Mailbag: Greetings from Kelowna

Let's dive into your questions after some rambling about hikes and peace of mind.

It’s going to come back and bite me later tonight, but I’ve always enjoyed the first day of traveling from Eastern to Pacific time zone.

This morning I was up around 5 am locally here in Kelowna, I actually slept-in about an hour from my typical 7 am ET wake-up time, and was able to sneak in a two-hour hike this morning, met a family of deer on the way, and took some time to sit on a bench and just look at the city and lake from the top of a small mountain before grabbing breakfast.

It’s one of my favorite parts about traveling for work, especially at this time of year, sneaking in a hike somewhere and getting to disconnect a little bit.

As someone who lives and works in a connection-driven business, it’s hard not to spend a ton of time looking at a screen when you work in media, those moments, I believe make me a better writer and person. It lets me reflect, it lets me get lost at times, and sometimes when my brain goes blank, other creativity starts flowing.

For example, a couple months back, soon after I got the news that All City was letting me go from DLLS, I was taking a walk by myself, not thinking about work or hockey, and had the idea to text Robert Tiffin about finding a way to build something. Two months later, I’m pretty damn proud of Algorithmically Incorrect Hockey and we will be recording Episode 9 tomorrow and have another great guest lined up.

That’s kind of how my brain works, for better or worse. It’s scattered and chaotic most of the time, an odd stream of consciousness outside of writing that I often struggle to communicate others.

But when I take those pauses in life, either within a moment, or sneaking out on a hike to look at a lake, like I did this morning, everything becomes a bit clearer.

Hope that makes sense.

Any ways, I’m in Kelowna for the next week covering the Memorial Cup for Elite Prospects. This is one of my favorite tournaments and the second one I’ve gotten to cover in person after the 2024 Memorial Cup in Saginaw. I love the cultural collision of each of the CHL leagues, the different playing styles and cross-over of champions from three different circuits, in my view it’s the closest thing we have in North American hockey to the Champions League.

Tonight, the QMJHL champions, the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, play the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers.

In the meantime, let’s get to some mailbag questions:

Has there been any impact on the quality of junior hockey since the ncaa ruling that would allow juniors to play division 1 hockey (From Greg)

This is only Year 1 of new world order where CHL players are eligible to play in the NCAA, and while the CHL lost some big names this season — Gavin McKenna and Porter Martone, for example — I believe in the long run the CHL is going to benefit from the new path.

JP Hurlbert, for example, had 97 points this season for the Kamloops Blazers and only played in the WHL because the new ruling wouldn’t hurt his future status at University of Michigan. I think there will be talent flowing both ways, and while the CHL is going to get a little bit younger in my view, I don’t think any talk of the CHL’s demise is realistic.

Thoughts on the playoff format resulting in such an exciting Western Conference Finals? I guess the most exciting first round in sports is worth it. (From Ged)

Ged is obviously using some sarcasm here with the Vegas Golden Knights currently up 3-0 against the Colorado Avalanche.

I don’t like the NHL playoff format because, in my mind, it devalues the regular season. You play 82 games to determine standings and seedings, and in my view, you should have a system in place that reflects that. The Vegas Golden Knights reached the Western Conference Final having played the teams ranked, points-wise, sixth and seventh in the conference.

I don’t blame Vegas for their path, but they were more rewarded by virtue of division than three teams that had double-digit more points than them in the Wild, Stars, and Avalanche.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are all about chaos, beautiful chaos, but I’d like us to go back to 1 through 8 with a re-seed to put more value on the regular season.

How would you evaluate Gulutzan’s first season as coach? How much falls on him and his system as it relates to the lack of offence created in the playoffs? (From Ben)

Glen Gulutzan’s first season really requires a deep look under the hood, and honestly, it’s something I’d like to dive into once I get through the end of the Memorial Cup.

But, in the short-term, I think Gulutzan’s coaching was passable, but not elite. He did a better job connecting with players on a human level, but wasn’t able to carry over some of the Xs and Os that Pete DeBoer was better equipped for.

Let me give you a deeper dive and proper answer later this week or early next with some video.

In case the Stars ponder the unexpected as far as roster changes go, what do you think they could get for Casey DeSmith? Or could Poirer use more seasoning in Cedar Park before trading DeSmith at the TDL? (From Timothy)

I think trading Casey DeSmith would be a horrible decision.

$1 million back-up goalies that put up numbers like he has are hard to find, and I think it’s become clear that Jake Oettinger needs to be pushed by a veteran goalie. I struggle to find any return for DeSmith that would be worth the negative impact of removing him from the equation.

Remi Poirer, it should be noted, has made some nice strides. But I want his play this coming season to force the Stars hand and prove to us he can win the back-up job for the following season.

Do you find it odd Jake did not play in the worlds? He wants to be team USA goalie why not go play? (From Michael)

I don’t blame Jake Oettinger for not going to worlds, if anything I think it was the right decision because his body has been overworked and needed a long summer to recover for next season.

I also don’t think World Championships are, nor should they be, used to identify which players represent a country when it comes time to best-on-best competition. It’s a fun tournament, one I’d like to cover some day, but with the nature of where it fits on the hockey calendar I think it should be reserved for players that missed the Stanley Cup playoffs or younger prospects using it as a springboard.

First a food rec: do yourself a favor Sean and get a sandwich at Woodfire Bakery.

Book dinner at Cedar Creek Winery.

Lastly, any information on Maxim Mayorov and the Stars’ plans for him next season? Will he remain in KHL? (From Chris)

Thank you for the food recommendations, I will check out Woodfire Bakery for lunch on Thursday and report back!

I will also ask about Mayorov, as of right now I don’t have a proper answer for you.

With the official kickoff to grilling season upon us, what’s the best condiment combination for a hotdog? And also in your opinion, what’s a big no-no? (From Ed)

I like mustard and ketchup together on my hotdog, I realize I’m about to get some hate for that.

On the flip side, I think the beauty of hot dogs, and grilling, is that there are no big “no-nos” when it comes to food. As someone who spends a lot of time smoking meat in the offseason, we did a brisket two weekends ago, I think it’s good to have an open mind on this stuff.