1 – JOIN THE REGIMENT: We are just a couple weeks away from the start of WHL East Division play in the Regina Hub Centre. Regina Pats GM John Paddock is excited to play in a ‘Hubble’ like we’ve been watching in the NHL for months. “The closest thing to this is exhibition games we’ve had in the Brandt Centre in September where there were a thousand people in the building,” Paddock told The Rod Pedersen Show on AccessNow TV. “Even at this, there’ll only be a hundred or so. It’s going to be completely different and that’s something you can’t prepare for. I don’t think the players are thinking about that at this point. But when they get to that first game, it’ll definitely be strange.”
2 – BLADE CITY: It’s going to be a 24-game schedule for the seven teams with no playoffs planned, yet. So is it an exhibition schedule or is there something actually on the line? Saskatoon Blades Head Coach Mitch Love says they’ll be playing for it all. “I always find it’s hard to sell to your players on development if you lose hockey games,” Love told the RP Show. “I think, for us, we want to be competitive. We understand there will be growing pains with a lot of young players. We’re in unique times and going on a 2-month road trip in Regina presents some challenges, no doubt, and Covid is one of many factors. But at the end of the day, you’re trying to sell your program, win some hockey games, and find that developmental model throughout those wins.
“We’ve been in the playoffs in back-to-back years and we understand there might not be playoffs here, which is fine, but we want to go out and win hockey games.”
3 – RETURNING FROM THE A: I thought there might be a chance the NHL/CHL agreement for underage players in the American Hockey League might be “bent” in these unique times Mitch Love mentioned. But not so. Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon confirmed to me in a text message this week that the AHL’s Silver Knights are returning Peyton Krebs to the Winnipeg Ice. The same goes for other AHL/WHLers like Daemon Hunt (Minnesota/Moose Jaw) and Braden Schneider (NY Rangers/Brandon Wheat Kings).
“Well, by the NHL/CHL agreement, all 19-year-olds have to be either on the NHL team or made available to their Junior team,” McCrimmon wrote. “A rule I strongly support in normal times, which serves everyone well. This particular situation, however, we would have liked to have kept Peyton in Henderson.
“He has played extremely well, they have a 40 game schedule all in-division, and we would have liked to avoid more quarantine time. That’s something he has done too much of already.”
4 – THAT’S SILLY: Regina, SK’s Cole Sillinger has been eating up the USHL, and Friday night he scored his 19th goal in his 13th game with the Sioux Falls Stampede. He’s only 17! While watching the highlights, I thought to myself “Shouldn’t he be in Medicine Hat self-isolating right now?” The Tigers – where Cole played as a rookie last season – are supposed to visit Red Deer next Friday night.
So I shot a text message to Cole’s father Mike, an 18-year NHL veteran and a Regina Pats great.
“Cole is staying until Sioux Falls is done,” Mike wrote from Scottsdale, AZ. “That’s why Cole waited until January 10 on a ruling from Hockey Canada/USA Hockey. Cole can only go back to the WHL now when his USHL season is done. Being USA-born was huge and the USHL is a good league. He’s making a name for himself in the USHL too! Stay warm as it’s 75 degrees and perfect in AZ.”
5 – RANKINGS: My East Division rankings from the Monday Morning Goalie column at RodPedersen.com and the reasons why:
P.A. (Still the reigning champs, if you remember. And G Max Paddock has lots to prove)
Winnipeg (They were just coming on, and Krebs is coming back!)
Saskatoon (Lots of talent, and perhaps the division’s best keeper)
Regina (The additions of the Holy Child Connor Bedard and overage goalie Roddy Ross vault them up a ton)
Moose Jaw (Another year older, wiser and hungrier. And new captain Daemon Hunt has been playing regularly)
Brandon (Let’s do this again, this time with a new coach!)
Swift Current (Welcome back to the jungle Swifty!)
6 – HOLD YOUR HORSES: In that interview with Mitch Love, the Blades coach admitted the rules and regulations around the Regina Hub Centre were “a little loose” at the moment and they were expecting more details to be forthcoming. My phone’s been blown up by scouts who want to know if they’ll be granted entry but I can assure you that I have no idea. We don’t even know if broadcasters will be allowed into the building, or if they’ll have to call radio, TV, and streaming broadcasts off of monitors.
7 – SAFETY FIRST: An email went out to University of Regina student residents this week with details around the seven WHL teams making the university dorms home for the next two months. The email assured the students that there is PLENTY of vacancy in the facilities and that the teams will be following a strict set of guidelines and restrictions. It also revealed that 250 people will be using the dorms which works out to 35 bodies per team. However, if WHL staff, officiating crew, etc. are to be included in the 250, then the number per team drops significantly.
8 – BROADCASTS: This week the WHL announced Verizon Media Platform as its streaming video partner beginning with the 2020-21 season. CHL President Dan MacKenzie said in a news release, “We are ensuring our fans can enjoy seamless, high-quality streams at home from any platform or device.” More details will come out this week but you’ll be able to watch WHL games from anywhere in the world beginning Friday night! Have your credit card handy. It’s a tiny price to pay for world-class hockey.
9 – PAT CHAT: Of course AccessNow TV is the longtime TV broadcast partner of the Regina Pats Hockey Club and that will continue with the 2020-21 season. From what I’ve been told, ALL 24 Pats games will be carried live on AccessNow. (Schedule forthcoming). If you don’t have Access as your cable carrier, GET IT! On the weekend edition of the Rod Pedersen Show airing at noon on Saturday and Sunday, we’ll be joined by John Paddock and Mitch Love, plus co-host Darren Dupont and I will breakdown the East Division.
10 – HATS OFF: Finally, a gigantic bravo to the WHL head office – particularly Commissioner Ron Robison – as well as the team owners, presidents, and staff for getting the league this far in the Covid situation. Thanks also to the players and coaches for staying patient and ready, to the fans for being patient, and most importantly to the health officials for approving the WHL Return To Play plan.
LET’S DROP THE PUCK!
RP
@rodpedersen
The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily on Game+ TV Network at 12 pm ET. Game+ TV is available in Manitoba on Bell/MTS Cable and Bell Satellite, in Saskatchewan on SaskTel Max TV, in Alberta & BC on Telus Optik TV and in Washington and Oregon on TDS Cable. The show is also available on YouTube/Facebook Live and RodPedersen.com/ListenLive
