SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — There are 12 P.E.I.-born players playing in the Maritime Junior Hockey League with teams other than the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals.
Three of those 12 play with the Miramichi Timberwolves while the Valley Wildcats, Fredericton Red Wings and Pictou County Weeks Crushers each have two. A look at the year's statistics shows some real good numbers amongst the group.
Coleton Perry from Bedeque is the lone Islander on the Campbellton Tigers and he is the leading scorer of the 12 with 40 points in 35 games. Charlottetown's Connor McGregor and Kennedy Gallant are amongst the top scorers on Miramachi with 32 and 31 points, respectively. Defenceman Lucas MacAulay from Cardigan with 19 points is also having good year with Miramichi.
Dylan Matthews from Mount Albion has 16 points in 39 games for Valley while teammate Chad Arsenault from St. Raphael is having a solid year in goal with a respectable 4.19 goals-against average for the last-place Wildcats.
Roseneath’s Dallas Farrell leads Pictou County with 40 points in 30 games while Evan Gallant from Abram-Village has 23 points in 40 games.
Declan MacEachern from Charlottetown and goalie Erik MacInnis from Stratford play with Fredericton, Zac Arsenault from Montague plays with Grand Falls and Lucas Parsons from Kensington plays with Truro. Matt Gordon from Mermaid had 21 points in 29 games in Truro before being called up to the Cape Breton Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League earlier this year.
That is a strong Island presence throughout the league that has me wondering, could another Island team survive in the league?
It seems there would be enough talent, but the big financial obligation and the lack of a big enough fan base would be major stumbling blocks to another team on P.E.I. It has been 10-plus years since the Charlottetown Abbies ceased operations in the league and they are missed, not only by the Western Capitals, but by the P.E.I. talent that plays elsewhere.
The Caps miss that natural rivalry and the big crowds that came with it. The Caps have 15-P.E.I. born players on their roster, making their latest ranking of being third of 131 teams in Canada even more impressive.
Brodie MacArthur has become the Western Capitals all-time leading scorer. He gets it naturally, as his father Rodney was a prolific scorer with the Abbies.
I went looking for all-time leading Abbies scorers this week but did not have any luck finding out where Rodney was amongst the leaders. My guess would be at the very top. If anyone knows for sure, I would appreciate finding out and would pass it on in a future column. It would be something if Rodney was the all-time points leader on the Abbies and his son Brodie the all-time leader on the Caps.
Basketball
The Island Storm has been in Charlottetown since 2013 when they relocated from Summerside to start the 2013-14 National Basketball League of Canada season.
The Storm looks like it has found a permanent home and should consider a name change from the Island Storm to the Charlottetown Storm. It was the Summerside Storm when the franchise was started back in 2011 and the switch of locations left us with the Island Storm.
They play in the four-team Atlantic Division of the eight-team league. It looks kind of strange when you read the standings that are listed as Moncton, Halifax, Island and St. John's. These are major Atlantic Canada cities with professional basketball teams and should be identified by the city they play in.
I get the idea that team officials want to be seen as a P.E.I. team but just because it is named the Island Storm does not mean the team will get more support as a result. They play all of their home games in Charlottetown where they have the majority of their sponsorship and play in the Eastlink Centre.
One would think they have a good deal on venue rental and possibly sponsorship with the City of Charlottetown. If that is the case, the city should insist on the name change.
They do not call the Halifax Hurricanes the Nova Scotia Hurricanes or the Moncton Magic the New Brunswick Magic. The Island Storm should be called the Charlottetown Storm.
The Storm currently occupies third place in the Atlantic Division with a 6-10 record. They will play at home on Monday afternoon as part of the Islander Day holiday when the Magic are at Eastlink Centre for a 2 p.m. start.
NHL
The NHL is about to enter the stretch drive to the playoffs as teams have just a little over a quarter of their season remaining. The NHL is as close as ever with a great competitive balance league-wide.
As of Valentine’s Day, 22 of the league’s 31 teams have a good chance of making the post-season. Fourteen points separate the present eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference and two more teams are within five points of that last wildcard position. Only 10 points separate the eight playoff teams in the Western Conference and four more teams are within six points of that final wildcard position.
It all translates to some great playoff-type hockey during the final six weeks of the regular season.
Have a great week.
Joe MacIntyre is a local life insurance broker. His column appears every Saturday. Comments and suggestions can be sent [email protected].
