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PORTS, Badminton domination for Douglas College

Provincial championship for the Royals

the dynastic Royals.

Zhang became the national single’s champion with a superb win over George Brown College’s Tim Chiu. Zhang’s singles title is the third time Douglas had provided a men’s national badminton champion. He won in two sets.

Huang was equally dominant on the women’s side. She was crowned the women’s national champion over Sun Yang, who comes from the host Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Huang, who hasn’t lost a single set since arriving at Douglas, didn’t leave anyone in doubt of who was in charge of the match as she handled Yang easily in two sets.

With the badminton season now wrapped up, Douglas fans should really sit back and think about just how amazing this accomplishment is. Because it’s badminton,

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor these athletes don’t get the recognition that they deserve. Douglas now has national

ell, at least some people from Douglas got it right. In the wake of a champions in every area possible at

string of disappointing performances Badminton, and it is long past due that that in men’s basketball and volleyball, ark is properly appreciated.

the Douglas College Royals dominated on Vancouver Island at the badminton provincials, and brought home the Provincial championship banner.

The Royals scored big in every area. They won the overall team event with an undefeated 5-0 mark, and were unstoppable along the way. They won 19 games in their five matches, while their opponents managed to take just six the other way. Douglas also produced the men’s and women’s singles tournament champions, as Shawn Zhang and Lynn Huang both swept their way gold for Douglas.

It got even sweeter for the Royals as they entered March and headed off to Alberta for the national championships. The B.C. champions entered the competition as the number one ranked national squad and showed exactly why they earned that distinction. The round robin team competition didn’t even begin to test the Royals as they carved out a perfect 5-0 record.

In one of the most under- recognized sports in college athletics, the success of the Royals has been truly astonishing. Their national championship this year in Edmonton was the fifth straight national championship victory for

Sad

Shawn rae

Alvin Lau of the Royals

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Hodgson for Turris? Sometimes a change of scenery is the best thing for players who have experienced the difficulty that these two have with their respective organizations.

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

hings were looking so good. | Cody Hodgson was back in

the Brampton Battalion line- up, his long-suffering back finally healed and no longer causing him problems. Rumours of a widening rift between the Hodgson family and the Vancouver Canucks drifted away and everyone surrounding the Canucks was more than pleased to see the tenth overall pick from the 2008 draft exceed expectations by putting up eight goals, 12 assists and 20 points for the Battalion in just 13 games. Yes, things were looking brilliant. Then however, the seemingly endless Cody Hodgson circus took another turn when the 20 year old broke his right foot just three games into his comeback. The injury initially went undetected, with Brampton doctors diagnosing instead just a deep bone bruise. However, recent x-rays have proven that Hodgson has indeed fractured the foot and will miss an unspecified amount of time.

While the injury isn’t expected to be serious, it did bring to light that the tension between the Canucks and Hodgson does undoubtedly still exist. Hodgson, who saw his stock rocket to dizzying heights last year when he led the World Junior Championships in scoring and was named CHL Player of the Year before it plunged this season due to his back injury, told reporters that joining the Canucks’ AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose when his junior season concludes is by no means a guarantee, and isn’t even on his mind. He played 11 playoff games for Manitoba last season when Brampton was eliminated from the OHL post-season, scoring twice and adding four assists in limited ice time as the Moose made a dramatic run to the Calder Cup finals. It is common practice for top prospects still playing junior to join up with their NHL team’s AHL club for a playoff run.

The sad fact is, with everything that has happened, it might be time for Vancouver to part ways with Hodgson. That would certainly be a sad situation considering how high expectations have been for the

center since he was the final cut at training camp two years ago. There’s no question that Canucks’ GM

Mike Gillis would expect to get a considerable return if he were to deal Hodgson, and one interesting name that comes to mind is Kyle Turris, the third overall pick from 2007 by the Phoenix Coyotes.

Turris has been in a similar situation with Phoenix. He was lauded by Wayne Gretzky a franchise cornerstone when the Great One ran the Coyotes, but also has seen his stock take a hit recently.

Coming out of the University of Wisconsin two years ago, Turris, the New Westminster native, didn’t exactly live up to the hype when he scored just eight goals and 20 points in 63 games for Phoenix last year. He struggled to keep up physically and as the season wore on he was a healthy scratch more and more often, and his ice time when he was in the line-up dwindled to third and fourth line status.

This year, Turris has found himself skating not for the Coyotes but instead for their AHL farm team, the San Antonio Rampage, where he’s put up solid, but not spectacular, numbers.

There’s no doubt that both Hodgson and Turris are outstanding prospects who have both hit unexpected bumps in the road on their development paths. Both are projected to be first line all-stars at the NHL level and both are expected to turn into leaders for their respective teams. Maybe swapping them isn’t such a bad idea. Sometimes a change of scenery is the best thing for players who have experienced the difficulty that these two have with their respective organizations.

Hodgson may be considered a slightly better prospect, but its razor thin between the two. Turris already has a wealth of pro experience, he also starred for Canada at the World Juniors and unlike Hodgson, he’s yet to suffer any serious injuries. Turris has shown at several levels that he’s an offensive genius and a wizard with the puck. The Canucks wouldn’t be getting a bum if they pursued this deal. It should be something to think about.