Holla For Holidays

At about 11:00 tomorrow morning, I'll be on Holidays for the next 10 days. After the past few months with the flooding situation in the Southeast, it made for some long hours in the newsroom. I'm definitely looking forward to taking some time off, because when I come back it will be very busy time in the Energy City with the Kraft Celebration Tour on Aug. 25, along with local football getting underway and Bruins Camp not too far away. (Sept. 2 in case you're wondering)

I'll be heading to the Rider game tomorrow and after that I'm off to Waskiseu for the duration of my holidays. My schedule will mostly consist of golfing, beach time, and spending time on the boat. But here's some tidbits and thoughts of mine.

-- The Bruins will likely be quiet over the next 10 days. They are looking to move Brett Rock and Matt Szpak, but they are waiting to get the right compensation for those two players. I've talked Szpak a couple times this summer, and I know he's anxious to find out where he'll play next season. It's a shame Szpak isn't returning to Estevan, because him and Dominic Perrault formed a real solid defensive pairing in last year's playoffs. But it's also understandable why Szpak wants to play his final year of Junior hockey close to home. Szpak holds a dubious distinction this summer, by appearing live on Sportsnet and TSN on back to back nights. Last month during a Blue Jays and Pittsburgh game, Szpak was sitting behind home plate, and then the next night during the Hamilton Ti-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers game, Szpak was seen on TV on the sidelines.

-- I posted a new poll question on the top right hand corner, Who do think should be the Bruins Captain this season? I left the three players who I think rank as the top contenders as options. Dominic Perrault, Josh Jelinski, and Eric Baldwin. There's a lot of character on this team, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Bruins had rotating assistants because there's so many great candidates. I'll give my 2 cents about the issue when I'm back from holidays. But I can say right now, all three would make great captains.

-- My TV show Locker Talk has been taking a summer break. It looks like the next episode will be airing August 18. The episode will either be a sit down with Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy or a discussion about the Kraft Celebration Tour.

-- A win for the Riders tomorrow and they're in second place, it's funny how quick things change in the CFL. I'm ooking forward to Gene Makowsky tie Roger Aldag's record of appearances as a Rider, got to meet Makowsky in the spring, and he's really a class act.


-- Best of luck to Estevan's Michael Bittman, who's at the Regina Thunder camp trying to crack the roster. While Bittman has tons of athletic ability, the most impressive thing about him is how much he matured over the past 2 years. I've got the feeling we'll be hearing a lot about him in both the PFC and eventually the CIS (if he chooses that route)

-- It's been a fun week watching the player moves in the NFL. I'm a 49ers fan, so it's been mostly quiet with the lone standout acquisition being former All-Pro kicker David Akers. Even though they haven't made many moves this week, I still like their chances in the NFC West. Especially with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks replacing Matt Hasselback with Tavares Jackson at QB.

--Congrats to Darian Durant's brother Justin signing with Detroit. With Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley as his defensive tackles, he's bound to post some big numbers this season.

-- The Lions are the ultimate dark horse team in the NFL this season. That's right I think the Lions will be a playoff team. Of course as long as Matt Stafford doesn't get hurt.

-- You think in 3 years we'll be making a Pat Gillick comparison to Alex Anthopoulos?

Enjoy the long weekend everyone, and I'll talk to you in about 10 days.

Update on Kraft Celebration in Estevan

The front of the Provincial Courthouse on 4th street was announced as the site of the Kraft Celebration Tour in Estevan on Thursday August 26. There will be a couple of blocks of 4th street closed down to allow the Kraft BBQ, the kids and sports zones to be set up.

The MC of the festivities will be Michael Ball, the voice of the University of Regina Rams, he can also be heard on the Rider broadcasts on 620 CKRM.

Speaking of 620 CKRM, Rod Pedersen the voice of the Roughriders, will be doing Sportscage live from Estevan that day. There's also the possibility that the players from both the Riders and Regina Ram football team will be in Estevan on that day.

The local Kraft Celebration Tour committee said that even though the Estevan Football Family was the group that brought the Kraft Celebration Tour to Estevan, they also want to make the day a celebration of all the sports and teams in Estevan.

The celebrations in Estevan will begin at 2:00 Thursday August 25.

Bruins Acquire Jorgensen

The Estevan Bruins have acquired defenceman Dallas Jorgensen from the Nipawin Hawks in exchange for future considerations.

Last season Jorgensen had six assists in 53 games with the Hawks.

Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy thought the Bruins needed another veteran presence on the blueline and felt Jorgensen was a perfect fit. "We have two returning defenceman and with the young guys we signed, and we felt if we could help those guys we would. We had a couple of ideas, but when Dallas became available we felt he would be a big help on our team. All of his references said that he had good character, and Nipawin Head Coach Doug Johnson spoke highly of him. And I'm looking forward to seeing him on the ice."

Cassidy described Jorgensen as a defensive defenceman. "He's a bigger fella, he's pretty deliberate with the puck and apparently likes to play a physical game. I think he's going to be a great player to work with once he gets here."

Cassidy added he would like to add one or two more veteran pieces up front before training camp. The team is also looking to move defencemen Brett Rock and Matt Szpak back to their home province of Alberta.

The Bruins begin training camp on Friday September 2.

Bruins searching for next ICE TEAM

Release from the Bruins

The Estevan Bruins are seeking highly motivated individuals to fill our Estevan Bruins “StreamFlo Ice Team.” We will be taking 8 exciting people to fill these positions that will showcase your personality and build your resume!

Under the direction of the Stream Flo Ice Team Leader, the Ice Team is responsible for providing

entertainment in the stands and on the ice during intermission. On ice contests will be executed by the Bruins Ice Team; during stoppages in play and during time-outs. The Ice Team also visits fans in the stands to give away prizes, ask trivia questions, shoot T-shirts into the crowd and assist with the announcement of the winning 50-50 Ticket number. These Ice Team activities are an integral part of the Estevan Bruins game production and creating a positive atmosphere in Spectra Place.

Highly visible throughout Spectra Place during every Bruins Home Game, the Ice Team is vital

to the successful execution of all in-game promotions and of the overall game experience at all 28 of our regular season home games throughout the months of September through to February.

If you are interested in applying for one of these positions, please forward your resume by Monday August 1st to:

Becky Tait

Operations/Marketing Manager

Estevan Bruins Hockey Club

Cell: (306) 421-9450

Email: becky.tait@estevanbruins.com

Fax: 306-634-9398

Estevan Hosting Sportscentre Aug, 25

Congratulations Estevan!!!

With the online vote victory in the Kraft Celebration Tour, Estevan will be hosting Sportscentre with Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole on Thursday August 25.

If you live in Estevan, make sure you give a big thank you to Wanda Harron for starting the Estevan Football Family bid.

Over the next month, Estevan along with TSN and Kraft will be planning this day of celebration!

Also congrats for the Swan Valley group. I'm sure it was a close vote.

Vote For Estevan For the Kraft Celebration Tour

The footage that will air on TSN today at 4:00.


Send an email, a text, a tweet or a simple phone call to all your family, friends and anyone else you know, because Estevan is competing in the online voting contest for a spot on the Kraft Celebration Tour today.

You can vote at kraftcelebrationtour.ca and you can vote unlimited times. You can vote thru your computer or on your cell phone. The voting opens up at 10:00 am and the poll closes at 9:59 am tomorrow. The announcement will come at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon during Sportscentre on TSN.

Wanda Harron was the one who wrote the essay that eventually got our local football program nominated and she explains what inspired her to write the essay. "When I started writing the essay, it was way back in April before all the flooding hit. We knew all the work that needed to be done to the Comp. Field and we knew that little bits and pieces needed to be completed for Minor Football. Then when the flooding hit and with the current state of our field at Woodlawn Park, we definitely need that 25,000 dollars."

If you are having problems with your computer or you can't vote through your cell phone, Harron says arrangements have been made with the Estevan Public Library. She says they have temporary cards set up at the library.

Harron isn't underestimating Swan River's chances of winning the contest despite Estevan's bigger population. She thinks it's going to be a close battle and that every vote will count. Harron noted she's contacted all the football teams in Canada that's helped out with the Estevan Football Fundraising Dinners over the past couple of years to help out Estevan's cause.

To cast your vote head to kraftcelebrationtour.ca beginning at 10:00 and vote as many times as you can before 9:59 tomorrow morning.

Spectra Place Pics..Now with Ice

Welcome to Spectra Place, the new home for hockey in Estevan. Today was the first day with ice in the new rink. The countdown now begins to be the big grand opening on Saturday September 17.

Spectra Place To Unveil Ice On Monday

It's the icing on top of the cake. Spectra Place will be unveiling it's ice surface on Monday morning on the eve of the opening of the Fleck's Hockey School which will kick off the on-ice season for Spectra Place for the 2011-12 year.

The process of the ice making for Spectra Place has been ongoing for the past couple weeks. The good news is according to Facilities Manager Garth Forrester is there hasn't been any hiccups. "They started the process last weekend and we've had no problems at all, it's been very smooth sailings and it's going to be ready for Monday."

Forrester added putting the ice in Spectra Place has been a lot easier than the Civic Auditorium.
"The ice going into Spectra was a lot easier and a lot quicker than the Civic so that made the job of the ice makers that much better, it's been a lot easier for them."

Forrester said that "the preparation work that's been done this week included putting the logos on the ice and there's flooding over top of those. The crew has been slowly building up the ice."

The Fleck's Hockey school will be the main occupants of Spectra Place for the first three weeks, which will be followed by more boy's and girl's hockey schools until the end of August when the Bruins begin training camp.

Joel Danyluk Is Going Places

Joel Danyluk has spent a lot of time on the road in his hockey career in both the SJHL and WHL. It only seems fitting that Danyluk adds a few more miles before he heads to Augustana University College in the fall, as he's set to leave on a trip to Europe tomorrow.

I had a chance to speak with Danyluk this morning about his commitment to Augustana and his trip to Europe.


Joeld by blaineweyland

Q and A with Dan O'Toole

I had a great chat with TSN's Dan O'Toole about next week's Kraft Celebration Tour vote between Estevan and Swan River. The vote is next Tuesday from 10:00 am until 9:59 am Wednesday. Plenty of interesting topics we touched on.


Danotoole1 by blaineweyland

Danyluk Heading to Augustana

Joel Danyluk's retirement didn't last the summer.

A quick release from Craig Stein's twitter feed. Yorkton product and former Terrier goalie Joel Danyluk commits to the Augustana Vikings (ACAC) for the 2011-2012 season.

Danyluk was originally going to school in Regina and take a break from hockey this fall. But the offer from Augustana came from out of left field and for Danyluk.

I'll be talking to Joel tomorrow and I'll be posting the audio on here.

Heading into the Weekend

-- Ah the weekend has finally has arrived. I'm especially excited for this weekend since I'm get an extra day off. Mind you I got to work 6 day weeks following this weekend for awhile, so I'm going to enjoy this weekend as much as I can.

-- The first order for business will be attending the Riders game tomorrow against Montreal. I'm expecting a different type of Rider game this week. I think Darian Durant will bounce back this week, even though I'm not blaming not him for the loss last week. I think we will see a more efficient offense and obviously we'll see adjustments on defence after getting beaten by the Eskimos. More importantly hopefully see a pass rush this week. And if you want more Rider news head to Rod Pedersen and Mitchell Blair blogs which is located on the right of this page.

-- I'm finally going to get a round of golf in this weekend. With Woodlawn under water for the most part this spring and summer, I haven't dusted off the clubs yet. Just giving a heads up for any home owners in Warman that you may see some golf balls on your front yard on Sunday.

-- Looking forward to getting back to work on Tuesday. I'll be interviewing with Dan O'Toole of TSN about the Kraft Celebration Tour. What crazy antics will be in store?

-- By the way the Kraft Celebration Tour vote for Estevan is July 19. Make sure you vote for Estevan.

-- There may be some MMA coming to Estevan in the fall. I know the Hard Knock Fighting Championship were coming to town last week, but they were plagued with some travel problems, like the water on the highway and I'm not sure if they made it. I'm hoping to track someone down next week.

-- Hopefully this hot and dry weather continues for a couple of weeks because we sure need it in the Southeast. Enjoy the weekend everyone.

TSN is Coming to Estevan Today

As apart of the Kraft Celebration Tour, TSN will be in Estevan filming footage for the Kraft Celebration contest.

The camera crew will be on scene at the Kids Carnival at the CO-OP at around 4:00.

Everyone in Estevan is encouraged to come down around that time and show off their support as this will likely be the only footage TSN will show of Estevan on July 19, when they are entered in the contest for the Kraft Celebration Tour.

The carnival is from 2:00-7:00.

Bruins Finish Recruiting

The Estevan Bruins latest rookie signing could be their biggest one as they locked up Jesse Bernard.

Bernard was the leading scorer in the Manitoba AAA Midget League had 39 goals and 72 points on the season. He was a member of the Southwest Cougars team that was coached by Bruins scout, Troy Leslie.

Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy is excited about Bernard and the rest of the 2011 rookie class to be apart of the Bruins team next season. He added Bernard like all of the rest of the rookies are facing a tough adjustment of jumping from Midget hockey to Junior and there roles will for the team will be determined by how quickly they can make the jump.

Bernard had a lot of options besides the Bruins, and that's why he took his time making a decision. Cassidy respected Bernard taking his time and fully understood the situation Bernard was facing. Bernard had offers from Manitoba, Alberta and elsewhere.

Cassidy added that now recruiting phase of the offseason is mostly over for the Bruins, they will turn their attention to adding a couple of veterans to the team. They do have some trade bait as defencmen Brett Rock and Matt Szpak have asked for trades back to their home province of Alberta.

Ostertag and Baldwin Head to Boston

Eric Baldwin and Ryan Ostertag left for Boston today to take part in a 5 week hockey camp in Boston. In the past this camp has helped several former Bruin players to scholarships like Mark Cross, Kyle Stroh, Chad Filteau, Kyle Johnson and many more.

Before Ostertag left for Boston today I had a chance to speak with him.


Ryanostertag by blaineweyland

Pics from Riders Week 1 Loss

The season got off to a bad start for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as they were defeated by the Edmonton Eskimos 42-28.

Hopefully things turn around on Saturday when the Riders face the Montreal Alouettes at 2:00 in a Grey Cup rematch.

Estevan Named Finalist of Kraft Celebration Tour

Some good news for Estevan today, they have been nominated as a finalist for the Kraft Celebration Tour. They will be competing against Swan River Manitoba in a border battle. One day in July there will be an online voting contest between the two cities and the group with the most votes after 24 hours will win.

So make sure you vote for Estevan. The Estevan Football Family could use the money since the football field is under water.

I'll definitely be following this story over the next couple of weeks.