Tuesday 31 October 2017

Whatever Happened To: Griffin Foulk

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was drafted by the Montreal Expos. Atlanta Braves great Tom Glavine was drafted by the LA Kings. And we all know the stories about Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and other multi-sport players.

Might we one day be able to reminisce about Griffin Foulk's time in the WHL in the same way? Only time will tell.

Foulk spent his days in the Western Hockey League as a defenseman with Everett, Seattle, Lethbridge and Swift Current, before heading to Fargo in the 2015-16 season. He knew all along he had the WHL's post-secondary scholarship program to fall back on, but his intention since he first arrived in the Dub was to make it to the NHL. Until the Broomfield, Colorado product came upon his last year of WHL eligibility, when he started thinking about his options again.

Foulk visits with kids at Sunnyside School in January 2014. Photo from Palliser School Division website.
"I knew I had that in my back-pocket," Foulk told Canes This Week. "Being from Denver and being away from home for so many years, being away for hockey, it was kind of a no-brainer to come back and get my education from Colorado University."

He didn't want to pass up the opportunity to get his schooling, but the competitive juices didn't stop flowing after he hung up his skates. He turned his attention to football, which started as a simple idea, knowing there was "more out there" in the world.

"There was a local trainer I met with and basically I said 'give it to me straight, do you think I have a chance to do this?'" Foulk recalls. "He said 'I think you do' and so I got in the gym with them and started working out."


While the training styles are admittedly different, Foulk used his knowledge base from his time training as a hockey player to get himself ready for a tryout with the Colorado University Buffaloes. All with the hope of getting noticed as a walk-on.

And that's exactly what the 6'1", 200 pound freshman did. He's a redshirt for the time being, but he's using it as an opportunity to continue to learn the game. Surprisingly, this is his first taste of organized football, as he spent his youth focusing on hockey at the highest level possible.


Foulk is listed as a defensive back for the Buffaloes, something he thinks his hockey past lends itself well towards.

"Being in the back-end with hockey, I was thinking it could translate well with football, being the last line of defense and having to read the play in front of you," Foulk said. "Kind of the way my brain sees things, it's really helped with my background in hockey."

Foulk is also quick to point out some of the big differences between football and hockey, such as preparing for one game a week in football as compared to as many as three or four in hockey. Video is a much more integral part of football preparations, as you study teams, formations and coverage schemes, he added.

Believe it or not, Foulk's not doing this alone either. His roommate is Riley Hillis, a former Tri-City Americans defenseman, who is also on the Colorado University roster as a tailback. They have been together through the process since the start.

"It's been fun to come back at the end of the day and compare different things and reminisce on the Dub," Foulk said. "Some things are different, but sports at a high level have a lot of similarities, doesn't matter if it's football or hockey."


When it comes to the transition, the 22-year-old makes light of his "veteran" status amongst the other players, some of whom are fresh out of high school.

"Everything I developed in the Western Hockey League, both on and off the ice, has helped me with this new endeavour in the sense of becoming a young professional at such a young age managing a 72-game schedule, road travel, stuff like that," Foulk said. "I'm a bit of an older guy on the team but I've been able to use those tools to my advantage and will continue to."

But is Foulk looking to make a run at an NFL or CFL career?

"At this point for me, it's taking it day-by-day and just trying to absorb as much as I can in the practices as it's still a completely new thing for me," Foulk answered. "Every day I'm learning new things, picking up different lingo and starting to develop a sense for the position and the game."

Foulk is one of 364 former players utilizing the WHL's scholarship program.

Listen to the audio of Joe's interview with Griffin, as well as the whole Week #8 Canes This Week show, below.

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Lessons On Not Pushing The Panic Button Too Early

While a few questions have surrounded the present-day Lethbridge Hurricanes after a slower-than-expected 5-5 start to the season, they only need to look back ten years to find some inspiration of what better things could look like.

The 2007-2008 version of the Hurricanes started the season 4-7-1.

It wasn't like the club wasn't getting chances. In the last game before a seven-game roadtrip in mid-October, the 'Canes outplayed the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers by a wide margin, yet still lost 3-2.


"It's getting pretty frustrating, to be honest, but we're doing some good things out there," defenseman Jesse Craige told the Lethbridge Herald after the loss. "We're coming out, we're getting the puck on net, we're limiting their chances so we've just got to stick to our game-plan and eventually it will come."

So they headed out on a seven-game roadtrip and the game-plan didn't start well, with losses in Medicine Hat, Swift Current and Brandon.

But something happened on the way to Brandon for the midway point of the trip.

Whether that something was said in the bus, or something just started clicking on the ice, the Lethbridge Hurricanes started winning. It started with a win in Brandon. Dwight King, Mike Wuchterl, Daniel Iwanski and Carter Bancks tallied in a 4-3 victory.



But then, they kept winning, with stops in Moose Jaw, Calgary and Red Deer.

They came back home and the swagger continued with another 'W' over the Rebels.

"Somewhere between Brandon and Lethbridge, the Hurricanes discovered how to win hockey games on imperfect evenings," proclaimed Trevor Kenney in the Oct. 29, 2007 edition of the Herald.

"We're definitely working a lot harder and our one-on-one battles, our compete level is up since that road trip," then-captain Ben Wright said after the win. "We're getting the bounces, when were on that losing streak, everything just seemed to go against us and now we're getting all the bounces and everything's going for us and we're taking advantage."

They lost in a shootout to Edmonton, then rattled off eight more wins. They'd lose two more, then win five more to put together a record of 22-9-2 by December 8.


As history shows, the Hurricanes would go onto the second-best record in the Central Division that year and would get through Brandon, Kootenay and Calgary to move on to the WHL championship, losing to the Spokane Chiefs.


Looking back, that first win to kick-start a slow start to the campaign was ten years ago this past Thursday, in the middle of a seven-game roadtrip. Interestingly, the Hurricanes are now on a seven-game homestand, which started with a win against Medicine Hat.

I'm not saying that history will repeat itself. But for all the talk about not hitting any panic buttons, the present-day squad and fans might be able to learn something from the '07-'08 team.

Monday 23 October 2017

Hot Dog: Sandwich or Not a Sandwich?

By JORDAN KARST

I don't even remember how it started, but last season we asked every play-by-play announcer we had on Canes This Week where their favourite road trip eatery was. This year, we needed another question and one thing was clear: it had to be about food.

It's something we've all seen posted on radio station Facebook and Twitter feeds for years and it's the perfect tie-in to the show. Is a hot dog a sandwich or not?



We introduced this question in Episode #4 of Canes This Week as part of our weekly "Know The Enemy" for Signature Homes Lethbridge.

Play-by-play guys love talking food as much as they love talking hockey and so far, their answers haven't disappointed at all.

Below, you'll find a brief recap of each of the answers, along with some of the panelist answers and links to listen to each episode.

By the way, the only acceptable answer is "no."

*****

"There is no way a hot dog is a sandwich. It is its own thing," CTW host Jordan Karst said in Episode #4. "It's like saying an ice cream cake is a cake. No it's not. It's the same essence I guess but it is its own thing and it's way better than regular cake."

"I think the answer has to be yes," Trevor Redden of the Prince Albert Raiders said. "It's a custom sandwich. It's a different sandwich, but it's meat between bread, right?"

"Do you consider a cheeseburger a sandwich," the Hurricanes' Dustin Forbes responded. "I don't think you do and it's the same concept, isn't it?"



*****

"NO! A hot dog isn't even a real food," proclaimed the Calgary Hitmen's Brad Curle in Episode #5. "What do you gotta do to eat a hot dog? You gotta cover it with good things. Nobody just eats a hot dog, you gotta cover it with cheese and good stuff."

"Who the hell would ever think a hot dog is a sandwich?" asked former Canes play-by-play man Pat Siedlecki.

"It's not even in two pieces of bread," scribe Dylan Purcell quipped.



*****

"A hot dog is its own thing," Ryan Switzer with the Swift Current Broncos said. "I would say no, a hot dog is its own entity."

"Thank you!" Karst said.



*****

In the 7th episode of Canes This Week, it was an emphatic 'no' from the entire panel, including Hurricanes GM Peter Anholt and board member Ryan Tunall.



*****

In Week #8 of Canes This Week, Saskatoon Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk was just as straightforward as the panel was the week before.

"Not," is how Lazaruk answered the question from Jordan.



*****

"Doesn't even occur to me for a second," Swift Current Broncos play-by-play voice Shawn Mullin said in Week #9. "I also don't consider a hamburger a sandwich."

"But is a beef dip a sandwich?" Siedlecki questioned after, which everyone agreed to, before asking about wraps.

"There are no rules to this," Karst concluded.



*****

"I will say YES it is!" proclaimed Kelowna Rockets play-by-play voice Regan Bartel in Week #10.

"A lot of people have always said 'hey Bartel, you're a little different," Bartel continued after learning he was one of the first to go with that opinion. "I'm gonna go the opposite direction to what everybody's saying. That's just the way I like it."

He then went on to talk about one of the best deals he has seen around the WHL.

"There's a lot of good hot dogs across the Western Hockey League and if you ever get the chance to go down to Seattle, they have got a great deal there," Bartel said. "It's like $2 for a hot dog and you get a beer for $2 so if you ever get a chance to go down there, take it in! Because even if the hot dog stinks, you only paid $2 for it. In my opinion, that's a pretty good deal."



*****

Brant Hilton of the Kootenay Ice joined us in our abbreviated Week #11 Episode, but Jordan still managed to get the question in about hot dogs.

"I would say no, I don't think a hot dog is a sandwich," Hilton said. "I never thought of it that way."




*****

"I would say no, I don't know, I feel like this is a question for Dub Sports," Branden Crowe of the Brandon Wheat Kings said in Week #12, before he wondering if Canes play-by-play voice Dustin Forbes would "know his way around a hot dog better."



*****

Cam Moon had some pretty animated comments about favorite places to eat during last year's shows. So we knew he'd have an opinion or two about the hot dog/sandwich debate.

"A hot dog's a hot dog, it's its own entity," the Red Deer Rebels play-by-play voice said in Week #13.

"It's a wiener in a bun," Siedlecki chirped in, with Moon uttering "that's right."


Monday 16 October 2017

10 Years Later: Re-Drafting the First Round of the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft

Every sports fan probably sees the random sponsored posts from websites about how different drafts could have changed the face of every organization. The NHL drafts are always pretty popular. I was looking through one recently and it got me to thinking about what would happen if we were to re-draft a WHL Bantam Draft.

There have been plenty of memorable ones over the years, so I thought I'd start with one in the not-so-distant past, but one with plenty of firepower. I also wanted to look at a draft that had plenty of high-calibre players taken later on in the draft. That leads us to 2007.

The first round was filled with some pretty good talent, including the first overall pick Quinton Howden of the Moose Jaw Warriors, third overall Mark Pysyk of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars. There were also some misses and no-shows, including second overall pick Luke Moffatt, who was taken by Kelowna but stayed in the US college system and 12th overall Michael Betz, who was taken by Spokane and played just 32 games in the WHL. Some of the guys taken with later picks: Brendan Gallagher, Alex Petrovic and Cody Sylvester.

Without further adieu, after scouring the 2007 draft list on the Elite Prospects website, here's a rundown of each of the picks taken and who each team probably should have taken:

#1. Moose Jaw - Quinton Howden
Howden didn't have a bad career in the WHL, notching 239 points in 244 games all with the Moose Jaw Warriors. He was definitely a first-rounder when looking through the list, but he was probably a later pick.

Who they should have taken: Mark Stone (taken 92nd overall by Brandon)




The future Ottawa Senator draft pick, who has 193 points in 254 games over seven seasons with the Sens thus far, was a beast for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Over four seasons with the Wheaties, he put up a line of 106 goals and 190 assists in 232 games.

#2. Kelowna - Luke Moffatt
As mentioned, Moffatt was a bit of a hope-and-prayer for the Rockets, but he stuck with the US National team before heading to the University of Michigan.

Who they should have taken: Brendan Gallagher (taken 195th overall by Vancouver)




A World Junior teammate of Stone's in 2011-2012, Gallagher turned into quite a find for the Vancouver Giants. In his tenure on the west coast, Gallagher had 136 goals and 144 assists. He's also gone onto a pretty good NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens.

#3. Edmonton - Mark Pysyk
In a draft full of solid forwards and some good goaltending, it seems defensemen weren't totally in abundance in the 2007 draft. Pysyk would go onto become captain of the Oil Kings, and has played the last few years with the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers.

Who they should have taken: Mark Pysyk (taken 3rd overall by Edmonton)




They weren't wrong in this selection. If a defenseman was their need, they got the best one available.

#4. Saskatoon - Charles Inglis
Inglis became a bit of a transient in the WHL, playing with Saskatoon, Prince George, Red Deer and Kamloops, before a stint in Whitecourt then off to the University of Saskatchewan. He hasn't played hockey at a notable level since that 2013-2014 season.

Who they should have taken: Ryan Johansen (taken 150th overall by Portland)




The future Columbus Blue Jacket and Nashville Predator was a bit of a question mark in terms of his WHL status, as he went to the Penticton Vees a year later, fueling speculation he'd head state-side. Instead, he played for Portland after they took him 150th overall. They benefited from two years with him, but he would have been a great addition to the Blades, who went to the second round in 2010.

#5. Portland - Brad Ross
The Lethbridge product had a very good career in the WHL, racking up 245 points with the Winterhawks. You can't really fault them for taking him where they did and he became a second round pick for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his career kind of stalled, and he's now in Europe.

Who they should have taken: Brett Connolly (taken 10th overall by Prince George)




Prince George got away with one here, as there were plenty of forwards of taken in the first round, and became a first round pick in the NHL by Tampa Bay. The future Cougars captain racked up 152 points in 144 WHL games and is now with the Washington Capitals.

#6. Lethbridge - Alex Theriau
The journeyman WHL defenseman played a lot with the teams he was on, including Lethbridge, Everett, Medicine Hat and Regina. He was also drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Stars. But his career ended when he retired in 2012.

Who they should have taken: Joe Morrow (taken 28th overall by Portland)




The future Pittsburgh Penguins first round selection went on to a solid career with the Winterhawks, notching 151 points in 227 games while wearing an 'A' in his last season. He's now in Montreal's system.

#7. Chilliwack - Kevin Sundher
Sundher is in the Czech Republic now, but he had future Bruin/Royal/Wheat King had a good career in the WHL, netting 252 points in 273 games. You can't fault Chilliwack for this pick either, as it was pretty interchangeable with a few different guys who were taken.

Who they should have taken: Brad Ross (taken 5th overall by Portland)




Ross was just a bit better when it came to future prognosis, although their output at the junior level was pretty similar. As mentioned, Ross had 245 points with the Winterhawks.

#8. Prince Albert - Ryan Aasman
The Medicine Hat product was fairly well regarded heading into the draft as a small, puck-moving defenseman. But he just couldn't catch on with anyone in the WHL, with stops in Prince Albert, Seattle, Swift Current, Medicine Hat and Edmonton. All told, 12 points in 166 games.

Who they should have taken: Alex Petrovic (taken 33rd overall by Red Deer)




A tough but offensively-talented defenseman that the Red Deer Rebels benefited from having for five seasons. Petrovic put up 146 points and 440 penalty minutes in 270 WHL games. He's now racked up 165 NHL contests with Florida, who took him in the second round of the 2010 NHL draft.

#9. Swift Current - Christian Magnus
Magnus' biggest claim to fame was being one of the centrepieces of the Cody Eakin trade to Speedy Creek. In 243 games with the Broncos and Ice, he picked up 65 points before heading off to the University of Regina.

Who they should have taken: Emerson Etem (taken 115th overall by Medicine Hat)




If you wanted a smaller, faster guy, Etem was probably the guy. There were plenty of questions about whether Etem would come play in the WHL, as he was also eying a spot with the US development team, but he went on to a 252-point career with the Tigers.

#10. Prince George - Brett Connolly
As mentioned, Connolly put up some solid numbers in junior and is still battling in the NHL. So that leaves the Cougars with a new choice to make.

Who they should have taken: Justin Feser (taken 194th overall by Tri-City)




While he is tiny and wasn't given a real shot to make it in the NHL, Feser made a massive impact on the WHL. He picked 353 points in 353 games with the Americans, including 106 in his final season while also wearing the 'C'.

#11. Red Deer - Connor Redmond
Redmond played a little wing and a little defense in his years with the Rebels and Vancouver Giants. He ended up spending some time as a scout with Kelowna as well. But the numbers weren't great.

Who they should have taken: Max Reinhart (taken 86th overall by Kootenay)




Talk about a perfect fit for a Sutter-coached team, as Reinhart was touted as being a fine two-way player with all-around ability. In Kootenay, he was nearly a point-a-game player and helped them get to the Memorial Cup in 2011.

#12. Spokane - Michael Betz
As mentioned, he was one of those guys who became a miss for the Chiefs, playing just 32 games in the WHL before heading back to the BCHL with Penticton and Prince George.

Who they should have taken: Brett Bulmer (taken 223rd overall by Kelowna)




Betz became a 6'1", 207 pound. Bulmer is listed as a 6'4", 212 pound machine who went onto a 151-point career with the Rockets. He bounced around in Minnesota's system and after a stint overseas, has re-emerged in North America with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

#13. Regina - Dominick Favreau
Favreau was able to put together a bit of a career with the Pats and Wheat Kings, scoring 39 points in 196 games. But by 2015, his stay in hockey was pretty much over.

Who they should have taken: Jaden Schwartz (taken 173rd overall by Tri-City)




There's a bit of a caveat here as Schwartz didn't come to the WHL at all, opting to go the US college route. But he is from Melfort, Saskatchewan, which might have been a selling point for him to come play for the Pats. Might have been a risky pick, but worth it in the long-run to get a future NHLer.

#14. Calgary - Austin Madaisky
Madaisky ended up wearing an 'A' in Kamloops after he was involved in the blockbuster deal that helped shore up the Hitmen lineup ahead of their WHL championship in 2010. So the pick worked out well for the Hitmen, while Madaisky finished his WHL career with 113 points in 238 games.

Who they should have taken: Dylan McIlrath (taken 46th overall by Moose Jaw)




The Warriors loved having McIlrath in their lineup. A large, physical defenseman who had a decent shot. But his presence alone would have been a big plus for the Hitmen in that run, even though they already had Michael Stone, Matt Mackenzie and Giffen Nyren.

#15. Kamloops - Brendan Ranford
Another one of those picks that really worked out well for the Blazers. Ranford put up 357 points in 348 games with the Blazers. He went on to a few good years with the Texas Stars, and played one game with Dallas.

Who they should have taken: Quinton Howden (taken 1st overall by Moose Jaw)




Let's face it. Howden was the top pick in many eyes back then. So for him to fall this far might have been a bit of a long-shot even now. But he would have been a perfect fit in Kamloops as a guy they could have built a team around in that tough BC Division.

#16. Seattle - Erik Fleming
Fleming became a depth defenseman for both the Thunderbirds and later the Broncos. His stats weren't eye-popping at all, with 23 points in 195 games. He was out of hockey after his stint with the Broncos in 2012.

Who they should have taken: Philip Samuelsson (taken 199th overall by Edmonton)




This is another long-shot as Ulf's son never played in the WHL. But maybe the allure of the west coast and an American market might have made for a different decision. Samuelsson turned into a good find at the pro level, and has seen 13 NHL games with Pittsburgh and Arizona.

#17. Brandon - Brandon Regier
Put this up in the "miss" category, as Regier played just four games with the Wheat Kings, before heading back to BC. He left the Wheaties after saying he wasn't interested in playing at that level (according to eliteprospects.com).

Who they should have taken: Josh Nicholls (taken 27th overall by Saskatoon)




This is the first of two picks that you could argue are picks for the long-term future of their teams. Nicholls was great in the WHL, picking up 313 points in his time. He's in the Czech Republic now, but certainly a player the Wheat Kings could have built around.

#18. Lethbridge - Mark Reners
It was hard for Lethbridge fans not to cheer for the Pincher Creek kid, as he put up some amazing numbers in Bantam and Midget in Lethbridge. But he couldn't quite replicate that production in the WHL, picking up 30 points in 117 games with the Hurricanes, Giants and Oil Kings.

Who they should have taken: Cody Sylvester (taken 168th overall by Calgary)




If you thought Hurricanes fans loved Tyler Wong, they would have also loved Sylvester. He became a captain and the centrepiece for the franchise both on and off the ice. A great community guy that might have helped keep the team in a positive light during some pretty down years.

#19. Vancouver - Mitch Spooner
Spooner never really caught on while he was in the WHL. He started a few games with the Giants before being sent to the Pats and then the Thunderbirds, but never played more than 25 games in the league. A smaller defenseman with some puck-moving ability that just never panned out.

Who they should have taken: Brenden Kichton (taken 55th overall by Spokane)




Speaking of smaller defenseman that can move the puck, enter Kichton. The 5'10", 185 pound defenseman was taken by the Islanders, then the Jets in the NHL. Before that, he was a staple on the Chiefs' blueline, racking up 268 points in 333 games, including a season with the 'C' in 2012-2013.

#20. Kootenay - Drew Czerwonka
This was a pretty good pick for the Ice when you look at how he fared. The club's 2011-2012 captain notched 110 points in 227 games for the Ice in a strong career, including a trip to the Memorial Cup, where he had 3 more points in 5 games. But with the bevy of talent in that draft for forwards, there were some other options available.

Who they should have taken: Jordan Weal (taken 79th overall by Regina)




Weal was a powerhouse upon arrival in Regina. It didn't hurt that his linemate was Jordan Eberle, but he was 3rd in league scoring in 2009-2010 with 102 points. The next two seasons, he finished 5th in league scoring. The Ice would have had themselves quite the playmaker who is back in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers.

#21. Medicine Hat - Tyler Bunz
It took us this long to finally get to some goaltenders. Bunz became the centrepiece of the Tigers' organization for a few years, always amongst the league leaders in games, GAA and save percentage. Hard to argue against this pick, amongst the wealth of talent that was taken in the 2007 draft, including Brandon Anderson, Luke Siemens and Ty Rimmer.

Who they should have taken: Calvin Pickard (taken 38th overall by Seattle)




It's really a toss-up with the top three goalies taken in the 2007 draft, as all turned into very good goaltenders. Much like Bunz, Pickard was a workhorse, amongst the league leaders in games even though his goals against average wasn't as good as Bunz's. Pickard continues to plug away at a possible NHL job, now with Toronto's farm system.

#22. Everett - Kent Simpson
The one we haven't talked about yet when it comes to the top three. But Simpson's career wasn't that bad either. He was in over 50 games for his last two seasons with the Silvertips and again, had a tough time with his GAA as the team wasn't great around him, much like Pickard.

Who they should have taken: Tyler Bunz (taken 21st overall by Medicine Hat)




Again, a bit of a toss-up here because Bunz, Simpson and Pickard all turned into very good WHL netminders. Bunz was very good with a good team whereas the other two were very good with less-than-stellar teams. The ultimate question becomes what would have happened had their roles been reversed.

A few other guys turned into pretty good WHLers as well:
Graham Hood, Ryan Harrison, Blake Gal, TJ Foster, Jordan Messier, Brooks Macek, Dylen McKinlay, Landon Oslanski, Taylor Peters, Kendall McFaull, Connor Cox, Ryan Hanes, Daniel Johnston, Derek Ryckman, Patrick Holland, Dan Gibb, Jamie Crooks, Colton Jobke, Nick Buonassisi and Brenden Walker.

Two other guys who ended up in the NHL were also taken in the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft but didn't step foot in a WHL arena: Nick Shore (135th overall by Kelowna) and Jason Zucker (84th overall by Seattle).

Of course, I get it. Hindsight is 20/20 and at the bantam draft, you're picking the best players available in the first round. You never know if attitudes or anything else will get in the way. But it's always fun to go back in time and imagine what could have been.

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Whatever Happened To: Byron Ritchie

It kind of feels like something is missing in the hockey world this season, as one of the most-travelled hockey players Lethbridge Hurricanes fans have ever cheered for quietly hung up his skates earlier this year.

Byron Ritchie began his young career with the Hurricanes in 1993-1994, notching 15 points in 44 games. He would spend the rest of his WHL career in the Windy City, including a 126-point season in 1996-1997, pacing the Canes to the WHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup. Ritchie became an instant hero with the first goal of that wild third period against Hull that started a comeback from down 6-1 where Mike Josephson scored the 7-6 OT winner.


From there, Ritchie earned many Frequent Flyer miles. The Hartford Whalers' seventh-rounder immediately headed to the New Haven Beast for the next season. He would bounce between the bigs and the minors for a few years with Carolina, Florida, Calgary and Vancouver, before he headed across the ocean.

In 2008-2009, Ritchie began the next leg of his career in Geneva with the Swiss-A league. Then he headed over to Minsk Dynamo for a year in the KHL, a year with MODO Hockey Ornskoldsvik, then it was back to the Swiss-A league for four seasons with Bern SC. He had spent the past two seasons back with MODO.

In articles I've scanned, Ritchie announced his retirement in March, citing some injury troubles, including to his feet and a concussion. He also said the time away from hockey will allow him to focus on being a dad.



"The brain injury affected me a lot for the first month," Ritchie told Mittmedia. "I actually slept all the time, but now I can live normally, except I can't train now."

In another article, Ritchie said the feet were more his focus, but the concussion took its toll. He admitted he has had those symptoms before and it always felt good after a few days, but this one refused to go away.

"It's a weird feeling, which I never had," Ritchie said.

This season has started with a weird feeling, knowing for the first time in 25 years, Byron Ritchie won't be in uniform anywhere in the world.

Monday 2 October 2017

#CanesOTD - 30 Years Since First Regular Season Game

You had to know that if we did a retrospective on the 30-year anniversary of the first Lethbridge Hurricanes pre-season game, then we were going to do a 30-year anniversary piece of the club's first regular season weekend.

Believe it or not, that did happen 30-years ago this week, on October 3rd and 4th, 1987.

READ MORE: #CanesOTD - 30 Years Since Pre-Season Game #1

WHL hockey had been missing from Lethbridge for a year, after the Broncos left for Swift Current. Quick to return though, as the Calgary Wranglers relocated to Lethbridge for the start of the 1987-1988 campaign. The expectations weren't high for the team, which had finished out of the playoffs the last couple of seasons.



That opening weekend proved to be a bit of a harbinger for what was to come that season.

It all started in Medicine Hat on the 3rd. Much like the pre-season game, it turned into a track meet right from the get-go. Steve Young potted the first goal in Hurricanes history and a few minutes later, Kelly Ens made it 2-0. But then the two teams traded goals all the way through, including an eight-goal outburst in the third period. Jim Kambeitz tied the game for the Tigers with under a minute to go in final frame to send the game to extra time.

At 16:36, future NHLer Rob Dimaio beat Grant McPhail to complete the 8-7 come-from-behind victory.

The road didn't get easier for the Hurricanes from there, as they headed northeast to Prince Albert for a game on the 4th.  Penalties did the Hurricanes in with a 5-3 loss to the Raiders. One of those Raider powerplay goals was from future NHL star Mike Modano.

The Hurricanes were handed a couple of days off before hosting their home-opener at the Sportsplex.



As the Herald's Randy Jensen reported, several dignitaries were on-hand and they even brought in a marching band as the Hurricanes and Tigers renewed acquaintances on October 7th.  Nearly 2,600 people showed up to cheer on their boys. But it didn't result in a win, as the Canes fell 3-2 to the Tigers. Ens and Marty Prazma tallied in the losing cause.

Fans would have to wait until October 9th before posting their first win in franchise history, a 3-2 victory against Theoren Fleury and the Warriors in Moose Jaw. A late-second period goal from Prazma would prove to be the first game-winner in the team's young life.

The Hurricanes finally got their first home win of the season a few days later.



On October 14th, they got into another barnburner with the Swift Current Broncos, winning 9-6. Rob Krauss and Jason Ruff had two goals each while Mark Greig, Bryan Bosch and Prazma added singles.

The Windy City squad would go on to a 20-48-4 record for the season, finishing out of the playoff picture. A learning experience for many as they began building the blocks towards the playoffs and an eventual visit to the WHL championship two years later.

Honouring the Overagers

The abrupt end of the 2019-2020 Western Hockey League season was undoubtedly needed, given the ever-evolving situation around the world wit...