Back At It.

Good morning,

After a week off I am back in the sports-chair and I've got a couple of things that I want to hit on this morning. As you can imagine, things are a tad slow on this end during the summer months, but the closer we get to September, the busier things will get I'm sure.

First off, if you didn't already know:

The Battlefords North Star's regular season schedule is posted on the North Star's website. Upon first glance, I feel that the schedule is favorable to the Stars. Their longest stretch of consecutive road-games sits at five - All of which are against Bauer Conference teams. That
stretch runs from October 1 - 11th, which could also help develop some early season chemistry.

The Stars start their season with the traditional home-and-home with Kindersley, and will also make their traditional weekend trip to Flin Flon in mid-February. 2011-2012 will mark the third season in a row that the Stars have done this trip, and it's always a highlight (unless your broadcasting gear fails you).

I will have a broadcast schedule selected by the end of this week. I'm expecting to call another 40-game schedule, but I assure you that I'll be nudging my bosses to let me do more. Efforts over the past two years have been futile in that regard, however my first season I only called 30. Now I call 40 games plus all playoff games.

Another thing that I'll be looking into is web-casting. The team hinted that they were heading in that direction towards the end of last year, but I won't speculate any further until I'm told whether or not it's a go. If so, then I'll happily call more games.

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During my time away the Stars traded 1991-born forward Luke Hannas to the O.C.N. Blizzard in exchange for future considerations. I liked Luke both as a player and a person, but in my opinion he simply fell victim to a numbers game. The Stars had a surplus of eligible 20-year-olds, and it was unlikely that all would be returning.

With Hannas out of the picture, the remaining eligible 20-year-olds include forwards:

Blake Tatchell
Brett Miller
Boyd Wakelin
Samuel Fortier

On defence:

Woody Klassen
Travis Sparrow

In goal:

Graham Hildebrand
Blake Voth

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A truly bittersweet day for me yesterday.

July 11 marked the one-year anniversary of my Mom's passing. It's been an emotional year, and while the pain has eased to a certain degree, there will always be days like yesterday where sadness is inevitable.

In saying that though, I could not have asked for a better day.

I had the pleasure of golfing in the Battlefords United Way Golf Tournament at the Jackfish Lodge Golf and Conference Center. The weather was cooperative, and a great time was had by all. The United Way more than doubled their proceeds from last year, and enrollment for the tournament had also increased.

I was fortunate enough to golf with three great guys: Martin Smith, Bruce Yockey and Todd Heck. I was blessed to join them on the course, and I greatly enjoyed their company. There are few things more enjoyable in life than a day on the golf course with your buddies.

That's not all. A strong tee-shot on #12 earned me the 'Closest to the Pin' award and a great prize through the Gold Eagle Lodge. And the icing on the cake: I won a signed Kyle Brodziak (Minnesota Wild) jersey through a raffle.

I can't help but feel like Mom had my back out there, and helped make sure that I had a day full of smiles.

A huge thank you to Kyle Kellgren (Jackfish Lodge), the entire United Way staff, and Access 7 for yesterday. It was truly a summer highlight.

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I plan on touching base with Ken Pearson sometime this week. I'll ask him about the schedule, the search for a new trainer, and how recruiting/trading efforts are going. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Have a great Tuesday.