as the emergency third-stringer). On top of that, both Campbell and Gibson famously dropped their commitments to the University of Michigan in successive years.

But one name that keeps coming up is Jared Knight of OHL London. Knight turned down the NTDP in 2008 to play for London and it seems to have haunted him ever since. This was his last year of eligibility for the world juniors and he is an integral member of the best major junior team in the nation. A high second round draft pick of the Boston Bruins, Knight seemed to have earned at least a shot at camp, but no invite came. For at least one NHL scout, there’s no conspiracy.

“There’s a lot of choices now for the U.S.,” he said. “It’s not like 20 or 30 years ago. Now there’s a larger pool, that’s just the reality. I’ve seen their staff at CHL rinks extensively. They don’t discriminate.”

Which I hope is the answer. Too much talent, only so many roster spots. The world juniors are something a player only gets a short window to participate in and then it’s gone forever. I hope politics don’t enter the equation when those tough decisions are made.

-----

I have coached lots if International kids the past few years (USA, UK, Swiss, Finnish, Swede, Belgian, German, Russian, Latvian, etc.) and I heard from the Latvian perspective (kids) that there is indeed money involved (allegedly) in the selection process. If you are a good enough player to be considered, money 'helps' ensure you get onto the roster. Not sure if this is true, but I have heard lots of stories about the countries who have splintered from the old USSR... so this wouldn't be surprising. With all the oil money and a few very rich people rising out of the ashes of Communism / a military-led nation, it truly seems as if it is the 'wild west' over there... read Dave King's book "King of Russia" to get more of a flavour of this...

Kirk Muller echoes Badger Bob

ERIC DUHATSCHEK, Globe and Mail, Dec. 08, 2011


The smile that creases Kirk Muller’s face is there perpetually, it seems, even in these hard, early days as the Carolina Hurricanes’ new head coach. The Hurricanes had lost four in a row under his guidance, after he replaced Paul Maurice behind the bench last week, until they slipped into Edmonton on Wednesday night and escaped with a 5-3 win, his first as an NHL head coach.

For Muller, whose Canes meet the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, retaining his good humour under trying circumstances is a personal strength and also something of a trademark. He is an eternal optimist – and even though there are no physical resemblances whatsoever, his bubbling cauldron of enthusiasm conjures up no less a figure than Bob Johnson, the Hall Of Fame coach, who memorably coined the phrase, “it’s a great day for hockey,” and made it true, even in the darkest of times.

Johnson once made a key distinction about coaching styles that is as true today as it was it in the 1980s – that you can coach by either emphasizing fear or stressing pride. Johnson cited Scotty Bowman, Mike Keenan and others of that ilk as disciples of the former approach – tough-love guys before the concept of tough love became an Oprah staple. Johnson put himself in the latter category, someone who emphasized pride, improvement, and helping the players get better every day.

Muller is in that category too, part of a generation of players that many thought would exit the game once their playing careers ended because they’d made their fortunes already. Just the opposite happened. Many became hockey lifers and Carolina boasts a star-studded front-office lineup that includes Ron Francis, plus assistant coaches Rod Brind’Amour, Tom Barrasso and John MacLean, all of whom would look good in Hurricane uniforms right now.

“I never took for granted a day I played in the NHL, I really didn’t,” Muller said of his desire to coach. “I just thought, ‘Man, are we lucky?’ Dad was a postman, a blue-collar mail carrier. My family is all blue collar. I had no problem when people said [about coaching], ‘Man, it’s a lot of hours.’ I love it.”

Muller says he received some good advice from former Montreal Canadiens’ general manager Bob Gainey upon his retirement, who suggested he take a full year off before determining what he wanted to do next in his life.

“I already knew before the year was out that I wanted to get back into it,” Muller said, “so I went to coach at Queen’s [in his hometown of Kingston, Ont.] because it was an opportunity to see if I liked it. There’d be 50 people in the stands, but you know what? It didn’t matter. There could have been 20,000. It was more about the competitive level and the teaching. I knew after that I was going to have fun with it. And from there, I just followed the path. I didn’t know where it was going to lead, but ...”

But ultimately it led here – to Carolina, a small-market, low-budget team that puts a primary emphasis on building from within. Two blue-chip youngsters, Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk, came in the first two rounds of 2010 and are playing in the NHL as teenagers already. It is up to Muller to take the raw material at his disposal and craft it into a winner.

Muller was a mainstay on the Canadiens’ coaching staff up until last year, when he decided that to get a head-coaching job in the NHL, he would need to move to the minors to run his own team. Carolina plucked him out of Milwaukee, where he was guiding the Nashville Predators’ AHL affiliate and handed him the reins of a slumping, dispirited team. It’s been all Up With People ever since.

“I more or less said, ‘From today on, let’s clear the heads and move forward,’” Muller explained. “I don’t care who is minus-15. I don’t care who has one goal. Let’s look at today and how can we be better? And let’s do it together. Nobody has to be Superman. There is strength in numbers. So let’s come to the rink and have fun and play hard and see where we’re at.”

A sentiment that Badger Bob, if he were eavesdropping, would heartily echo and endorse.

Billionaire keeps local hockey in play

Kerry Eggers, The Portland Tribune, Dec 8, 2011


He slips into Portland quietly at least a couple of times a month, tending to business in the Winterhawks’ office at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Los Angeles resident is the emissary of Winterhawks’ owner Bill Gallacher, a bit of a mystery man in his own right.

He is Ken Stickney, 49, president of Avenir Sports Entertainment, an entity in Gallacher’s considerable financial empire.

Stickney and Gallacher, 50, work behind the scenes, helping team president Doug Piper and general manager/coach Mike Johnston with the reclamation project that is Portland’s Western Hockey League franchise.

Stickney has worked for Gallacher since 2008, when the Calgary oil magnate purchased a Winterhawks franchise that was the worst in the WHL by a long shot.

Last week, Stickney sat down for a half-hour interview with the Portland Tribune, his first with the city’s media in more than three years on the job.

“That’s by design,” Stickney says. “We try to put Doug and Mike up front. We don’t do interviews. We just want to get our business done.”

Stickney, a former shortstop at Cal Riverside, is former president of Mandalay Sports Entertainment. MSE owns or manages seven minor league teams, including a pair of Triple-A clubs — Scranton/Wilkes Barre (Yankees) and Oklahoma City (Houston).

Three years ago, Stickney and his father sold a majority interest in MSE to a private equity firm, and the junior Stickney joined Gallacher with the idea of similar pursuits in hockey.

“I represent Bill in anything he wants to do in the sports world,” Stickney says. “His primary focus right now is the Winterhawks. He has aspirations to go beyond that.”

Gallacher, who looked seriously into buying the Dallas Stars a year ago, would like to bring the NHL to the City of Roses.

“I would fully expect at some time in the future that would be something we end up doing,” Stickney says. “Our aspiration ultimately is to own a hockey team at every level, and Portland has a lot of attributes you’re looking at for an entry market.”

Gallacher is chairman of Athabasco Oil Sands Corp., a multi-billion-dollar business that owns leases and permits on more than 1 1/2 million acres in Alberta. The company’s reserves included an estimated 8.6 billion barrels of contingent resource in 2010.

PetroChina purchased 60 percent of AOSC’s assets in 2009, “so Bill is in Asia a lot,” Stickney says.

Gallacher also spends time watching Ohio State hockey. His son, Ben, is a freshman defenseman for the Buckeyes and was a fourth-round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2010 draft.

Gallacher’s other passion is the Winterhawks, though he doesn’t often see them play in person and hasn’t been to a game in Portland since the 2009-10 season. Gallacher watches some games on the Internet, though, and is in constant communication with Stickney.

“Bill’s into it,” Stickney says. “We talk and text a lot. The other night, when we lost 7-6 in overtime, I got a text from him at 11:30 at night: ‘Dude, we gotta score eight goals to win?’ He’s a hockey guy.”

‘A great hockey town’

During the Gallacher era, the Hawks have gone from the worst record in the WHL to the league finals last season. They have seen a resurgence in attendance and corporate sponsorship. The scouting department has been revamped and improved. The Hawks expect to show a net profit this season for the first time in many years.

Gallacher’s role has been a key to all of this, though he is not a hands-on owner.

“It is more a vote of confidence than anything else,” Stickney says. “Doug is as good as it gets when it comes to hockey organization and management. Mike and Travis (Green, his chief assistant coach) are two pretty good hockey guys. (Gallacher) lets his people do their job.

“Bill says very little and does a lot. I’m not sure the people of Portland understand how tremendous he has been as an owner. He has been so responsive whenever we’ve needed resources.”

Gallacher, says Stickney, “is a simple guy, the most unlikely billionaire you’d ever meet. He is quiet and unassuming. He doesn’t say much, but when he speaks, you listen. He’s really smart and a kind person — a good man.”

Stickney and Piper are knee-deep into what they hope will be a public/private partnership with the city on a $33 million renovation of the coliseum. The Winterhawks seek an 8,000-seat multipurpose facility that would serve as their home.

The Hawks propose to contribute $10 million to the project. No money will come from Portland’s general fund, Stickney says. The majority of the rest of the project would be financed through the Portland Development Commission, however, including more than $7.5 million in Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area funds.

The Trail Blazers, who manage the coliseum, would offer construction management services, but no cash. Winterhawks officials say that contribution is huge — a value in the seven figures.

Portland’s City Council has approved the concept, but a final vote is expected to come in January. Nearly two years ago the coliseum was named to the National Register of Historic Places, and is designated as a memorial for war veterans, meaning it won’t likely be demolished.

The renovation project “has to get passed,” Stickney says. “From my standpoint, the only way you lose is if you do nothing. You have a building that needs renovation.”

Key parts of the proposal include enlargement of seats from 19 to 22 inches and a state-of-the-art scoreboard.

“If we do nothing else but those two things, it would be fantastic, but we plan to do a lot more,” Stickney says. “We want to rebrand the coliseum. A lot of people have made up their mind not to go there. They’ll only go to the Rose Garden, but the coliseum can be a neat place to watch hockey.

“We want to create an intimate, different experience from the Rose Garden, which is a magnificent building — as good as any NHL building in the country. But (the coliseum) can be really cool. If not, we wouldn’t get involved.”

The Winterhawks’ coliseum lease expires after the 2013 season. If the renovation project is approved, the team will look to extend the lease at least through 2023, Piper says.

The Hawks want the coliseum renovated because they have to compete for dates in the Rose Garden with the Blazers and many other shows, including concerts.

“We could play (all) 36 (regular-season) games in the Rose Garden,” Stickney says. “But having Tuesday dates there — does that work out as well as having Saturday nights in the coliseum?”

But what if the coliseum gets renovated, and a year or two down the road, an NHL franchise goes up for sale, and Gallacher buys the club and moves it to Portland?

“We believe we would continue to operate the Hawks out of the coliseum,” Piper says. “There are lots of markets that have major- and minor-league teams.”

Piper points to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver as examples. All, of course, are in Canada, where hockey is the national sport.

Stickney says it could work in Portland, too, envisioning a situation such as in Los Angeles, where the Staples Center and Nokia Theatre work in tandem for events.

“Portland is a great hockey market,” Piper says. “The Buckaroos were here before the Blazers, and they were extremely popular.”

Without Paul Allen?

The Hawks purchased the Valley Ice Arena in Beaverton last year.

“We’re trying to resurrect hockey here,” Piper says. “Five to 10 years from now, we see five more skating rinks in town and 5,000 kids playing youth hockey.

“We believe the Hawks could play in the coliseum and an NHL team in the Rose Garden, and both teams could do well. It wouldn’t kill the Hawks by any stretch to have both.”

I’m not sure I agree with that. My other concern is whether an NHL team not owned by Paul Allen could make it in town. He owns and operates the Rose Garden and controls all proceeds from events at the building, including parking, concessions and souvenir sales.

But Stickney says it works in other markets in North America, and a deal could be cut in Portland that would allow for Gallacher to own an NHL team and use the Rose Garden as its home arena.

“We have talked to the Blazers conceptually (about bringing an NHL team to Portland), but nothing in depth,” Stickney says. “You couldn’t make any moves to bring the NHL here without their support.”

Allen has had chances to land an NHL franchise and has always resisted them, ostensibly because he believes it would provide competition for fans and corporate support. The Rose Garden, though, would be a plum site for an NHL team. There’s no argument about that.

“It’s a Class A-plus building that’s hockey-ready,” Stickney says. “There aren’t a lot of those around that don’t have NHL teams.”

There are a lot of moving parts involved, and time will tell if it comes together if and when an NHL team goes up for sale.

“Timing is everything,” Stickney says. “If something opens up, you have to be ready. There are a multitude of things that have to fall into place.

“But I’m not getting any younger. I’d like to see it happen sooner rather than later.”

For now, Gallacher and Stickney are focused on the Winterhawks — again one of the WHL’s top clubs — bettering their performance of a year ago.

“We plan on winning the Memorial Cup this year,” Stickney says. “We don’t think about it in terms of rebuilding. We’re going to reload every year and go after it.

“A lot of teams run cyclically; we’re not looking at it that way. Our goal every year is to win it all, and we have a good shot this year.”

New rules for a Sens reporter

Ian Mendes, Sportsnet.ca, December 9, 2011


As a Rogers employee -- and a guy who covers the Ottawa Senators for a living -- I'm absolutely stunned by the news that we've purchased the Toronto Maple Leafs.

What does this mean for us in the field?

I'm fortunate enough to be able to share an internal memo that was sent out to us early this morning, just minutes after the sale was announced.

Dear reporters and on-air talent,

Congratulations on your recent purchase of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here are some editorial guidelines to keep in mind, now that we own the most powerful sports franchise in this country:

No. 1: Going forward, Leafs GM Brian Burke will approve all of your scripts related to the Toronto Maple Leafs. So in short, this is business as usual.

No. 2: If Leafs coach Ron Wilson is surly and combative towards you in a press conference, you are free to tell him, "Don't make me take this up with HR."

No. 3: Speaking of HR, it's not permissible to access an employee's emergency contact information for the purposes of news gathering. (ie - James Reimer).

No. 4: Because of heightened sensitivity of two major cell phone companies owning the team, when reading highlights after a Leafs defensive breakdown, please do not use the term "poor coverage."

No. 5: On your next paycheque -- in addition to federal tax, CPP, medical and other deductions -- there will be a mysterious "JFD" of $3.24 per employee. This will be known as the Jeff Finger Deduction.

No. 6: Toronto FC will now be ahead of the Ottawa Senators in the news lineup. Once again, this is business as usual.

No. 7: Archived footage of the 1993 playoffs will only be permissible up to and including Game 5 of the Conference Final against Los Angeles.

No. 8: Every six weeks, anchors will be forced to fabricate a story about how Telus and Virgin Mobile are close to teaming up to buy the Toronto Argos. There will then be 15 seconds of canned laughter.

Dayn Belfour wants to be known for more than just being ‘Eddie's boy'

Eric Olson, The Associated Press, Dec. 09, 2011


Dayn Belfour walks and talks like his father.

He does not, however, play goalie like newly inducted Hockey Hall of Famer Ed Belfour.

That’s not a knock against Dayn. Few men have worked between the pipes the way “Eddie the Eagle” did in a 16-year NHL career highlighted by a Stanley Cup and two Vezina Trophies.

Dayn, however, won’t stop trying.

The 22-year-old, first-year walk-on at the University of Nebraska-Omaha is among three goalies competing to win the No. 1 job that’s still open even as the Mavericks (8-7-3) near the second half of the season.

Dayn has modest statistics in limited playing time and probably would go about his business drawing little notice if it weren’t for that last name, which has alternately opened doors for him and been a curse.

“I’ve got one of the greatest names in hockey history, and I wear it proudly,” Dayn said. “Hopefully, I can one day accomplish everything my father did and then some.”

UNO coach Dean Blais said there’s nothing wrong with Dayn wanting to chase the dream. But he recommended a dose of reality two years ago when Dayn considered going overseas to play professionally after spending five seasons in the junior ranks.

“I advised Eddie to have him to go to school,” Blais said. “Obviously, he wasn’t Eddie Belfour. He wasn’t as good as his dad. There are only a few of those guys who come along every so often, right?”

Dayn said his father didn’t push him into hockey. He couldn’t help but want to play after being around the NHL since he was a child. Chris Chelios is his godfather and Jeremy Roenick is one of his dad’s best friends.

He started out as a defenceman, because he wanted to be like Chelios. Then he played forward, because he wanted to be a goal-scorer like Roenick. And then, at about age 12, he wanted to be like his father.

“I asked my dad for goaltending equipment for Christmas,” Dayn said. “He knew what I was getting myself into.”

Blais and his junior coaches said being a goalie with the name Belfour might have allowed Dayn to get a tryout that he wouldn’t have got otherwise. Beyond that, they said, he’s earned everything he’s gotten through hard work.

Dayn’s name certainly drew the attention of Ernie Sutherland, the assistant general manager of the Winkler Flyers, who recruited Dayn out of Ontario to play for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League team. Sutherland was Ed Belfour’s coach when he played for Winkler in the ‘80s.

“Our evaluation of him was he was a goalie who deserved to be where he was,” Sutherland said of Dayn. “I took one look at him and said to myself that I want that kid in Winkler.”

Mark Thiessen, Ed Belfour’s teammate at Winkler and Dayn’s coach there, said Dayn made him do a double-take the first day he was on the team.

The team was on a bus, and Thiessen heard a familiar voice coming from the back.

“Dayn started talking, and I turned to Ernie and said, ‘Is that Eddie back there?”‘ he said. “He sounded just like Ed did years and years ago. And then to see Dayn on the ice. Just the way he goes about things is the same as Eddie.”

Dayn played three years in Winkler, and for part of that time the fans complained that he was given an unfair advantage over a local kid on the team because he was Ed Belfour’s son (and the elder Belfour also was part owner of the team).

North Dakota, Minnesota State-Mankato and Bemidji State showed some interest in Dayn, but were wary of his academic situation. Dayn is a solid student, but he was ineligible his first year of college because of an NCAA rule that required him to finish high school in four years. He needed five years because he moved a number of times.

The Belfour name helped Dayn in this instance, because Blais was an assistant coach at North Dakota when Ed helped lead UND to the national championship in 1986-87. Blais also remembered Dayn from scouting Winkler.

“I thought he had a little bit of hot and cold in him,” Blais said. “When he was hot, he was very, very good, capable of getting the shutout or one goal. Sometimes he’d have 45 saves, too. I’d seen him other games where he’d give up three or four weak ones. If you can play good one time, you can play that way all the time. Knowing Eddie, if Dayn was anything like him, the kid is going to have pretty good fundamentals.”

Dayn said his father has always talked about goaltending technique and training and mentored him on other aspects of the games. Dayn also has watched every bit of video of his father that he can find.

Ed Belfour, who lives near Dallas and didn’t respond to a message seeking an interview, attended a couple UNO games early in the season, but Dayn didn’t play in either.

Dayn has appeared in four games, started three and has a 2.30 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

Blais said Dayn is under consideration to start one or both games in this weekend’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association series at North Dakota.

Dayn is ready for the inevitable comparisons when he shows up in Grand Forks with “Belfour” stitched to the back of his sweater with the No. 29, the same number his father wore at UND.

“One of these days I’ll make a name for myself,” Dayn said. “I want to be known as Dayn Belfour one day, not just Eddie’s boy.”

Coach says attitude has cut down Blades: Lack of effort has hurt, Molleken says

Kevin Mitchell, The Star Phoenix November 30, 2011


It wasn't the crash that bothered Lorne Molleken; it was the way the crash happened.

Molleken, the Saskatoon Blades' head coach, said two home-ice losses this weekend can be pinned squarely on his team's demeanour during those games.

"We knew going into this year that we weren't going to win every hockey game, but there's no excuse for lack of effort," Molleken said prior to Tuesday's practice.

Saskatoon led the overall WHL standings heading into Friday, but 6-2 and 4-1 losses to Calgary and Vancouver, respectively, dropped them from that lofty perch. Those setbacks were the team's first home losses of the season.

The Blades, now 18-8-0-1, take on the 18-5-1-2 Kootenay Ice tonight at 7 p.m. at Credit Union Centre.

"When we're at our best, we're challenging people, we're taking pucks to the net, we're creating opportunities," Molleken said. "We got away from that. Going into this weekend, we were at the top of the standings in the overall league, and teams are going to be ready to play against us. If we're not willing and able to push back and counter what's thrown at us. you know what the end results are going to be."

Kootenay rides a five-game win streak heading into tonight, and the back-story adds to the intrigue - the Ice crushed Saskatoon's Memorial Cup hopes last spring by sweeping the heavily-favoured Blades four straight games in the second round of playoffs.

The Blades earned a small - very small - measure of revenge with a 2-1 victory Nov. 13 in Kootenay.

Molleken insists that "what happened last year was last year," but his players still have vivid memories of their unexpected collapse.

"Everyone remembers what happened," said Blades' forward Josh Nicholls. "Individually, you realize you want to beat these guys. As a group, you play for the crest on your chest. Anytime a team takes you down, you want to show you're the better team and can come back and beat them. That's what we're going to try and do.

"You definitely want to beat them, but it's never going to go away until you play them again in the playoffs. You want to beat them and show them you're the better team."

Before I Made It: Jay Rosehill

With Kevin Kennedy, The Hockey News, Dec 10 2011


I played all my minor hockey in Olds, Alta., and only left there when I was 17 to play midget AAA in Red Deer. I was kind of a product of the hometown minor hockey system all the way through.

I had a lot of great coaches who really helped me along the way. When I was 15 I tried out for the bantam AAA team and I ended up getting cut and went back down to the AA team in Olds. The coach kind of took me under his wing and started to turn me into a more physical player. I kind of had a chip on my shoulder that season from getting cut and I felt had something to prove. I see that year as kind of a turning point for me. I started to build an identity for myself as a player that year.

My parents and my brother really got me into hockey. My brother is two years older and I always followed what he did. I ended up playing on his team with older kids, which I think helped my development. My dad also would flood the pond and keep it plowed for us, so in the winter we had tons of ice time.

I played a little baseball in the summer and some golf. Our family would also go up in the mountains and do some skiing, but that stopped once hockey got more serious. I didn’t have a ton of hobbies as a kid, but I would spend a lot of time in the fields shooting gophers. I liked being out on the ranch, running around. I was never much of a video game guy and I liked to ride my bike into town and find jumps and stuff.

These days I go to a lot of movies during my free time. I spend my summers back home in Olds and try to get outside as much as I can between training and working out. To be honest, I’d still rather spend my time being active outside than watching movies, but you need to give your body some rest. Maybe when I have kids I’ll be able to do that some more and chase them around outside.

I used to work with my dad part-time growing up. He runs a livestock auction company and he’s the auctioneer, so on sale days in the summertime I would do all the out penning and get all the cattle in the right pens and get them in the trailers after the sale and make sure they got to the customer. Other than that it was just the odd jobs at a buddy’s farm that I’d be able to do.

The Max Midget tournament would probably be my most memorable highlight from my minor hockey career. I was 16 years old and I’d played all my hockey up ‘til then in Olds, so going to an international tournament was unbelievable. I remember we played against the Swiss national team and just seeing them out there was crazy. I’d never played against a European team and they had logos all over their equipment and there was a big crowd with TV cameras. I’d never experienced anything like that before.

I remember my first NHL moment was when I made the team out of training camp last year, which was kind of nice because when you get called up during the season you don’t really know anyone and there’s a lot going on. You’re on the plane by yourself, packing your own bag and not sure what to expect and all the nerves that would come with that. It was nice to play some exhibition games and keep that momentum going right up to the first game of the season. I didn’t have to change my routine at all, which really helped my nerves.

Nugent-Hopkins 'pretty good player,' says Renney

By Terry Jones, QMI Agency, Dec 10 2011


Did Edmonton just watch a significant moment in hockey history?

Was Friday an important night to remember in the young career of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins?

In game 29 of his first season, did RNH just force head coach Tom Renney to use him the same on the power play and begin to give him the same kind of ice time as The Player Not To Be Mentioned?

Renney put The Nuge on both the first and second power play units in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

“I’d like not to have to play him on both units,” said Renney of watching the 18-year-old kid dance and dangle and make magic for 6:37 on the power play and a total of 19:41 of ice time in the game after playing 8:21 in the first period and 6:37 in the second and getting much of the third period off to rest and recover for tonight’s tilt in Calgary.

‘Pretty good player’

“But he’s a pretty good player. I just found that out,” Renney joked. “One thing that we did notice is that it works.”

Early in this home stand the knowledgeable fans of Edmonton were screaming for some sort of explanation from the coach about why he kept insisting on playing pointless, mostly useless Eric Belanger on the point on the power play.

“Left-handed shot,” said Renney, like no other explanation was necessary.

With Renney taking Belanger off the power play entirely Friday night and leaving The Nuge out there to play straight through on both units, the rookie was wonderful to watch even though he “only” managed a couple of assists on a night when linemates Sam Gagner (two goals and an assist) and Jordan Eberle (a goal and an assist) were the big benefactors.

But at the end of the day, Nugent-Hopkins was still the story as he has been all year, just with the contemplating that this could very well be a key moment in the career of the skinny kid who continues to remind of another skinny kid.

There have already been comparisons to Nugent-Hopkins looking here and there a little like that guy who wore No. 99 here. And there also have been some suggestions that Taylor Hall has looked on occasion a bit like the guy who wore No. 11.

But tell me Jordan Eberle isn’t starting to remind you a little bit of the guy who wore No. 17 with the way he one-timed a no-peek pass from The Nuge across the ice between the legs of Gagner to him for his 11th of the year?

Nugent-Hopkins now has 32 points and Eberle 31 as they sit fifth and eighth in the NHL scoring race and Eberle has no problem with the 18-year-old getting most of the notice.

“I love it,” he said.

“He deserves what he’s getting. It’s amazing what he does. A lot of what I’m doing has been created by him.”

And Eberle loved what he watched with Nugent-Hopkins staying out to play on both powerplay units.

“It shows he’s capable of playing high minutes and smart enough to conserve energy.

“When the first unit leaves the ice I’m huffing and puffing and he’s still out there. Most of what makes Nuge is how smart he is.”

It was a second straight one-timer Eberle has scored on a RNH pass between Gagner’s legs .

“You can kind of tell the way he’s looking right through me that’s what he was looking to do,” Gagner marveled.

Excited all day

Nugent-Hopkins said he was excited all day when he found out the plan of playing on both units.

“They told me in the morning,” he said.

“Obviously, I enjoy playing on the power play. It’s a big privilege for me.

“A power play is the kind of thing where you can have extended shifts. It’s not the same as five-on-five. Hopefully we can keep having some success there.”

Wednesday, when Edmonton reeked against Carolina, RNH became the fastest Oiler rookie ever to reach 30 points, and the team was so bad the feat barely drew a mention.

But with 32 points in 29 games he’s got a chance to equal Rick Nash (39), Hall (42) and Steven Stamkos (46) rookie totals before the World Junior is over.

Ilya Kovalchuk (51), John Tavares (54) and Patrick Kane (72) are all well within range. And you wonder how close he might come to Sidney Crosby’s 102 and Alex Ovechkin’s 106.

Scary to even think that. But the numbers keep coming.

Boylen: Jason Garrison breaks out with Panthers
Jason Garrison is the surprise early leader in defensemen goals league-wide.

Rory Boylen, The Hockey News, 2011-12-10


Jason Garrison isn’t a well-known name around the NHL. In fact, when he was asked for an interview in the dressing room after a game a voice from the next stall over cracked at the request.

“Must be a slow day at The Hockey News,” said veteran Ed Jovanovski.

But despite Garrison’s low profile, he’s an intriguing talent. With nine goals through 29 games, Garrison leads all defensemen in the category and is on pace for a 25-goal season. Known more for defense than offense prior to this season, Garrison’s success can partially be pinned on the fact he plays alongside Brian Campbell, who sits second behind Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson in points from the blueline. The former Hawk knew little about his new teammate before he arrived in Florida, but the two have quickly become comfortable with each other.

“He’s got a big shot and we’re both lefties so I’m trying to find him as much as I can,” Campbell said. “He’s easy to play with. He’s solid in all areas, good skater, makes really good decisions and we feed off each other a lot so it’s been a good pair for us. He’s got a lot of upside and he’s still learning the game, too.”

And what better way for a defensively stout blueliner to learn how to round out his game than to play with the offense-minded Campbell? To anyone who has followed the Panthers in recent times, it won’t come as a surprise Garrison is again logging major minutes for the team. During his first full NHL season last year, Garrison pulled down 22:17 of ice time per game and hovered around level ground in plus-minus, even though Florida was the worst team in the East and allowed 34 more goals than it scored. He wasn’t a point producer and is already approaching his total for 2010-11, so the maturation of that side of his game has allowed new coach Kevin Dineen to trust Garrison with big minutes once again, even after the team added a couple of experienced players.

“Bringing Campbell in, obviously he logs a lot of minutes, so I definitely don’t expect to play more than he does,” Garrison said. “(The coaches) just told me I have to build off the year I had and they’ll put me in the same position and obviously partner me up with ‘Soup’ and be in a supportive role.”

When you play your first NHL season at 26 and have a breakout like this at 27, you get labelled a late bloomer. In fact, everything about Garrison’s game has been late developing. He was 18 when he played his first year in the British Columbia League with the Nanaimo Clippers and moved from forward back to defense. At 21, he was an undrafted college freshman and played three years for the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, where he didn’t take over on the offensive side of the puck, totalling just nine goals. He spent 2008-09 in Rochester of the American League and split the following season between the Americans and Panthers before staying in Florida full time last season.

Aside from the veterans he plays with, Garrison also credits assistant coach and Panthers expansion draft pick Gord Murphy with helping him refine his game at the NHL level.

“‘Murph’ played a long time and has shown me the way,” Garrison said. “There’s always something you can work on, be better offensively, better defensively. This year has been the year for me where I’ve tried to get my shot through as much as possible – focusing on finding the lane.”

So far it’s been working, even if it didn’t earn him a slot on the all-star ballot. But with the attention opponents have to pay to Florida’s hot top forward line and Garrison’s flashy defense partner, the Panthers would be happy to see their newfound blueline bomber continue to evade enemy radar – if only so the veterans can keeping taking pot shots at him.

Rumor Roundup: The Coyotes situation

Lyle Richardson, The Hockey News, 2011-12-11


Since 2009-10, the Phoenix Coyotes have been a playoff contender in the NHL's Western Conference.

What's impressive is they've accomplished this feat against the backdrop of uncertainty over their future in Arizona.

Since being placed into bankruptcy by former owner Jerry Moyes in May 2009, the Coyotes were nearly sold by Moyes to Blackberry billionaire Jim Balsillie, only to have that sale thwarted when the league stepped in and made a successful bid for the club during the bankruptcy hearings, purchasing the team from Moyes for $140 million.

Efforts to sell the team to Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Ice Edge Holdings group, and businessman Matt Hulsizer have since fallen through.

Despite these setbacks, the league continues its quest to find a prospective owner willing to keep the Coyotes in their current location.

League deputy commissioner Bill Daly informed the board of governors during its annual meetings this past week that efforts to find new owners were ongoing, claiming there were “continuing discussions with a couple of potentially interested purchasers.”

Hockey, fans for the most part, remain puzzled as to why the league has fought so hard to keep the Coyotes in their current location, especially given the quick relocation last summer of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg.

The Thrashers move, however, was under different circumstances. Its ownership had tried unsuccessfully for several years to find new owners willing to keep the team in Atlanta, but when none turned up, had no choice but to sell to True North Sports and Entertainment.

Having taken over ownership of the Coyotes for the past two years, the NHL board of governors wasn't willing to take on another troubled franchise.

The main reason the league wants to keep the Coyotes in their current location is Phoenix is one of the largest cities, metro areas, and media markets in the United States, which the league believes could become a considerable source of revenue.

Having already lost Atlanta, the league would prefer not to lose another major American market.

Cynical observers scoff at this notion, pointing to low attendance numbers during much of the Coyotes existence as proof the Phoenix area isn't a hockey market.

That view, however, overlooks the fact the team was poorly run and managed for a number of years, resulting in a mediocre product, a seemingly steady parade of their best players dealt away in lop-sided trades or lost to free agency, and a disillusioned fan base.

Critics cite the club's poor attendance during the past two seasons as “proof” sports fans in the Phoenix area don't care about hockey.

When one considers, however, the team has been under threat of relocation for over two years, it's little wonder Arizona sports fans are leery about throwing their support to a team which could be gone the following year.

Despite the uncertainty, in September it was reported season ticket renewals were the highest in a decade, while overall ticket sales were up 25 percent from last year.

Still, with their average home attendance after 13 home games this season the lowest in the league at just less than 11,000 per game, it's clear that uncertainty is still having an impact, despite the Coyotes solid play.

Time is of the essence. The Coyotes were close to being moved earlier this year, until the city of Glendale, where their home arena is located, agreed to pay the league $25 million to cover part of the team's losses while the two sides continued to seek a new owner.

It's believed if no owner can be found by next spring, the Coyotes will be relocated to another city in time for the 2012-13 season.

If the Coyotes are moved, it will have an impact on the new realignment plan recently approved by the Board of Governors.

The Coyotes are currently grouped in “Conference A” along with the three California-based franchises, the two Alberta-based teams, plus the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche.

It's believed the new alignment would allow for flexibility in the event the Coyotes are to be relocated.

Should they move to Seattle, which has been rumored as a potential target for an expansion or relocated franchise, they could stay in their current conference without any sort of shakeup required.

The two Western-based Conferences have eight franchises each, and the two Eastern-based ones have only seven allowing room for a potential move to the East, perhaps to a market like Quebec City, which intends to construct a new arena in hopes of enticing an NHL franchise.

As the uncertainty over the future continues, the Coyotes – who entered this weekend atop the Pacific Division – play on, hoping to make the playoffs for the third straight season and finally win their first playoff round since 1987.

Gretzky's daughter a wild child

By LINDA MASSARELLA, QMI Agency, Dec 11 2011


Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky persuaded his daughter Paulina to close her Twitter account last month, where she had been posting rather racy photos of herself. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images/AFP)

LOS ANGELES - By all accounts, Wayne Gretzky's 22-year-old daughter, Paulina, is a good kid.

But she is known for hanging with an iffy crowd, which includes a convicted felon, admitted drug addicts and a Las Vegas peep show performer.

Sure, there are lots of iffy people in Hollywood, so you can't judge a gal by her associations.

But that doesn't make it easy for a parent to swallow.

While the other four Gretzky kids are following their hockey legend dad's conservative, upstanding path -- the oldest boys, Ty and Trevor are both in university on athletic scholarships -- the Great One's first-born was always a bit of a wild child.

"Boys are easier to raise than girls," he has told friends on more than one occasion.

Of course, everybody heard how Gretzky last month persuaded his daughter to close her Twitter account, where she had been posting rather racy photos of herself.

"Wayne has always given her a lot of leeway, he always supported her in what she wanted to do," said a source close to the Gretzky family.

"At the same time, he realizes she still needs some guidance."

Paulina saw no need to attend university and moved out of the family home after high school to live with friends in Hollywood.

Fair enough -- the lovely lass wanted to shine in her own limelight as a singer and a model. She did have some success when her song, Collecting Dust, was played on an MTV show and released on iTunes.

As for modelling, though, that hasn't quite happened -- with the exception of a Flare magazine cover shoot with her mother, Janet, way back in 2005.

The first time I heard Paulina's name spoken in connection with some troubled teens was in 2009 while reporting on the infamous Hollywood "Bling Ring."

The "Bling Ring" was a group of a few rich, bored teens that got their kicks breaking into the homes of such stars as Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom.

Paulina was in no way involved.

She was, however, good friends with a member of the group, Alexis Neiers, a pal she had known from high school and with whom she shared modelling aspirations.

It was Neiers' idea to film her own involvement in the burglary ring and make it into a reality TV show called Pretty Wild.

The first episode aired in 2010 -- with Paulina co-starring as a "concerned friend."

Neiers, 20, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years probation on a felony charge of residential burglary for the Bloom break-in.

Paulina was also friends with Neier's adopted sister, Tess Taylor, Playboy's, 2010 Cyber Girl of the Year. Paulina has posted many photos of them partying together over the years.

In December 2010, Neiers was arrested on a probation violation when officers found her with a black substance that resembled tar heroin.

She was ordered to a year of rehab.

A few weeks later, Taylor confessed to an opiate addiction and checked herself into rehab as well.

Paulina's newest BFF is Holly Madison, the former Hugh Hefner concubine who appeared in his reality TV show, The Girls Next Door.

Madison, 32, currently stars in Peepshow, a stylized stripper show in Vegas and Paulina has often posted about their friendship.

What does all this mean for the future of the Gretzky firstborn?

Will she finally get her wish and become a star on her own merit?

Despite the fact Paulina closed her Twitter account, her followers doubled from last month to almost 50,000.

As they say in Hollywood, any publicity is good publicity.

Any bets Paulina's modelling career will finally get the kickstart it needs?

Student athletes living a dream at hockey academy

By RON RAUCH, Times Colonist December 10, 2011


The Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy from Kelowna is a factory for producing Western Hockey League and NCAA players.

In the last three WHL bantam drafts, 26 players have been selected from the academy and another eight to 10 are expected to go this year, including some in the first round.

The Pursuit of Excellence team is in Victoria this weekend, showcasing its talents at the Rick Lapointe Memorial triple-A bantam tournament. On Saturday, the academy was denied a trip to today’s final after Richmond Seafair recorded a 2-1 overtime victory on Brett Gelz’s goal. Seafair will meet the Calgary Royals in today’s 1:45 p.m. final at the Ian Stewart Complex. Calgary tripped up the Abbotsford Hawks 5-1 in the other semifinal.

The academy had marched through the eight-team competition with five consecutive victories before running into Seafair and hot goaltender Jacob Latrace.

“After our demanding tryouts, we pick 110 players for our six teams [three midget, two bantam and one female],’’ said Troy Mick, the director of hockey operations for the academy. Mick played four years in the WHL with the Portland Winter Hawks and the Regina Pats before being drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988.

“For kids who love to play hockey, this is the place to be,’’ said Mick. “We run our program 10 months of the year and from Monday to Friday, they are on the ice for two hours, have off ice skills for an hour and then another hour in the gym. The kids that play for us have to be very dedicated and disciplined. When the kids leave our program, they will be much better players and people then when they came. We stress things like character building, being solid in the community and life skills. We also talk them about dealing with the media.’’

A typical day for the academy players starts at 7 a.m. when they are dropped off at the arena by their billets. They all attend George Elliott Secondary in Winfield for part of the day and then are picked up at 5 p.m.

“These kids are living out a dream,’’ said Mick. “In those 10 months, they become one big family. Those memories will last a lifetime with these kids.’’

Defenceman Tanner Browne from Juan de Fuca is the lone Islander with the bantam team. He is the stepson of former Victoria Salmon King player and coach Ryan Wade, who coaches one of the midget teams at the academy.

In Saturday’s quarter-final action, Pursuit of Excellence blanked Team Seattle 5-0, the Royals downed the Coquitlam Chiefs 6-0, Seafair stopped the Wenatchee Wild 7-2 and Hawks defeated the host Victoria Racquet Club 5-4 in a shootout.

Flyers founder Ed Snider set to enter U.S. Hockey Hall

DAN GELSTON, The Associated Press, Dec. 11, 2011


With his team in first place and the Winter Classic coming to town, it's a good time to be Ed Snider.

The Philadelphia Flyers founder and owner is set for a more personal honor: Snider will be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday.

Snider brought hockey to Philadelphia, owned the Flyers during the days of the Broad Street Bullies and their rough-and-tumble heyday, and still takes his seat each home game to watch Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr lead this season's team to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

The Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation has also thrived, providing free hockey and academic services to inner-city children. He calls the program his legacy — even greater than what he's done with the Flyers since the 1960s.

For all his accolades, Snider still appreciates the Hall of Fame honor.

“These honors are nice and I'm proud to be part of it,” he said.

Snider will be inducted Monday night in a ceremony in Chicago with longtime NHL defenseman Chris Chelios, play-by-play announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick, and former NHL stars Keith Tkachuk and Gary Suter.

“He's one of the few people in hockey who literally created a market for hockey,” Comcast-Spectacor president Peter Luukko said. “There was no hockey in Philadelphia. He created that and grew the sport unlike many people ever.”

Snider's next big weekend comes over New Year's when the Flyers play the Rangers in the Winter Classic, the league's annual international showcase. There's a star-studded alumni game that includes former Flyers greats like Eric Lindros and Bernie Parent, and their AHL team also hits the outdoor rink at baseball's Citizens Bank Park.

HBO's “24/7” cameras have been rolling at recent games, filming Snider during last week's win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The game is a league production, so we don't have that much to do with it,” Snider said. “We do have a lot to do with the alumni game, which is really big, and a few other events we're really involved in. Luckily, I don't have to do too much but show up.

“Who would have ever thought when I started the Flyers in 1967 we'd be playing a Winter Classic in any baseball stadium.”

In Philadelphia, the alumni game has received Stanley Cup finals-type buzz because of Lindros' return after a nasty split with the organization a decade ago. He clashed with management, specifically general manager Bobby Clarke, over treatment of his numerous head injuries. Snider had little interest in rehashing the Lindros Era, saying it was current general manager Paul Holmgren's decision to invite Lindros, and, “we're happy about it.”

Snider, the NHL's longest-tenured owner, supported the radical realignment plan announced last week that will give the league four conferences instead of six divisions and guarantee home-and-home series among all teams. The Flyers will be lumped in a seven-team conference with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes.

“Obviously, we preferred the way it was, but we knew that it would hurt a lot of teams if we continued with the status quo,” Snider said. “There were some features about this new system that we liked, therefore, we supported it to help some of our fellow owners. The game's better than it's ever been and I'm very happy right now with everything.”

That includes the Flyers. Their 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Saturday night kept the revamped team (18-7-3 for 39 points) atop the East standings.

“I think it's been really satisfying considering all the injuries we've had and all the new players and rookies we have,” he said. “It's been a very exciting start of the season. I hope we can keep it up.

“It looks like a very exciting team.”