First off, I just want to let readers know that my follow-up story on Sam O'Reilly and the Cochrane contingent at the NHL draft is delayed until next week's column. I am just waiting on some follow-up info that I want to include in the story.
Great day for Canada with 18 picks in the first round of the NHL draft.
Overall, Canadian players occupied 40 per cent of the number of draft picks. The U.S. was second with 17 per cent. 13 countries had players selected in the draft. The following is a breakdown of the country followed by the number of players selected.
- Canada--89
- U.S.A--39
- Russia---27
- Sweden --22
- Finland--18
- Czechia--13
- Norway---4
- Switzerland--4
- Belarus 3
- Latvia---3
- Austria --1
- Slovenia--1
- Slovakia --1
The Ontario Hockey League alone had 39 players selected.
Quite the coup for the NHL to be the first sports entity to feature an event in the breathtaking technical marvel that is the Sphere in Las Vegas. It raised the whole spectacle of the draft to new levels with its awe-inspiring visual and audio capabilities. I found it jaw-dropping. The other pro sports leagues must be hugely envious.
The NHL draft has always been must-see-TV for fans, so it makes it even harder to understand why the NHL is stepping away from its current format to an online format.
There were over 14,000 engaged and vocal fans at the draft from all over the world. Why would you want to deprive fans and the general TV-viewing audience of that experience?
The CHL (Canadian Hockey League) has announced that the top Canadian major junior hockey leagues’ draft prospects will compete against their counterparts from the United States. I'm still not sure exactly how it's going to work. One example is we just had 18 Canadian first-rounders. Two more players and you have the Canadian team! The event will feature two games, so will Canada have a different team in game 2? I like the current iteration where we have 40 to 44 of Canada's best draft prospects facing off against each other.
So, after a heartbreaking loss to the U.S. in overtime, Team Canada had to settle for bronze with a 7-1 victory over Slovakia. Timmins native Carley Blomberg added to her already impressive array of medals with the team's bronze at the 2024 World Ball Hockey Championships.
If you are a fishing nut, or just even a nut, you can check out my good friend Bert Brazeau's new YouTube channel. Bert has recently started posting videos of his new Aquavu Strike underwater camera to record some fishing action. It provides the viewer with some rarely seen below-surface action of various species attacking his bait.
Just go to YouTube and search Bert Brazeau and it will take you to his site, which features about six or seven videos as of today.
I was surprised at the clarity of the video, even in heavy vegetation.
Pretty cool stuff.
I have to admit that the last few days have been a whirlwind of activity with all the trades and free-agent signings. As a Penguins fan, I'm just wondering if anybody in Pittsburgh knew what teams looking to improve were doing. There were lots of names to look at, but the Pens did absolutely nothing to help Sid. Maybe they have a plan to be sprung soon to rectify that. Sure hope so.
Later skater.
