Last week I talked a little about the NHL draft.
I then received some pictures and chatted with Brian Bertrand Jr. from Cochrane about his and the Cochrane contingent's time in Las Vegas. They were there to cheer on Sam O'Reilly, whose parents were born and raised in the Northern Ontario community.
Sam was born in Toronto but the tie to Cochrane is undeniable. Sam still spends part of the summers in Cochrane where he still has close family and friends.
RELATED: Why Cochrane's closely watching this weekend's NHL draft
On his way to the draft, Brian ran into new Leaf coach Craig Berube on their flight. Brian was walking past Berube and asked if Berube could please pick O'Reilly in the first round.
Berube chuckled in response.
Brian was absolutely in awe of not only the draft but of the marvel that is the Sphere,
The sights and sounds and reverberations of the building were unbelievable. It was an experience he will not soon forget. He is already talking about returning to see a concert there in the future.
A little bit about the Sphere.
It features 580,000 square feet of exterior LEDs.
Inside there is 160,000 square feet of LED screen with 64,000 LED panels. It also features millions of individual pixels, the exact total is subject to debate.
The screen(s) are the highest resolution LED screens in the world. It features 16K of wraparound LED screen.
The interior screen was designed and built by a Canadian company from Montreal.
Each player had to submit a walk-up song and Sam's was Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses. He was the 32nd overall pick and was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers.
It was spine-tingling to Brian and friends.
Anyway, Sam O'Reilly is a name you will probably hear a lot more of in the future. His Energizer Bunny motor, hockey IQ, skill set and work ethic bode well for a young player looking to succeed in the NHL. Oh ya'. One other thing. Everyone I talk to says this kid is the most likeable and engaging kid you will meet. And that means a lot in sports, but more importantly ... life.
I don't know about your house, but mine was an absolute zoo (in a good way) as the Canadian men's soccer team continued their magical run with a penalty kick win over Venezuela. And while I'm no soccer aficionado it was as exciting a match as I have ever seen. The pace was incredible. Now the big test. Messi and his crew.
Win or lose I will once again be the lunatic screaming and cheering for Canada in that game.
One of my former players sent me an article about the current state of hockey equipment.
It seems that industry giants CCM and Bauer are both being actively shopped.
But for me a guy who was in the business, it really is no surprise. Both companies changed hands more than a few times during my 20-plus years in hockey equipment. What is surprising is that both pretty much control 90 per cent of the business combined. And with a market share like that you would think an active for sale sign pretty strange. With more and more equity firms involved in equipment manufacturing companies, I guess the economics are not quite as simple as sales.
Later skater.
So with golf season in full gear , next week I'll feature an interview with Owen Rigg. Owen is our resident golf guru in our area and a tireless supporter of the game. He will share some exciting news about upcoming events in town and talk a little golf in general.
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