Putting on the 'Hat

And the new chapter has begun.

I have officially moved to Medicine Hat to become a Reporter/Producer for Shaw TV. My years and experience in Whitecourt were excellent, and I will never forget the relationships and the memories.

One of which was with the late Elias Lachance, who officially had his number 22 jersey retired last Friday and Sunday in Spruce Grove and in Whitecourt. A classy move by a great organization that is going for their 4th straight championship this season. I'm looking forward to listening to Gino's broadcasts. You can check out his blog called the "De Paoli Debacle" on the right hand side....

Holidays were great in Winnipeg. I was able to relax and re-focus for this next step. Made a brief visit to the Med Hat Arena today to meet some of the front office staff, which I will be spending plenty of time around over the coming months. The Tigers are down to 31 players on their roster, and have 2 pre-season games left against Red Deer and Lethbridge on the road, before opening up at home to the Hurricanes next weekend.

The trip to the 'peg also included the Banjo Bowl, which was awful. I haven't blogged much about the CFL at all this summer, which is disappointing because I have lots to say. The "Swaggerville" Bombers have been knocked down to earth by the Riders. The East division which looked to be so so strong to start the year has plateaued. Actually, all 8 teams seem to have leveled off. Calgary looks to be the top team right now in the CFL, and in my opinion, the BC Lions aren't too far behind them. Their record doesn't reflect how good the team really is. Sure, Winnipeg has lost 2 ugly games in a row. And no, you can't pin the whole game on officiating. But they had a shot at the Labour day game. They got outplayed in the Banjo Bowl, flat out. But the Labour Day game was a refereeing catastrophe. The Arogs will continue to be awful, the Riders will get better and the Eskimos will fall to 4th place in the West. While the East will flip flop back and forth between the Als and Bombers for 1st, depending on the health of Buck Pierce (that's a shock.)

As for the NHL pre-season getting underway, wow it was cool to see the "Winnipeg Jets" in action last night. A 4-0 pre-season win in the young stars game over San Jose. Nothing to jump for joy about, unless you grew up in Winnipeg like I did. It is still pretty cool to hear their name being announced.

That's it for me. I should have a new email addy set up very shortly, so please don't send mail to dave@xm105.com anymore because that won't work.

Packing up

This is a pretty weird experience.

Packing up my room, my belongings again for yet another new adventure. I have moved 3 times since arriving in Whitecourt from house to house to house, but now the day I have been anticipating for a few months is finally here. I'm pretty sure I will go through some odd emotions in the next 48 hours as I get ready for my week off and then the next chapter in life...........the final morning show with Andrew on Friday. Expect some interesting antics during that one!

A few quick notes to cover off as I head into la la land.

- I will continue to blog about the Wolverines when I move to Medicine Hat. I have already been asked about that. It would be hard to totally unplug from it after it being my passion for the last 3 years.

- I will have to start loving baseball! Ha ha I love watching local baseball, and I follow the MLB. But its just difficult for me to sit down and watch an entire game when guys make 100 million a year to swing a bat :) Ok, ok I know. I give them a rough time. But they are in the bigs!

- I have also been asked what my exact job description will be once I arrive in Medicine Hat, where in the large sense I'm not 100 percent positive yet. I know I will be doing a lot of Tigers coverage which will be sweet. Training camp got underway over a week ago, and they will be in St Albert for a pre-season invitational tourney on Sunday and Monday. I'm going in to a winning situation, which I am no stranger to. The Tigers picked up 100 points last year and finished 3rd in the East. The Whitecourt Wolverines won 3 straight league titles, lost 2 playoff games in 3 years and 6 regular season games in the 3 seasons I was there.........oh and did I mention 3 consecutive championships? Lol so I'm ready for the "challenge."

- The Drayton Valley Thunder are 6-0 after beating Spruce Grove 4-3 tonight in Barrhead. I know as they say, its "only" pre season. Since winning 30 games in 2006-07, they have won 12, 7, 12 and 12 games from 07-11, for a total of 43 games. Needless to say they are overdue, and it would be great to see them turn it around.

- Wolverines training camp begins on Friday night and runs right through the weekend. Apparently Jordan Panasiuk will not be back between the pipes, as he is off to Edmonton to attend school. That will leave the number 1 job clearly to Braeden Johnson, who was part of the 1A, 1B rotation last year. Johnny also played the majority of the games in the provincials..........on a side note, as a going away present for myself I ordered a Jordan Panasiuk jersey to remember the remarkable 8 game 35 minute 36 second shutout streak from last season......Head Coach Richard Kazda arrives in Whitecourt tonight from Ontario. And some very, very prominent rumors around town are citing Joey Bouchard back and involved with the organization again. Some off season decisions left him out of the mix for this year, but it sounds like he will be back. Whether that is 100 percent truth, remains to be seen.

- So Wade Belak died today. Yikes. Another tough guy this summer. Boogaard, Rypien and now Belak. Its not as if the province of Saskatchewan hasn't lost enough already. (Yikes, that was a total unintentional shot at the Riders. Meaning all 3 guys hail from or spent time in Sask.) Thoughts and prayers are with the families...............speaking of which, Elias Lachance's cross is now up at the crash site where he died outside of Drayton Valley on highway 22. Teammates and friends put it up tonight. Elias will have his jersey retired on opening night, September 24th against Peace River. The irony? The last team that he watched in the Whitecourt twin arenas last spring in game 5. Family and friends also started up the Elias Lachance Memorial Fund to raise money for kids who cannot afford to play. That will be officially started next Friday night in Spruce Grove, a game between his 2 former teams.

- And quickly, I already changed my Twitter name to "Dave_ShawTV" from "theradioface" in preparation for the move. Feel free to follow my tweets. And a quick shoutout to Stuart Thompson of the Whitecourt Star for the full page article on my departure. Stuart has great passion for this town, and will no doubt make a name for himself in this industry. I loved re-living some of the moments in the last 3 years, including the 2009 provincials and the "phantom goal" when the Wolverines were up 2-1 in the 3rd. That one would have put them up 3-1. Things you will never forget.

Anyway I still have lots of packing to do. Comments or questions? For the time being send them to dave@xm105.com

Thanks as well to those who have stopped by, said hi and sent emails off with their well wishes. I appreciate every one of them I receive.

A New Journey

I'm back to bloggerville.............after spending the summer basking in the glory of Swaggerville!

Love it. As a Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan, its great to finally see your team succeed after years of "rebuilding" and being "not quite good enough." Or setting CFL records, like last year, for losing 9 games by 4 points or less.

Yikes.

There is only 1 record I care about, and that would be erasing the "1990" memory of the last Grey Cup. But, this entry won't be about CFL. I will save that for another day. This one, is to put truth to, and elaborate on what has already leaked out everywhere.

I am no longer the voice of the Whitecourt Wolverines, and have taken my radio face into the television industry. I have accepted a job offer to move to Medicine Hat to be a Sports Producer/Reporter for Shaw TV, covering the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. To say that I am excited, is a definite under statement.

The truth is, as soon as the NWJHL season was over, I was already looking elsewhere. I had been applying for jobs, had a few EXCELLENT offers that I had to turn down. The second I saw this one posted, I took a stab at it.

I will be moving to "the gas city" this Saturday, September 3rd and then begin my week of "detox" as I am calling it before beginning my new venture. Ha ha detox is a little extreme, but I will need some personal time to unplug and prepare for the next step. This opportunity in Whitecourt was absolutely excellent. Being mentored by Neil Shewchuk at XM Country was largely why I was able to grow as much as I did. His experience in the industry and knowledge of the ins and outs of this business set me up well for what lied ahead.

As I mentioned in my last entry awhile back, Gino De Paoli will be taking over the reigns of play by play. He called a few games last year in the SJHL for Melfort, Nipawin and Humboldt and will fill in well. His knowledge of not only hockey, but sports in general will make him entertaining to listen to. Here is a brief video I made of what you can expect from him:

I told him that he could change whatever he wanted, but under one condition. That he kept the "Lets Get Rowdy" song for post games. I have been using that for 3 seasons, and it has developed a relationship with the team. I'm excited to tune in and hear what kind of magic he has to put on display.

So, with that being said, Wolverines training camp is next weekend.

Who can you expect back? I have been asked that many, many times lately. Well, surprisingly Zach Mills. That is the biggest shock, and likely just as much to him. He had a couple of tryouts this off season with Westside in the BCHL, Drayton and most recently with the Grande Prairie storm this weekend. He will be coming back to Whitecourt, from what it sounds like after unfortunately getting the early exit. Tyler Kunz and Brandon Dea also got cut from GP this weekend, too. We may see them in Wolverine colors. Goaltender and Whitecourt's Mitchell Martell looks to still be in the running for a gig with the Storm..............I ran into Riley Hellekson in Sangudo on Saturday, he said he will be back. However, he will be missing his linemates. Will Cloutier sounds like he is exploring other options, which is no surprise. And of course, Wayne Quaife is now over age. Captain Dylan Towns has moved on to play college hockey, and that will leave the "C" wide open for grabs.....

Which could be interesting, but not as interesting as another battle. Which 2 veterans will be cut. Alberta Junior B allows you to carry 4 twenty one year olds on your roster. This weekend, one of these 6 men will not be back with the Wolverines:

Ryan Whelen - Drayton Valley

Mitch Rose - High Prairie

Mason Lyle - Athabasca

Dion Leblue - Hinton

Jesse Scrimbit - Sicamous, BC

Dustin Urdea - North Vancouver, BC

That will be a hard decision for Head Coach Richard Kazda. You have to think he may lean heavily towards the longer term vets, considering Elias Lachance died in the off season, and this year will be his tribute. But Scrimbit and Urdea both had strong showings last year, with Urdea a bit of limited ice time down the stretch drive.

The AJHL will be hosting a pre season game on the Sunday at the Scott Safety Centre. Tickets are 8 bucks for adults, students and seniors 5 bucks. Spruce Grove vs the St Albert Steel. Spruce will be in Barrhead this Wednesday against Drayton. The Thunder absolutely destroyed them tonight 8-1. Ya, it IS only pre-season. But it would be great to see that franchise turn things around this season......

I have lots of packing to do this week, but I will try to blog a little more regularly now that I know I'm leaving. I try to get to it in the summer, but I honestly detest baseball so I don't have anything nice to say! And Twitter gets used predominantly, which is my immediate source of connecting to the outside world.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions before I head out. It will be shutting down after Friday.

dave@xm105.com

No Title

So clearly it is easy to get distracted in the summer months!

So much has happened since the last time I was on here. Not only did the Canucks NOT win the Stanley Cup, but I converted to a Winnipeg Jets fan from the 'Nucks.

I will make this entry fairly short for no other reason than that!

As it stands, so far I will be the play by play voice of the Whitecourt Wolverines for the 4th season, beginning in September. We have hired Gino De Paoli from our sister station in Melfort to share the duties with me. Jordan James took a gig in Dawson Creek with their TV station. You can check out his blog on the right side as "The De Paoli Debacle."

The Wolverines announced this week that Marc Chayer has taken over duties as the President of the NWJHL, in place of the outgoing Al Spence. Whitecourt will also host an AJHL exhibition game between Spruce Grove and St Albert on September 4th. Barrhead will host Drayton Valley and Spruce on August 31st.

And another note regarding the NWJHL, the Slave Lake Wolves are taking a "leave of absence" from the league, which is no surprise. Slave has been through their fair share of trials in the last 2 months, not to mention the trials the team has gone through during the 3 seasons I have been covering the league. Best of luck and best wishes to that organization.

That's it for now. I am hoping to make some CFL observations tomorrow some time. I usually make predictions each year and did way with that for 2011...............

Comments? Questions? dave@xm105.com

Finals musings

Now that I use Twitter on a MUCH more regular basis to vent out my ideas, I think it would be time I compiled all of them into one post! The great thing is, my feed is available on the right hand side so its not as if we aren't connected at all.......

First off....lets talk about the Rome hit.

My thoughts? Brutal call by the NHL. And here is why:

Rome's hit was late, yeah, it was. Did he intend to injure him? No. But did he intend to hit him into next week? Absolutely. What NHL player doesn't do that when they see a guy with his head down in open ice. And the play happened so quickly that sometimes you get greedy and want to finish the check anyway. The things that really hurt Horton were:

Looking off to follow the pass and not watch what was in front of him. Yes, I can respect the fact that he was looking to watch where the play was going to develop. But, dude, you are at the blue line in the middle of the ice. Did you not think anyone was going to be there? And Rome didn't hit him in the head, it was in the middle of the chest. The part that really hurt him was when his head hit the ice. Nothing else.

So the suspension? 4 games is pathetic. You are telling me that Chara's hit on Pacioretty, that Eager's hit on Sedin, that McGinn's hit on Rome, that Seabrook's hit on Bieksa and Torres hit on Seabrook were NOWHERE NEAR as bad as that hit? NOT a chance. Now, NHL, you set a precedent for every other hit. And if you didn't, then that was bush league bogus disciplinary double standard.

Now, onto the hockey.

So, the Canucks have been outscored 12-1 in the past 2 days. A friend of mine put on Facebook today a pretty funny status that I will respect:

What time is it in Vancouver? 12 past Luongo.

I will admit, very creative.

So anyway, here are my thoughts:

1) Manny Malholtra's return did more bad than good.

- Yes, he wins key face-offs. And yes, what an emotional story it was and how could you NOT put him in the lineup. But, the Burrows-Sedins, Raymond/Kesler/Higgins and Torres/Lapierre/Hansen lines have been together for what, almost 2 complete series? And then you mix them up? Well, not totally mix up. But when you throw an extra body in there to give him more ice time, that screws things up. I guarantee you that a few players on the team are pointing fingers (quietly) at Manny Malholtra coming back. And if not, then he should only come on for key face offs and see limited 4th line play.

2) Rome's suspension didn't affect the Canucks?

- Horton is a top forward, and Rome is a 5th D "plug" is the common argument I hear. Well, with Hamhuis gone, Bieksa is the only gritty and tough D man who can handle regular shifts. Rome was seeing upwards of 20 minutes a game and could handle it. Alberts can't. And oh my goodness, did Ballard every show he couldn't last night. What a joke of a signing that was. He should be wearing a Leafs jersey for how bad of a contract that is. Rome is another option for AV to lean on as a shut down guy. So yes, Rome's suspension hurt Vancouver just as much as Horton hurt Boston.

3) Tim Thomas is good, but not GREAT.

- Ok, hammer on me all you want. Insult me. Go for it. But the bottom line is, look at his play, at large, over the playoffs. Of all the goaltenders in the conference finals (Rolo, Niemi, Lou and Thomas) Timmy T has let in the MOST greasy goals in total. No tender has lost more games for his team in the playoffs up til now, than Tim Thomas. Granted, he did steal a few. But for the love of God, he isn't incredible 100 percent of the time. The last 2 games he has done nothing but look behind him every time a puck comes near him, kicks out greasy rebounds all day and is lucky to make some saves. Yes, that requires luck, which is part of being a goalie. But, his forwards and D have adapted to his style and they are there to clear all of the pucks away and make him look brilliant. Don't believe me? Watch the last 3 games again. Game 1 he was excellent. But the last 3, really should have been Canuck blow outs. But their D and forwards are making him look awesome.

4) Conn Smythe

- For the Canucks its Kevin Bieksa, and for Boston it is Brad Marchand. Not Thomas. Not Kesler. Not a sister and not Luongo. Kevin Bieksa has been the Canucks most consistent player from game 1 to the last game so far. And in my opinion, that is what an MVP should be based off of. Not a great performance in the finals. Which, yes, is key to winning a trophy. But a playoff MVP was great all series. And Kevin Bieksa has been that. And for Boston, no player has elevated his game consistently night in and night out like Marchand. He has gotten better and better and better each game. He aggravates players, he is becoming more responsible defensively and his nose has its own Twitter account.

5) Sedins need size with them

- The Bruins are too strong for the Sedin sisters, and the Canucks need to put someone who is big and tough that can open up some ice down low again. The Bruins have figured out the cycle game, and the Canucks only like to score cutesy poo goals as I have said ALLLLL post season long. Should have gone out and picked up a big strong forward at the deadline. So what should AV do? Put Oreskovich with the Sedins, bump Burrows down with Kesler and Raymond, and then put Higgins back with Hansen and Lapierre. Torres can play 4th line since he takes a million penalties anyway and can be an energy player. I would say put Torres with the Sedins, but he will be in the box all day. I said at the start of the year, and Don Cherry said it in the Chicago series, that the Canucks will NOT win a cup with the Sedins if they keep playing cutesy poo crap. Hopefully Oreskovich can help that.

That's it that's all. Feel free to criticize. I'm in the industry of public criticism. But look at it from a different view. You will see it the same way I do.

I'm Back!!!!

Yes, I am. And yes, NHL is in Winnipeg.

I wouldn't say I lost the desire to blog over the last few weeks, but there have certainly been enough situations in my life that have led me to take a little bit of time to gather my thoughts. I really, really missed doing regular entries.

So, the NHL is back in Winnipeg? I confess that I was able to contain my excitement for most of the last few months during the speculation. And really, it has to go through board of governor approval on June 21st before it is TRULY final. But the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers has gone through. Reports are saying in the ballpark of 170 million bucks. Not too shabby.

I received a text message from a very close friend who knows the game of hockey at all levels inside and out...........It actually came in about an hour before the announcement was made.

"I heard an ownership group led by Kyle Mulligan has found the cash and decided to keep the team in Atlanta."

To that I replied with a large LOL.

Kyle Mulligan, being the golf pro in Lloydminster who had a major hand in the AJHL Bobcats' and their pitch to remain in the border city. No hard feelings at all with that situation, but I found that kind of funny.

Because that is how a deal is SUPPOSED to be done. That's how it should feel. A city that doesn't support their team, gets moved and to a place that will appreciate them 100 times more. Awful parallel, because the Bobcats of Lloydminster saw their local support step up, but its fresh in the mind still.

Congrats, Winnipeg. I remember all too well what it felt like in 1996 when they lost to the Wings and it was all done. I still have my program from the final regular season game against LA. I still have all of the newspaper clippings from 1995 when it was announced. I pulled those out this morning.

So, what will the team be named? And will I still be a Canucks fan? Ha ha ha ya a few questions that I have been getting bombarded with over recent weeks. I think you name the team the Thrashers or Jets. I doubt it will remain the Thrashers, because they have a chance at starting fresh. And the argument could be made that how could you NOT go back to the Jets again?

And finally, will I still cheer for the Canucks? Well, the irony. I used to HATE the Vancouver Canucks growing up. They were awful in the mid 80's and when the Jets played them in the playoffs I couldn't stand to even see the jersey. Actually, I cheered for the Rangers in the 1994 cup final.

But, after the Jets left and my father passed away, it was a combination of both that made me cheer for Vancouver. 1) He would always get free tickets from work, and it was always the Canucks games we would go to because no one wanted to go. So memories of the good times with him. 2) The Moose are the farm team of Vancouver, and being in Winnipeg at the time, you watch Kesler/Bieksa and such move up, you still cheer for them.

So..................in saying that..........

My finals predictions. I went 1 for 2 last round. Stupid Boston had to wake up.

Boston vs Vancouver - Stanley Cup Final

- This is the year. And as much as I wanted Tampa to make it so I could bring home 20 bucks in our pool, I really wanted Boston there because it has been since 1990. Ryan Kesler had a week to heal, and he will play excellent. Zdeno Chara will slow the Sedins down a little bit, but he can't play 55 minutes and shut down all 4 Vancouver lines. The Canuck powerplay is too good, the team is too deep and the goaltending is better. Tim Thomas, in my opinion, is 1 very, very bad game away from Rask coming in to save his butt. He has let in BRUTAL goals, then his team stepped up to save his ass. That won't be the case against Vancouver, because Luongo will slam the door shut. Ya, Bobby Luo hasn't been awesome, but he was very, very good last series. Tim Thomas flops, flails, and flies everywhere and the Sedins will expose that with their passing back and forth. Big points from Daniel and Henrik, and a bust out series for the 3rd line. The Canucks beat the Hawks in 7, the Preds in 6, the Sharks in 5..............so, the Bruins in 4? Well, I doubt it. But they will have their way with them. Yes, and then I can go back to being a Jets fan after watching my team win the cup.

Canucks in 5

Its good to be back. And CFL rookie training camp started today!!!

NHL Conference finals

Well I went 4 for 4 last round, and I am now 9 for 12 overall. The Boston and Tampa game begins in 13 minutes so I will finish this off as quick as I can.

East:

Boston vs Tampa

- The Bruins are a good team, but were made to look like they were the second coming of the Oilers of the '80's because Philly had no business being in the second round. Suddenly Boston's powerplay could score, suddenly they knew how to score overall and suddenly they find themselves in the conference finals for the first time since 1992. That may have been the boost they needed to wake up. However, one problem. Tampa is a better team. They have amazing goaltending in Dwayne Rolosson, deep scoring with the Downie/Berg/Moore line and they trap and trap and trap you until you don't know how to skate anymore. Boston is a more physical team, but I don't see them advancing because Montreal was good but not great and Philly was a Junior C team. Tampa beat the the top team in the East and came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have been playing playoff hockey. I would rather see the Bruins win because they have great fans and are fun, but I have Tampa in my station pool so I'm not going to complain.

Prediction: Tampa in 6

West

Vancouver vs San Jose

- This is the series I think any good western Canadian hockey fan has been wanting for years. You know, those hockey fans that don't cheer for a lame team from eastern Canada? (Toronto Maple Laughs). This will be great, quick, wide open hockey with great shooting and excellent skating and hitting. We will see some very good goaltending and which ever team takes more penalties is likely screwed. Both teams have a tendency to fall asleep in the 3rd period so that's a relief to the other guy who goes down 3-0 in the 1st. Henrik and Daniel have been absolutely beyond useless and brutally awful as I have said all year. However, the tight and physical Nashville series may have been enough to wake them up. Lots of open ice in this series may give them time to re-connect and make some of that cutesy poo crap they love. All in time to lose to Tampa in the final because they are too creative. Trade them in the off season if the Canucks don't win the cup. But I think they will come alive in this series and nicely compliment the other 10 players on their team that have played a very good playoffs.

Prediction: Canucks in 6

That's it. I would love to see the Canucks win. Guys who will have a great series: Hamhuis, Bieksa, Higgins, Kesler and Daniel.

We'll see how I do! Oh, and I'm still first in my TSN pool of 12 guys with 109 points. My roster is now locked for the rest of the playoffs. I have Luongo in net, Ohlund, Bieksa, Erhoff, and Dan Boyle. Dan Sedin, Kesler, Lecavalier, Downie, St Louis and Logan Couture.