New links; no Tips on Team Pacific (updated with food drive)
Published 1:57 pm Wednesday, November 18, 2009
First off, I’ve added a pair of links to the left — they should be popping up shortly.
The first is the Portland Winterhawks fan blog on OregonLive written by Dylan Bumbarger. When I first started providing links I limited them to blogs written either by media members, broadcasters or individuals named Alan Caldwell. But what I’ve found is that oftentimes the best blogs are those written by people who are doing it out of love of the game rather than as an obligation, as evidenced by Alan, Tyler Hunnex, the guys at U.S.S. Mariner, etc. Dylan belongs in this group as I enjoy the work he’s doing with the Winterhawks.
The second is the Massey Ratings. These are statistical analyses of various sports leagues for the purpose of ranking teams. One of the leagues included happens to be the WHL. It includes the disclaimer that the rankings are based on what the teams have done to that point, rather than predicting what will happen in the future. But it’s an illuminating resource for you statheads out there.
Finally, Team Pacific (B.C. and Alberta) for the U-17 World Hockey Challenge was announced today, and no Silvertips or Tips prospects made the cut. Current Tip Josh Winquist and prospect Manraj Hayer had been candidates.
Looking at Team Pacific and Team West (Saskatchewan and Manitoba), I’d have to say Team Pacific looks far stronger. Most of Team Pacific is made up of WHL players, while only a handful of WHLers are on Team West. In fact, many of Team West’s players are still playing midget hockey. I’ve got to think that’s a huge advantage for Team Pacific.
—- UPDATE, 2 p.m.
First off, thank you to Michael Sheehan for correcting my dyslexic moment. It’s been changed.
Secondly, the Tips announced the results of last Saturday’s emergency food drive. A total of 4,460 pounds of food were collected for the Volunteers of America food bank, which was a record. I was in the office yesterday when Tips general manager Doug Soetaert returned breathless from dropping off the food. They needed to make extra trips and get multiple extra boxes just to haul everything to the food bank.
Good work Silvertips fans.
