Will Canada Win Gold?

The world juniors are fast approaching they start on boxing day this December and January. and team Canada has not won gold in 5 years. They have to compete with the young talent from other countries like the power house team from Finland and other top countries from last year like U.S.A and Russia and the Czech. but with additions like Connor McDavid and with the games being in Canada that could help this years team finally bring gold to Canada. Canada`s first game is Friday December 26th they face of against Slovakia and with the past that should be a easy victory for team Canada. Canada doesn't have a real challenge until the third game and that is against team Finland on the 29th that game should prove to the people that don't think Canada has any talent anymore and playing the opponent that beat them to move on last year to get redemption against the Fins would be great to the first time players this year. Certain NHL teams are not allowing players to go play like the Tampa Bay Lightning with Jonathan Drouin and how they will not loan him to the World Juniors. But with returning goalie Zachary Fucale that should help their chances Fucale shined last year he was the backup goalie to Jacob Patterson but he later took over the starting job and was on fire and helped Canada but in the end they lost, it is almost certain that Fucale will start for team Canada this year.


Canada has always been in the top of the hockey ranking for a long, long time, but is that only the men`s Olympic hockey team or is the juniors in the same ranking or are they down in the rankings compared to the men`s team. In the juniors it seems that Finland, Sweden, Russia are the top 3 teams for the juniors. But in my opinion I think that this is Canada`s year because they are playing in front of their home country.

Toronto Maple Leafs for real?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on a roll coming off beating 3 top teams Vancouver, Calgary, Detroit. With major help from both of their goalies Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer, the leafs are climbing the standings. The Leafs are 5 points away from being in first place and with the way that they have been playing the leafs will be in a good position going into the all-start break come January. Who is to blame for the Leafs winning streak the coach?, the players?, or the combo of the goaltenders?. It is easy to think that the coaches are the reason for their winning because of the lines that they put together but they cant make the players play the way they are. Toronto has done this before they have been on a really hot streak and doing incredible things in the standing`s but than they start to lose game after game after game. Then next thing that you know the Leafs are back in the bottom missing the playoffs by 6-9 points and than the fans start to rip on the players and the players wives and coaches. and when the team does good the fans are loyal. the leafs play the Detroit Red Wings again on Saturday and than they play back to back on Sunday they play the LA-Kings and than the Ducks on Tuesday They don't have a easy schedule coming up. Who will start for the Leafs will it be the surprising  Jonathan Bernier or will it be Optimus-Reim I don't think that it matters who starts because they are both worth to be a starting goalie Reimer proved this in 2013 when he led them to the playoffs to only lose to the Boston Bruins. and Jonathan Bernier won the cup with LA but he was a back up to the elite goalie Jonathan Quick, but that doesn't matter he would have seen and learned from Quick. Bernier has to prove him self still after having a disappointing season last year with the Leafs, with the ways he has been playing even if they don't make the playoffs he sure did prove that he can be a starting goalie. But as long as Reimer is there I don't think that there will be a number one goalie. Reimer was drafted by the Leafs and played all of his career with the Toronto system he played with the Marlies and I would be really surprised and disappointed if they got rid of Reimer.


Yes I think that the Maple Leafs are for real this season but there is still a lot of games left to be played and with the All-Star break players will have time of from playing games and that could affect a lot of teams but the Leafs shouldn't be fazed by the break and they should just keep playing the game that they are playing right now and then they should be fine before and after the All-Star break.

Bluejays Building Power

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded Brett Lawrie to the Oakland Athletics for Josh Donaldson. and earlier this offseason they got all-start catcher Russell Martin. Even though its just two players that the Jays got these two can still make a difference and with what happened last year when the Jays were in first until the halfway mark and then they dropped because of injuries if these two new players stay healthy the jays could have a great chance to make it to the postseason. the trade for Donaldson was a shock to Jays fans everywhere who would have thought that Brett Lawrie would be traded a Canadian boy playing for the only Canadian team in baseball and one of the fans favorite gone just like that. Was the trade bad for Toronto?. No it was not the jays got an all-star player but was the trade bad for Oakland? yes in my opinion Oakland just lost a important player. But Lawrie said "It`s a fresh start and I am excited to play for this team". And with Aaron Sanchez possibly being a starter that can enhance the chances of the jays having a playoff season under their belt.


I think that the new additions made are great deals and there are even more players out in the free agency market just waiting to be snatched up and the jays can add even more power to any part of their lineup or bullpen. The Jays are looking toward having a great year coming up. cant wait for the season to start.

Jonathan Bernier Clueless

The Toronto Raptors honored Nelson Mandela on Friday at a event called "The Giant of Africa" it was the first anniversary of his death and the south African president was celebrated throughout their game against the Cavaliers. With the teams wearing special warm up gear to videos playing throughout the game, perhaps Jonathan Bernier saw some of the videos on the jumbotron and than thought that Nelson Mandela was not a star athlete. Bernier was at the event supporting Nelson Mandela who he thought was a all-star athlete. Reporter:1 asked Bernier a question "alright Jonathan, how important is, uh, the legacy of Nelson Mandela to you?".
 and Jonathan replied with


"Well obviously he`s been, uh, a tremendous, uh, athlete and you know obviously what, uh, he means to all the sports you know the worl- the world can uh be changed by the sports its pretty amazing. and I think he`s definitely uh got a lot of respect in every sports and uh he`s definitely one of the athletes I watched growing up as well.


 Reporter:2  asked him " why is it important for you to come show support tonight"




Jonathan replied with "well I think any good cause is uh, it`s always, uh, you know I love supporting, uh, any kind of cause obviously its`s for the Afri-, in Africa it`s obviously it`s, uh, a great cause, and enjoying, I guess, the basketball game".


 Jonathan could have had a brain fart and thought that the question was about some of the All-Star athletes that were at the event like Magic Johnson. But in Bernier`s defense Nelson was an athlete a amateur boxer who ran two hours a day. And he did believe that the world could change by sports. But Jonathan probably  didn't grow up watching Nelson play because Nelson was 70 years old when Jonathan was born. but Jagr is still playing so anything can happen.  But can we blame athletes for making a mistake because we are not perfect and we make mistakes so is it ok to judge when no one is perfect.

Edmonton Slipping on Oil

The Edmonton Oilers have been on a really! cold streak. They have not won a game against a western opponent and there has been talk for a while about getting a new coach and you know your team is bad when they get booed of the ice by their own fans in their own arena!. But what is the real reason  why they are bad? they have 3 first overall picks in the last 4 years so whey are they a bad team. Edmonton has not won at home since October and winless against western conference teams dropping to 0-12-3 that's not the greatest record that a team can have. Some people are saying that they need to trade players. Edmonton has not made the playoffs since 2005-2006 season and they went all the way to the cup final but they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games. Is that what the Oilers need the players from the 05-06 season back?. Dallas Eakins the head coach is under a lot of pressure after having one of the worst records last year and this year again he is hanging by a thread for his job as head coach for the Oilers. But is it really his fault? he cant hop over the boards and lace up skates and play. Dallas will need to find a new strategy for his team if they ever want to get back in the Stanley Cup playoffs or even to win a single game against a western opponent. Oilers captain Andrew Ference said that their play on special teams is a "joke". After Arizona scored 2 times on the same penalty kill and than scoring 4 in the second period to help the Coyotes get a 6-2 victory over the Oilers. will the Oilers pain and suffering even end?.


I think that Edmonton isn't bad but they have a bad game plan they have the players to be a Cup contending team but their plan isn't good. They need to do something with their upper management or just fire Dallas Eakins he hasn't done a good job plain and simple he clearly isn't a good coach and he needs to be gone. But will Edmonton fire him? they must think that he is a good coach because he is still there and I am sure that he will be there after this season too.

The Dominator!

In the 2014 hockey hall of fame induction ceremony Dominik Hasek was inducted, he is probably the greatest goalie that has ever played the game with his unique goal tending style his passion for the game hockey and being a all around goalie that`s what makes him the Dominator. Hasek was born in Czechoslovakia in 1965 he joined the NHL 1990 with the Chicago Blackhawks for 2 years and than played for the Buffalo Sabres and that is where he started to show his true potential. in 1994 he won his first Vezina trophy and was runner up for the Hart trophy. Hasek played 58 games with a league best 1.95 goals against average seven shutouts and a .930 save percentage he followed this feat by winning the Vezina and again winning the hart trophy in 1995. Hasek was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. In his first year with the Redwings he got career high wins with 41 wins with just 15 loses helping the Redwings have the best record in the league in the playoffs he lead the Redwings passed the Vancouver Canucks, St Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and than the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup. In overtime against the Colorado Avalanche Hasek was the first goalie to be awarded a assist on a game winning goal. He than went to play for the Ottawa Senators from 2005-2006. during his time with the Sens he got 300 career wins and was playing increasingly well. at the Olympics he injured his right Adductor Muscle and that held him from playing in the regular season and playoffs with the Ottawa Senators. Than Hasek resigned with the Redwings For two years (2006-2008) he was 41 years old. during the 2007-2008 he was replaced by backup goalie Chris Osgood but when Hasek got his mojo back they decided to alternate Goaltenders. Detroit Coach Mike Babcock said that Hasek would be the goalie for the playoffs. In the first two games the Redwings won but after two bad performances in the next two Osgood became the starting goalie even though he lost the starting job Hasek was still doing his best in practices showing he is a team player and a true professional athlete. eventually Detroit beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games to win the cup and than Hasek retired ending a legends career..

In my opinion Hasek will be one of the best goaltenders ever to play in the NHL and im glad he was inducted into the hall of fame this year because he has been good enough to join that exclusive club in the hall of fame and to join all of the other great goalies of the past.

Connor McDavid out for 6 weeks!

Connor McDavid ( Erie Otters OHL hockey team) was injured in a fight Tuesday night against Bryson Cianfrone of the Mississauga Steelheads. McDavid suffered a fracture of the 5th metacarpal bone McDavid was going to throw a punch and missed and hit the top of the boards. his fractured bone extends from the base of his pinkie finger to the wrist luckily he does not require surgery for the injury. McDavid was going to play in the Subway Super Series on Thursday against team Russia but he was removed as expected but the real question is will he be recovered in time for the worlds juniors and play for team Canada?. McDavid will miss team Canada`s world junior camp in mid December. Hockey Canada must finish their roster by December 25th because they have their first game the next day. Canadian junior coach Benoit Groulx said " there is several weeks before world juniors, so its too early to know" " we hope that he`ll be able to be there, but I don't have that answer yet".


In my opinion Connor McDavid can miss the world juniors because he can get another chance next year and he should just focus on getting through his injury because as soon as he gets better and returns he has to think about playing for the Erie Otters and trying to win the Master Card Memorial cup and than he has to train again for the draft to see what team he gets drafted to. people have to remember that injuries do happen in sports and that it isn't what owners want for their players and that not what the fans want to see either but injuries will always happen it doesn't matter if it was in a fight or a hard hit their will be violence in hockey and it will always be in  hockey.  I don't think that McDavid should have fought because he is a all-star scorer and he shouldn't focus on fighting he should focus on scoring goals because you cant score goals from the penalty box and you cant score goals from the hospital. All-stars don't fight they have enforcers on their team that do that for them so I think that Connor should just stick to doing what he does best and that is playing the game of hockey cleanly and scoring highlight real goals. Nazem Kadri a center from the Toronto Maple Leafs called McDavids injury a " freak accident". Nazem should know because he was a top prospect in the OHL a couple years ago and knows what its like to get targeted. " Obviously it`s unfortunate that that happened," Kadri said " Good for him for standing up for himself.... You don't like to see it but that complete  level, especially in every young star, that's enough`s enough and you're sick and tired of getting abused".  I just think that the stars of hockey should focus on scoring not fighting   

Is this year a year that a Canadian team will hoist the cup

The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993 when the Montreal Canadians beat the Los Angeles Kings the series was 4-1. The last time that a Canadian team was in the cup final was in 2011 when the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins. Vancouver lost that series 4-3 in Vancouver and after the game there were riots in the streets of Vancouver cars were getting set on fire and getting tipped over. Does Canada even want a team to go to the cup final because if the team loses would there be another riot?.




In my opinion I think that the next Canadian team to win the cup would be the Montreal Canadians because they have the best record out of Canadian teams right now and they made it far in last years playoffs but with recent struggles and how the Vancouver Canucks have been dominating the last games they have been playing. there is a saying that the west wins the cup probably  because people might think that they have the more powerful teams and if that is true than the Vancouver Canucks have a good chance if they can keep up being in the top 3 teams. Are those the only Canadian teams that could win this year?. No the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets as well as the Calgary Flames are in good positions and if they can hold those positions until the all-star game they should be good because over the last 3 years 75% of teams that have been in a playoff spot after the all-star game have made the playoffs and if those 5 Canadian teams can hold their spots than Canada would have a good chance of finally hoisting the cup again on Canadian soil. 

The World Series

The 2014 World Series is underway and who would have thought that the Kansas city Royals would be in the World series and who would have thought that they beat the Oakland A`s and the LA angels and win against the Baltimore Orioles and sweep all these teams.In the first game of the world series they lost to San Francisco and that was the first time they lost in the playoffs since 1985 and they won the world series that year. The other team in the world series is the San Francisco Giants and they are looking for their third world series in five years they have a lot more experience in the playoffs then Kansas City. I don't think that it will matter Kansas City came to play and they are a good team with excellent bullpen three of their pitchers have a combined ERA ( Earned Run Average ) of 0.95 which is incredible and when the Royals are leading and their bullpen comes into the game it will be a great game for the Royals management. The Royals have Incredible defense.

The giants have a 3-2 series lead going into tonight`s game number 6 in Kansas City after losing a game that the Royals needed to win now the pressure is on for the Kansas City Royals if they want to win the world series they will have to win this game at home first. But the Giants are coming off a game that has them one win away from winning the World Series and upsetting the Kansas City fans and winning their 3 World Series in 5 years. With a stellar performance from Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner who shut out the Royals 5-0. Right now the Giants have the better chance to win but i wouldn't count out the Royals because no one would have said at the beginning of the season that the Kansas City Royals would be in the World Series and have won 8 games in a row and face the Giants in a close series.

Too many injuries in pre-season?

 In the NHL pre-season there has been a lot of injuries and some belong to star players and can really hurt a team in the beginning of the regular season. There has been fans that want pre-season gone because it is pointless and their stars keep getting hurt. with some of the injuries only lasting two weeks and others are season ending injuries will the NHL think about getting rid of the pre-season or will they make it just that rookies get to play and give the star players time just to practice instead of getting hurt in games that don't matter to their standings or what they will do in the regular season. with some players not even training in the off season and they go right into playing pre-season games they have a high chance of getting hurt and possibly missing the season.








In my opinion I think that they shouldn't get rid of pre-season because even though people don't like that there teams stars are getting hurt for games that don't matter I still think that it is fun to watch the rookies get a chance to play in pro arenas and with fans cheering when they come out on the ice is a fun view and I hope that the NHL will keep the pre-season in the future and I am sure that they will keep it and I don't think that nothing will change it. I think that the only thing that could happen would be is that the teams keep their all-stars off their roster and make them train on and off the ice and just keep the rookies to play the pre-season games to make them get used to playing in front of lots of fans and the high pace speed of playing in the NHL. Another thing that rookies have to endure is to have the mental toughness and physical toughness to play in the NHL with all the hits to take and to deal with the fans and the pressure of the media after every game asking hard questions and to deal with the social media hearing about how the fans will have tons of hate towards how you play. so I think that the NHL should not keep the pre-season but i don't think that it will change.

Philadelphia Eagles 3-0 are they gonna keep the undefeated streak going?

The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-0 to start the season and are leading their division and they have to play the 1-2 49rs in San Francisco which could be a problem because they are in a opposing teams stadium. So far this season they have 101 points for and 78 points against. they are second in points in the league and second in passing yards. and the way they are playing right now they can beat the 49rs and keep the streak going.



In my opinion the eagles will  lose to the 49rs because the 49rs have a better offensive core and defensive core and I think that the eagles will choke against this team because they have too much pressure of being a sleeper team that is undefeated and pressure by the fans in Philadelphia  

Blue Jays Cursed?

Are the Toronto Blue Jays cursed?. The Toronto Blue Jays seem to be doing really good before August they are always playing like a Playoff team that could win the World Series but as soon as the playoff race starts they always seem to choke and fall from first place to 4th or 3rd. And the teams that are in front of the Blue Jays they are always out of reach. some people say that the Toronto Blue Jays are cursed and that they will not make it back to the championship team of 92 and 93. This year might be different though as the Jays are only 3.5 games out of the wild card but there is no chance for the jays to make the division because they are 10 games out of 1st place behind the Baltimore Orioles. With the way that the Jays are playing they might break the "Curse of Toronto". After this weekend the jays are slipping farther away from getting into the playoffs after losing the series over the Tampa bay Rays. Luckily for the Jays the other teams that are ahead of the Jays lost so that could help the Jays get their stuff together but they have a tough road ahead of them because they have to face the Baltimore Orioles now and the last series of the year so if they get on a hot streak they could have more confidence going into the last series of the season.

My opinion is that the Blue Jays are not cursed. I think that the Jays are not cursed because they just don't have the money to  buy good players and to maybe buy a better coach. but with the season only 13 games till the end and 2 players that probably wont be on the roster next season  Colby Rasmus and Casey Janssen. who will be the next closing pitcher and will Anthony Gose be able to fill in the center field spot when Rasmus leaves I don't think that the jays will make the playoffs this year ir next year.

Sedins` still young enough to lead?

Was last season a sign that the Sedins` are getting to old to be leading a team?
The Sedins` will turn 34 on opening night when their new four year contract begins. They never started out fast but always in prime shape but if the Sedins` have truly lost their touch that could be a problem for Vancouver. With new coach Willie Desjardins can the Sedins` have a new start with old coach John Tortorella gone. With injuries to older players that can mean that the end is near but with no injuries to the Sedins` they could be in the top of the league in goals and points.

My opinion on the Sedins` is that if they stay healthy this year they can lead the Canucks but if injuries happen again this year they can be in real trouble of not returning next season and if they do get hurt and return will they have the same skills as they did before getting hurt?