Hot prospects put on ice
Likely No. 1 draft pick Alexis Lafreniere headlines Top Prospects
Penticton will be hosting the prestigious John F. Kennedy Cup international men’s soccer tournament June 6-7 – the first time the 60-year-old competition has been staged in the B.C. Interior.
Originating in 1960, the Kennedy Cup was born as an international championship played by top calibre amateur men’s soccer teams from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
The trophy is the only award with the late American president’s name attached.
In 1989, the tournament was revised to involve top teams from Oregon, the Pacific Coast League and Washington State, with the three leagues alternating hosting the event each year.
In the two-day tourney at King’s Park, Washington will be represented by league champions Washington Premier FC. Oregon will be represented by defending cup champion IPS Marathon Taverna.
The PCSL – of which Okanagan FC are a part – will be represented by 2019 PCSL champions’ Vancouver Tigers and the Okanagan United Selects, which is to include players from the three Okanagan teams in the PCSL — OFC, Penticton and Kamloops.
Shapovalov knocks off Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Secondseeded Denis Shapovalov beat fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Wednesday in a second-round match at the ASB Classic.
Shapovalov, the top-ranked Canadian at a career-high No. 13, received a bye into the second round.
Shapovalov will face France’s Ugo Humbert in a quarterfinal on Thursday.
The 146th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, qualified for the ATP Tour 250 event by winning two matches before beating Joao Sousa of Portugal in the first round.
The 20-year-old Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., and Pospisil were squaring off for the first time on tour at the Auckland event.
Shapovalov won 80% of his points when he got his first serve in, while Pospisil was at 68% in the same category.
The two led Canada to a runner-up finish at the Davis Cup Finals in November in Madrid. Both players have main-draw spots in next week’s Australian Open, the season’s first Grand Slam.
EDMONTON — Former Ottawa Redblacks defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe is taking the same job with the Edmonton Eskimos.
New Eskimos head coach Scott Milanovich announced some of his staff on Wednesday.
Thorpe broke into the CFL as an assistant head coach, special teams co-ordinator and defensive backs coach with the Eskimos from 2008 to 2010.
He then joined the Montreal Alouettes, where he held roles as defensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach from 2011 to 2017 before heading to the Redblacks the following season.
Milanovich, who also will be Edmonton’s offensive co-ordinator, has retained A.J. Gass as special teams co-ordinator.
Demetrious Maxie (defensive line), John McDonnell (offensive line), Winston October (wide receivers, pass game coordinator) and Derek Oswalt (defensive assistant) also will work under Milanovich.
TORONTO — A beer league hockey player who suffered a head injury almost eight years ago should get more than $700,000 from the player who crashed into him, an Ontario court has ruled.
The case highlights the change in how courts treat hockey injuries, the judge said.
“This is not the first lawsuit in Canada for injuries sustained during a hockey game,” Justice Sally Gomery wrote in her decision. “Courts have moved from requiring evidence of intent to harm to applying the general rules of negligence, adapting them to the context of a sport where some risk of injury is inevitable.”
The case arose in March 2012, when Gordon MacIsaac crashed into Drew Casterton in their recreational league game in Ottawa. Casterton hit his head on the ice.
MacIsaac said the collision was accidental after Casterton made a sudden turn. Casterton, 36, argued he was blindsided, and that he suffered life-altering injuries as a result.
The key issue was whether MacIsaac was liable for the injuries, and whether Casterton himself had done anything to contribute to his misfortune.
Gomery cited earlier cases in which judges have said hockey involves violent contact as well as blows from pucks and sticks. At the same time, she said, courts have also found that it’s not a matter of “anything goes” on the ice.
“The injured player must simply show that the injury was caused by conduct that fell outside of what a reasonable competitor would expect in the circumstances.”
HAMILTON — It didn’t seem possible, but Alexis Lafreniere has raised more eyebrows.
Heading into the world junior hockey championship, there was no doubting the projected No. 1 pick at the 2020 NHL draft had a clinical scoring touch, silky smooth hands and a superior skating stride.
But the Quebec league star’s tool belt goes beyond the stat line and the highlights.
Lafreniere, 18, relishes the physical side of the game and won’t back down from a challenge — including the knee injury that could have easily derailed his World Juniors.
Instead, the native of Saint-Eustache, Que., battled through whatever discomfort he might have been feeling to help Canada win gold at the under-20 event in the Czech Republic.
“He does it all the time,” said Dan Marr, the NHL’s director of Central Scouting. “It’s good to see that and it’s good to see it on an international stage, but when you have his talent with the speed, the skills, the smarts, the battle, the compete, perseverance, the will to be the best, the will to win ... it shines through.”
Lafreniere and the rest of junior hockey’s elite, draft-eligible talent will get another chance to shine on a big stage Thursday at the annual CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
“It’s nice to play with them and play against them,” the Rimouski Oceanic star said following Wednesday’s on- and off-ice testing. “It’s fun to just be around those kinds of guys and enjoy my time here.”
NHL Central Scouting’s top-rated North
American skater, Lafreniere has 24 goals and 73 points in just 34 games despite missing nine contests while with Canada for the juniors.
He was named tournament MVP after putting up four goals and six assists in five outings — Lafreniere missed two games with that knee problem — and added even more distance between himself and the rest of the draft field.
“The separation was (already) there,” Marr said. “The QMJHL, they’re making it hard on him. Nobody’s giving him an easy ride. He’s been suspended. He’s willing to defend himself, and he does. He’s shown at every level, every event, he’s capable of being a differencemaker.”
Lafreniere said the physical side — he laid a crushing body check on his first shift back from injury in a quarterfinal romp over Slovakia — is an important part of his overall makeup.
“Being physical helps you get in the games, especially early on,” said the six-foot-one, 196pound teenager from a suburb just outside Montreal. “It’s good to be physical and try and get momentum for your side.”
The other players from Canada’s world junior team participating in Thursday’s showcase are centre Quinton Byfield, Central Scouting’s No. 2 North American skater, defenceman Jamie Drysdale (No. 3), forward Dawson Mercer (No. 6) and Nico Daws, the continent’s top-ranked goalie.
The latter four are all on Team Red, while Lafreniere will suit up for Team White.
“He’s so good,” the 17-year-old Drysdale said of Lafreniere. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he does something spectacular.”
Marr cautioned that while the game is an important step in a player’s draft year, it’s never a make-or-break scenario.
“You’re talking about the most talented players in the country at this age group,” he said. “We do want them to show their individual skills — what they do best — and they’re encouraged to do that. It’s a little different environment. They’ve got the green light.”
Cole Perfetti, ranked as the No. 4 North American skater, can’t wait to get going.
“It’s big,” said the centre for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. “A lot of big names have played in this game.”
Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Kaiden Guhle said competing in front of NHL scouts that might not have seen him play in person in the WHL is a plus.
“It’s awesome,” said Guhle, who turns 18 on Friday. “It’s an honour to be chosen.”
While he’s clearly above the rest of the field, Lafreniere constantly pushes himself against contemporaries. He has nothing to gain from being here — there’s no spot higher than No. 1 — but the internal drive that got him this far can’t be switched off.
He pushed himself, as usual, in testing Wednesday and continues to fine-tune his game at every turn.
“I have good people around me,” Lafreniere said. “I just try to keep working on everything. I still want to improve everything.”
Lafreniere and his world junior teammates have barely had time to put their feet on the ground. He had a few days off after the long flight home from Europe, but was right back at it over the weekend in the QMJHL with a goal and two assists.
“It’s been a pretty crazy month, but it’s been really, really fun,” Lafreniere said. “I had a chance to win gold with an amazing group. “It was a dream come true.”
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Veteran coach Thorpe joins Edmonton Eskimos
Rec hockey player fined $700K for body check