The Melville experience

Well without spending one night in the classic motel in Melville which was a real beauty by all appearances we bailed and moved to the only other available motel. Melville is really old small town with not a lot going on, basically a prairie hockey town in all regards. The coaching staff and people around the millionaires were a class act as were the people we came across during the weekend. They had players from Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, northern Manitoba and of course all over Saskatchewan..Sam had as line mates two native players who he became friends with through the camp, both big and tough and skilled with their war clubs(plenty of native players at the camp). Plenty of good players, the 92 age group being last year Midgets especially feeling the pressure to break into junior hockey,can be a scary thought about whether it's going to be adult safe hockey or junior for the upcoming season. On a personal note, the coaching staff was very complimentary about Sam's camp and felt he did very well. I have attached a few photos to share with interested parties and we really enjoyed the experiences in Melville.

Melville shall be an interesting experience, small towns like this have some of the friendliest people and at the same time also some of the most backward people in very close proximity .. Having worked on the railway when I was younger in some of the smaller towns throughout Northern BC, I experienced different situations some nice and some ugly. The millionaires rookie camp will be a good experience, as long as it doesn't turn into a big fight fest. Some camps have a no fight rule, but not here in the prairies. So it's a good idea to keep your head up and play smart, and if you gotta go then you gotta answer the bell. Lets face it! These camps are a fund raiser for junior hockey teams without a doubt but also serve the purpose of identification of good players and prospective junior players. The goal for a player is to make an impact and get kudos, if your a fifteen year old kid like Sam then the goal is to be noticed doing something on every shift. Stay tuned for photos and a story from hockey historic Melville when rowdy returns from the a journey into the mists of time..

The Bantam Sask first program that me and Sam attended as spectators today had more WHL scouts than I have ever seen in one rink at a time...even ran into the Portland winter hawk's scout from Vancouver, who being an a gringo hockey player, aka like rowdy, was very surprised to see yours truly in this part of the world. Watched the number one ranked prospect today, Alex Forsburg who has a cannon for a shot, and great hockey sense combined with a big body. Talking with a few scouts they have him number one, my only question mark is his skating and it isn't at the level I expected. A little slow footed, and lacking knee bend but he gets it done at this level...though at the next level who can say. Forsburg's team had a little guy who reminded me of my Bro, played like a little roller ball hammering guys at every chance. Man, I must admit that I admired his heart and tenacity which he used to make an impact on every shift...if you can't get it done offensively, then get it done by being a physical force. Old school philosophy, and there's nothing like the old school which a buddy of mine is the headmaster of. Stay tuned next week for a update from the Melville millionaires camp, storied history of a old junior A franchise.

White city was the location for the end of our Midget A, tier one, hockey season this year, as Balgonie knocked us out in the final of the best of three, score 5-1 as we self destructed with some bad penalties from the usual suspects. Looking back on the year, the boys were a good bunch, many characters, and Sam made a lot of new friends and had some solid growth experiences. Team Bus trips on the flat lands to such wintry hockey towns such as Estevan, Weyburn, Yorkton, Swift Current and Moose jaw to a name a few were a real eye opener to hockey on the prairies. The boys had an array of interesting hair styles for the playoffs, ranging from skin heads, to white and green Mohawks (team colors). Next weekend we will be in Melville for the entire weekend, lets see what rowdy can get up to in a town the size of Melville. Stay tuned for the next chapter of rowdy and junior's prairie hockey adventure.

Well a few thoughts on Regina in general. J.Eberle is untouchable here, almost to the extreme, though the Pats are a mismanaged club with the same owners and gm for the last 15 years and nothing much to show for their time in charge. The natives are restless here and hate snow because it is white and on their property, people smoke( seems cancer education isn't working) way more than back in BC and obesity is rampant with many fast food outlets and therefore bad diets. It seems more like an american city in some regards, all kids either play hockey or football or both and a good thing is that people in Sask are sports fanatics. Football is without a doubt number one in Regina though and even in the off season many people don't wear anything but rider green, the question is do they wash it or have an entire closet for of green rider gear..Scenery wise, it doesn't compare with White Rock but thats a tough comparison for most places...big game in White city tomorrow vs Balgonie...

well the hockey season is wrapping up...my general observations on hockey in Saskatchewan are and rowdy is starting a blog to share some of our experiences out here in the flat lands

1 Hockey is much better run then in the lower mainland, games at the midget A level come with a pre game on ice warm up, full 20 minute periods with ice cleans and every small place in the province has an ice rink. Kids here are generally hard working with great attitudes, great to coach.

2 Though the general game may be more of a skilled game in B.C, they play hockey here with more of an edge, gritter and in a more Canadian style. One game we had 5 fights in a period, and all the players could play without suspension the next game. Game suspensions only happen in the last 10 minutes of a game, if you fight you gotta sit the next one..reminds me of playing in the old Junior A loop in Northern BC, playing against the Williams lake mustangs and trash talking with a tough looking kid on the other team, both of us looked up at the clock and on a personal note thankfully less than 10 mins in the third...that particular mustang was Craig Berube and looking back im glad that was one fight that didn't happen. Sam's team plays Balgonie in the deciding game of a best of three in White city on Saturday.