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Ten questions with captain Shirley We always have our trips to A&W. The guys will have a burger, root beer and fries, but Reags is always getting the Chubby Chicken wraps. I have a lot of fun with him. I hope he doesn’t get upset with me.
Collin Shirley led the Kamloops Blazers in scoring last season, registering 79 points, 37 of them goals. The 20-year-old forward from Saskatoon was named captain last month. KTW reporter Marty Hastings got to know Shirley and his teammates in this 10-question survey: KTW: What’s on your iPod? CS: I probably have the biggest mix you can find, but I love my country, like a good Saskatchewan boy. [Cam] Reagan has got me into the rap lately. I usually rip him in our interviews, but it’s kind of catchy, so I like what he’s got.
2016-2017 Collin Shirley was named captain of the 2016-2017 Kamloops Blazers. His colourful personality will be on display all season long.
KTW: What’s your favourite movie? CS: It’s probably Endless Love. Me, Daws [Dawson Davidson], Nolan [Kneen] and Millzy [Erik Miller], we watch it probably three or four times a year. It’s unreal. We shed a few tears.
about the dates and taking girls out. We like getting on his case about it. KTW: If you were going to go to one person on the team for life advice, who would it be? CS: Joe Gatenby. I’ve got to know him a little bit since he’s been traded here. He’s a serious guy and he’s really down to earth. He’s got his head screwed on right. The last guy I would go to is Cam Reagan.
KTW: Which team in the B.C. Division do you dislike the most and why? CS: That’s a pretty easy question. It’s Kelowna for sure. It’s not even a dislike. It’s just the rivalry we have, especially after last year, losing in Game 7. It still hits pretty close to home. I like the battle. KTW: What is your pre-game ritual? CS: I’m always knocking on wood. Benjy [Quinn Benjafield] always makes fun of me. And I listen to music before the game.
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KTW: What’s your favourite food? CS: Steak, potatoes and cheesecake. I could have a bath in cheesecake. It’s unbelievable. The biggest appetite on the team is probably Jermaine [Loewen] or Reags.
KTW: Who are the best- and worstdressed Blazers? CS: The best-dressed Blazer is, besides myself, would have to be Reags. He’s got the cool bracelets, hats and always with the nice shoes. He’s high maintenance when it comes to that stuff. The worst is Connor Ingram. It’ll be plus-25 and he wears sweats and a hoodie. When he stops 40 pucks a night, we’ll let him do his thing. KTW: If you could trade lives with anyone, who would it be and why? CS: Probably the One Direction boys, just to see how life is on the road for them and how they go about their business. Me, Daws, Needer [Matt Needham] and Millzy made a music video and threw it in the group chat. We’re pretty good. I’m right there in the mix with them. I wouldn’t be ashamed of having it out there. KTW: If you had access to a time machine, where would you go and why? CS: I’d probably go back to the 1980 Olympics, with the USA and the Soviets. That’s another movie I love. It would be kind of cool to see how that played out, watch the game and the events of those Olympics.
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BLAZERS MEET THE
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SPORTS
FRIDAY, September 23, 2016
D3
WHL FACEOFF GAME #1
0-0-0
0-0-0
Friday, Sept. 23 Kelowna @ Kamloops 7 p.m. Sandman Centre
2016-2017
Blazers, Rockets building acrimony AFTER 15 MEETINGS LAST SEASON, TONIGHT’S TILT IS FIRST OF 10 SCHEDULED FOR 2016-2017 MARTY HASTINGS STAFF REPORTER sports@kamloopsthisweek.com
G
reat hockey rivalries are often borne of familiarity, geography and gruelling playoff series. The Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets have all that going for them — and could have an Ogopogo-size hockey hate on for each other by the end of this season. Eleven of the 15 meetings between the teams in 2015-2016 were one-goal games. Their back-and-forth Round 1 playoff series went to overtime in Game 7, with the Rockets prevailing on home ice. They’ve already played three pre-season contests this month and will meet 10 times
in the upcoming regular season. And throwing $20 on them to meet again in the 2017 playoffs wouldn’t be a terrible bet. The 10-round bout begins tonight in Kamloops, with puck-drop on the Blazers’ home opener slated for 7 p.m. at Sandman Centre. “Kelowna-Kamloops, it’s unbeatable, really,” Blazers’ forward Matt Campese said. “You always want to beat Kelowna. We all take pride in that.” Adding to the rivalry was a trade in August that saw Kamloops ship 18-year-old forward Jake Kryski to Kelowna in exchange for 19-year-old D-man Joe Gatenby, who provided insight on the Rockets’ mindset last year. “At the start of the season, just because the Blazers did have a couple tough years before that, I don’t think our team, in gen-
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eral, had as much respect for them,” said Gatenby, whose 18-year-old brother, Danny, also came to Kamloops in the deal. “But the amount the Blazers improved last year was tremendous and, by the end, every game was a battle. I’m excited to be on the other side.” After tomorrow’s rematch in the Little Apple, Round 2 of the slobberknocker, the teams play only once more before the Christmas break, on Nov. 1 at Prospera Place, leaving seven tilts for the playoff drive. “We’re going to know them real well,” Blazers’ forward Nick Chyzowski said. “We’ve got something to prove from last year. We’ve got to come back and send a message.” Both squads will be missing key players this weekend. As of KTW’s press deadline, six Blazers
were still away at NHL camps and prospects tournaments — goaltender Connor Ingram, forwards Rudolfs Balcers, Deven Sideroff, Garrett Pilon and Collin Shirley, and defenceman Dallas Valentine. Forwards Dillon Dube, Tomas Soustal, Nick Merkley and Calvin Thurkauf, along with defencemen Devante Stephens, Lucas Johansen and Braydyn Chizen, had not been returned to the Rockets, but a few of them are likely to play this evening. Luke Zazula, the lone 16-year-old defenceman remaining with the Blazers, will be in the lineup tonight and, while he doesn’t have much first-hand experience with the rivalry, he’s been told what to expect. “I know these two teams don’t like each other,” he said. “It’s our home, not theirs. We’ve just got to take it.”
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D6
BLAZERS MEET THE
FRIDAY, September 23, 2016
SPORTS
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
You’re going to have injuries. People are “going to go to NHL camps. That’s when people have to step up and rise up to the responsibilities.
”
— Dawson Davidson
You dream about playing world “juniors as kids. It’s a long ways off, 2016-2017 so I’m trying not to think about it.” — Connor Ingram
haven’t felt a buzz around “aIteam like this since my first year in Saskatoon when we hosted the Memorial Cup. — Matt Revel
www.kamloopsthisweek.com
”
It’s been a dream of mine “ever since I was young. It
I’m a good skater, I like speed “and I just hope to be a goal scorer
would be an honour and would mean the world to make this team.
on this team, be a big-time player and help the team to win games.
”
— Rudolfs Balcers
— Luke Zazula
”
We need to push past last “year’s first-round exit, push harder and break through the barrier.
”
— Jermaine Loewen
Moores takes over as Blazers’ president The 2016-2017 season will the first with the Kamloops Blazers under the guidance of Don Moores, the club’s new president, chief operating officer and alternate governor. Moores, who was previously president of the Cariboo North division of Black Press (with his office just down the hall from KTW’s newsroom), was named to the position in June, after which he finalized the move back to the Tournament Capital from Nanaimo. Moores moved to Nanaimo in 2008 to became co-owner and general manager of Nanaimo-based Maximum Yield Publications, a magazine and event-management company. Blazers’ majority owner Tom Gaglardi said Moores was hired to improve the business side of the organization. While Stu MacGregor, Don Hay and company focus on the on-ice product beginning with tonight’s home opener against Kelowna, Moores will be battling to put more butts into the seats at Sandman Centre. The Blazers’ average attendance at home games in 2015-
2016 was 3,769, good for 15th in the 22-team league, down from 3,994 in 2014-2015 and 4,148 in 2013-2014. “That’s what I do. I’m a marketing guy,” Moores said on the day of his unveiling. He played with the Kamloops Chiefs in the 1970s and was an assistant coach with the Blazers from 1985 to 1990. “What [my hiring] does is it helps bring more focus. It will bring more structure. Chyzzer [Blazers’ director of sales and marketing Dave Chyzowski] does great work for us and is loved in the community. By bringing more structure, we are going to put butts in the seats.” Gaglardi said filling the barn is a significant part of Moores’ mandate. “We’ve done a really good job on the business side, but attendance is one of those things that’s lagging and it’s no secret around the Western League there’s a lot of clubs struggling with attendance,” Gaglardi said. “It’s a sign of the times. It’s HDTV. It’s every night there are 12 or 15 NHL games on TV. It’s a different environment to sell in. We know we can do better
and get to parts of the community we weren’t getting to.” Gaglardi said Moores’ hiring does not alleviate pressure from Chyzowski on the marketing side or anyone else in the organization. If anything, it ratchets up expectations. “The level of accountability and what’s expected of everybody in the organization will increase now,” Gaglardi said. “There will be more benchmark measuring more often.” Moores is relishing the chance to make sweet music in his hometown — and it begins tonight in the arena on Mark Recchi Way. “It’s great to be home,” Moores said. “Once you’re a Blazer, you’re always a Blazer.”
Go to the game
Single-game tickets are on sale now. To Buy them, head to the Sandman Centre Box Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or call at 250-828-3339. For season tickets or other ticketing information, call Missy Cederholm at 250-828-1144 or email mcederholm@blazerhockey.com.
Don Moores is in charge of the Kamloops Blazers’ business operations.
BLAZERS MEET THE
www.kamloopsthisweek.com
SPORTS
FRIDAY, September 23, 2016
D7
Look into the crystal ball
I
’m still not sure if I’ve been swilling a few too many glasses of blue and orange Kool-Aid, but my gut is telling me this could be a special season for the Kamloops Blazers. Last year at this time, I pegged the local WHL club to finish sixth in the Western Conference. After the Blazers tore through the East Division to land seventh in the standings at the Christmas break, I wrote a column saying they would wind up in fourth place. They ended up with 85 points, fourth-most in the West. What does this tell us, other than I’m a flip-flopping hack who altered my initial prognostication? I’m not really sure, actually, but now I’m going to boldly tell
forwards need to take the next step (look for Garrett Pilon to have a huge year). The defence that looks deep needs to prove that’s the case. Much of that seems up to 17-yearolds Nolan Kneen and Conner McDonald. Latvian lamplighter Rudolfs Balcers will have to be a secret European weapon. Deven Sideroff, who enters this season healthy, and Collin Shirley, who broke out in 2015-2016, have to lead the scoring parade, and third- and fourth-line role players must contribute. If all that happens and the Blazers avoid the injury bug, then Don Hay might even will these guys into the Western Conference final. Those who disagree or wish to hurl insults at me can email sports@kamloopsthisweek.com.
2016-2017
MARTY HASTINGS
The Tattle of
HASTINGS
you exactly what will happen this season, although I may change my opinion in two months’ time. Instead of offering a final ranking in the conference, I’m going to give you my personal, flexible guarantee that the 2016-2017 Kamloops Blazers will reach at least Round 2 of the playoffs. I wanted to stay away from a regularseason point total because it might not accurately reflect how
good this team is, as it will be missing key players early in the campaign and star goaltender Connor Ingram might be absent for a good portion of December and January. They should round into top form just in time for the postseason. The B.C. Division will be ultra-competitive and lots has to go right for the Blazers if they’re going to win a playoff round or two. Connor Ingram will have to be Connor Ingram. The highly touted 18-year-old
This no
Laughing Matter...
GO BLAZERS
ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW
Garrett Pilon will have a mammoth season and the Kamloops Blazers will reach at least Round 2 of the WHL playoffs, according to KTW reporter Marty Hastings.
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