Mustangs Name New President

I'm writing this in my hotel room in Saskatoon as I fly out to Calgary tomorrow for holidays and my sister's wedding. I'm also watching the Canucks get thumped by Chicago this playoff round hasn't disappointed. Family I'll be home soon.

As for the Mustangs the Coach watch continues, we may have a shortlist by late Monday and early Tuesday, This came down before the announcement of Estevan's new coach. 

Here's the release from the team.

"Effective today, the Melfort Mustangs Junior Hockey Association announces that Sean Isberg has been elected  president of the association by the Board of Directors.

The board would like to acknowledge the contribution of Barry Jung to the association.  Barry has dedicated 14 years of volunteering to the association, and announced earlier his intention to step down at the end of this season. Barry will remain a member of the board of directors till the annual meeting in June, 2011.

The decision to name a new president was made as the association is at a critical time of change.  Moving forward into the new season, the board will be hiring a new coach and replacing staff positions which were vacated.  As a result the board felt it a prudent move to have the new president in place to provide leadership and guidance through this period of transition.

“I am honoured to accept the position of President for the Association, and look forward to working with the board in building the franchise for the coming season’, stated Sean Isberg.  “Our focus as a board now will be on the hiring decisions and closing the books on the past season.  I encourage all members of the association to come to our annual meeting later in June for which we should be announcing a date shortly”, added Sean Isberg."

New Coach In Estevan

There's a new bench boss in Estevan and it's not a Larry Wintoneak or Darrell Mann.

Here's the release from the SJHL Website.

"The executive of the Estevan Bruins Junior A Hockey Club is proud to announce Keith Cassidy has been

hired as the team’s new head coach and general manager.

Keith comes to Estevan with a remarkable track record of success in his young coaching career. In five

seasons with both the Selkirk Steelers and Winnipeg Saints of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Keith

guided his club to the league final on four occasions and captured the championship in 2007 with the

Steelers. That year the club also competed in the Royal Bank Cup after defeating the Humboldt Broncos in

a hard fought seven game ANAVET Cup series. Keith also cracked the 40 win plateau on three different

occasions and led his teams to first place in their division four times. He last coached in the 2009-2010

season when he took the Saints to the league final before taking a year off from coaching to tend to his

advertising specialty business in Winnipeg.

Bruins’ President Jeff Pierson says the executive is excited to add a coach of Keith’s calibre to the

organization. Pierson noted the club received over 40 applications but the executive felt that Keith’s prior

success as well as his reputation for player development and getting the most out of his teams made him a

perfect fit for the franchise as it prepares to make the move into Spectra Place next season.

“We received a lot of quality applications but as we went along in the process and got to know Keith it

became clear he embodied everything we were seeking in a head coach,” said Pierson. “We said from the

outset we were seeking someone with a proven track record of success and the ability to develop players

and, as anyone can see by looking at Keith’s record and the success he has had with young lineups, he fits

the bill on both counts. We also felt his business background made Keith well suited to take over the

general manager duties which is also an important aspect of the job.”

The Bruins organization would like to welcome Keith to the Energy City and is looking forward to him

taking over both the head coach and GM roles in the very near future. An introductory press conference

will be held upon Keith’s arrival in Estevan. Further details will be provided when available."

Coaching Record GP W L T OTL PTS Standing

04 – 05 Selkirk Steelers 63 34 23 4 2 74 1st Division

05 – 06 Manitoba Bison (CIS) 28 12 13 3 0 27 2nd Division

06 – 07 Selkirk Steelers 63 49 9 4 1 103 1st League

07 – 08 Selkirk Steelers 62 44 12 0 6 94 1st League

08 – 09 Selkirk Steelers 62 45 17 0 0 90 2nd League

09 – 10 Winnipeg Saints 62 36 19 0 7 79 1st Division

Sports/Life Bucket List

As spring  is here even though there's snow in the forecast and apparently a foot of snow back at home in Alberta and there's no SJHL hockey to talk about with our local teams I guess first congrats to the Wolves for repeating as Credit Union Cup Champs good luck against Portage in the Anavet Cup.

So as I sit here waiting for Holiday in preparation for my sister's wedding I have made a sports/life bucket list as I'm sure a lot of people have one of these too but haven't actually wrote it or its just in their heads here is mine feel free to add to the list if you think I should see it or do it.

1. See the Red Sox/Yankees in Fenway Park
2. Go to the Superbowl
3. Go to the Grey Cup
4. Go to the World Series
5. Go to the Stanley Cup Finals ( I missed it in 2004 and I'm regretting it badly... damn school)
5. See the Final Four
6. Go to Wrestlemania
7. Go to another Olympics (Been to Vancouver but would like to see it in a different country)
8. Go see the Denver Broncos play at Mile High
9. Outbid Dave Hester, Darrell Sheets or Barry Weiss on Storage Wars
10. Go to a UFC Fight in Vegas
11.Go to the World Cup of Soccer wherever but Brazil 2014 would be sick
12. Get Bret Hart to put me in the Sharpshooter
13. Go to an NBA All-star Game/Dunk Competition
14. Serie A Game Inter Milan Vs. My Soccer Team AC Milan
15. Golf Augusta National and see the Masters
16. Visit the Playboy Mansion
17. Watch an Formula 1 Race in Europe

I'm no Jack Nicholson or Morgan Freeman what should be on it send me an e-mail at gino.depaoli@cjvr.com or tweet me @gdp74

I'm Out

GDP

1st Round Playoff Predictions

Just getting ready for hopefully an exciting post season once again, Playoffs in any Sport can't really disappoint here especially last year when Chicago ended their slump of 49 years without the cup.

What will see this year? A year of firsts? Or Maybe just maybe the Stanley Cup comes back to Canada? We'll see starting tomorrow. Let's Get to the picks and might make an enemy or scratched off a Chirstmas Card list.

Western Conference

#1 Vancouver/ #8Chicago

This is my upset and I know I have some friends that love Van City and say this is their year but I think Chicago is better then their position says and I think the curse of the Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith will continue, it will be a hard fought series Chicago in 7.

#2 San Jose/ #7 Los Angeles

I think the Sharks are under the radar for obvious reasons as they can't win in the playoffs but I've got them beating an under-achieving Kings team that in my mind shouldn't have made it and lost twice to Calgary in shootouts shoulda woulda coulda whatever I say the Sharks chomp the Kings in 5

#3 Detroit/ #6 Phoenix

Should be a competitive series but I think the Yotes need to face someone else in the first round to advance besides Detroit, Wings in 6.

#4 Anahiem/ #5 Nashville

Would love this series to go far and maybe see some real competitiveness from the Preds but I think their first round woes continue with a playoff exit as the Ducks in 6.

Eastern Conference

#1 Washington/ #8 New York Rangers

Rematch of a couple of years ago and the only way NYR wins this series is if King Henrik wins four from the Caps, Caps roll the Rangers in 5

#2 Philadelphia/ #7 Buffalo

This series could go seven or it's over in five, It's ending in 5 with the Flyers getting it done, I don't care what people say about Bobrovsky he will be good enough look at Antti Niemi last year had to be brilliant at times not for a series, Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux and Mike Richards will do the rest. Flyers in 5

#3 Boston/ #6 Montreal

Hopefully this is an absolute war worthy of the battles back in the 70's I want seven so I'll predict seven with the B's getting a controversial goal or penalty in their favor. Bruins in 7

#4 Pittsburgh/ #5 Tampa Bay

Crosby vs. Stamkos it's gonna beeeee..... wait a minute Sid isn't there which will lead to a different prediction in a minute but this should have been a showcase like Sid/Ovie in 2009 but Sid out at least for this round, I think this series the wat Dan Bylsma is coaching his crew undermanned they will win in 6 like their first round last year against Ottawa but I hope to see some Stamkos brilliance. Pens in 6

If I get all the series right I'll be shocked but it could happen but here is my prediction for the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup.

Western Conference Final

Hawk/Ducks, Ducks fly over Chi Town

Eastern Conference

Capitals/Flyers, This is Ovie's year

Stanley Cup

Caps/Ducks, The Washington Capitals win the cup they are the number one seed and people will say they can't win in the playoffs... I'll tell you why they will The Caps don't have to face Sidney Crosby or the Habs this should work in their favor as Philly will go through wars to get to the Conference final. It would be nice to see Caps get it this year.

Should be fun buckle up the Playoffs are almost here.

As for the SJHL Final neutral I'm not swinging any vote into any favor but if I prove a theory tonight I'll write something about it tomorrow.

I'm Out

Big News/Poll Results/Ducharme Gets 2 Games

Another Blog post as things are cooling off a little bit as it goes for me but CK750 and CJVR got a big announcement today.

Hockey Canada has officially named us the official Radio Broadcaster for the 2012 RBC Cup next year which is pretty intense for two things, Excitement hockey wise for us for a good chunk of the year and A chance to call a game on the Grandest Stage of them all for Junior A Hockey... I just made a Wrestlemania reference AWESOME.

 We'll be doing a lot of games and hopefully I'll see two teams I know well at this tournament in the Broncos and the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL they are built for next year we'll see what they can do.

On to the poll question I made after the Darrell Mann removal from Melfort and that was where would he go?

Your Choices were

Estevan- 14 Votes

Kindersley- 0 Votes

Alberta or BC League- 3 Votes

Hockey Canada Scout/GM- 1 Vote

Other- 3 Votes

Winner Estevan, I think it's an obvious answer and we'll see what unfolds there with Manner.

On to the SJHL Final and it's been a dandy with Yorkton coming back last night to force game 7 tomorrow in the Mel Hegland Uniplex as the Wolves blew that one kind of like the Terriers did in game 5 so what will unfold remains to be seen, I'm playing the neutral broadcaster card for a winner its too close to call.

Something I'm going to bring up and it drives me nuts is dirty plays that have lead to injuries, case and point Justin Ducharme the kid gets 16 games back in September for a dirty hit, at first you thought he'd learned and was pretty disciplined but then in a situation where the La Ronge Ice Wolves were in the driver's seat to the Anavet Cup, Ducharme runs Curtis Decker into the boards and injures him not sure of his status for tomorrow night but Ducharme get 2 games there.

Does this guy not get the message that there's a championship if you just play smart you win but you took your eye off the prize and could have made things worse if Decker went a different way could have been ugly. Ducharme is becoming a Matt Cooke....Yep I said it,  not looking good for a guy as a rookie that will be watched from now until after his junior career unless he turns things around.

People talk about making the game safer I love physicality/violence/fighting and as they say old time Hockey in the game but hits from behind unacceptable and no one could go after Ducharme after because it was so late in the third like the Weyburn/Kinderlsey series with TJ Wees because of the possibility of a suspension. He should be happy he got a suspension because I know a Brent Remenda would take the liberty to bring some vigilante justice.

Hopefully game seven will see a great finish to a great SJHL Season of course the winner will face the Portage Terriers in the Anavet Cup Final and the winner goes to Camrose for a chance at the RBC Cup. I'm taking the broadcaster neutrality card too close to call, It will come down to who shows up more Marc Andre Carre for La Ronge or Clarke Breitkreuz for Yorkton they are the leaders of this series and they have to continue that should be great.

As I type this Adam "Edge" Copeland is retiring from WWE Great Canadian Wrestler he will be missed could carry a match and that Spear was a great finisher and he'll be a Hall of Famer in no time good luck Edge.

NHL Playoffs start Wednesday so excited for that who's gonna win the cup? I'll tell you my picks for the first round tomorrow and yes there is an upset brewing. Who you may ask the...... WAIT TILL TOMORROW.

I'm Out

GDP

Miami Here I Come??

Well I was disappointed in Wrestlemania 27 but I think 28 is gonna be sick and I think I need to make one of my things to do before I die list come true next year.

Wrestlemania 28 will make 27 feel like a fart with John Cena hopefully pending injury/anything else random that could mess it up against... The Rock, In Miami on the grandest stage of them all. I'd like to be there I'd pay top dollar to do it all the Fan Axcess Tour (That's how they spell access not an error) The Hall of Fame Ceremony and of course the big dance. You know the following will be there

Rock/Cena
Undertaker goes 20-0 against??? Fill in the Blank with a comment
That's enough there for a sell plus maybe we see something new with a great breed of new superstars somehow.

This is a pipe dream right now but I was trying to find flights to Miami but Calenders don't even make it that far so.

So should Gino De Paoli go to Wrestlemania? Give Me a Hell Ya.

I'm taking donations for the journey now

Tweet me gdp74 or drop a comment If ya smell......... you know the rest

GDP

Are You Ready for Some Baseball?

Ah Opening Day how long have I awaited you it's good to see you again.

This is what I'll be watching the majority of the time in the summer except when the Stamps are playing when I'm not golfing or at the gym... Yep my summer is pretty wide open let me know if there's something I should be a part of.

I'll keep this short but I have the same prediction as most Media/Sports Illustrated whatever but I had this a month Red Sox/Phillies World Series and yes my Boys are bring back the hardware.