Author Archives: Jaden Teja

The New Generation Of The NHL

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 You’re a hockey fan like me. You grew up in the late 2000s and early 2010s. You grew up watching players like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and Patrick Kane. Unfortunately, all these players are slowly getting closer to retirement and aren’t the same players like they used to be they when we were watching them on our TVs growing up. Except for Crosby who is still putting up 42 goals and 94 points in his 19th season.  The rest are past their prime, and I don’t know about you it’s making me feel kind of old. We knew that these players weren’t going to play forever, but now that the end is almost here and we hear these players talking about retirement more than ever before it makes me feel grey-haired.  

 

The Penguins-Capitals rivalry was the peak of 2010s hockey. You had the game’s two best players going against each other. (Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin)  It just takes me back to hearing NBC’s Wednesday night rivalry theme song and sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what amazing plays Crosby and Ovechkin were going to make. Can’t you relate? Another thing that made these games so great was that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals were two of the best teams in the league. Now these two teams are just fighting for hopes of a  playoff spot. Crosby inked a two-year contract extension worth 8.7 million dollars per season (Again) to keep him in Pittsburgh for at least three more years. But is that it for Sid the Kid? Crosby has faced questions about retirement more frequently. Here’s what he said in April. 

 

“I don’t really think like that,I’ve always just gone year to year. That’s always kind of served me well, as far as how I evaluate my game and that sort of thing. There’s always a lot of factors.” 

“There’s no point worrying about four, five years from now, There are so many factors when you get to this point. … I don’t really think that far ahead, to be honest with you. That’s just how I feel and how I approach it.”

As a Canucks fan I felt this when Henrik and Daniel Sedin retired, did you as well? They were the two staple players for the Canucks and have been on the team ever since I started watching hockey. When they played their last games as Canucks, I felt the kid inside me slowly start to drift away. I was wondering what’s next for this team? Will watching the Canucks be the same anymore? As time would tell everything would be ok. The team started a new chapter we had new things to get excited for new young players to watch. Even though we didn’t have the Sedin twins any more or Ryan Kesler, Kevin Biesksa and Roberto Luongo. The staples of the team who went to the 2011 Stanley Cup final were gone but new stars arrived. Among the likes of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes. The team had a bright future. 

 

The Canucks had a new slogan going into the 2020 season “Colourful past bright future”. Showing pictures of the Sedins, Markus Nasland and other players from the teams storied past. Along with current players. 

 

Many teams and their fans must feel the same way. I find it quite astounding when I see kids wearing jerseys of stars like Mcdavid, Matthews ,Makar and so many more because they are growing up idolizing these players like I did to players in my era. It goes to show you the new generation is here. The current day NHL is run by Connor Mcdavid, Nathan Mackinnon, Nikita Kucherov, Auston Matthews, and few other superstars, but who’s going to be following in their footsteps? Let me introduce you to the NHL’s next batch of superstars and players who will be dominating the league before you know it.  

Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is the younger brother of Canucks captain and reinging Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes. At just 23 years old Jack’s already made quite a name for himself in the league racking up 99 points in the 2022-23 season. New Jersey has a few other young studs, but Hughes is the shinniest star of them all. I don’t think Jack is going to be living in his older brothers shadow as Jack has already proven himself to be named among the leagues elite centers. 

 

Connor Bedard, if you don’t know who Connor is you must have been living under a rock for the past three years. Bedard has been making national headlines since he was 15 years old after being granted exceptional status in the Western Hockey League and is considered to be the best Prospect since Connor Mcdavid. Bedard sent shockwaves around the nation after his incredible performance in the 2023 World Junior Championships. He finally made his long awaited NHL debut and to no ones surprise he scored in his first game. Even after missing 14 games Bedard still ran away with the Calder trophy for rookie of the year. He finished with 62 points last year and I know he’s going to smash that this year. 

Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild is a name you might not be too familiar with but that’s what this article is for. The former 2019 12th overall pick really started to take off in March of 2023. With the Wilds’ leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov missing extended time, someone needed to step up. That’s exactly what Boldy did, he carried the load offensively leading the Wild to the playoffs. Without Kaprizov in the lineup, Matt Boldy showed that at just 22 years old he was capable of leading a team to great lengths. In the summer of 2023, the Wild awarded him with a seven year, seven million dollar contract. 

 

Another superstar playing for a canadian team is Tim Stuzle. He was taken third overall in 2020 to be the franchise center for the Ottawa Senators for the next decade. Although he had a decent first two seasons in the nations capital, he exploded for 90 points in his third year. The Senators are building a pretty decent squad and Stutzle is at the nucleus of it. If he can stay healthy, Stutzle will help carry the load for Ottawa and the Sentators will be playing playoff hockey sooner rather than later.

 

With all these young stars and many more on the way kids have plenty of great options to look up to. The NHL as a league is getting faster, more creative and is bring in a global audience, which you can credit these young players for. While we are shifting over to new chapters of our lives and our memories of our past idols are fading, the new generation is ready to take over. 

 

Quinn Hughes: The Anchor

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Every great NHL team needs an anchor on the blue line, that elite number one defenseman that you can throw out in any situation. Over the course of NHL history, almost every  Stanley Cup winning team had that ace defenseman. The Montreal Canadiens in the ‘70s had Larry Robinson, the ‘80s Edmonton Oilers had Paul Coffey, and the 2000s Detroit Red Wings had Nicklas Lidstrom. Even in the modern day NHL, in the 2010s the Chicago Blackhawks had Duncan Keith and in the 2020’s the Tampa Bay Lightning had Victor Hedman. This isn’t going to change anytime soon, to be a legitimate ( Stanley) Cup contending team you need an elite number one defenseman. 

The Vancouver Canucks never had that luxury. They’ve some solid very good defensemen by the likes of Dave Babych, Harold Snepsts, Mattias Ohlund, and Alex Edler. However, none of these players could anchor the blue line of a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations. In 2018 that was supposed to change. The projected first-overall pick was defenseman Rasmus Dahlin from Sweden. (Rasmus) Dahlin was projected to be a generational level prospect.

He was even being compared to hall of fame defenseman and fellow Swede Nicklas Lidstrom heading into the NHL entry draft. It was a match made in heaven, the Canucks weren’t a very good team by any means heading into the 2017-18 season. Finishing as the second-worst team in the league the prior season. So getting the first overall pick out of the question. Plus (Rasmus) Dahlin could add to the Canucks long line of Swedish superstars among the likes of Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Markus Naslund and Thomas Gradin. 

The Canucks finished the season 2017-18 with 73 points and sixth worst in the league. They fell one spot in the draft lottery and were awarded the seventh overall pick. The “Fallin for Dahlin” didn’t work and it left us Canucks disappointed. Unfortunately, that’s a feeling we Canucks fans know all too well. At the draft, Rasmus Dahlin was selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabers (shocker). The next highest defenseman ranked was Quinn Hughes out of Michigan, but he was projected to get selected before the Canucks picked. The Detroit Red Wings picked sixth overall one pick before the Canucks. (Quinn) Hughes was still on the board plus, he played at Michigan the Red Wings also needed a defenseman it would only make sense for him to get picked by Detroit. Right?

For some reason projected third overall Filip Zadina was still on the board as well. Montreal surprised a lot of people by taking center Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall. The big shock was the Arizona Coyotes selecting Barett Hayton fifth overall leaving Zadina and Hughes still on the board. Detroit General Manager Ken Holland took the stage and made pick for the Red Wings. “ The Detroit Red Wings select from Halifax of the Canadian Hockey League Filip Zadina”. You could hear the collective cheers from every household in British Columbia. This set the stage for Jim Benning to make the pick to bring Quinn Hughes to Vancouver and add him to a young core that included Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko.

So what has Quinn Hughes done in time in Vancouver so far? Let me break it down for you. In just his first game Canucks nation saw the potential of the young dynamic defenseman, When he skated around like L.A. Kings like a bunch of pylons banked the puck to himself behind the net and took a shot on goal where Brock Boeser capitalized on leading to a goal. We knew that Hughes was going to be a special player.

In Hughes’s rookie season, he had 8 goals and 45 assists for 53 points in 68 games breaking multiple Canuck franchise records along the way. Hughes was also named an all-star leading to a viral moment at the all-star where Wayne Gretzky said “ That young lad is a defenseman he has better hands than I did” after Hughes made an electric play. Hughes finished his rookie season leading all rookies in scoring, making him the third defenseman only after Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch to do so. Hughes finished as the runner-up for the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. 

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Hughes and the Canucks  as after making it to the second round of the playoffs in 2020 the Canucks failed to make the playoffs in 2021. Hughes’s numbers dipped quite a bit in all major categories, especially his plus-minus which fell from a minus 10 to minus 24. The mainstream media took notice and a narrative began about Hughes being a defensive liability.

In the 2022 season, Hughes bounced back at both ends of the ice but the narrative of Hughes being a defensive liability still followed him and overshadowed his offensive play. This led him to say, “I feel like my game’s really good right now, “I’m proud that I’m a plus. I’m playing a lot of minutes, and defensively, I’ve been trusted against the top lines. Anyone that says I’m a defensive liability, frankly, doesn’t watch me play at this point.”

In 2023 Quinn finished with 76 points in 78 games and finished top ten in Norris trophy voting as the league’s best defenseman for the first time in his career and cemented himself as one of the league’s best defensemen. Stats are great and all but it doesn’t mean much if the team isn’t winning. In September of 2023, Hughes was named the 15th captain in franchise history, a role that Hughes was built for.

The 2023-24 season was one to  remember. Hughes smashed career highs in goals with 17, assists with 75 and points with 92. The Canucks won the Pacific Division and made the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and brought playoff hockey back to Rogers Arena for the first time since 2015. Hughes capped off his season by winning the Norris trophy and being the first Canuck in history to do so.

After this season if there was any doubt that Hughes could be an anchor on the blue line there isn’t anymore. However, I think we Canucks fans knew this already but Hughes put the NHL on notice that the Canucks are a force to be wrecked with this season. He isn’t the biggest guy, the strongest guy and he doesn’t have the hardest shot, but he’s an elite skater, an amazing puck mover and can make any pass imaginable. Hughes proved that he is a top-three defenseman in the NHL by dominating on both ends of the ice for a full 82 games. He has been everything he was advertised to be and more. Quinn is exactly the type of player the Canucks needed to anchor their blue line. Thinking back at it now it’s pretty amazing we got a player of his calibre at seventh overall.  I believe that he will be one of the best defensemen in NHL history when his career is over. If the Canucks want to win the Stanley Cup this season, they are going to need another big year out of Hughes and I know he’s more than capable of doing it. 

 

An Article About Nothing

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Have you heard of Seinfeld? Even if you haven’t seen the show yourself you’ve probably heard your parents talking about it or at least reference it. The phrase “yada yada yada” the “re-gifter” and the iconic soup nazi and many more were all things that originated from Seinfeld. Seinfeld premiered in 1989 and is still a massive part of modern pop culture. I still hear Seinfeld being referenced on TV and the radio.  For a show that was prominent in the mid-90s, you would think that almost everything that was being referenced is outdated. But Seinfeld isn’t like every other show. 

 

Seinfeld is widely considered one of the greatest sitcoms of all time and there are many reasons why people think so. In my opinion, it’s the fact the show is made for every demographic and people of all ages can watch it to this day. The show’s humour is so unique because a lot of the jokes are just observations. The kicker is the fact these are things you and I have probably thought about. For example, I’m sure you’ve been to someone’s house and they have a massive bookshelf or maybe you have one at your house.  Jerry Seinfeld makes an amazing joke about people keeping books in their houses and I think he nails it to a tee. “What is this obsession people have with books? They put them in their houses—like they’re trophies. What do you need it for after you read it?” said Seinfeld in an episode.

 

The premise of the show is that it’s a show about nothing. Just four friends who go to work (Except Kramer) and just hang out with each other. Nothing crazy like shows made nowadays. However, the characters are what make the show come to life. The show revolves around Jerry Seinfeld and his life as a comedian living in Manhattan, along with his best friend George Costanza, ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes and crazy neighbour Cosmo Kramer. The unique thing about the characters is that they are all based on real people. George is based on Larry David the creator and writer of the show. Elaine is a combination of a few of Larry’s ex-girlfriends and Kramer is based on a crazy neighbour (Larry) David had. 

 

Seinfeld is like the original reality show, as a lot of the episodes are based on real-life scenarios that David and Seinfeld have gone through. The close talker, the legendary soup nazi, and even the episode where George quits his job and comes back the next day as if nothing happened, are all based off things that actually happened. These are just to name a few. It even got me wondering a few times, imagine if I could make sitcom episodes about things that happened in my life with my friends. Have you ever thought about this? 

My favourite character is Geroge, Geroge makes the show what it is I think he’s the heartbeat of the show. George is the definition of a complete loser he’s insecure, extremely petty, and impulsive. I couldn’t even begin to talk about how many times Geroge has embarrassed himself, whether that be around a girl or in public. The character writing for George is elite. It’s what made his character iconic for generations. The situations George has gotten himself in over the course of the show, from pretending to be a marine biologist, getting caught eating an eclair out of the trash to picking out the wrong wedding invitations that accidentally killed his fiance. George is one of the most iconic characters in sitcom history. 

 

If you’re wondering why is George the way he is? Let me introduce you to Estelle and Frank Costanza. After watching just one episode with these characters George’s crazy antics start to make sense. They are constantly yelling and screaming at each other and it’s hilarious. The arguments are over the smallest things ever as well. In an episode where they were going out for dinner Estelle had some thoughts about Frank’s tie choice saying he should wear a thin tie instead. Frank yelled at her and said “You have no eye for fashion” in a hilarious exchange.

The couple gets divorced in season six and Frank’s lawyer was wearing a cape for some reason. This led to Frank moving in with George and them sleeping in bed which was a hilarious scene.

 

Do you have a friend who is always at your house or you’re always at their house? Maybe they borrow your stuff from time to time. That’s what Kramer is to Jerry, the crazy neighbour who always seems to be at Jerry’s apartment, more than his own. But don’t you just love Kramer? From his crazy entrances of whipping the door open to his goofy mannerisms, Kramer is one of the funniest characters in the show. Kramer is also best friends with Newman, Jerry’s arch-nemesis who lives down the hall from Jerry which leads to hilarious interactions between the three of them.

Elaine is Jerry’s ex-girlfriend and is now one of his best friends. Elaine is very centred and wants to make herself look good to others. She is always super irritated by her co-workers (and if you ask me I think she’s the problem) and is dating a new guy every other week.  One of Elaine’s infamous moments was when she was supposed to meet her boyfriend at the movies and she found he was in the hospital. Instead of rushing to go see if he was ok, she stopped for candy at the theatre, which led to an awkward interaction.

 

The episode writing is nothing short of cinematic, I can’t name a single bad episode. However, I can a few of my favourites and some you definitely have to check out if you haven’t already.

 

Season 7 Episode 6: The Soup Nazi is arguably the show’s most iconic side character and maybe in sitcom history. The gang loves this new soup shop that opens up and can’t get enough of the soup. However, the owner has a bit of a temper he has strict rules you have to follow when in line and ordering. If you don’t follow these rules correctly he will yell at you the famous line “No soup for you” and make you leave the store. This is ingrained in pop culture today people still reference the infamous Soup Nazi and his famous saying.

 

Season 8 Episode 9: George and Elaine are both abstaining from sex and both have different effects. George turns into Einstein 2.0 and Elaine turns dumber than a bag of rocks. The funniest part is when George starts giving Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams batting lessons and trys teaching the World Series champions on “How to win more ball games”

 

Season 5 Episode 14: George pretends to be a marine biologist to impress a girl. The B plot of the episode is Kramer shooting golf balls into the ocean. A golf ball lands into a whale’s blowhole and George is asked to come to the rescue. A perfect example of the A plot and B plot coming together leading to George’s iconic monologue at the end.

 

Seinfeld is a classic with amazing characters and elite writing something you can watch no matter which generation you’re a part of. It is something that’ll live in TV history and it’s definitely “sponge-worthy”.

 

Big Brother 26: Expect the Unexpected

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If you’re a Big Brother fan like myself you know how chaotic, entertaining, insane or even “Jankie” this season has been.  I don’t remember the last time I’ve been this invested in a season. I’m glued to my TV every Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday night. From the very first episode where they had a competition where two houseguests got their games upgraded and two got downgraded, the houseguests who got upgraded would win a secret power. As for the houseguests who got downgraded were not allowed to compete in the Head of Household competition or Veto competition but could still be nominated.  I was hooked and I had high expectations. Boy oh boy did this season exceed those expectations. This season is the 26th season of the reality show but is it the best ever? We have a lot to discuss.

From the first episode (not including the two-night move-in premiere) where you got one of the funniest/most awkward moments I’ve seen when Tucker was introducing himself to everyone and Lisa got up and interrupted and said: “ We got a competition here because I’m a chef too”. Later on, we got our first interaction between Matt and Angela where Angela made what seemed like a snarky comment about how the girls were going to be all over Matt which Matt took as a threat and got his guards up about Angela. To cap off the first episode Angela won Head of Household. 

Usually, the first Head of Household plays it safe doesn’t want to rock the boat too much and is typically pretty chill. But this season isn’t like any other season, Angela has a massive fight with Matt in front of the entire house where she refers to Matt as “crazy eyes” and calls him a brat. She also accused Matt of threatening her and said “You can’t be pretty on the outside when you’re ugly on the in”. Making this one of the craziest fights in Big Brother history in just WEEK ONE! 

 

One thing, in my opinion, that is a must when you want to throw a season in the best-of-all-time department is that it has to have a great pre-jury phase. Some of the consensus greatest Big Brother seasons ( Big Brother 7,10,16,20) all had amazing pre-jury phases. Which helped to make those seasons entertaining all the way through. This season’s pre-jury phase might have topped those and I don’t think it’s close.

The big twist of the season was that the Head of Household nominates three houseguests for eviction opposed to only nominating two. The crazier part was right before the eviction the three nominees would compete live in the A.I. Arena and the winner would come off the block. One interesting part is that the houseguests weren’t allowed to watch so they would find out the result after the competition when Julie Chen would announce it to everyone. So the house only had a few minutes to strategize and decide who to vote out. 

The thing that made the pre-jury so boring was that everyone would always vote with the house, no one thought for themselves, and the house would have a unanimous target and no one would try to take out a big target. With the A.I. Arena in play this season you would think that would scare the Head of Household even more to put up a big competitive threat. Well, you thought wrong. In the first week, Angela nominated Kimo, Kenny and Lisa for eviction. Lisa won the veto and she put up Matt on the block. This didn’t come as much of a surprise after her blowup with him, but Matt was one of the strongest competitors in the house and he still had a chance to earn safety. But he fell short as Kimo had a clutch performance in the A.I. Arena and Matt was evicted on a vote of 8-3 making him one of the most memorable first evictees of all time. 

Another thing that pretty much always happens in a season of Big Brother, is that a majority alliance always forms of about 4-6 people and they steamroll to the end and control every move that happens in the game. We thought that was going to happen again this year. Chelsie, Cam, Cedric, Quinn, and Brooklyn formed an alliance called the “Pentagon”. Chelsie and Cedric won Head of Household in back-to-back weeks and had full control. In week four Angela won Head of Household but Quinn won an upgrade in the first week of the season and with his power, he was able to hijack Angela’s Head of Household. You’re probably thinking well that’s boring, the Pentagon is in control again. You would be incorrect Quinn nominates, Makensey, Tucker and Cedric. Who for some reason volunteered to go on the block. Which in Big Brother is a big no-no. It would be like if you left your wallet unattended in the mall. You’re just asking for something to go wrong. 

 

 

You see Quinn also spilled the beans about the Pentagon to Kimo and Tkor two people who were unaware of this alliance Quinn was in. Tucker won the Veto, and Makensey won the A.I. Arena in one of the closest finishes in a Big Brother competition ever and Cedric along with the rest of the Pentagon was blindsided in a vote of 6-3. 

 

There’s nothing better than seeing a blindside happen in live action. I do feel bad for Cedric however he was one of the most loved houseguests inside and out of the house. But Cmon man you can’t volunteer to go on the block. In my opinion, one of the best parts of this season is the fact that there have been zero unanimous votes. In previous seasons on Thursday night all the houseguests would go in the diary room complement Julie’s (Chen) outfit and all vote for the same person to be evicted. That hasn’t happened a single time this season and it leaves me on the edge of my seat seeing who’s going to be evicted. Another unbelievable stat is that the Power of Veto has been used for a record-setting ten times! The Head of Households nominees have not stayed the same all season which has forced the Head of Household to make a replacement nominee at the Veto ceremony. 

Finally, a great season of Big Brother is nothing without the houseguests. Every year the houseguests bring their own spice to the table and this year have they ever.

Let’s start with Quinn, the superfan of the season. Quinn won one of two upgrades in the first week and won two Head of Households. Quinn was making alliances left and right with every person in the house. It eventually caught up with him and he was voted out and was the first member of the jury. The thing that made Quinn a prominent member of this season was his diary room sessions. Every time she spoke in the diary room I had to turn my TV volume down by at least 10. This dude was screaming at the top of his lungs every time but boy was he entertaining.

Tucker the competition beast of the season, won six competitions including two A.I. arenas. This dude was creating chaos everywhere and as a view to say it was entertaining to watch would be an understatement. The craziest thing Tucker did was in week three volunteer to be on the block during Cedric’s Head of Household win the Veto and not use it on himself. This was the sixth time ever this has happened he used it on Anglea instead which caused Cedric to nominate Makensey instead and she won the upgrade in week one. She won a power called “Americas Veto” and was able to take herself off the block and America voted on Quinn as the replacement nominee. This led to one of the craziest Veto meetings ever. 

https://twitter.com/melbrown00/status/1821348904035570156

Finally, Anglea where do I begin from her blowup with Matt to mocking Lisa in week two. Her endless paranoia Anglea has been the talking point of this season. People have talked about Angela being voted out since week two and she was been on the block seven times but has somehow had the Veto used on her three times! That is a Big Brother record. Anglea is so entertaining it seems too good to be true. Or is it? Anglea’s antics have been so wild this season it’s led some people to believe she is a production plant. 

With all the craziness that has transpired this season its hard to believe we still haven’t had the double eviction yet. That’s happening this Thursday, I can only guess what’s going to happen but like Big Brothers motto I’m just going to have to expect the unexpected.

 

The Soaring Seahawks

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The Seattle Seahawks are 3-0 for the first time since 2020 and have done so with great defence and giving the ball to their star players which are things the Seahawks haven’t done in the last few seasons. A large part is to be credited to rookie head coach Mike Macdonald who has turned this Seattle defence into the fourth best defence to start the season. This shouldn’t come to much of a surprise as Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator and helped lead the Ravens to the top scoring defense in 2023. 

 

 

 For Macdonald in Seattle however, he has some pieces to work with. Seattle has 3 pro bowlers in the secondary in safety Julian Love and cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen. The defensive line has some amazing young pieces in 2024 first-round pick Byron Murphy along with Derrick Hall and Boye Mafe. As well as a veteran presence in Leonard Williams. Macdonald looks to be the missing piece Seattle needs to turn these studs into an elite defence. 

 

 

As for Seattles’ offence, I think you know the weapons Seattle has. A superstar receiver in D.K. Metcalf, 2023 first round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Mr Reliable Tyler Lockett. Thats not all they got one of the leagues best running back duos in Kenneth Walker III and 2023 second round pick Zach Charbonnet. This offence is quarterbacked by Geno Smith who has been a pro bowler in back-to-back years since Russell Wilson departed for Denver in March of 2022. Tight end Noah Fant was acquired in the Russell Wilson trade and hasn’t had the most productive first two years in Seattle but he has the attributes with great speed and route running. He was brought back for a reason and I expect to see Fant involved a lot more this season in the offence. The offensive line is considered the weak point on the offence and rightfully so ( Did you see that game against the Broncos, Yikes) But there are a few bright spots. 2022 ninth-overall pick Charles Cross has been one of the best offensive tackles in football this year. Even though he’s currently hurt Abraham Lucas is one of the league’s best pass-protecting right tackles.

 

 

You’re probably thinking with all these studs this offence had to be good. But that’s where you’re wrong. Seattles’ offence was 22nd in total yards and 14th in passing yards per game last season.. Which for the talent Seattle has on offence is a major letdown. So what’s changed? Seattle finally moved on from offensive coordinator Shane Waldren and hired University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Waldren was in Since 2021 but it felt like an eternity to us Seahawks fans. Since the day Waldren was hired, Seahawks fans were a bit skeptical. He was coming from the Rams organization and a piece of Sean Mcvay’s coaching tree which seemed like a green flag. However, signs showed early on that Waldren was there to cater to Russell Wilson’s needs and fit his picture of an ideal offensive coordinator. One of Waldren’s flaws was his predictable playcalling. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times the Seahawks ran the ball on second and long which led to a third and long during Waldren’s tenure in Seattle. It drove me out of my mind and if you’re a Seahawks fan I’m sure it did to you too. 

 

 

Another massive flaw and this one is my personal biggest gripe with Waldren was his inability to get our Star players the ball and use them to their strengths. Unfortunately, this is nothing new to Seattle as when the Seahawks traded for superstar tight end Jimmy Graham in 2015 he was never used properly after being one of the top producing tight ends in the league when he was playing for the New Orleans Saints. This was one of the main reasons Darrell Beveall who was the offensive coordinator at the time got fired. So you would think Waldren would learn from his mistakes. You couldn’t be more wrong. Waldren single handedly ruined Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s rookie year. For the first half of the season, more than half of Smith-Njiba’s targets were at or behind the line of scrimmage. Not a great way to utilize your first round pick who was the first receiver off the board in the draft. Smith-Njiba finished last year with 63 catches 628 yards and 4 touchdowns. In my opinion, he could have a much bigger year. What do you think?

 

 

The best player on the Seahawks that Waldren didn’t utilize correctly was D.K. Metcalf. Metcalf is one of the best receivers in the N.F.L. He’s 6’4 and 235 pounds just an absolute specimen. Metcalf has never had less than 900 yards in a season in his career and never had fewer than 6 touchdowns. If you’re a Seahawks fan like myself you know Metcalf’s ceiling is extremely high. Waldren has held Metcalf back in so many ways by with playcalling and not throwing him the ball in the red zone. You can use A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles for an example. In 2023 Brown had 106 catches 1,456 yards and 7 touchdowns. Compared to Metcalf’s 66 catches 1,114 yards and 8 touchdowns. Brown is considered a top 7 receiver in the NFL and has a similar frame to Metcalf so what’s the difference? Brown gets put in a position to succeed and Metcalf hasn’t. 

 

However, things are going to be different this year in the Pacific Northwest. Bringing in Ryan Grubb should finally get this Seahawks offence to reach their full potential. Grubb was the offensive coordinator at the University of Washington and had an unbelievable year. Leading the nation in passing yards per game, first downs per game and third down percentage. Grubb led the Huskies to the seventh best scoring offence second in total offence and this took them to the National Championship game. 

 

 

Grubbs’ magic is already starting to pay off. I know it is only three games and that is a small sample size, but throughout the first three games of the season the Seahawks are 8th in yards per game and third in passing yards per game. Something that’s helped this is that we’ve seen Seattle go to an empty backfield a lot more this year. Especially in critical third downs like in overtime against New England. This has helped Geno (Smith) distribute the ball to his playmakers more effectively. Geno Smith is third in the NFL in passing yards and D.K. Metcalf is sixth in receiving yards. In their week two game against the New England Patriots Metcalf had 10 catches 129 yards and added a 56-yard touchdown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t do too shabby himself having 12 catches and 117 yards. That’s something you just love to see!

 

This season is just getting started but if this is a sign of things to come this is going to be an exciting year for us Seahawks fans. Seattle’s first big test of the season will be next Monday night in the Motor City against the Lions and I can’t wait and see what they have in store. But what I can say is that Macdonald and Grubb have the ‘Hawks soaring.

 

Ryan Martel’s breakout year in Vancouver

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The Vancouver Warriors are only a game back of a playoff spot heading into the final game of the regular season. After starting the season 2-8 and now winning six of their last seven, they showed how resilient they are as a team. The word ‘resilient’ is also a great way to describe Ryan Martel. The Aldergrove, B.C. native had a rocky start to his National Lacrosse League career after being drafted 11th overall in 2017 by the Calgary Roughnecks. Despite being coached by current Warriors head coach and general manager Curt Malawsky while he was with the Roughnecks, Martel didn’t get much playing time and left Calgary in 2020.

In 2022, Martel signed with his hometown team but still wasn’t contributing the way he hoped, playing in only nine games while posting six goals and nine assists. Martel is in his sixth NLL season and finally putting his game together. Following a 9-point outing against the New York Riptide on April 13, Martel talked about how Malawsky has been a key part of his success this year.

“Curt’s had a lot to do with it. He’s had a lot of confidence in me this year, giving me the ball and different plays and situations which I really appreciate. (Also) I think just getting older, getting in my man body a bit and I’m excited to come to the rink every day. I think about (playing in games) all week and it’s been a fun year.”

Martel is smashing career highs in every major offensive category. He’s third in goals, assists, and points on the Warriors, and is fourth in shots on goal. It’s Martel’s first season getting top-end playing time and he says it’s different now as opposed to early on in his career. “I think when you’re in and out of the lineup, it’s tough to kind of get up when you don’t know if you’re in the lineup or not. Knowing I’m in every week just sort of gives me that confidence and (I’m) just rolling with it”.

Martel’s 69 points this season are five more than he’s had in his entire NLL career. He’s become one of the star players on the Warriors along with Adam Charalambides and Keegan Bal. He’s also a top-tier scoring threat, giving Vancouver another weapon when he’s on the floor. Malawsky noted Martel’s growth and how he’s matured as a player since coming to Vancouver.

“When Ryan was a young guy, I wasn’t sure he liked lacrosse and (I) think now he’s gotten older, he’s got a (girl), and he’s working full-time – he’s playing in his province, his parents get to come watch the games, and I think it’s become more important to him. I think as you get older, you realize that you’re not going to play this game forever and to cherish the time that he has. In your life when things are really important, you prioritize them and I think he’s done that.”

Malawsky feels that Martel’s ability to get to the middle of the floor has helped him elevate his game this season. “Marty doesn’t have any fear now. When he doesn’t get to the middle of the floor, he’s like, ‘Coach, I should have gone to the middle’ so he’s understanding his type of game. He’s a good athlete and he’s got great feet and he’s got great anticipation, he can score in tight, so he’s had a great season for us.”

Martel’s breakout season is a key part of the Warriors’ playoff push and success in the second half of this season. Regardless of how the Warriors’ season ends, they have a great sniper in Martel who’s just going to get better and better moving forward and help his team win more games.