Kane shows he's able to play in the NHL

Evander Kane is as good as gone from the Vancouver Giants.
The 18-year-old winger, drafted fourth overall by Atlanta in last summer's NHL draft, has three points in his first five games with the Thrashers. If the Vancouver native plays 10 games in the NHL, the first year of his entry-level NHL contract will kick in, making it unlikely that he will return to major junior hockey.
If he only plays nine games, he can go back to junior without having salary cap implications. Because of his age, he is ineligible to play in the minors.
But Kane ranks among Atlanta's leaders in scoring, shots and ice time, so it appears that his days in the WHL are over.
Centre James Wright, 19, who played with Kane on Vancouver's top line last season, has also stuck with Tampa, at least for the time being. He has been much less productive with the Lightning, but the Saskatoon native's chances of returning to the WHL also appear unlikely.
"I consider those guys NHL players now," Giants general manager Scott Bonner told the Vancouver Province. "I am moving forward as if they have moved on.
"It's never easy, but you learn to deal with it. Early graduation, as well as injuries, are two of the uncontrollable parts to managing in the WHL."
The next question: Will Atlanta will free up Kane to play for Canada again at the world junior championships?

Leaf story gets a lot of play

Here's a link to a story that I wrote for The Canadian Press on former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf, who's now living and working in Vancouver.
The piece has been getting a lot of play on the blogosphere in the past couple of days. Just do a Google search on Ryan Leaf and Vancouver. You'll see what I mean.

http://tinyurl.com/yg55uhu

Benn scores first NHL goal before friends and family

Jamie Benn picked a good time to score his first NHL goal.
Benn, a Victoria native playing an NHL game in his home province, scored before a lot of family and friends as his Dallas Stars fell 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout at General Motors Place.
“It means a lot,” said Benn of his first NHL tally. “I had a lot of friends and family here so it was a good time to get the goal, too . . . It took me four games to get it but hopefully I’ll start rolling from here.”
Benn tied the game 3-3 with only 1:33 left in regulation time as he converted a goal-mouth pass from Stephane Robidas. The rookie picked up where he left off in Vancouver last season, when he helped his Kelowna Rocket oust the junior Giants en route to a WHL title and berth in the Memorial Cup final.
The goal helped the Stars roll back from a late 3-2 deficitadline to force overtime and a shootout before Ryan Kesler netted the shootout winner for the Canucks.
“(It was) a big goal for sure," said Dallas coach Marc Crawford. "He’s got so much poise and presence and patience with the puck and he’s a big strong kid that hangs on to it and does good things with it."
Benn extended his points streak to three games. He recorded an assist in each of the two previous games at Calgary and Edmonton.
“People are going to quickly realize how good he is," said Crawford. “He’s playing on a good line with (Mike) Ribiero and (Brendan) Morrow . . . They’re talented players and I think they’re probably easy for him to play with.”
Benn, 20, managed to crack a fairly deep Dallas roster on his first attempt even though he was only a fifth-round draft choice in 2007. The six-foot-two, 203-pound winger expected to go the U.S. college while beginning his junior tenure with his hometown Victoria Grizzlies of the B.C. Hockey League, but he jumped to the WHL and excelled offensively there with 147 points over two seasons.
What's the biggest difference between junior and the NHL?
“Just that the guys are bigger, stronger, faster," he said. “You’ve got to get used to it, but I’m getting more used to it every day.”

Printers approaching expiry date

Let's hope Casey Printers gets it this time.
"It" is the understanding that pro sports careers are fleeting at the best of times. "It" is the understanding that the opportunity to compete or just hang out with the team is priceless and time-limited.
If you talk to any athlete, he or she will tell you that the opportunity to compete at the highest level and go after a Stanley Cup, Grey Cup or even a Mann Cup makes up for any fame, or fortune, or risk. Theoren Fleury gets it. That's why he tried to resurrect his hockey career after six years away from the NHL because of substance abuse issues.
Dave Scatchard gets it. That's why he was trying out with the Vancouver Canucks after more than a season away from the NHL because of concussion problems, and was still saying all the right things as the club cut him without giving him another chance after he suffered a groin injury or whatever it was. (He wasn't saying exactly.)
Dave Dickenson got it. That's why he signed with the Calgary Stampeders after B.C. Lions general manager and coach Wally Buono chose to release him out of concern that he would suffer another concussion. That's also why Dickenson returned to the Canadian Football League when he probably could have carried a clipboard in the NFL for another season or two and made more money.
Alas, Buono's fears were realized and Dickenson's career did end prematurely, but it much longer than many other CFL quarterback hopefuls.
Printers didn't get it in his first go-round with the Lions, so he chose to bolt to the NFL, after he was offered a deal that likely would have landed him the No. 1 quarterback spot ahead of Dickenson. And, that's why he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after initially agreeing to terms with the Montreal Alouettes.
But maybe he gets it now, after Hamilton cut him and no other team wanted him until Buono three him a life line after Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson came down with injury problems. Tonight, Printers will dress as the third-string quarterback as the Lions visit the Edmonton Eskimos.
Reports suggest that he has been a model teammate while biding his time on the practice roster and showing a good grasp of the playbook. He has told reporters that "it" is all about the team now. Well, Casey, cliche or no cliche, most sports always have been about the team.
Let's hope he finally realizes that athletes have short shelf lives. Sometimes that shelf life can last 20 seasons. Sometimes the expiry date comes after 20 days.
Why do you think Brett Favre signed with the Minnesota Vikings?
For those who play the games at the highest level, careers never last long enough. If Edmonton Oilers coach Pat Quinn had his way, he would still be playing, even after almost three decades behind the bench.
The same likely goes for Buono.
I have seen "it" a lot over the past month or so while covering the Mann Cup lacrosse championship series, NHL preseason and the CFL. I saw it when Chris Gill of the New Westminster Salmonbellies saw his chance at a home-floor slip title away, after he had waited and hoped for 16 years, and he knew that the series would likely be his last at the senior A level.
The series showed what athletes are willing to do just to have a chance to compete and excel.
Brampton Excelsiors goaltender Anthony Cosmo flew across the country three times in the span of a week to help his team and preserve his teaching job back home in Ontario. Dan Dawson also went back and forth while trying to meet the requirements of being a rookie firefighter.
I saw "it" with Fleury in a pre-season game against the Vancouver Canucks, and I saw it with a desperate Scatchard in another exhibition tilt against Quinn's Oilers. Scatchard was one of the best players on the ice that night.
And, I saw it with Tanner Glass, a longshot to make the team, who actually beat out highly-touted rookie Cody Hodgson. And, I saw "it" when disgruntled veteran Lions kicker Paul McCallum watched on the sidelines in street clothes as rookie Sean Whyte booted the winning field goal in a victory over Saskatchewan.
Whyte got his chance to play regularly this season only after McCallum was injured while making a tackle on a return. (His desire to compete was evident there, too. As a rule, kickers do not tackle.)
Buono, somewhat surprisingly is giving McCallum another chance tonight as he replaces Whyte. McCallum, 39, will play like it is the final game of his career because, no matter what happens, he knows that the time to hang up his kicking shoe will soon come.
In theory, Printers, about a decade younger and a former CFL Most Outstanding Player award winner, should have much more time left. But he has clearly worn out his welcome.
Buono is only giving him a chance because the club lacks quarterbacking depth. Travis Lulay, tonight's backup, and Zac Champion, relegated to the practice roster, show great promise but lack pro experience. Printers should view tonight's game as one of his last.
If he does, he'll finally get "it".