March 24, 2008 Douglas Royals win National Championships By Tristan Noble year. From start to finish they have been the top team in the CCAA (Canadian Colleges Athletic Association) and went 18-0 during the regular season and the provincial championships. This triumph is also particularly satisfying to veteran Royals players. They lost in the finals of last season’s National Championships 94-84 to Montreal’s Dawson College Blues. The Royals’ head coach Jamie Oie just keeps on adding to his already impressive resume. During his three-season tenure at the helm of Douglas’ men’s basketball program, Oie has guided the team to first and second place finishes in the prestigious National Canadian Championship tournament. Oie does have a positive history at Nationals, in 1998 and 1999 with Langara College as a player, Oie won gold both times. The wins at Nationals pushed the Royals’ perfect season to 21-0. While that record is indeed remarkable, when you consider the sheer talent on the Royals’ roster, it really isn’t that surprising. First and foremost they have Bol Kong, the Sudanese superstar who has become a YouTube sensation with his incredible highlights receiving thousands of views. Then they have Sturgeon, the 6’6 fifth year senior born in Port Alberni. who is undisputed anchor of the team. Those are the top end talents of the team. The Douglas basketball team has ten seniors who are graduating from L, one of their best seasons of all time, the Douglas College Royals men’s basketball team capped everything off in perfect fashion recently with a victory in the National Championships in St. Lambert, Quebec. The Royals defeated the Mount St. Vincent University Mystics 70-62 in the final game. It was a clash of the undefeated champions (the Mystics had won the Atlantic Championship), and really came right down to the wire. The game was tight all the way through, with Douglas holding slight leads throughout the affair. However, Mount St. Vincent stormed back in the fourth quarter with styming defense and pinpoint accuracy to knot the score at 52-52 with approximately three minutes remaining. The outcome seemed in doubt at that point, that is, until Graeme McCallum played the superhero role, scoring 10 consecutive points, including a game-breaking three pointer with a minute and thirty-five seconds left on the clock to seal the National Championship title for Douglas. It is the first such National crown in Douglas’s history. McCallum was presented with the tournament’s MVP award, while Andrew Sturgeon, the 2007 BCCAA and all-Canadian player of the year, and top pro-prospect Bol Kong were nominated to the tournament’s first all- star team. Billy McNutt was chosen for the second all- star team. two of them for next year. It has been an unbelievable season for the Royals this the College this season, and Oie has hopes of re-signing Where Are They Now? By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor Gilbert Perreault Perreault, 57, was the savior of the Buffalo Sabres after they drafted him first overall in 1970. Nowadays, after retiring in 1987, Perreault has coached a number of teams in the QMJHL and has been active with the Buffalo Sabers alumni. Perreault was originally planning to retire from hockey after the 1986 season, but he changed his mind when the NHLPA reached an agreement with the owners to boost the pension plan funds when the 1987 season started. Perreault played 20 games during 1987 before calling it quits. His #11 was retired by the Sabres, and, by wearing it his entire career, along with being the Sabres’ first ever draft pick, he is the only player in franchise history to wear the digit. In 1990, Perreault was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. During his 17-season career, he had amassed 512 goals, 814, assists and 1326 points. Dale T allon While Perreault went first overall in the 1970 draft to the Sabres, the Canucks chose Tallon second. The freewheeling defenseman, 57, was Vancouver’s first ever draft pick, but he didn’t exactly have the same impact here that Perreault had with Buffalo. Tallon played ten years in the NHL with Vancouver, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins. After hanging up the skates, Tallon went to work with Chicago as a broadcaster. Ever since his retirement, Tallon has worked for the Blackhawks in some capacity. In 1998, he took over as the team’s director of player personnel, a position he held until 2002. From 2003 until 2005, he was the squad’s assistant general manager. Since 2005, Tallon has been the GM of the Blackhawks. Jamie McLennan One of the most well traveled players ever to suit up, the goalie they call “Noodles,” 36, is currently playing in Japan for the Nippon Paper Cranes of the Asia League Ice Hockey. So far, McLennan has been a member of seven NHL teams. During the 2004 lockout, he went to Great Britain to play. After being unable to find NHL employment during the off-season, McLennan signed with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League. He would only play in Russia for five weeks before leaving for Japan. When McLennan eventually returns to the NHL—goalies of his caliber are tough to find—he will have to sit out the first four games. During a playoff game with the Flames against the Detroit Red Wings last season, McLennan earned himself a five game suspension for a slash on Johan Franzen. Lanny McDonald It took McDonald, 55, 16 seasons and three teams to win a Stanley Cup, but he finally did, as the captain of the Calgary Flames. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Flames retired his #9 sweater. Since his retirement, McDonald has stayed in the Calgary area and has taken on the jobs of director of player personnel and general manager for the Canadian national men’s hockey team and has been active in charitable games for the Oldtimers Hockey Association. McDonald’s main focus today is spending time with his family. Him and his wife of 30 years have four children and two grandchildren. He’s also had his trademark thick moustache parlayed in the Calgary Sun’s cartoons. 21