Page 45 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 123

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #123 April 2023 45

Continued from page 24 out, do dry land, and practice a whole Canadian.” fencing would be fun to do.”
bunch. It would be very hard to make When considering other sports, As a student, Marek enjoys math
it was a cross-body catch. That was it that far.” Marek says he’d like to try fencing. and science. When he has free time
in U9. Another time, but in Novice Like many hockey players his age, He explains that as a younger child, away from school and sports, he has
when I was out as a player, I saved a Marek admires Edmonton’s Connor he enjoyed imagining sticks were some favourite things to do. “I love
puck going in the net with my knee.” McDavid. “He’s a leader on his team swords and he’d take on a tree or to play video games. I enjoy playing
In terms of his goals related to and he’s a great player. He has 60 his dad. “I’ve always been interested on my VR headset. I like to watch
playing hockey, Marek would goals already. He’s really good at in fencing. It would be a good sport NHL games. I saw the Ottawa vs.
ultimately like to become an NHL taking slapshots, and he’s an All- to try because not a lot of people Avalanche game not long ago. I got
goalie. “That would take a lot of Star. He’s gotten a ton of hat-tricks take part in it, and I wouldn’t have to go with friends from my old U9
work though. I would have to work which is really hard to do. Plus, he’s to travel too far to practice. I think Colts team. It was fun.”

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Energy Newss
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Energy N e w s presents Sports Panel
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Stories And More About The People In Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry
Now that the March 3rd NHL trade deadline has come and gone, who are the favourites
to make the Stanley Cup finals?
Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - Finally, the speculations, rumours, stress, and whirlwind of trades are behind us, and several
teams are feeling very confident with their acquisitions. Names such as Kane, Tarasenko, Meir, Horvat, Ekholm, and several other top
performing players are registering new zip or postal codes throughout the league. Boston has been phenomenal this season with the
Hurricanes hot on their heels in overall points (nice touch this past week seeing Carolina sporting Hartford Whalers jerseys).
Colorado, Minnesota, and Las Vegas are contending for top spot in the Western Conference. The second half of the season is gearing up
to produce some very exciting hockey and I’m looking forward to the battle to the playoffs.
Who are my favourites to make the Stanley Cup finals this year? My picks are the Boston Bruins and defending Stanley Cup Champions
Colorado Avalanche.

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - The route to the Stanley Cup final won’t be an easy one for the teams in either conference. More
than sixty trades were made leading up to the trade deadline with teams upgrading rosters in their quest to win the Stanley Cup. The
Eastern Conference is extremely tight, and a strong case can be made for any one of the Leafs, Rangers, Canes, Bruins, Devils, or
Lightning. Twelve wins are needed to make it to the finals, but whichever team comes out of the East will likely be playing at least
eighteen games to get there. The West is tight as well - entering the last week of March the top six teams are all within six points of each
other. Despite being one of the most injured teams in the NHL this season the defending champion Colorado Avalanche are in that group.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog had off season surgery and has yet to play a game, with several other top players missing extensive time.
With the team getting healthier and the probable return of their Captain, the Avalanche just may be the team to beat. The Boston Bruins
have, so far, had one of their best seasons in franchise history - I would predict that we will be watching the Bruins and the Avalanche
in the Stanley Cup finals.

Peter Collins - Sports Enthusiast - Well, the favourites must be the teams with a very good record, and who went all in, or at least made
significant deals at the trade deadline. There were many teams trying to find the pieces to put themselves over the top. In the fall I thought
that the Leaf’s didn’t do enough in the off-season to get past Tampa and Boston. With the moves he made last month; it seems like Kyle
Dubas agrees with me. Bringing in the experienced vets like O’Reilly, Acciari, Gustafsson, Schenn, and McCabe says that TO is going
for it. If they don’t beat Tampa and Boston, I think Dubas will be all out of time in Leaf land. So, who will Toronto face in the finals,
I predict Edmonton. Ken Holland did just enough, acquiring Bjugstad and McCabe to put them over the top in an uncharacteristically
weak Western Conference. My biggest concern for these two Canadian teams is in the net. Maybe the Avalanche winning with Darcy
Kuemper last year showed them the model of slightly above average goaltending can win the Stanley Cup. If average goaltending is
all you need then the Oilers and Leafs may be okay. The biggest question is can Skinner and Samsonov be good enough to carry their
respective teams to the Stanley Cup. It looks like a McDavid year to me!