Friday, March 6, 2009

Things That Make Me Go Hmm....

  • Hockey fans in the Okanagan have heard about how great the Calgary Hitmen are all season, yet won't be able to see them. What a shame. What makes you shake your head even more is the fact that the Hitmen played Wednesday night in nearby Kamloops before heading into Vancouver to face the Giants tonight. Does it not make sense to have the Hitmen make a stop in Kelowna if they are essentially in our own backyard anyway? If teams are so concerned about travel costs, wouldn't it make economic sense to have the Hitmen make a stop in Kelowna rather than the Rockets making two stops in Cowtown this season? Just a thought.
  • How good is Hitmen forward Brett Sonne? If you are a Rockets fan, the only way you will find out is if the two teams meet in the WHL final. That or you made the trip to the Saddledome on February 28th.
  • For arguments sake, if Spokane's Drayson Bowman ran into Tri City goaltender Chet Pickard, would Bowman have received a 10 game suspension? Would Ryan Letts have received the 10 game suspension if he plowed over the Americans backup goaltender? That makes me go hmm...
  • Little has been said about the WHL's improved website. The best addition to the site has been the updated photo's. In may seem like an insignificant touch, but I dare to differ. In today's day and age of sending photo's by e-mail, their should be no excuses for keeping the site visually appealing.The WHL deserves credit for keeping it current!
  • Colin Long's 31st goal of the season Wednesday against Spokane matches his goal total of all of last year. Long now has three-4 point games this season. The 19 year-old also turned the trick against Prince George and Seattle.
  • Can Jamie Benn hit 50 goals with just 6 games to play? It can be done. Just look at former Swift Current Broncos sharp shooter Layne Ulmer. Ulmer scored his 50th goal in his 47th game back in the 2000-2001 season. Benn will play a total of 56 regular season games this season, so the mark can be reached.
  • Did you know the Rockets are 7 goals shy from the 248 they scored last season?
  • Happy Birthday Kyle St. Denis. St. Denis turns 19 today. His birthday wish likely includes a healthy mind and body in order to get back in the lineup. Teammate Tysen Dowzak turns 21 on Sunday.
  • I can smell the pizza in Chilliwack. I gotta go.

7 comments:

Jennifer Hammer said...

would love to see the league's response to the question posed about Drayson Bowman/Ryan Letts.

As an AMS fan I would like to think the punishment would be the same, but in reality, they probably would not. Does that mean the punishment for Letts was too harsh OR does it mean superstars are given special treatment

Regan Bartel said...

That's my point. You hit the nail on the head "Dave Schultz". What I was most surprised at is Letts is a first time offender. I am not saying what he did was right, but a first time offender gets a good rap on the wrists.

MG said...

Now what Letts did was weak and actually makes some of Beach's antics look minor. I think he deserved the 10 as would Bowman if he had dome the same. The WHL has sent a clear message, don't mess with the goaltender.

I remember the year our goaltender got taken out and in Brandon and Westbloom has to suddenly play at the cup tournement. The Brandon player ( can't remember but it started with a L ) that did sat of him in the crease did not even get a penalty I believe. Penalty or not it may not have made a difference in the series but it hurt us at the cup tourney. The message needs to be sent BEFORE the play offs, don't mess with the goal tender.

LovintherRockets said...

The Brandon Wheat Kings player that injured the Rockets #1 Goaltender Derek Yeomans in May of 2005, was a 20 year old named Steven Later. Laters' penalty minutes during the regular season that year were 220 minutes and playoffs for that year were 84 minutes. And I think you are right MG, I don't think that he got a penalty at all for the "altercation".

Back in the "Good Ole Days" of hockey, the players were the ones who "took care" of any player that went near their goalie, since we have taken THAT kind of play out of the game, I guess it is the Ref's responsibilty. Now would be the time to do it.

Boondocker said...

Regan, I enjoy the updated photos on the WHL Website but its a shame that I have to go to Youtube to see a replay of the Letts incident against TC.

Regan Bartel said...

That's not exactly a shining moment for the WHL...so no...you won't see that on the website.

Boondocker said...

I agree the Letts incident is not something the league wants to advertise but my point is that some video replays would be nice. We get to see nhl highlights on the news after the game, why not show highlights after the whl games on their website. A good example is the Kamloops website, they show all the goals of the previous Blazers game.