Sports

BC Hockey approves KIJHL for Junior A status

Published

1 year ago

July 25, 2023

The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) is thrilled to announce that the league and its 20 member clubs have been reclassified as Junior A, Tier 2 beginning the 2023/24 season following a unanimous vote by BC Hockey’s Board of Directors. The decision immediately vaults the KIJHL to Junior A status and provides an avenue for its clubs to have the opportunity to compete for a National Championship in future seasons.

“This marks a tremendous day for the KIJHL and for all BC Hockey members who aspire to play junior hockey,” says KIJHL Commissioner Jeff Dubois. “We already have an outstanding group of 20 member clubs that operate at a high level on-and-off the ice. Operating under the Junior A Tier 2 designation with the opportunity to pursue Tier 1 membership in the future will help ensure that our league becomes even more of a destination for players who want to pursue their goals as student-athletes.”

With the move, the junior hockey landscape in B.C. and Yukon will undergo a transformation that will see the KIJHL, as well as the Pacific Junior Hockey League and the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, each commit to an enhanced player experience and increased grassroots engagement. This reclassification also ushers in an exciting structure for improved development for players within BC Hockey. Teams will be subject to an internal BC Hockey standards tiering structure, with all teams starting as Tier 2.

“We’re excited about the opportunities this new pathway will create for junior hockey players in B.C. and Yukon,” says Stephanie White, Chair of the Board of Directors at BC Hockey. “Having these teams dedicate themselves to raised standards, first to Junior A Tier 2, and eventually Junior A Tier 1 for some, will provide more of our talented players with a better player experience at the highest level in our province. BC Hockey is confident that this transformation will strengthen the development pathway immediately, and raise the overall hockey experience for players, coaches, and fans alike.”

As a new Junior A league, the KIJHL will take its place in Hockey Canada’s Canadian Development Model, which strengthens the game at elite levels, in partnership with the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).

“The WHL is very pleased to see the progress BC Hockey and their members are making in building a new Junior A opportunity in the province of B.C.,” stated WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “The WHL looks forward to working closely with BC Hockey and their members as the new Junior A pathway is introduced and to the positive impact it will have in strengthening relations with leagues at all levels in the Canadian hockey system.”

As part of its successful application to BC Hockey, the KIJHL has made a number of commitments to increase operating standards and provide an enhanced player experience, including:

Cooperation and engagement with an independent advisory board to evaluate Junior A, Tier 2 teams and determine which may be elevated to the Junior A, Tier 1 level.
A rigorous process and analysis, conducted over the next three seasons, allowing individual teams and communities to find the level of Junior hockey best suited to them.
An understanding that the advisory board will soon add other requirements aimed at optimizing the overall player experience with the intent of increasing them each season.
An enhanced dedication to engagement with grassroots hockey in B.C. and Yukon, ensuring that homegrown players receive the opportunity to compete at this level.
An ongoing structure ensuring that teams achieving the Junior A Tier 1 classification are ready to compete against the nation’s highest-level of Junior hockey competition.

As part of its efforts to provide more opportunity for homegrown players, the KIJHL has committed to a three-year plan that will increase B.C. and Yukon player representation from 44% in the 2022/23 season to 52% by 2025/26.

“During this process, we looked at the number of players who have left B.C. over the past number of years to play Junior A hockey elsewhere in Canada and the United States,” says Dubois. “Our goal is to provide the type of athlete experience that incentivizes those athletes to grow and develop their game without having to look outside their home province.”

Additional information, including the 2023/24 KIJHL regular season schedule, will be announced in the coming days.

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Sports

Canada to face three-time champion Germany in Davis Cup quarterfinals

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.

Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.

World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.

The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.

Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.

Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.

The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Sports

Canadian men climb two places to No. 38 in latest FIFA world rankings

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Canada, fuelled by a 2-1 win over the U.S. and scoreless draw with Mexico, has jumped two places to No. 38 in the FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday.

Of the top six CONCACAF teams, Canada was the only one to move up. Mexico was unchanged at No. 17 while the U.S. and Panama each fell two rungs to No. 18 and 37, respectively

Costa Rica slipped one spot to No. 50 and Jamaica two places to No. 61.

It marks Canada’s highest ranking under coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired in mid-May when the Canadians were ranked 50th. Since then, the team has climbed to No. 49, 48, 40 and now 38.

Canada has been as high as No. 33 in the men’s ranking, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman with Canada, named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA, turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

The new rankings encompass 184 internationals involving teams from all six confederations including 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Oceania and South America.

The top 10 was unchanged with Argentina ahead of France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia and Italy. But the gap at the top is closing with Argentina losing 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy.

Teams 10 through 15 were also unchanged. But there was movement after that in the form of Japan (, up two), Iran (No. 19, up one) and Denmark (No. 20, up one). Egypt (No. 31), Ivory Coast (No. 33), Tunisia (No. 36) and Algeria (No. 41) all jumped five places while Greece (No. 48) climbed six spots.

The biggest movers were Brunei Darussalam (No. 183) and Samoa (No. 185), who vaulted seven spots on the back of two wins apiece.

Qatar suffered the biggest drop, tumbling 10 places to No. 44.

San Marino remains at the bottom of the rankings in 210th place despite recording its first victory in more than 20 years, San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 on Sept. 5, ending a 140-game winless run since a 1-0 decision over the same opponent in April 2004.

Liechtenstein fell four places to No. 203.

Canada’s next match is an Oct. 15 friendly against Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field. The next men’s ranking will be released Oct. 24.

—

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024

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Sports

Carolina Panthers’ early-season struggles not surprising to Proline players

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

It has been a difficult start to the NFL season for quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina has dropped its opening two games after Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. And Young, the first player taken in the ’23 NFL draft, was 18-of-26 passing for 84 yards with an interception while being sacked twice.

As a result, veteran Andy Dalton will start Sunday when Carolina faces the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1).

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the Chargers’ win was the most accurately predicted moneyline selection by Proline bettors. A whopping 92 per cent of wagers were on Los Angeles beating Carolina with 92 per cent also picking the Chargers to cover -4.5.

In other action that went in favour of Proline bettors: Kansas City edged Cincinnati 26-25 (86 per cent correctly selected the Chiefs to win); Houston got past Chicago 19-13 (81 per cent); the New York Jets defeated Tennessee 24-17 (78 per cent); Pittsburgh beat Denver 13-6 (76 per cent), Washington beat the New York Giants 21-18 (73 per cent); and Seattle toppled New England 23-20 (62 per cent).

However, only five per cent of bettors had the Raiders upsetting Baltimore 26-23.

And there was one winner of Proline’s second week main NFL pool of $407,613.

In NFL futures bets after the second week of the season, the odds for offensive player of the year got shorter for running backs Breece Hall (Jets) and Bijan Robinson (Atlanta) and Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. But they got longer for running backs Kyren Williams (Rams), Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco) and Jonathan Taylor (Colts).

Quarterbacks Bo Nix (Denver), Jayden Daniels (Washington) and Caleb Williams (Chicago) all had their odds for offensive rookie of the year go up while they went down for running back Ray Davis (Buffalo), tight end Brock Bowers (Raiders) and receiver Malik Nabers (Giants).

Quarterbacks Patrick Mahones (Chiefs), Aaron Rodgers (Jets) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) all had their odds for regular season MVP go up. But quarterbacks Jordan Love (Packers), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati) all saw theirs go down.

Kansas City, Philadelphia and Houston had their Super Bowl odds increase while Green Bay, Baltimore and Cincinnati all decreased.

Not surprising, the week’s top events were all NFL games. In order, they were; Buffalo-Miami, Chicago-Houston, Cincinnati-KC, Raiders-Ravens; and Saints-Cowboys.

A Proline retail player cashed in a $26,183 winner from a $10 bet on a 12-leg major-league baseball parlay. Another won $24,602 from a $10 wager on a 12-leg NFL parlay.

A third received $1,737 from a $3 bet on a six-leg NFL parlay.

A digital bettor earned $2,927 from a $25 bet on a five-leg NFL parlay while a second had a $704.35 return from a $1 wager on a seven-leg NFL parlay.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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