Cougar Crazy in PG/Blades say see ya to Scout

You have to love junior hockey. Playoff hockey provides upsets and none was better than the Cougars 6 game series win over Everett Monday night.
OK I had a feeling the Cougars would win game 6, but not by that lopsided of a score.
8-2!
Are you kidding me?
Kevin Constantine won't sleep a wink with an 11 hour bus ride back to Everett after that loss.

With a packed house (it's about time) the Cougars scored early and often Monday night chasing Tips starting goaltender Leland Irving from the game before it was 11 minutes old.
Constantine surprisingly gave Irving the hook, and replaced him with David Reekie - who was as cold as a Constantine stare - but didn't fair any better allowing 6 goals the rest of the way.

While the Cougars were getting it done offensively, you have to hand it to goaltender Real Cyr for his performance in this series and the entire playoffs.
The guy has lost just once in post season. That's a 8-1 record (the one loss was in overtime) in the playoffs, and while many call Devin Setoguchi the Cougars MVP, Cyr has made a name for himself and may just be the real reason why the Cougars are off to the Western Conference final against Vancouver.
Cyr turns 20 on May 20th, two days after the start of the 2007 Memorial Cup in Vancouver.
He would no doubt love to celebrate his b-day with a birth at the MC.

Nothing against the Cougars, but a huge factor for the Tips in the series had to have been the travel.
11 hours on the bus doesn't sit well with many teams, but the Cougars are much more used to the road than the Tips.
The nice thing for the Cougars in the West final is they will be able to board a jet heading for Vancouver.
You have to know the Giants sure will take advantage, meaning Cougars owner Jack Brodsky is going to have to visit the bank and cough up some cash for the added travel expenses.
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I listened to the Cougars post game show last night and everyone was obviously excited.
I know that it hasn't exactly been a great season for Cougars play-by-play man Ron St. Clair with all the negativity around the community because of the teams inconsistent play, but it appears those struggles have paid off and he's calling a winner.

I wanted to catch a bit of the post game show from the Everett Silvertips radio last night but for whatever reason I couldn't get them on-line.
Everett play-by-play man Keith Gerhart wears his heart on his sleeve, and likely took the loss as tough as the players and coaching staff did.
Gerhart is always pro Tip, and as an employee of the hockey club that's the way it should be.
He realizes that the Tips had something special taken away from them by a hungry Cougars team.
The Tips have likely seen the last of Peter Mueller and Leland Irving. Mueller is a sure bet to play on a bad Phoenix Coyotes team next season while Irving has to have a minor league spot available to him in the Calgary Flames organization.
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My early prediction in the Western Conference final has the Giants winning in 6 but I picked the Tips to beat the Cougars in a short 5 game series, so maybe I'm the kiss of death and the Cougars will again prove me wrong.

If they do - I couldn't be happier.

I don't like the Cougars success against the Giants during the regular season though.
The Cougars were 0-4 in Vancouver and just 1-2-0-1 in CN Centre this season. That's a combined record of 1-6-0-1 in 8 meetings between the Coug's and Giants.
But throw out the regular season stats, post season is obviously a totally different ball of wax where anything can happen.
Just ask the Everett Silvertips!
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The Cougars radio team did a good thing by adding injured forward Eric Hunter to the broadcast.
A well spoken, mature kid brings a nice player perspective to the broadcast. The added touch was a great move rather than having St . Clair doing the games all by himself on the road. Plus it makes the captain feel apart of the team.

Also a shout-out to my bud Al Bristowe who has been doing color on the Cougars radio broadcast several times during the playoffs.
Bristowe is sounding good, and it would be nice to see him take over the gig fulltime next season.
I always thought he had a face for radio.
Bristowe is a TV personality up there in Cougar country.
He'd be best to lobby the station to find accommodations down in Vancouver for him with games one and two this weekend.
Sure CKPG TV can pick up a Vancouver feed of the games (or Shaw), but it would be sweet to have a local TV presence at the West final.
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Remember the Medicine Hat Tigers and Calgary Hitmen each have a 33.3% percent chance of going to the Memorial Cup next month in Vancouver.
The winner of the East final will get a birth to the Memorial Cup even if they lose in the league championship series, that's if the host Giants get passed the Cougars of course.
So it's safe to assume both the Tigers and Hitmen will be cheering for the Giants in the West final, which inturn would make it even easier on themselves to play for major juniors top prize.
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Interesting development Monday in Saskatoon where the Blades fire their Director of Player Personel.
With the bantam draft just about three weeks away, the Blades have seen enough of Paul Olekszyk, and gave him his walking papers.
Since Olekszyk was named to the post in 2003 he's picked Justin MacRae with a first round pick in 2003, Colton Gillies in 2004, Teigan Zahn in 2005 and Bruce Hamilton's kid Curtis Hamilton in 2006.
The problem with the Blades may have something to do with it's scouting, but doesn't it have to do more with it's propensity to pull off a trade?
Sure the Blades got market value by dealing away Devin Setoguchi to Prince George for a pair of first round bantam picks, but what type of impact would have the San Jose Shark forward made on a young team in Saskatoon?
Sure Setoguchi would have been hard pressed to lead the Blades into the playoffs this year but wouldn't he have rubbed off on the young faces on the roster that are learning what it takes to win, and how an elite player carries himself?
Or is Setoguchi a selfish player, a bad influence that simply plays more for himself than his teammates?
They had no choice but to trade Wacey Rabbit to Vancouver considering he wouldn't be returned to major junior unless the Blades granted him a trade to a contender.

Missing the playoffs four times in the last 9 years tells you one thing.
It's more than just scouting that is the problem with what ails the Saskatoon Blades.
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Good article Monday in the Kelowna Daily Courier from my partner in crime Doyle Pontenteau.
It focused on the upcoming WHL bantam draft, and featured an interview with Rockets Director of Player Personel Lorne Frey.
Frey is down in the U.S doing some scouting.
He not only has the luxury but the pressure of holding the 2nd overall pick in May's draft.
Would the Rockets pick an American with pick #2?

It backfired in 1999 when they selected Alaskan born Jason Ryznar (pic at the left).
Ryznar went the U.S College route and never suited up for the Rockets, electing to play at the University of Michigan.
He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2002.
It was a big gamble by Frey to make that American pick back then but times are a changing.
More and more American born kids are scoping out the virtues of the Western Hockey League and like what they see, and are now choosing it over the NCAA.
Let's not kid ourselves, kids from south of the border are still thinking American college but with the Everett Silvertips acquiring Peter Mueller a couple of years back it provided the league with the best endorsement money can't buy.
Maybe that's the reason he was the poster boy for the WHL this season as the Minnesota born Mueller was featured on the league's media guide?
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