On Thu, 13 Feb 1997, Jason W. Roy wrote:
 
>    Tonight was the second annual CHL Prospects Game......This is a game
> that includes all the draft eligable players from the Candian Hockey
> League.  It is played at maple leaf gardens and every NHL team is
> represented
> at the game.......Its a chance for these boys to showcase their talents
> against other prospects......
 
Ah, yes. Another topic I get to rant about. What Annoys John About Major
Junior Hockey. :-) This prospects game really rubs me the wrong way, for
some reason. Maybe because it seems to be presented as the equivalent of
televising the NFL Scouting Combine. I didn't watch during the
intermissions to see if they had shots of scouts checking prospects' teeth.
 
My complaint runs deeper, I think, to the TV coverage of the CHL in
Canada. Someone mentioned that the Beanpot TV coverage seemed sprinkled
with "and x is drafted by y". Imagine that, only worse.
 
Imagine something like: "Luc Rioux, who was drafted in the 4th round by
the Islanders, brings the puck in, passes to Scott Wray, who is rated
892nd by ECHL Central Scouting. He shoots! Oh, what a save by
Cruickshank, who was originally picked in the 5th round of the 1995 draft
in Buffalo by the Mighty Ducks but was since part of a four-way,
19-player deal involving the Panthers, Avalanche and Senators and is now
pencilled in as Ottawa's third-string goalie of the future! And he holds the
puck for a faceoff. Oh, but it looks like Oshawa (who used to be
sponsored by the Boston Bruins) are going to be assessed a penalty by
Dave Lynch, who is ranked 1892nd in the NHL Referee Development Program.
etc. etc. etc."
 
O.K. Well, maybe it's not *quite* that bad.
 
What annoys me is the apparent mindset that people only care about
Major Junior hockey in relation to the NHL.
 
> this year Orr got his revenge winning 7-2.....Cherry coached the OHL team
> and Orr coached the CHL team (made up of QMJL AND WHL).....
 
Actually, it's not set up like that. They take the top 36 skaters and 4
goalies and split them up, regardless of league. The teams themselves
mean nothing.
 
This amused me last year when I was on a Useless Road Trip (tm) and kept
hearing the results of this game. The result of a game like this means
nothing. Bragging rights aren't even at stake.
 
>     I am still waiting for an NCAA allstar game.......It would be nice
> too see........I think you have to have it in Mid season and not at the
 
I don't know that it would work mid-season. January is right when the NC$$
starts to get into high gear. With the NC$$ season being as short as it
is, taking a week off in the middle strikes me as a bad idea. The one
complaint I have about the NC$$ season is that it takes until January to
really seem to get going. An All-Star Break would break the momentum the
NC$$ season has to that point.
 
While I'm thinking about it, is the Shrine Game still going? Am I wrong
in remembering some goofy rule barring non-Seniors from playing in
All-Star Games?
 
I'm not much for All-Star games anyways. For the most part, if you've
seen one, you've seen them all.
 
> championship between Canadian and American Universities......
 
This actually might be interesting, or it could be a raging disaster for
the CIAU. We'll see.
 
See you later,
John
 
John Edwards                       Minister of Chasing Wild Geese (DNRC)  O-
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               "He is SUCH a freak!" - Edie Edwards (Age 16)
 
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