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| The Wotherspoon brothers, Parker (left) and Tyler, met up at the Everett tournament. Do you think Mom is a little bit proud of her two defencemen, or what? Parker was selected with the 21st pick of the 2012 bantam draft; Tyler, the 23rd selection in the 2008 draft, has played the last three seasons with the Portland Winterhawks. |
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Dear CHLPA:
I doubt that approaching things in this fashion is the way to forge a relationship of any kind with the CHL. In fact, to date, I doubt that you have done anything that will in any way be the beginning of any kind of a relationship with the CHL. So . . . why don’t you just go away and stop embarrassing yourself? And come back when you have all your ducks in a row.
It becomes more and more apparent every day that you are in no way prepared for all the things that would be involved in forming a union/association that would work on behalf of major junior hockey players.
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As I have stated before, I’m all for there being an advocate or ombudsman or someone in some kind of position who could deal one-on-one with major junior hockey players who might have concerns or problems. . . . But the CHLPA has yet to show even one indicator that it should be in that position.
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So . . . if there aren’t any objections, we will move on from the CHLPA and get on with playing some hockey.
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In other news, the WHL is preparing to do away with the trapezoid behind each net.
The QMJHL announced earlier this summer that it had killed the trapezoid and it’s believed that the OHL is headed in the same direction.
With the WHL, it seems it wasn’t an easy decision and I’m guessing that there was a whole lot of discussion and a lot of back-and-forth on this.
No trapezoid means that a goaltender is allowed to roam far and wide in order to play the puck. There are those who feel that without the trapezoid, and with goaltenders more involved in playing pucks, it is a lot harder to get in on the forecheck. That, of course, means coaches will call off the forecheck and go into a trapping defence.
I have felt since its inception that the trapezoid is unfair simply because it penalizes those goaltenders who have worked hard to develop puck-handling skills.
But if removing it takes us back to the days of the trap, well, as someone said: “For me, this is a classic case of ‘careful what you wish for.’ ”
The last thing the game needs is to have 10 skaters clogging up the neutral zone at the same time.
The coaching in the WHL has never been better. Surely, those coaches are able to use the skilled players on their rosters in such a way as to avoid having to trap.
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JUST NOTES: The BCHL’s Langley Rivermen have added D Tyler Vanscourt, 20, to their roster. The native of Corona, Calif., split 70 games between the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders and Vancouver Giants last season, putting up a total of 32 points, including 12 goals. . . . F Marek Tvrdon, 19, is back in Vancouver and skated with the Giants for the first time on Sunday. He had been delayed getting out of Slovakia due to visa problems. After missing all but 12 games in 2010-11 due to shoulder problems, Tvrdon had 74 points, 30 of them goals, in 60 games last season. . . . The Giants have assigned F Brodyn Nielsen to junior A. Nielsen, 18, had one goal in 14 games with the Giants last season. He was a 10th round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2009 bantam draft. . . . Jeff Olson, a fifth-round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2008 bantam draft, was killed in an car accident on Friday. Olson, who was from Kindersley, Sask., finished last season with the Vermilion Tigers of the Northeastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League. He had 21 points and 20 penalty minutes in 17 games.
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