Sports

Oilers’ focus on chance to lift Cup won’t be shaken by empty arenas – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

May 28, 2020

EDMONTON — There was a time when surviving the first 10 minutes of a playoff game at old Chicago Stadium — and only trailing 1-0 — was a small victory for the visiting team. It was a building that defined home-ice advantage, a bricks-and-mortar intangible that has been passed on to the newer, bigger United Centre, even if somewhat diluted.

A Chicago hockey rink is the only sporting venue in my 30 years in the business where fans are encouraged to make noise all the way through the national anthem, with a hair-raising crescendo when Wayne Messmer, and now giant Jim Cornelison, bellowed, “and the rocket’s RED GLAAARE!”

Meanwhile, back in Edmonton, we are a one-horse sports town. So, as Ken Hitchcock likes to say, the opponent isn’t playing against 20 Oilers players, or 18,000 fans inside an arena. “You’re playing against a million Oiler fans,” Hitchcock used to say.

As the Oilers get their heads around a play-in series against the Blackhawks, the hockey world will have to get used to playoff hockey without the usual fan-infused electricity. Two teams playing in a neutral city with zero fans in the rink.

It’s everything we’ve come to love about playoff hockey, except for the part where the fans shape the momentum.

“Have you watched The Last Dance, with Michael Jordan?” Darnell Nurse queried on a Zoom call Thursday about how the players will create their own electricity. “I think that’s a perfect example — his mindset in a lot of those game of creating your own environment, creating your own fire. That’s a test that everyone who is in this situation is going to have to go through: Having to create your own excitement.”

For a long as I can remember, players would declare that after a couple of shifts, a solid body check given or received, anything happening in the stands fades to a blur. Whether it was the Montreal Forum, old Reunion Arena in Dallas, or the Boston Garden — after a while, the game is simply the game.

But will the opposite energy flow work the same way? Will 18,000 empty seats simply become the same white noise that it did when they were filled with screaming fans?

“There shouldn’t be a whole lot that you need to get you going, because you are still playing for a Stanley Cup,” Nurse said. “Yes, there are no fans there, and you might be in a hub city. But there is an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup. That should be enough motivation to get anyone going. There are a lot of challenges, a lot of things that are not ideal that come along with this situation. But, that’s the world. The world is in that position right now.

“So, the Stanley Cup should be all the fire you need. It’s another test. You can look at it as another challenge that makes going through this whole process as hard as it’s going to be. That’s the whole other tier to it.”

It is more impactful when the home team scores, their fans go wild, they score again, and the momentum is taken hostage in an environment that makes a comeback seem so distant and difficult?

Or is it about that old hockey axiom, ‘Takin’ the crowd out of the game’? Is that momentum, earned by 20 against 20,000, even more difficult to create? Even more valuable to hold?

Connor McDavid just knows that a series against the Blackhawks will come without raucous anthems and Chi-Town steakhouses, hockey played at its purest with no outside influences.

“Obviously Chicago is one of the most fun buildings to play in. Their fans are great but I’d like to think our fans are better,” he said. “So there’s definitely going to be some loss of home-ice advantage for sure. All you’ll get is the last change or whatnot. Yeah, it’s not going be the same. There’s no doubt about that.

“It sucks, frankly, but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to get back playing hockey and I’m sure those fans will be cheering loud in their living rooms or wherever they’re watching from. I think it’ll suck but we’ve got to what we’ve got to do.”

That’s not all that “sucks” from an Edmonton standpoint.

While Boston Bruins president Cam Neely finds the playoff format “somewhat disappointing,” with his league-leading Bruins forced to play a round-robin that will seed the top four teams in each Conference, the Oilers got an even worse break. They are the only NHL team that stood second in their Division to be forced to play a qualifying round series, losing out to the Dallas Stars on point percentage.

McDavid was on the Return to Play Committee. Was it tough to endorse a format that gave the Oilers a bad shake?

“No, it wasn’t tough, honestly,” McDavid said. “Everyone on that committee — everyone around the league — has to take a step back and say, ‘What’s best for the league?’ Not, ‘What’s best for me and my team?’

“We (Oilers) were in a position where we were going to be included in any format, so that was a positive. Unfortunately, we were one of those teams that were on the bubble of being in the top four, or being in the play-ins. We’re not in the top four, and Dallas probably deserves to be there. So we’ll get the job done, and hopefully move on to an exciting playoffs.”

Exciting to watch. But they’ll be weird at the same time.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

Sports

Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

___

AP NHL:

Source link

Sports

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

—

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

Source link

Sports

Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

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

Source link