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Blazers' Stankoven wins Player of the Year as CHL announces award winners – TSN

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Before the Canadian Hockey League awards the Memorial Cup on Wednesday night, the CHL held its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday night with Logan Stankoven, Nathan Staios, Dylan Garand, and Brayden Yager among the night’s big winners.

Stankoven, 19, won the David Branch Player of the Year Award over other finalists Saint John Sea Dogs winger William Dufour and centre Wyatt Johnston of the Windsor Spitfires.

A native of Kamloops, B.C., Stankoven led his hometown Blazers in scoring with 45 goals and 59 assists, finishing third in the Western Hockey League in scoring. A second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2021, Stankoven’s 1.76 points per game was a league best. In claiming the award, Stankoven joins an illustrious list of winners that includes Hockey Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux, Dale Hawerchuk and Joe Sakic, as well as current NHL stars Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner and John Tavares.

Staios, 21, was named the CHL Defenceman of the Year. The Hamilton Bulldogs blueliner beat out Olen Zellweger of the Everett Silvertips and Lukas Cormier of the Charlottetown Islanders for the award.

A native of Oakville, Ont., Staios led all Ontario Hockey League defencemen in scoring with 15 goals and 51 assists in 59 games played. Finishing fourth in team scoring, Staios had five games with three or more points this past season. Staios is the son of long-time NHL defenceman Steve Staios, who appeared in 1,001 career games over 16 seasons with the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Atlanta Thrashers, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders. Among those who have previously won CHL Defenceman of the Year include Chris Pronger, Dougie Hamilton, and Thomas Chabot.

Jim Hulton of the Islanders was named the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year. The 53-year-old Kingston, Ont. native led his team to a 48-13-7 mark this past season. The team’s 103 points were second-most in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League behind the Quebec Remparts who finished on 104 points. Hulton has extensive CHL coaching experience having previously served as bench boss with the Mississauga IceDogs, Belleville Bulls, and Kingston Frontenacs before arriving on Prince Edward Island. He beat out finalists Patrick Roy of the Remparts and Stephane Julien of the Sherbrooke Phoenix for the award. Previous CHL Coach of the Year winners include Ken Hitchcock, Gerard Gallant, and Sheldon Keefe.

Kamloops Blazers goaltender Dylan Garand, 20, won the CHL Goaltender of the Year Award, beating out Brett Brochu of the London Knights and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies’ Samuel Richard. A fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2020, Garand posted a 34-9-1 record this past season with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage in 45 games. The Victoria, BC native joins the likes of Carey Price, Darcy Kuemper and Felix Potvin in winning the award.

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager was named CHL Rookie of the Year ahead of Cam Allen of the Guelph Storm and Islanders winger Jakub Brabenec.

Yager’s 34 goals this past season set a new franchise record for 16-year-olds, breaking the previous mark of 29 held by Theo Fleury. The Saskatoon, Sask., native added 25 assists for 59 points in 63 games. Draft-eligible next summer, Yager is expected to suit up for Canada at the Hlinka-Gretzky Tournament in August. He joins a list that includes Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier and Taylor Hall in winning the award.

Shane Wright, the prospective first-overall pick in next month’s NHL Draft in Montreal, also took home hardware on Tuesday night.

The Burlington, Ont. native beat out Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher and Matthew Savoie of the Winnipeg Ice to win the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award, an honour given to the top draft-eligible prospect. Wright had 32 goals and 62 assists this past season for the Frontenacs, finishing second in team scoring. Previously named the CHL Rookie of the Year in 2020, Wright is only the sixth player in CHL history to earn exceptional status and early admission to the league. A number of players who went on to be taken with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Entry Draft have previously won the award, including Connor McDavid, Steven Stamkos and Eric Lindros.

Several other awards were handed out at the ceremony. Missing out on Player of the Year, Johnston took home the CHL Top Scorer Award. Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Luke Prokop received the CHL Humanitarian of the Year Award. The CHL Scholastic Player of the Year went to Owen Beck of the Mississauga Steelheads and the Halifax Mooseheads’ Jordan Dumais won the CHL Sportsman Player of the Year Award.

The Bulldogs meet the hometown Sea Dogs on Wednesday night for the Memorial Cup.

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

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TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

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CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.

It won’t be an easy assignment.

Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.

“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”

Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”

Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.

After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.

“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”

Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.

“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.

A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.

“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”

But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.

“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”

Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”

“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.

Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.

“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”

While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.

“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”

The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.

“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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