Josh Martin
S

ports Editor

ith the regular season beginning
on October 6 against the
Pittsburgh Penguins the major

question remains as who will make the
Canucks line-up and who will be left
without a spot. The big name that comes to
mind is Cody Hodgson. Is this guy finally
ready to compete in the NHL? And, if

so, will Coach AV give him some quality
minutes on the power play and perhaps

a few shifts with the Sedin’s (which he
rightfully deserves)? Although he did make
a playoff appearance last season, he only
managed to squander up a single assist in 12
games. That said, among those shifts, how
many was he playing on the fourth line with
guys who aren’t expected to score but to
put the puck deep and get off the ice? Pretty
much all of them. The last thing we want to
see is for Hodgson, our first round pick (10"
overall) in the 2008 NHL draft to wander
down the same path as former Canuck and
first round pick (14" overall) in the 2006
draft, Michael Grabner.

Grabner was in an almost identical
situation with the Canucks, a player with
loads of potential and talent but one who
was never given the chance to prove his
worth. So the Canucks gave up on the
winger and traded him to the Florida
Panthers along with Steve Bernier and a
first round choice in the draft in exchange

    

for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich.
That summer, Grabner attended the Panthers
training camp but failed to make the team
forcing Florida to place the Austrian winger
on waivers in an attempt to sign him to

their affiliate team in the AHL. Two days
later, the New York Islanders nabbed him
off waivers and the rest is simply history.
Grabner went on to score 34 goals and 18
assists in 76 games, ranking him in third
among rookies in scoring which earned

him a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination
for NHL rookie of the year. Following his
successful season, the Islanders signed
Grabner to a five-year $15 million contract
extension. And, just like that, a player went
from almost playing in the AHL to a natural
star player in the NHL on a team that had
the patience and position to give him quality
playing time.

There is also the argument that even
though the Canucks’ gave up on Grabner
that they still seemed to be a dominant force
in the NHL, what with competing in the
Stanley Cup Finals and all, while the NY
Islanders ended up in second-to-last place
in the Eastern Conference. However, it is
always a tough pill to swallow when one of
your former players goes on to another team
and contributes in a very positive way. The
only way to avoid the same path with Cody
Hodgson is if AV gives him the ice time
to show off his potential and talent. If not,
well, he could be racking up points on an
opposing team in the near future.

   

 

 

 

Coming off the bye week

BC Lions are optimistic

By David Hollinshead

nother CFL season has come upon
A= and to say our hometown B.C.

Lions have stumbled out of the gate
would be generous. The Lions are one game
above what their abysmal record was a year
ago, but there is reason for optimism. After
going a perfect 2-0 in the preseason, a huge
accomplishment I know, the Lions came out
absolutely flat against their first opponents,
the Montreal Alouettes, in a game that
wasn’t as close as the scoreboard made it
seem.

Montreal had a 27-10 lead at halftime
after burning Lions cornerback Davis
Sanchez several times, and left the offence
looking anemic. The defence really stepped
it up in the second half, holding Montreal to
only three second half points and bringing
the Lions within four points in the fourth
quarter. Even the most optimistic Lion’s
fans couldn’t have felt as though we were
going to win as coach Wally Buono made a
questionable call to attempt a long field goal
instead of going for it on third down. The
home-opener saw the Lions in a shootout
with the Calgary Stampeders, ultimately
unable to keep up with them in the third
quarter, as the Stamps put up 21 points
to the Lions 14. The game ended 34-32,
with QB Travis Lulay showing some of
that potential superstar ability at times,
and his inexperience at others, giving the
Leos several chances to win the game, and
having it slip through their fingers in a
heartbreaker.

With receiver Nick Moore, who scored
the only offensive touchdown against
Montreal out of the lineup with a knee
injury, Dobson Collins, a rookie who the
Lion’s coaching staff was high on, made
only two catches for 51 yards, including
a huge 45 yard play that showed promise.
However, SB Shawn Gore stole the show
with seven catches for 96 yards. The rest
of the season continued on like that, the
only game the Leos were blown out of
was against high flying Edmonton with
the score being 33-17. Due to an injury to
starting HB Stanley Franks, the inconsistent
Dobson Collins being cut, and with star
Paris Jackson still nursing a knee injury,
the Lions went out and signed recently cut
HB Tad Kournegay, who was the key in the
Saskatchewan Roughriders defense during

their two Grey Cup runs, and traded for
controversial receiver Arland Bruce. With
Kournegay, the Lions were able to defeat
his former team at home and get their first
win of the year 24-11. The acquisition of
Arland Bruce didn’t help the Lions the
next week, as the Leos again showed an
anemic offence against the Winnipeg Blue
Bombers, resulting in Travis Lulay getting
pulled for backup Jarious Jackson, who
didn’t fare any better as the Leos were run
over 30-17. The next week though, the Leos
faced their division rivals Edmonton again
and absolutely blew them out of the water,
giving Lion’s fans reason for optimism with
a 36-1 victory. With the Eskies receiving
core depleted by injuries, forcing them to
sign ex-Lions Dobson Collins and Ryan
Grice-Mullen, Ricky Ray threw three
interceptions as the’ Lions newly minted
receivers Arland Bruce had nine receptions
for 129 yards and two touchdowns and
Kierre Johnson had six receptions for 84
yards and Lulay bouncing back going 22 for
37 with 343 yards and four touchdowns.
The Lions come out of the bye week
to play back to back games against the
Toronto Argonauts, who sport the same
record as the Leos, but aren’t regarded
as highly of a team. If the Leos can win
both games against the Argos, which is
completely plausible, they’re in alright
shape at 4-6, hopefully giving some room
from the Roughriders and Argos in terms
of standings and playoff position, while
gaining room on Edmonton. The once shaky
receiving corps is now deep with talent
as Akeem Foster and Shawn Gore have
stepped up as solid options for Lulay in
the coming years. Then there’s superstars
Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce demanding
extra coverage, and Kierre Johnson showing
upside if he solidifies himself in the
starting receiver role with a couple more
good showings. RB Jamaal Robertson is
also starting to find his grove, though he
struggled at the beginning of the season,
and is now averaging over five yards a
carry. The defense had a mid-season switch
from a 3-4 to a 4-3, moving Korey Banks
from linebacker to his natural spot at weak
side HB, kicking the versatile Ryan Phillips
out to cornerback, and the transition seems
to have worked, and covered up for lack of
depth. We’ll keep a close eye on the Lions
and see where they go from here.

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