Sports


Connor Hellebuyck: Vezina Trophy Winner? T


he votes are in – there will be a new Vezina Trophy recipient for the 2017-18 season. On April 17th, the National Hockey League announced that Winnipeg’s


Connor Hellebuyck had been named a Vezina Trophy finalist – an annual award presented to the league’s top goaltender. Alongside Hellebuyck is Nashville’s Pekka Rinne and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy. Over the course of the past season, the three finalists


have each proven exemplary for their respective teams – all deserving of goal tending's great- est individual award. Te four main statistical cat-


Carter Brooks


egories in question when ranking a backstop for the Vezina Trophy are wins, shutouts, goals-against- average and save percentage. Of course, other stats such as games started and finished, shots faced, saves made, regulation victories, time shorthanded, and the net- minder's overall supporting cast play a role in the decision, but in the end, it simply comes down to stopping pucks and winning games. Since the NHL's transition to


resolving tie games by way of a five-minute period of sudden-


death overtime and a three-round shootout, some of these aforementioned statistics may appear inflated, and others punitive. For those armchair general managers sitting in the basement juxtaposing numbers in NHL record books from 1968 to 2018, you are kindly asked to compare some- thing of greater relevance... say gas prices from 1968 to 2018 – and don't forget to convert your 1968 imperial gallons to 2018 metric litres while you’re at it. By Te Numbers: Connor Hellebuyck: 44-11-9, 2.36 GAA, .924 SP, six


shutouts. Hellebuyck set the all-time NHL wins record (44) for


American-born NHL goaltenders, and tied the record of 30 home victories in a single season. He led Winnipeg to 114 points – good for second place league-wide. Andrei Vasilevskiy: 44-17-11, 2.62 GAA, .920 SP, eight


shutouts. Vasilevskiy set a Tampa Bay franchise record, passing


Nikolai Khabibulin for the most shutouts (eight) in a single season. Vasilevskiy earned seven shutouts before February. Pekka Rinne: 42-13-12, 2.31 GAA, .927 SP, eight shutouts. Rinne did not set any records this past season, but per- formed exceptionally well, with unparalleled numbers


Connor Hellbuyck is up for a Vezina Trophy for his efforts this year.


in the second half. As anticipated, the Predators and Jets met up in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs – a potential Vezina Trophy showdown. Rinne made 1,706 saves in 59 games, while Hellebuyck


stopped 1,892 pucks in 67 contests. Vasilevskiy was the busiest, turning aside 1,908 shots in 65 games. Hellebuyck led the league in minutes-played with 3,966, and allowed just 38 power play goals against. Rinne gave up 40, while Vasilevskiy allowed 44. Unfortunately, playoff performance does not come into


play when determining the best goaltender of the season. So Hellebuyck’s back-to-back shutouts in the opening round, and his 163-minute goalless streak were not put into consideration. Although youth typically dominate the Hart and Art Ross Trophy races, something has to be said of Rinne's ability to


roster. From Henry Janzen to Norm


Rauhaus and from Nick Miller to Steve Patrick, this was Win- nipeg’s team. In fact, Winnipeg has won


the Grey Cup 10 times (1935, 1939, 1941, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1984, 1988, 1990), and on every team there were at least three Winnipeggers. Even by 1990, long after CFL rosters had become dominated by the national entry draft and international scouting, the Bombers had Chris Walby, Stan Mikawos and John Yule. It just seems that without at


Manitoba’s team again W


hen the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won the 1959 Grey Cup, there were 18 Winnipeggers on the


perform at arguably the highest level of his career at age 35. Both Vasilevskiy (23) and Hellebuyck (24) should expect to be in the running for the Vezina in future years. But with Rinne significantly closer to his farewell tour than the latter two, one may suggest Rinne picks up the prize. His save percentage and goals-against-average were tops


in the league, and he was tied with Vasilevskiy for first with eight shutouts. Rinne had two fewer wins than Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy, but then again, he started significantly fewer contests than his competition. Whether Connor Hellebuyck hears his name called


at the 2018 NHL Awards show in Vegas this June or not, nothing can take away the success that he found between the pipes this past season. Maybe, just maybe, a Vezina Trophy snub could be the best thing for the 24-year-old. Motivation is key.


ers have the horses – and the Winnipeggers – to win the CFL’s big prize. During the off-season, Winnipeg GM


Kyle Walters went out and signed RB Kien- an Lafrance and SB Nic Dem- ski. For most CFL fans, those weren’t blockbuster signings, although Lafrance did play on a Grey Cup winner with the 2016 Ottawa RedBlacks. Both players are still relatively young Canadian backs who are skilled and dedicated, but not what a TSN play-by-play expert might call, “a game changer.” However, they are both solid


Scott Taylor


least three Winnipeggers on the roster, the Bombers can’t win a Grey Cup. Which brings us to 2018. Te Blue Bombers have not won a Cup


since that 1990 team massacred Edmonton 50-11, but there really is a belief that this year, after 28 often ugly seasons, the Bomb-


Professional soccer coming back to


Winnipeg 12 Manitoba Post


CFL players who are known as great teammates and are defi- nitely expected to contribute to the Bombers offence and special teams this season. Tey are also Winnipeggers


who will join two other Winnipeggers – Tomas Miles and Andrew Harris – and give the Bombers that local flavour that has resulted in past Grey Cup wins. Now, let’s not be silly. It’s important that there is a local flavour on the Blue Bombers.


scheduled for June 6, when the Winnipeg Football Club – who will own the team - will provide more details on the team who will call Investors Group Field home. It’s expected that the team will unveil their name, logo, colours, and ticket prices dur- ing the announcement. The Canadian Soccer Association ap-


I


proved the membership of the CPL and founding cities Hamilton and Winnipeg at the 2017 Annual Meeting of Members in May 2017. Aside from Winnipeg, the league is also confirmed to have teams in Surrey,


t’s been 26 years, but soccer fans in Win- nipeg will have a new team to cheer for in 2019. An official announcement is


After all, this team means a great deal to football players who were born and raised here. Maybe they will give it that little bit extra, in a tough situation, that can change a team’s playoff fortunes. Who knows? Still, Walters did not sign Lafrance and


Demski because they’re Winnipeggers, but because they’re good football players. However, the fact they are coming home to play says a lot about the thinking in the front office. It’s rare for a CFL team to sign two local stars in a single off-season. “As soon as there was a deal, my agent


and my family and I decided it was the best fit for me,” Demski said. “It was a no- brainer decision for me. “It wasn’t about coming home. It was


about what kind of offence is run here. My skill set will be great in this offence. I’m excited.” Demski played his high school football at


Oak Park and became a star on a University of Manitoba Bisons team that became a Vanier Cup contender. He was a four-time All-Canadian and when he was selected by Saskatchewan in the CFL draft, he was the No. 5-ranked Canadian university player. In three seasons with the Riders, he played 40 games and had 69 receptions


Calgary, York Region, Hamilton and Hali- fax with an expected 8-10 teams to be ready when the league debuts in 2019. It’s Winnipeg’s second foray into the


world of professional soccer. Te Winnipeg Fury played in the now defunct Canadian Soccer League from 1987-1992, winning the final CSL Championship in 1992 before the league shut down. Te new club adds another professional sports team to Win- nipeg, joining the Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The announcement comes just two


weeks before the 2018 World Cup, which is set to take place in Russia June 14th to July 15th.


www.manitobapost.com


for 725 yards and three touchdowns. More importantly, he returned 84 punts for 729 yards and a touchdown. Lafrance, meanwhile hasn’t played foot-


ball all that long. In fact, he played his first game as a 15-year-old bantam with the St. James Rods. After a year in bantam football, he moved on the Silver Heights Collegiate and then, of course with the amalgamation, he played for Sturgeon Heights and played on the 2008 Winnipeg High School Football League championship team. After that, it was off to the Rifles for two years and then he played four seasons with the Bisons. “Coming back home is really nice,” said


Lafrance. “Te opportunities that Winni- peg has here and the Bombers’ organiza- tion played into my decision. Tere were definitely some options for out there, but I felt that this was the best fit.” Indeed. Make no mistake, the Bombers do not


win Grey Cups without Winnipeggers on the roster and when training camp opens later this month, they’ll have four good ones. With Thomas Miles and Andrew Harris, Kienan Lafrance and Nic Demski just might be the keys to unlocking a vault containing 28 years of sorrow.


David Clanachan was named the CPL’s


first commissioner in early January and the 55-year-old former COO of Tim Hortons Inc. said at the announcement that he’s excited about what this league could do for years to come. “It’s an absolute honour to have been


selected as Commissioner of the CPL and to lead the ground-breaking team that ushers in this exciting new era of Canadian profes- sional soccer across the country. Soccer is a lifelong passion of mine – as I know it is for countless Canadians – and the CPL will not only fuel Canada’s love for soccer, but it will also cultivate a new generation of players, coaches, officials and business leaders.”


June 2018


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16