Hot Corner
Team Canada, Gallant pursuing gold medal at world hockey championship this weekend
Sports columnist Joe MacIntyre discusses the positive impact and contributions defenceman Dion Phaneuf has provided to the Ottawa Senators during this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. MacIntyre likes the Senators’ chances to advance to the Stanley Cup final. Phaneuf spends his summers on P.E.I.
Dion Phaneuf has been a real force for the Ottawa Senators this playoff season, and is playing some of the best hockey of his 12-year NHL career.
The Senators appear to be a team of destiny that is difficult to play against, with Phaneuf laying out big hits and playing a solid defensive game. Depending on Friday night’s result, the Senators are only one or two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup final, and they deserve full marks for their success.
Last year’s trade out of Toronto was great for Phaneuf’s career, and has allowed him to play a secondary role on a Senators’ team led by world-class defenceman Erik Karlsson. There is a lot of pressure being the captain of the Maple Leafs, and that pressure showed in Phaneuf’s play in Toronto. He was a first-round pick, ninth overall, in 2003 by the Calgary Flames after a stellar junior career with Red Deer, where he showed great promise. I have given Phaneuf a rough ride in this column in the past, but I have to give credit where credit is due – the 32-year-old summer resident of P.E.I. deserves to be praised for his fine play.
His television interview during Game 3 showed how intense and focused he is, and that can be said for the entire Senators’ team. That promise Phaneuf showed in junior is coming through in Ottawa, and that’s great to see.
I said last week it will be a surprise if Ottawa beats Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference final. But after watching them this past week, it will be a surprise if Ottawa doesn’t advance.
If the Sens do make the final, they have a real good chance of winning the Stanley Cup, and Phaneuf will be a key contributor.
Could the Stanley Cup be coming to the Island this summer?
World hockey championship
It is championship weekend in Germany, where Canada will play Russia on Saturday morning in one semifinal of the world hockey championship. Sweden will meet Finland in the other.
The winners will play in the gold-medal game on Sunday, and hopefully Canada will be one of those teams. Summerside native Gerard (Turk) Gallant is an assistant coach with Canada, and has a gold medal from the 2007 championship.
It would be great to see Gallant add another gold medal to an already impressive coaching resumé.
Islanders Baseball
The Charlottetown Islanders of the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League kick off their 2017 season in Saint John, N.B., on Saturday. The Islanders will take on the Alpines in a doubleheader.
The Islanders are at home on Monday against the Chatham Ironmen for a single game at Memorial Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The New Brunswick league has been in existence for the past 88 consecutive years, dating back to 1929.
The defending champions are the Fredericton Royals, who along with Moncton, Saint John, Chatham and Charlottetown comprise a strong fiveteam league. The teams play a 32-game schedule that ends Aug. 18.
Harness racing
The 2017 live harness racing season kicks off its 2017 season at Red Shores at Summerside Raceway on Victoria Day. It will be the first of 30 cards this season.
Seventeen of those cards are on Sundays, with the last card being Nov. 5. The Governor’s Plate goes on July 15.
Red Shores Charlottetown hosted the first of 72 cards in 2017, which will take them to New Year’s Eve, on April 22. The Gold Cup and Saucer is Aug. 19, and an added attraction to Old Home Week this year will be the world driving championship.
It promises to be a great year at the track, and best of luck to all involved in one of P.E.I.’s favourite sports and pastimes. Have a great week!