issue 03 / volume 41

Vancouver deserves another hockey team

» With all the expansion talk, the question is: why not Vancouver?

Dustin Simmonds
The Peak (NUW)

t’s that time of the year when
hockey will soon be upon us,
and it just wouldn't be right if we
didn’t start off with some good ol’

fashioned rumours.

The latest rumour is that
by 2017, the NHL will have
added four more franchises to
the league, and even though
the league has officially denied
it, sports commentators are

already busy talking about where :
: streak in the NHL. Though

: Toronto’s Air Canada Centre can
: hold an extra 1,000 people, this is :
: still an impressive feat. :

these four teams may appear.
According to the experts, the
next expansion will feature the
return of hockey to Quebec City

and a second team in the Greater :
: are also holding steady, with the
: fourth most-valuable team in the
: NHL, currently valued at around
: $700 million. Though, normally,
: fourth place is nothing to write

: home about, it’s worth noting

: that the three teams leading

: the pack are all members of the

: Original Six, and that Vancouver
: is only $150-million out of second :
: place. This goes to show how

: profitable a team in Vancouver

: is, and would continue to be in

: the future. Despite only being in
: the NHL since 1970, the Canucks
: have managed to produce one

: of the highest revenues, and

: they've done it without winning a
: haven’t won anything since there
: were more than six teams in the
: league.

Toronto Area, along with new
teams in Seattle and Las Vegas.

First of all, I don’t
understand why Las Vegas needs
a hockey team. Putting a team
in the middle of the desert has
not gone well so far: the newly
rebranded Arizona Coyotes,
for instance, are still struggling
financially and are currently
relying on a taxpayer subsidy to
stay afloat, all amidst continued
relocation rumours.

On the other hand, the
nostalgic fan in me loves the
idea of Quebec returning to the
NHL—after all, my first NHL
game was the Canucks hosting

Guy LaFleur and the Nordiques at :

the Coliseum. As for Seattle, the
addition of another team that’s

: actually in the Pacific Northwest
: might provide the Canucks with
: a true rival. (The Flames and the
: Oilers already have the battle of
: Alberta to worry about.)

But if we really want to

: provide the Canucks witha

: decent rivalry, why not go one

: step further? If Toronto can

: supposedly support a second

: NHL franchise, why not

: Vancouver? Both teams are

: known for their capacity crowds
: but it should be noted that the

: Canucks currently hold the

longest active consecutive sellout

Financially, the Canucks

championship.
Another reason why

: Vancouver would make an

: excellent destination for

: an expansion team is the

: infrastructure. With apologies to
: Giants fans, the Pacific Coliseum
: could easily be upgraded in

: order for NHL hockey to return.

: While smaller than the Canucks
: home across town, the Coliseum
: still has the capacity to seat just

: over 16,000 hockey fans, which

: is something the Giants only

: managed to approach a handful

: of times last year, with their

: average capacity being 38.5 per

: cent. For those of you who think
: that 16,000 is too small a number,
: consider that the Winnipeg Jets’
: MLS Centre seats 1,000 less than

that.
Asecond franchise in

: Vancouver would come with

: aready-made set of fans,

: consisting of those who feel

: betrayed by the Canucks’ high

: ticket prices, those who have

: been on the waiting list for

: seemingly ever, or those who are
: just tired of having a team that

: has not yet been able to deliver a
: single championship.

Who knows? Maybe we

: could even name the new team

: the Millionaires and see if they

: could pull off a repeat of 1915 and
: finally deliver Lord Stanley’s Cup
: to the city.

Alternatively, we could just

: be like Toronto who brag about

their glory days even though they

sports // 19

 

Royals soccer on a roll

» Men’s and women’s teams secure Sunday wins

Michael Sopow
Contributor

| weekend (September
13-14) the Douglas College

Royals’ men’s and women’s soccer :

teams played their fourth and
fifth games of the season. Both
squads had strong showings,
with the women’s squad—a
dominating presence so far this

season—continuing their current :
: their offensive players, creating

undefeated run with two wins,

taking down the Vancouver Island

University Mariners on Saturday
before defeating the Capilano
University Blues. The men’s team
lost a closely fought game on
Saturday, but revived their spirit
with a convincing win on Sunday
over Capilano.

Sunday’s women’s game
started off with good offensive
pressure from both sides of the
field as both teams eagerly looked
for a win in the day’s match. In
the early moments of the game
it was hard to distinguish who
had the upper hand as with each
moment played it seemed to be a

: back-and-forth game, both teams :
: having unsuccessful chances

: on either end of the pitch. The

: first half of the game the Royals
: began to pick up the game’s

: pace with some great offensive
pressure in the Blues’ half, having }
: many great chances but being
: unable to capitalize on them. The :
: Royals’ defensive efforts were also :
: notable as they stood firm under
: the Blues’ efforts to score while

keeping the ball circulating to

numerous chances.
As a spectator, you could

: see the drive of both side’s

: players to win as the match

: continued after a hard-fought,

: but scoreless, first half with both
: teams getting right back into

: it. The Royals once again began

: to take to the offensive against

: the Blues with some great speed
: and agility. This continuation of
: the pressure generated by the

: Royals eventually led to a goal by
: Douglas College’s Hayley Melvin
: in the dying minutes to take the

: lead 1-0, and the ensuing victory.

The Royals’ men’s soccer

team started their game with

: asimilar feel as both teams

: instantly began to push hard right
: from kickoff. In the first half, the

: game was seemingly close with

: both sides having many chances

at goal, though within no time,

: the Royals began to shift the pace

of the game. In the 33rd minute,
great team perseverance and

: the individual offensive efforts

: of Mark Baldisimo led the Blues
: toconcede the first goal of the

: game.

Soon after, another goal was

: scored by Jadin Sandhu as they

: went up 2-0 before the end of

: the first half. Following the half,
: the Royals continued to look

: as strong as ever with another

: goal in the 57 minute by Mark

: Baldisimo as they secured what
: already seemed to bea solid

: victory over Capilano. As the

: game came toa close, the Blues
: managed to score a penalty kick
: off of a handball, but the sparks
: were quickly put out as the Royals
: proceeded to score another goal
: late to add salt in the wound.

: Final score: 4-1 Douglas College.

al
a.)

 

- “f By gst Wilkins