Gosselin's OT winner "Call of the Week", words on Fighting, and Officiating....

I received a pretty cool heads up from the BCHL yesterday that "the call" from Bruce and I of Kurt Gosselin's OT winner against Powell River on Sunday will be featured on this Saturday's BCHL This Week program on TSN 1410 in Vancouver as the "Call of the Week"

It's pretty cool to get some extra recognition for the broadcast, for the Bulldogs, for Kurt, for the Alberni Valley!

Here's the full show line up:

SUBWAY BCHL This Week:

-         Saturday at 9:30 a.m. on TSN1410 – Guests will be current BCHL Player of the Week Corey Mackin, Bemidji State head coach and BCHL dad Tom Serratore and former Vernon Vipers star Kellen Jones, now in the ECHL with the Bakersfield Condors.

-         Call of the Week this week is Evan Hammond’s description of Kurt Gosselin’s OT winner Sunday against Powell River

Here's the "full" version of the call on the broadcast. It's a fun process when we pick our prospective winners. The first time in at least two seasons that I actually went first. Bruce and Dan usually steal my guys. Pretty fun to hear Bruce "chuckle" when I ask him who his picks are, as he only picks one guy after being right in the past, but for the wrong team! Great stuff!

A few short words on fighting, and officiating. 

I have heard all too often that fans are mad at the lack of fighting, and are directing that anger at the BCHL. That is just simply 100% wrong, and I don't think it's fair that the BCHL would take the heat for a decision that they haven't made, and I don't think would make if it was up to them. 

This directive has come down from "on high", from Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey Association, and the very top, in the companies that insure them to operate. 

I'm not happy with how the stick-swinging, the after the whistle cheap shotting, stick work, and face-washing and stinky-mittening is up a staggering rate. I don't think the BCHL is either. Just know that this is something that has been dictated to the BCHL brass, and every other Junior A league, and it's not a decision that they have made themselves!

On Officiating in the BCHL - it's a developmental league. For the players, coaches, broadcasters, referees, heck even the game night volunteers. On some nights, the standard of officiating is pretty bad. Not everyone can have a good night, and not everyone has a future in this game when it comes to the ultimate toughest job of policing the game and upholding the rules and making all these snap decisions to be fought over by everyone else. 

I have seen first hand how hard the BCHL is working to work with their officials. 

From the off-season training camps to in-season visits to rinks and views of games and thorough adjudications of the performance of Officials, the league really is trying it's best to have a high standard of Officiating in their games. 

It may not seem like it on some nights, but like I said, some guys just maybe can't do it at this level. The problem is that the guys that can don't stay here long, as they are off to the WHL and Pro Hockey. 

While I have been unimpressed on some nights with how the game has been called,  I for one am very impressed with how the BCHL and their Staff and working to work with these guys to give everyone a good product. It may not seem like it on some nights, but trust me, the effort is there, and what more can you ask for?

Hammer