Author Archives: Lorena Sagastizado

Canucks Interview Russian Free Agent Kuzmenko

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Meet Andrei Kuzmenko. He’s a 26 year old Russian player who came second in scoring through the entire KHL season with fifty three points in forty five games (20-33-53) and also added fourteen points in sixteen playoff games. He’s also a free agent this offseason and is looking to make the jump to the NHL next season. It’s no wonder that almost every NHL team is lining up to court his services this offseason. It’s like a season of The Bachelor where every NHL team is hoping to receive that final rose from Andrei.

Vancouver had their opportunity today to put their best foot forward and try and sweep the Russian off his feet in the hopes of receiving a rose from him, so to speak. Part of the allure with this player is that you are adding a player who is about to enter his physical prime as a hockey athlete, twenty seven years of age, for absolutely no acquisition cost other than a contract.

Rick Dhaliwal, a well known radio personality and Canucks insider, has been reporting for several weeks now that Vancouver has a legitimate shot of being able to impress Andrei enough to choose to sign with them and make the jump to the NHL. Andrei will be looking for the best opportunity for himself to come to a team where there is a spot open for him in a team’s top two scoring lines and be able to thrive.

In his introductory press conference when he was first hired, Canucks General Manager, Patrik Allvin, commented on how The Canucks are a great landing spot for any European free agent right now because there isn’t much in the way of competition or depth, which gives that signing player a big advantage to come in and seize whatever role is up for the taking and run with it.

Lets hope that these positive changes keep occurring for Vancouver and is able to start on the player side by landing the best available European free agent. Talk about a good first impression!

Hastings Race Course is Back!

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Calling all horse lovers, race lovers, and live events lovers! For the first time in two years, Hastings Racecourse is fully open to the public this upcoming Saturday, May 7, to a full crowd!

While there was some form of a sparse capacity open last July, it simply wasn’t the same as everyone had to wear masks and keep their distance. Normalcy for all live events is finally starting to creep back where’s no longer viewed as risky or weird to go to something with a full crowd.

For any athlete, playing in front of a crowd, whether they’re cheering for you or against you, is way better and gets one’s adrenaline and focus going full throttle. These jockeys and horses are no different as you can bet they’re all pumped to put on a hell of a show this weekend!

Nichelle Milner, a former jockey who is now the regional manager of racing operations for Hastings, knows just how important of a milestone this upcoming race day is. Most of the racing these past two years has been done for simulcast with empty stands, something only for the true hard core racing (and probably betting) fans would tune in for.

The docket for this upcoming opening weekend of the season promises to be jam packed with a seven race card beginning as early as 2pm. As well, Hastings will air The Kentucky Derby at approximately 3:55pm on the giant infield video screen.

So if you’re looking for something family friendly to do this weekend, round the whole gang up and come on down to an afternoon filled with horses going really fast! This goes out to all the fathers who have those horse crazed young daughters! Admission is free for all racing fans and if you feel like putting down a friendly wager or two cause you may have a couple 5’s rubbing against one another, there will be wagering facilities available throughout the area.

Go horses!

Winds of Change Begin for Vancouver

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How about this for a Friday afternoon news drop?! Just put yourself in the shoes of one of these scouts, who, let’s imagine works a regular Monday to Friday gig: they’re looking forward to the weekend and then get pulled into the office and served with a pink slip that just extended their weekend for the foreseeable future.

It may not have been exactly like that, but that’s what happened for five amateur scouting staff members of the Vancouver Canucks today, who were let go. One of the five, includes the son of ex-Canucks General Manager Jim Benning, one Brandon Benning. The other four amateur scouts let go were: Derek Richard (Eastern North America regional scout), Tim Lenardon (WHL scout), Pat Conacher (NCAA free agents scout), and Ted Hampson (USHL and NCAA scout).

From listening to Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin’s media availability this past Tuesday, May 3, current Canucks General Manager, Patrik Allvin, credited Todd Harvey, director of amateur scouting for The Canucks, for the job he’s done so far in preparing for this summer’s upcoming draft, but it’s clear that not everyone made the cut.

I guess the only unfortunate employee that got let today that was the least surprising was Brandon Benning because of who his father is. I say it’s the least surprising not because of the work he may have done, but the ties that he had to the old regime of Canucks management. Unfortunately it’s something he could do nothing about because you can’t control who your parents are.

This is a crucial summer for new Canucks management in Patrik, Jim and company as they look to firmly put their stamp on what they want their staff to look like and the methods of evaluation they want them using when scouting as we as fans get a chance to see what this new scouting staff will be known for.

Here’s hoping the new scouts they bring in will have the eye to spot the next great Canucks players starting with this upcoming draft in Montreal!

 

One Republic to Open BC Lion’s Season

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A new season in sports almost always brings optimism. Whether it be in the grass roots level, professionally, or just recreationally in terms of intramurals organized by whatever post secondary institute one may be attending.

The BC Lions and this upcoming CFL season is no different. First, in comes new owner, Amar Doman. The CFL has been in a position where they are desperately trying to reinvigorate a new generation of fans and trying to maintain, and boost even, the popularity throughout Canada. Amar Doman has done a good job recognizing the pulse of this city in terms of how bad fans want a winning team here and trying to bring new fans to the games.

Lets take last year into example. The BC Lions tried to give their fans a treat before their home opener. They decided to bring in a legendary rock band: Chilliwack. Not the city, the rock band. Not to disparage this band, but when your young, upstart quarterback, Nathan Rourke, doesn’t know who the headliner band is, therein lies your problem. Truthfully, I don’t know who Chilliwack the band is either.

Fast forward to this upcoming season. The headline band to jumpstart this season is megahit machine maker; One Republic. Now, I may not be a super fan of One Republic, but I will definitely admit that they make some catch tunes every now and again. And that’s where the genius of this move comes in. Take me as an example that’s a fair weather CFL fan. An evening of some drinks and food with friends and, or family with some decent tunes in the background followed by a local game of throwing the pigskin around? That sounds like a good time to me.

https://twitter.com/BCLions/status/1522365371310690306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1522365371310690306%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheprovince.com%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Fcfl%2Fbc-lions%2Fbc-lions-season-start-onerepublic

If you’re interested in going to this pregame concert on June 11, make sure you visit The BC Lions website for tickets before they sell out! Here’s to more awesome sporting events throughout the summer!

U Sports Canadian Quarterback Internship Returns

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Calling all Canadian University quarterbacks! After COVID ruined all our lives and then some in terms of our routines, extra curriculars, and opportunities in general, things are finally starting to get back to normal again! For the first time since 2019, CFL teams are hosting internships this summer with nine lucky student athletes from across Canadian Universities.

Garrett Rooker, UBC’s own starting quarterback, is one of the lucky nine to be selected for this internship! Garrett had a solid campaign this past season where he averaged 240 yards passing per game and had the fourth best completion rating among all eligible candidates at 68.8%! Garrett is originally from League City, Texas, a state that lives and breathes football like it’s a religion and a mandatory way of life south of the border, but adjusted well as he was one of those rare freshman starting quarterbacks! He put up a total of 1,437 passing yards in just six games in the regular season and led UBC back into the Hardy Cup Playoffs. Garrett not only flashed the arm strength with eight passing touch downs, but ran for three more for a total of eleven!

Garrett is going to have a unique opportunity where he will be able to practice with the best possible players this country has to offer. This internship started back in 2010 and has  allowed these young quarterbacks to develop their skills on the field during practice and off the field by taking part in team and positional meetings also!

I will admit that I myself am a bit of a fair weather CFL fan, but this is nothing but positive news that these types of programs are back to continue to grow the game of football here in Canada and show a young, impressionable athlete that the NFL isn’t the only worthy league to practice one’s football craft.

Here’s hoping that Garrett Rooker can make the most of this opportunity this summer and realize his full potential on and off the field and have a memorable career in the CFL! Who knows, maybe he’s the future starting BC Lions quarterback in a couple of years!!

The Season comes to an end for the Abbotsford Canucks

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Just like their big brothers, the baby Canucks are out of the playoffs!

The Abbotsford Canucks fell to the Baby Oilers, The Bakersfield Condors, in  consecutive nights, 3-2 and have been eliminated from The AHL Playoffs. While The Baby Canucks did play a better game two, it wasn’t sustained for enough time to eek out a game two victory.

Abbotsford opened the scoring when Sheldon Dries, a late season regular in Vancouver’s NHL lineup, scored off a deflected shot on the powerplay by young stalwart, Jack Rathbone. However, BC native, Adam Cracknell tied the game up late in the second period at one a piece. Bakersfield then took the 2-1, before Sheldon Rempel tied the game back for The Baby Canucks. From there, The Baby Oilers took the lead for good with a late third period goal with less than three minutes to go to seal Abbotsford fate.

There are two big controversies to come out of this series: the game winning goal and the fact that Danila Klimovich, Vancouver’s best forward prospect not named Vasily Podkolzin, was scratched for both games. It’s clear that Cooper Marody, Bakersfiel third goal scorer, pushed the defender that was checking him into goalie Spencer Martin. How that wasn’t goalie interference was absolutely mind boggling. It seems like the refs had a plane to catch and they didn’t want to miss their flight because the game should’ve at least gone into overtime tied at two. Danila Klimovich was also scratched in favour of a defenseman, Jett Woo, playing his third line winger spot. Vancouver has already had trouble developing their own prospects as is. Lets hope this was injury related!

Regardless, The Baby Canucks have a lot to be proud of and lets hope that they can build on this experience going into next season!

From “Bruce there it is” to “Bruce it’s done?”

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Remember back in December of last year, December 6 to be exact, and The Canucks are looking horrible. They’re coming off a loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins the night before where they got booed off the ice, a jersey got thrown onto the ice by a disgusted fan, and the team looked totally defeated and lifeless. Francesco Aquillini then decides to clean house with both the coaching staff and management. In steps Bruce Boudreau and The Canucks go on a miraculous run and almost make the playoffs, but fall just short, getting eliminated in game eighty of eighty two.

Fast forward to this past Tuesday, May 3, where President, Jim Rutherford, and General Manager, Patrik Allvin, held a season end press conference and didn’t exactly paint a picture of ringing endorsement for the current Canucks head coach. While Jim Rutherford did praise and commend Bruce Boudreau for the job he did as head coach in the fifty seven games in which he was behind the bench for The Canucks, he stopped short of saying that there was going to be a long term extension for Bruce on the horizon. Jim Rutherford admitted that The Canucks would love to have Bruce back, but only on the current contract status he is currently signed to.

When Bruce Boudreau signed to come to Vancouver, his second year on his contract was revealed to have an option year for both parties involved. This was a stark contrast to Bruce’s media availability Monday, May 2, where he said that he loved his time here in Vancouver and made it clear to management that he wanted to be back and also made it sound like management felt mutual in that sentiment.

The way that Bruce treated the media, the fans with his cameos during the holidays, and how he motivated and interacted with this team, I think it would be foolish to let him walk. This team looked lost and down right sorry only a few months ago. We finally are starting to have hope and optimism back in this hockey crazed market and I truly believe that Bruce is a key contributor and turning point to that. This isn’t Bruce’s first rodeo either as he has coached more than 1000 regular season NHL games and has more than 600 wins. Lets hope he can continue racking up those wins here in Vancouver and the chant of “Bruce There It Is” stays alive and well!

Canadians look to bounce back using “The Force”

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The Vancouver Canadians, The Toronto Blue Jays’ high-A affiliate, lost in extra innings yesterday, 4-2, to The Everett AquaSox.

The Baby Blue Jays were their own worst enemy as they went 2-17 with runners in scoring position and committed a lot of mental mistakes in the top of the tenth. To start, their reliever, Jol Concepcion, who took the loss, couldn’t find the strike zone as he walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases (each inning in extras starts with a ghost runner on second base in an attempt to speed up the game). From there, Jol balked in the go ahead run and proceeded to walk the next two batters again to have Everett score again. The AquaSox hitters didn’t have to lift the bats off their shoulders as Jol was giving them free passes like it was going out of style. Next time Jol has to pitch in the rain, maybe he should ask for a towel or just say no thanks.

This game shouldn’t of gone to extras as The Canadians had the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth inning, but couldn’t get a single run across the board.

The beautiful thing about baseball is that there’s a game almost every day! The Canadians will look to regroup today and hopefully things are looking more fortunate for our Baby Blue Jays. They will need to channel their inner balance and use “The Force” to defeat Everett tonight. Why these Star Wars references? Well, its because Star Wars Day will be celebrated at Nat Bailey Stadium tonight!

Make sure you get to the ball park in time tonight for 7pm first pitch and dress up and get swept up in the Star Wars spirit as there will be a fund raiser towards BC Children’s Hospital. Tickets are super affordable and available on The Vancouver Canadian’s website starting at $20! May the fourth be with you all! Go Canadians!

Abbotsford Canucks on brink of elimination

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The Baby Canucks might be out of the playoffs just as quickly as they began! That’s the issue when your opening round series is a best of three and you lose the opening game.

The Abbotsford Canucks lost game one of their series against The Bakersfield Condors 2-1 in overtime. Whether you were looking at the stat sheet at the end of the game or able to watch the game, The Baby Oilers outplayed our Baby Canucks throughout the game and it was lucky to even get into overtime.

Spencer Martin, signed to a new one way contract starting next year and is looking like the new back up for our current starting goaltender, Thatcher Demko, played amazing and gave Abbotsford a chance to steal this game. He faced a barrage of shots all game finishing with forty five saves off forty seven shots. He especially played amazing in the first and second periods as The Baby Canucks were still trying to find their skating legs and barrings.

Vasily Podkolzin, Vancouver’s Russian young gun, opened the scoring in the third period and Abbotsford was less than one minute away from stealing this game, until Bakerfield’s forward, Seth Griffith, scored in the final minute to tie the game and send it into overtime. Bakersfield then got a rare powerplay in overtime and took full advantage when ex-Canuck Tim Schaller set up forward James Hamblin, who scored to win it for The Baby Oilers.

Abbotsford now has to regroup quickly as game two is tonight at 7pm and there’s no second chances. If The Baby Canucks lose tonight, they’re done for the season. Hopefully, the quick turn around will benefit Abbotsford as they won’t have much time to dwell on their missed opportunity. Now they need to focus on game two, where they can carry the momentum and pace that they showed in the third period of game one by setting the tempo and taking the game to The Baby Oilers from the first drop of the puck onward.

Making more space for the Vancouver Canucks

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It looks like Francesco Aquilini is opening up the taps again for this new Vancouver Mangement group and it’s not necessarily for free agents.

Despite the fact that the Canucks are practically capped out for their player roster, it doesn’t mean there’s a cap for possible improvements for the environment of their players both on the professional club and their minor league affiliate in Abbotsford.

In an in person press conference today, held at the Norm Jewison Room at Rogers Arena, President, Jim Rutherford, and General Manager, Patrik Allvin, detailed an offseason plan to improve the locker rooms and arena for the players and fans along with acknowledging that a new practice rink is on the horizon.

Michael Doyle, who was named President of Canucks Sports and Entertainment and Business Operations, back in August of 2021, is leading the practice rink project and Jim Rutherford admitted that their search for a new practice rink location has been narrowed down to the final two to three spots with a decision to be announced this summer in all likelihood.

A lot of people tend to simply focus on the roster, but if you’re a player, especially a free agent, one of the things you look for is how up to date and modernized your resources and environment is as a player so you can play to your full potential and stay happy and healthy all season long. I’m definitely glad to hear that these much needed renovations are finally being started this offseason as a new era in Canucks management and team direction is upon us.

Other improvements that the club is undertaking this offseason will be a new media room for all the journalists, and updating their facilities for The Abbotsford Canucks as much as possible in their locker room also.

Here’s hoping that a new state of the art dressing room means a new state of the art team as we look to get back into the playoffs next year!