I was privileged to be one of the 25 panellists but I had no idea how tough it would be to narrow the list of players to 40. I spent two nights working on this project and could have spent a month, and I still would have been moving names around.
If you haven’t seen the list — it’s headed up by Jordan Eberle, Eric Lindros and Wayne Gretzky — it’s right here.
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Here’s Gary Belsky, in Time, writing about the NHL and the mess in which it finds itself:
“You may not have noticed that the NHL hasn’t started its season yet, which is arguably Problem #1 for the wannabe major league: Ice hockey is fourth in a three-horse race of pro team sports vying for the affection of casual U.S. fans. Problem #1A is the lockout of players that’s been in force since Sept. 15, which has resulted in the cancellation of nearly 550 regular-season games to date. But in the event you are following the inaction rinkside, don’t be fooled when league officials or anyone else claims that the main issue is greedy players. The real problem in hockey is not in the locker room, but in the owners’ suites and commissioner’s office.”
This is a most compelling column and it’s right here.
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So as the WHL begins its Christmas break you may be wondering if WHL vs. Portland Winterhawks is a dead issue.
It isn’t.
The Winterhawks, I am told, continue to explore their options, one of which is to plead their case at a board of governors’ meeting that is scheduled for February.
The Winterhawks plan right now is to do just that and see what happens at that time.
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Meanwhile, Sam Adams, the outgoing mayor of Portland, “announced Wednesday that he wouldn’t ask his City Council colleagues to vote on his $31.5-million proposal to renovate Veterans Memorial Coliseum” for the Winterhawks, writes Beth Slovic of The Oregonian.
The vote has been scheduled for March 13, which is after the WHL’s board of governors will have met. Winterhawks owner Bill Gallacher has said he is prepared to put $10 million of his own money into the project.
Slovic’s story is right here.
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The New York Post’s infamous Page Six is usually reserved for the Kardashians, Paris Hilton and their ilk. So what is Portland Winterhawks D Seth Jones doing there? Check it out right here.
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D Connor Sutton of the Lethbridge Hurricanes had his junior A rights change hands on Wednesday. The SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars dealt Sutton, 18, and future considerations to the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks for F Troy Petrick, 19. . . . Sutton, who turns 19 on Jan. 12, is from Cochrane, Alta. He has one goal in 12 games with the Hurricanes.
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From Cause We’re Canadian (@MadeInCanada): “We all watch the zamboni, just to make sure he doesn’t miss a spot #canadianproblems”
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Kootenay Ice F Sam Reinhart (@Samson Reinhart) lets out a secret: “We have all changed the date on an assignment to make the teacher think it was completed on time”
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