The 2011 Redwood Cup National Street Hockey Championships: Ranking Men's Teams #20-11

So before I jump ahead with our ranking of the teams from #11-#20, let me take a few minutes to offer six random thoughts related to the Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! program, which I think people ought to know about. In no particular order...

1) We’re really hoping that the 2012 National Championship Finals, men’s and women’s, will be broadcast nationally on CBC television. It almost happened this year. Some of you may read this and think: now that has got to be a no brainer. I mean, after all, this is a CBC program, right? Well, the truth is that it’s not actually that easy. We’ve got to make our case. You can help us out by letting us know why you think having a nationally televised street hockey championship is a good idea. Think folks would want to watch that? More interesting than poker? On par with darts or bass fishing?

And, while we are still talking about National Championships in 2012, did you know that Disney (Orlando, Florida) has expressed interest in hosting this National Championship event next year? They’re hoping that we’ll open it up to all age categories and divisions, from 7&Under right on up to our 35+ legends. So, let me know if you’d be up for a trip to Disney next October, or if you’d have a problem with a Canadian National Championship happening in the Florida sun. I’ll tell you this much: If it rains again on us this weekend for the 4^th straight year, I may be down.

2) Several folks have contacted us recently asking about the CTV sponsored Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer (RHTCC) event held in Toronto this past month. The event raised a lot of money for charity. Some are wondering if that event is competition to CBC’s Play On! The answer – not at all! I mean, they say that the best form of flattery is imitation. In 2002, when I first approached the NHL and Hockey Canada about my ideas for a national road hockey festival, I told them that I believed a street hockey revival was on the horizon. Back then, you could hardly find a hockey ball in Canadian Tire, and no road hockey equipment. Today, street hockey equipment makes up a large part of every Canadian Tire sports section.

The RHTCC Toronto event is just another in a long line of corporate-focused road hockey events that have been created by marketing companies, affiliated with charities, and after observing HNIC Play On! Other examples of similar events are this one and this one and this one and this one. And more will undoubtedly follow! So, to all the marketing agencies behind these great road hockey events – thanks for the compliments. And for any who are wondering, Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! has also now provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to local and national not-for-profit organizations across Canada, including the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in 2011.

3) We’re going to miss a number of top-flight teams at the National Championships this year that frankly, we just really wish could have come. Now I can’t mention them all, but let me list just a few off the top of my head: Saskatchewan Screech, Winnipeg Jets (aka Iceberg), Halifax Pre-Emptive Strike, London SB, Montreal Royale, Les Nationale Du Quebec, the Ottawa Capitals, Ottawa Blues, Oshawa Bulls, Scarborough Lemon Muffins, and the Toronto Orangemen. Wish all you guys were going to be there, because Canadians who know just love to watch you play.

4) We’re excited to announce that Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! will operate in at least 3 more cities next season, for a total of 20 tournaments next spring. Stay tuned, we’ll be making the announcement on the new cities in the next few weeks. The official Play On! schedule for 2012 will be announced on www.playon.ca in February. You can assume that it will look pretty similar to the schedule we had this past year, with all tournaments held in May and June and, hopefully, another National Championship event held in the fall. We are expecting approximately 35,000 players and over 350,000 spectators to attend the events next year. Amazing!

5) I want to take a second and thank Terry Vander Linden, National Marketing Manager, and his entire team at Booster Juice for their support of Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! This really is a great story. A few years ago, Terry took a big risk when he became the first long-term sponsor of the Hockey Night in Canada’s Play On! program. As one of Canada’s best new companies, we are thrilled to be partnered with Booster Juice for another three years. It would not be a stretch to state that without their support, this program just would not be what it is today. So every time you play road hockey, I hope that you’ll also think about Booster Juice. I know I do. And just in case there is someone reading this who has been living in a cave, and who hasn’t yet actually tried a Booster Juice, then you ought to stop what you’re doing, this very moment, get on this website, find the store nearest you, and try one. Give my personal favourite – The Booster Juice Very Berry Smoothie with the Energy Booster – a shot. It’s awesome! I drink a few of these every Play On! weekend. My wife likes them even more, and has the local store on speed dial. And of course, there is another guy you may have heard of who is an equally huge Booster Juice fan. Watch for Terry competing in our Celebrity Game this weekend. (2pm on Saturday, Rink #5)

6) The playon.ca website just won a major international award – Best- in-Class Sports website at the International Interactive Media Awards. So if you don’t like the playon.ca website, don’t complain any more to me, take it up with the committee that determines the absolute best websites in the world.

Ok, that was bragging. Stop that.

Seriously though, I just wanted to publicly congratulate and thank Andrew McClenaghan and his team at Echidna Solutions on such a great accomplishment. Andrew loves the Play On! program nearly as much as I do, and that passion shows in his work. When he and I started working together, we were both based out of our garages.

Now, let’s get on with those rankings. Teams #11-20 feature three solid squads from Kelowna, two great teams from Regina, and a lot of teams that could potentially cause trouble for any team in the top 10.

In case you missed the ranking of teams #32 - #21, you can find them here.

#20 Regina Stettner’s Tavern So I haven’t yet seen the team play in person, but I understand from the scouts that they hav a great combination of ice hockey and ball hockey experience, and that they were a semi-finalist at Play On! Regina. I also understand they coughed up a lead late in that game with just seconds to go and ended up losing it in a shootout. Their goaltender has played in the AHL, so that has to count for something. I am playing a hunch in adding them to our top 20.

#19 Kelowna Heat. The Heat were semi-finalists in a tough Play On! Kelowna event this past May, and this National Championship is their 10^th Play On! tournament. So we know they can play, and they’ll be packing more experience coming into this event than any other team coming to compete at this year’s championships. We`ll see if the boys can turn up the Heat this weekend.

#18 Stonewall Potter. Love the team name, and the town of Stonewall, located just north and west of Winnipeg and boasting a population of around 5,000. The team consists of guys that have played together forever -- including as teammates in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. They came up “just” short at Play On! Winnipeg 2011 against former National championship runners-up Winnipeg Iceberg, and so for that reason alone they deserve some respect. I’ll submit that if their keeper can put up just a partial “stonewall” at this tournament, then look for the Potter to represent Manitoba very well this weekend.

#17 Kelowna Red Army. So last year I had the Red Army at #18. You can read my thoughts on them before that championship event here. Turns out they were better than I thought – they played very well at last year’s championship, leaving me slightly impressed. So of course, I had to give them a higher ranking this year. Now I’m not sure if they have enough to win this tournament, but if they continue to impress -- you might expect to see them at #16 in 2012.

#16 Oakville Hardy Heroes. So I was able to watch the Hardy Heroes at a couple events this year – first in Hamilton and then again a month later in Barrie. A fantastic group of young men, they began playing road hockey together on Hardy Crescent (their hometown street) since the day they were old enough to get their parent’s permission to play outside. A great Canadian road hockey story, you can read more about the Hardy Heroes here. Anyways, my observation is that the team brings sick energy and a relentless effort to the table. While they’ll miss their star goaltender at this tournament, who is playing for the Niagara Ice Dogs in the OHL, the team represents everything that is good about the game of road hockey, and will be looking to make a name for themselves this weekend.

#15 Comox Valley Classics. The Classics are a young team, energetic and passionate. I give them full credit for playing exceptionally well in last year’s national championships and for taking the Victoria CCCP to the edge in a tough Play On! Burnaby semi-final this past June. My instinct is that their experience at last year’s championships, plus the fact that they’ll certainly have a large home island crowd behind them, combined with their gentle day 1 draw could leave them well positioned for the playoffs on Saturday. It might all add up to a bit of a sleeper here at #15. I certainly will be keeping an eye on them.

#14 Clare Lions. Everyone knows that Play On! Halifax is one of my favourite events, and that I have a soft spot for teams that come out of Nova Scotia. Last year, the Play On! Halifax champions came to Victoria highly hyped. I ranked them in the top 10, and suggested that they might even have what it takes to knock off a top 5 team. Well, they proceeded to lose all three of their preliminary games --- and by a wide margin. Anyways, I’m looking for the Lions to represent Nova Scotia with a little more gusto. Now, according to their team page, they think they’re going to fly under the radar, but my ranking of the team here at #14 means that others will take them very seriously. The Lions were feisty competitors at Play On! Halifax and are a highly skilled team consisting of players that have played on 8 different Junior Hockey teams. Their match-up with the aforementioned #15 Comox Valley Classics at 12:40pm Friday should be a beauty.

#13 Calgary Flames. The team was called the Calgary Phantoms #1 until I changed their team name arbitrarily. (I suspect I am going to take some heat over that one, but I wasn’t OK with having two teams in the event with the same name.) Anyways, now that we have that out of the way, these guys are probably better hockey players than the real Calgary Flames. Look for them to actually do the name proud this weekend. Calgary could use that.

#12 Kelowna Drillers. The Drillers were champions at Play On! Kelowna, and are an experienced and poised group of ball hockey players. I like their chances to cause trouble for a lot of the younger, more-highly-skilled-but-perhaps-less-experienced teams that make up a significant part of this event. Plus, they may have the most favourable draw of the tournament. Look for the Drillers to cruise through Day 1 action but then be subject to some early adversity on Saturday morning.

#11 Regina Broken Arrows. As champions of Play On! Regina, we know the Broken Arrows are good. Add in the fact that they have the experience of last year’s national championships under their belts, and the boys from Regina are another team that could seriously rise up this weekend. I mean, I know they are talented, but the question for me is whether or not they are coming to Victoria committed. The team consists of at least one player that previously played professionally. If they bring their A game, they can beat anyone.

Check back in tomorrow for our Top Ten!

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