It's all over!

DAY 10 AT THE 2010 MASTERCARD MEMORIAL CUP . . .

POSTGAME:
A lot of fans stayed at their seats for the award presentations, which made for some nice rounds of applause . . . Windsor is the first team to go back-to-back at the Memorial Cup since the Kamloops Blazers did it in 1994 and 1995. . . . It was after the 1995 title that Blazers management decided to go in a different direction and fired GM Bob Brown, and we all know how that worked out. Somehow you have to think Windsor won't be heading off in a different direction. . . .
The MVP is Windsor F Taylor Hall, and he’s the first two-time winner of the Memorial Cup MVP award in the 35 years that they have been giving out the Stafford Smythe Award. . . .
Hall also takes home the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the top scorer. . . .
F Toni Rajala of Brandon gets the George Parsons Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player. . . .
Martin Jones of Calgary takes the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the outstanding goaltender. . . .
The all-star team has Jones in goal, Travis Hamonic of Brandon and Cam Fowler of Windsor on defence, and Hall, Jimmy Bubnick of Calgary and Matt Calvert of Brandon on the forward line. . . .
Hard to quibble with any of the choices, but I would have had Windsor's Philipp Grubauer on my all-star team. Windsor was the best team, by a country mile, and it all starts in goal. The Spitfires went 4-0 and he didn't have a bad game. . . . Jones was good, but he had a poor first period against Windsor in the round-robin, and I would give Grubauer the edge on that.
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It’s over, so we’re emptying the notebook . . .
Jim Mullin of CKNW, a Vancouver radio station, reported late last week that the Edmonton Oilers had interviewed Gavin Hamilton of the Kelowna Rockets for their vacant assistant GM position. Hamilton, however, tells me that hasn’t happened. “I haven't heard from them and doubt I would,” Hamilton told me. “Thanks for creating some interesting emails though!” . . .
Spotted Brent Parker, the governor and president of the Regina Pats, before the final game. He was at the CHL awards ceremony on Saturday, accepting the player-of-the-year award on behalf of F Jordan Eberle, who hadn’t yet returned from the world championship in Germany where he played for Canada. . . . Parker told me that he hasn’t hired a new play-by-play voice. He said he certainly will give Dan Plaster, the club’s director of communications, some thought, but that they also have heard from some good people. But, as Parker said, this isn’t his first priority right now. He is busy conducting a search for a general manager. . . .
There were a couple of proud big brothers in Westman Place for the final. D Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs was here, as was F Kyle Wellwood of the Vancouver Canucks. . . .
There are changes coming with the Saskatoon Blades. Amy Moats, the manager of game day and public relations, is gone, and I’m told that Trent Coghill, the director of business operations also is leaving. Coghill will depart later this summer. . . . The Blades also have yet to re-sign assistant coach Dave Struch, whose contract is up. . . .
Before the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup was awarded to Brandon, it was feared that it might never again be awarded to a ‘small-market’ community. Now that the tournament in Brandon is over, you can bet that it will go back to other small markets. The tournament simply takes over the entire community and that can only be good for the WHL, the host team, the CHL and the game. . . . The WHL next will play host to the tournament in 2013. Already, the Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Saskatoon Blades have expressed interest. . . . One WHL governor told me Sunday that he thinks the 2013 tournament should be held in Lethbridge. As he put it, the folks there have put a lot of money into the building and the franchise needs a boost. . . . Hey, why not Lethbridge?
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I was told that the fellow from Summerside, P.E.I., who came up with this 50/50 package that has become so popular gets six per cent of ever dollar sold. There was about $500,000 in sales at the World Junior Championship in Saskatoon alone and more than $200,000 here. . . . A source told me that “the building/team pays for all the infrastructure and equipment and in perpetuity pay him six per cent until they terminate the contract. He also dictates the ticket prices . . . so teams get the backlash of moving away from what they used to sell tickets at.” . . . I think tickets here were one for $2, three for $5 and 10 for $20.
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I’m told that there has been another innovation on display here. I haven’t been to a beer concession, but I’m told they are using six-second beer taps. A tap pours an 18-ounce beer from a warm keg in six seconds, I’m told, and it comes out without foam and is ice cold. . . . I know, I know. You want one in your basement.
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That’s it folks. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
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And a big thank you to the folks who kept us all happy in the Media Centre. Well done! We'll see you down the road.