Weekend Watching

It's officially draft season. The NFL draft was last week and this past week it was the WHL Bantam Draft, and the CFL Canadian Draft.

I always tune into the WHL draft mostly to see if there's a kid that I actually know, and it didn't take me long to find a name that I remembered. The 8th overall pick went to the Prince Albert Raiders and they selected Humboldt native Reid Gardiner. Gardiner was born in Prince Albert, but spent all of his hockey years in Humboldt. This is what Raiders Head Scout Dale Derkatch said about picking Gardiner. "We are very happy to have a local boy from Humboldt who was actually born in Prince Albert. He is a natural goal scorer and has a small town Saskatchewan type work ethic. We are excited to have him on board.”

The reason I know Gardiner is because his dad Shaun was my high school Gym teacher, Football coach and later coaching colleague. I think the last time I talked to Reid was when he was in Grade 2 or 3, (boy time flies) and if Reid is like his Dad, his dream is to play in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The CFL Draft was yesterday and the Riders selected a pair of Ontario kids in the 2nd round with Craig Butler and Matt O'Donnell. I enjoyed the fact TSN broadcasted the first 2 rounds of the draft, I think the next step is to showcase more CIS games, whether it's TV or even webcasts, people would probably care more about the draft if they know the players that are being picked.

I love the trade for former U of S Huskie Graeme Bell, Bell was brutally attacked with a baseball bat in Saskatoon in 2007 and would recover and return to football in 2009. Such a great story.

The Pembroke Lumber Kings pulled off the upset and captured the Royal Bank Cup with a 2-0 win over the Vernon Vipers. Now the offseason begins and expect some trade announcements in the coming days especially with Melville and Humboldt. The Bruins might be making some minor deals in the coming weeks, but don't expect major announcements like last summer.

I'm still thinking a Canucks-Sharks West final, but if they would both lose Game 6 on the road, it sure would make things interesting for Game 7. And I'm sure the Bruins and Lightning don't mind the extra wait.