Thursday, May 25, 2017
Prince Charles and Camilla to visit Wellington
Charles and Camilla to visit the County
| May 25, 2017
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will visit Wellington during their Royal Tour to Canada next month.
Mayor Robert Quiaff made the announcement at the opening of Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, noting he has been working with Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis and security teams to arrange details.
Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, released the cities and dates Thursday which include Iqaluit, Nunavut, on June 29; Canadian Forces Base Trenton and Wellington on June 30 and Ottawa and Gatineau for the 150th Canada Day celebrations July 1.
Celebrations are focusing on four themes of Canada 150: diversity and inclusion, reconciliation with indigenous peoples, young people and the environment.
In Wellington, a community gathering will be held at the Farmers’ Market.
The full itinerary will be released before the start of the Tour.
This will be the 18th visit to Canada for the Prince of Wales and the 4th for The Duchess of Cornwall.
This will be the first official visit to Nunavut by the couple; however, His Royal Highness visited Iqaluit, then part of the Northwest Territories, in 1970. In addition, he has also visited the Northwest Territories and Yukon in 2001, 1979 and 1975.
Excluding the capital region, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited cities and communities in Ontario in 2012 and 2009. The Prince of Wales also visited Ontario in 1996, 1991 and 1970.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will be attending the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill for the first time.
Read more http://countylive.ca/blog/?p=67031
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
A Busy Spring in the Sports World
An
understatement, to be sure. Baseball, hockey, basketball...and
football is just around the corner. As an almost avid Bills' fan, I
listen to 550 on the am dial for all the news from the Bills' camp.
The Royal
Bank Cup wrapped up last Sunday in Cobourg. The Cougars won the title
with a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory. Ryan Casselman, from Napanee,
tied with game with just over a minute remaining. Nick Minerva scored
the winner to seal the deal.
Minerva's
comments after the game: “I saw the puck come out, it kind of
bobbled a little bit. I saw that the Brooks guys didn't challenge me
at all. I blacked out and closed my eyes, took the hardest shot I
ever took in my life, and it went in! It still hasn't hit me, to be
honest with you.”
Cobourg had
defeated Penticton in the semi-final. Cobourg forward, Theo Lewis,
gearing up for the final game, summarized his thoughts. “It means
the world. I kept thinking today that I don't want this to be my very
last day of junior hockey. I want to keep fighting. I want to do
everything that it takes to win the game, and be competing for the
national championship. So I was fortunate to come up with that
game-winning goal.”
Brooks
defeated Terrebonne in the other semi-final. Captain Nick Prkusic,
was also ready for the final. “Tomorrow is my final junior game, no
matter what. Everything I've been through with these guys, this would
be so spectacular just to finish it off this way with a win). I can't
wait to get out there and give it our best.
For those of
you who were expecting to see the game on TSN, as advertised, there
was a glitch. The World Hockey Championship, that thing they have for
losers in the Stanley Cup playoffs, ran overtime, including a
shootout. It cut well into the RBC time. I think Sweden beat Canada
in the final, in case you are remotely interested.
The
Nashville Predators knocked off the Anaheim Ducks last night to gain
a berth in the Stanley Cup final. Pekka Rinne was his usual
spectacular self, leading the team to win the Clarence Campbell Bowl.
As is tradition, no one dared to touch the trophy. Bad luck. The only
silver that the players touch is the Stanley Cup, but only after they
win it.
The Golden
State Warriors advanced to the NBA finals on Monday night. The Boston
Celtics have momentarily halted the progress of the Cleveland
Cavaliers. I am certain LeBron will rectify that in the next couple
of days to set up a date with the Warriors.
LeBron James
And yes, the
Toronto Blue Jays had a bit of a hot streak, only to be followed by a
few losses. They dearly miss Donaldson and Tulowitzki, among others,
at this point in the season. They are a very competitive club, but
they are running out of time, even at this point in the season. I am
sure the club brass is seriously mulling over dramatic changes.
A great time
for sports fans!
James Hurst
May 23,
2017.
Monday, May 22, 2017
Bill White Passes Away at 77.
Bill White, who played a key role in Team Canada's historic victory over the former Soviet Union in the incomparable 1972 Summit Series, is dead at the age of 77.
The lanky six-foot-two defenceman played a solid, steady game for Canada, appearing in seven of the eight contests and finishing first on the team with a plus-7 rating.
White skated 10 seasons in the NHL, starting with the expansion L.A. Kings in 1967 and spending his last seven campaigns as a fixture on the Chicago Blackhawks blueline, often paired with fellow '72 Team Team Canada rearguard, Pat (Whitey) Stapleton.
The lanky six-foot-two defenceman played a solid, steady game for Canada, appearing in seven of the eight contests and finishing first on the team with a plus-7 rating.
White skated 10 seasons in the NHL, starting with the expansion L.A. Kings in 1967 and spending his last seven campaigns as a fixture on the Chicago Blackhawks blueline, often paired with fellow '72 Team Team Canada rearguard, Pat (Whitey) Stapleton.
White, from Toronto, played junior for the Marlboros and turned pro in 1960 in the AHL where he toiled for seven seasons before getting his NHL break with the advent of expansion.
• NHL stats
GP: 604; G: 50; A: 215; PTS: 265; PIM: 495.
(Playoffs: 91 GP, 7-32-39; 76 PMs.)
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Tuesday, May 16, 2017
The Royal Bank Cup 2017
The Royal
Bank Cup is in the midst of preliminary rounds at present in Cobourg,
Ontario. As the host team, the Cobourg Cougars receive an automatic
bye into the chapionship. There are five teams in the tourney, vying
for the prize as the best junior hockey team in Canada, excluding the
CHL teams. There are 132 teams at this level, and some fine young
hockey players in the mix.
The top five
teams, with some very good players are on the ice in Cobourg this
week. There are many sets of eyes keenly observing these lads.
Included in this group are several scouts from all over North
America-pro scouts, amateur scouts, college and university scouts,
scouts from various levels of hockey.
More than a
hundred former Royal Bank Cup players have had at least a cup of
coffee at the National Hockey League level. As far as I can discern,
only one Wellington Duke who played at the RBC in Charlottetown,
moved on to the NHL. That is Liam Reddox. If you check the list
posted at Hockey Canada, you will find the names of some fine
players, including four of the Sutter brothers.
Thus, the
job of the scouts at the tourney is to assess these young players, to
find the gem who just might be a super star in the NHL. On several
occasions, I have run into Andre Savard at hockey games in Florida.
He is a pro scout for the New Jersey Devils, and he was at the Brooks
Bandits game with other personnel from the Devils. It is their job to
separate the wheat from the chaff, in terms of hockey talent.
Cale Makar-Photo credit Murnaghan-Hockey Canada
As was the
case with several other scouts at that game, they were focusing on a
young defenceman for the Bandits, Cale Makar. Makar has already
stirred up quite a bit of interest in the scouting hockey circles.
Rather small relative to other backliners, (5' 10”-175 pounds), he
is slated to be a top prospect in this year's NHL draft. The New
jersey Devils won the first pick in the lottery. Makar was the MVP at
last year's RBC, and also the top scorer.
Brooks
Bandits coach Ryan Papaioannou is well aware of the situation. “I
think a lot of it with him is just his skating ability, his puck
skills. He is offensively=minded, but because of his feet, he's able
to defend very well. He's done a really good job establishing his
footing in this year's NHL Draft. We're always impressed with the way
he plays, but like all coaches, we keep encouraging him. There's more
he can do, and we want him to be better.”
I spoke with
one of his teammates at the Bandits' first game against Terrebonne.
Orca Wiesblatt and his brother Ocean play with Makar. There were both
in the stands for the first game. “Cale is committed to play at the
University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the fall.”
No question
that the Bandits are a team to watch. They won the RBC in 2013, and
played in the semi-finals last year in Lloydminster. The other teams
in this year's tournament are the Cobras de Terrebonne, and the
Penticton Vees.
Cale Makar- Hockey Canada
Round Robin play will continue until Wednesday night, when the host Cougars will play the Bandits at 7:30pm. The Cougars started the tourney with an overtime win over the Trenton Golden Hawks; however, as we witnessed in Charlottetown, and in Camrose with the Dukes, until the final buzzer goes, anything can happen.
James Hurst
May 15,
2015.
Monday, May 08, 2017
The Dudley Hewitt Cup 2017
As expected, the final
game of the Dudley-Hewitt Cup, was a fine dual between two evenly
matched teams, and two great goaltenders. When the final buzzer
sounded, the Trenton Golden Hawks emerged victorious, winning 2-1.
They earned the right to participate in the Royal Bank Cup, for the
Canadian Championship, which will take place this year in Cobourg.
The Georgetown Raiders
put the pressure on the Hawks in the dying seconds, but could not
find the equalizer to send the game into overtime. The Golden Hawks
did not help their own cause late in the third period, taking a two
minute tripping penalty with less than two minutes remaining. Playing
six skaters against four for the Hawks, the Raiders could not get the
puck past Chris Janzen, and had to settle for silver medals. Janzen
was the game MVP.
Chris Janzen-MVP
The Raiders were the
league champions, having defeated Trenton 1-0 in the seventh game of
their final to win the Buckland Trophy. They were led by playoff MVP
Jack Jacombe, their diminutive forward who led the league in scoring
with 91 points. He is headed for Clarkson next year.
Trenton's win was their
second in as many seasons, the first time that has happened since
the 1990s. The other two teams participating in the tournament were
the Powassan Voodoos, and the Dryden Ice Dogs. Dryden will host next
year's Dudley-Hewitt Cup.
Braeden Allkins
Just before the puck
dropped for the final game, I spoke with Dryden's Braeden All kins.
Braeden hails from Golden, British Columbia. The twenty year old
decided before the season to head east to play a year in Ontario. He
led his team with 53 goals, and was the regular season and playoff
MVP. He came third of all the players on the 132 teams playing in the
Canadian Junior Hockey league.
“It was a tough pill
to swallow, not making the final of this tournament,” he told me.
“Both finalists are great teams.” He figured that Trenton might
emerge victorious, only because they were hosting the event, and had
a barn full of supporters.”
Anthony Sorrentino
Trenton opened the
scoring with less than a minute remaining in the first period off a
turnover at the Georgetown blueline. Lanky forward Anthony Sorrentino
ripped a shot that eluded Nicholas Latinovich, slipping between his
pads. Georgetown tied the game late in the second period when Jordan
Crocker wristed a low shot past Janzen.
At the 4:31 mark of the
third period, North Bay's Michael Silvery stood parked on the right
hand side of Georgetown goaltender Latinovich. He made no mistake,
firing the puck into the net for the winning goal.
Trenton Mayor Jim Harrison and John McDonald, Director of business operations
The Royal Bank Cup
opens on Saturday in Cobourg, with the final taking place may 21st.
Perhaps I will see you there!
James Hurst
May 8, 2017.
Tuesday, May 02, 2017
The Stanley Cup Playoffs 2017
On the first
Monday of each month, several friends gather together at a Shopsy's
on Woodbine Avenue, just north of the 401 in Toronto. The group
includes former NHL players, officials, managers, coaches, and others
who take a couple of hours to reminisce about the game.
I thought it
would be a perfect opportunity to throw out that favourite question,
at this time of year, “Who is going to win the Stanley Cup this
year?”. I threw that out to half a dozen of the guests. Most of
them had a standard answer, almost instantly. The answer involves
goaltending.
Brian
McFarlane has never been far from the game. Born in 1931, he grew up
in Ontario, and went to St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York,
on a hockey scholarship. After several radio and television gigs, he
landed work with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and began an
extensive career as an interviewer and host for NHL games. Many of us
looked forward to seeing Brian between the periods on the weekly
“Hockey Night in Canada” telecasts. His smooth, relaxed manner
set the players at ease, and they responded well to his questions.
I
buttonholed Brian at the lunch with the all-important question. Now
in his mid-eighties, he is still a keen observer of the game. Until
quite recently, he played weekly in Fort Myers at the Skatium,
located beside The City of Palms Park, the former Boston Red Sox
Spring Training facility. “This is great hockey to watch,” he
told me. “The speed of the game, and the skill of the players is
amazing.” He refrained from picking a winner.
Ron Hurst
played many years for the Leafs. Also in his eighties, he rarely
misses a trick. “At this point in time,” he told me, “I have to
give the nod to the Penguins. I saw Crosby lying on the ice in front
of the goal, and he shot the puck over the goalie into the top
corner of the net with one hand on the stick! I also like the way
that big Russian guy shoots the puck for the Capitals. He just sets
up and “Blam!”, the puck is in the net.”
Each month,
a player is recognized for his contributions to the game. On Monday,
former Leaf Gary Collins got the nod. He won the Memorial Cup twice
with the Marlies to begin his
career. He was also an outstanding baseball prospect, and was heavily
scouted. He told the crowd he pitched one game, came out of the
bullpen to help in the second game of a double-header, and blew out
his arm. “That was that for my baseball career. There was no 'Tommy
John' surgery in those days.”
Jim
Morrison played and coached hockey for more than 50 years. He played
for five NHL teams, over a dozen years in the NHL. He deferred on the
Stanley Cup question, but paid homage to this year's Leaf team,
particularly Auston Matthews. “They will be a force in the years to
come.”
“Pete”
Conacher is impressed with the play of the Oilers, and Connor
McDavid. “Sure he is a fine player, but the amazing thing is that
he is so far ahead of the other guys on the ice. He is a great
skater, and he passes the puck so well.”
Sandy
Air enjoys the get-together with his friends at the luncheon. He won
the World Championship with the Whitby Dunlops, and has memories,
some fond, of his games at the Memorial Arena in Belleville, “You
tell me who the best goalie is, and I will tell you who will win the
Stanley Cup,” he told me. “Pittsburgh is fortunate to have two
great goalies. When Murray got hurt, they brought back Marc-Andre
Fleury, and he has played really well. On the other hand, Holtby has
been a little shaky for the Capitals.”
Will Norris
Former referee Bruce Hood was on hand, and introduced a couple of linesmen who toiled
with him for many years Will Norris was one of those lads. Will was my brother Dick's roommate when they attended Guelph University in 1963!
Another
aspect of the game that has become important in recent years is shot
blocking. Most of the veterans indicated that the style of the
equipment has resulted in those changes. “Every once in a while a
shot gets through that armour, however. Nasty stuff,” Ron Hurst
added.
So
many of these games have been decide in overtime, increasing the
excitement for the fans. With all of the games from the west, and the
overtime segments, you may miss a bit of sleep. That is why the
afternoon nap was created.
James
Hurst
May
2, 2017
