The Durham Chronicle - 2017-12-12

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18 The Chronicle December 12 - 18, 2017 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Sports N.Y. Islanders, Sabres will play in Oshawa Upgrades at TCC help bring NHL game in September Conner McTague The Chronicle The NHL is making its way to Oshawa - but for one day only. The New York Islanders will host the Buffalo Sabres for a pre-season matchup at Tribute Communities Centre on Sept. 28, 2018 at 7 p.m. “This event will bring today’s heroes of hockey to the Tribute Communities Centre, Durham Region’s premier sports and entertainment facility, located in downtown Oshawa,” said Oshawa Mayor John Henry. The Generals have helped more than 200 players reach the NHL over their history, including hall of famers, Bobby Orr, Dave Andreychuk and Eric Lindros. Generals president and governor, Rocco Tullio said the process of bringing a pre-season game to Oshawa has been in the works for about a year and it became a possibility because city council acted quickly and approved the necessary upgrades to TCC to fit NHL standards including new glass and mesh around the seats. The Islanders being included will be a treat for Oshawa residents as the team has Generals alumni in captain John Tavares, Cal Clutterbuck, Calvin de Haan, Mitchell Vande Sompel and Michael Dal Colle. Vande Sompel and Dal Colle were members of the 2015 Memorial Cup-winning team. Tavares is the most notable of the names as he posted 383 points in four seasons with the Gens. He had his number retired by the team in September of 2014. “I think JT having his number retired here and being a hometown favourite was obviously a major factor for everybody involved,” Tullio said. While he’s a pending free agent, Tavares will be a big draw should he re-sign with the Isles thissummer. Speaking in a conference call, Sabres assistant general manager (AGM) Randy Sexton said, “we have absolutely no doubt that it will be a wonderful experience for our players and the Islanders players and most importantly the fans in Oshawa.” Islanders AGM Chris Lamoriello also spoke briefly about the excitement to both host the game and celebrate the history of hockey in Oshawa. “I think for young people in our Photograph by Conner McTague On hand to announce a pre-season game in Oshawa between the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres in September were (from left) On-Ice president John Graham, Generals' president Rocco Tullio, Oshawa mayor John Henry and councillors Nester Pidwerbecki and Rick Kerr. communities across this country, seeing an NHL game and our heroes of today, is so amazing,” Henry said. Tickets went on sale to the general public on Monday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. Ticket prices range between $84.99 and $110, plus taxes. Former Gens, now NHLers, return to junior roots Tavares, de Haan headline Oshawa alumni who could play in September at TCC Cameron Black-Araujo The Chronicle Some current NHLers are getting another chance to lace up their skates at the Tribute Communities Centre – the name of their home arena (then called the GM Centre), when they played for the Oshawa Generals. Current New York Islanders and Generals’ alumni, John Tavares, Cal Clutterbuck and Calvin de Haan will get the chance when they play host to the Buffalo Sabres in a pre-season NHL game on September 28, 2018. John Tavares will be back on the ice in the town that led him to becoming the current Islanders’ captain. Tavares would be a lock to play in the game should he decide to stay in New York as he is set to become a free agent on July 1st (de Haan is also set to become a free agent). “I think JT having a retired jersey here and being a hometown favourite was obviously a major factor for everybody involved,” said Rocco Tullio, president of the Generals. After tallying 383 points in a Generals’ uniform over four years, it will be Tavares’ first time stepping back on the ice at the TCC since the Generals traded him to London in his final season. Nine years later, with his name and number in the rafters, it could be the final time he will play in Oshawa. Tavares all-time ranks with the Generals’ prove why he was taken first overall by the Islanders in 2009 as he sits first in goals, second in points and fourth in assists. Clutterbuck played with the Generals’ from 2004-2007 and was known for scoring and physicality as he posted two 35-plus goal seasons and two 130-plus penalty minute seasons. He was drafted in the third-round by the Minnesota Wild in 2006 before being traded to the Islanders in 2013. de Haan played with the Generals from 2008-2011 where he was a force on the back end. This led to de Haan being a first-round, 12th overall selection to the Islanders in 2009, where he has spent his entire NHL career. “It’s important to them because this was the start of their careers. But what’s really important is those young people who watch them on Saturday nights,” said Mayor John Henry. “It’s the image of what these hockey players do in their communities.” More recent Generals graduates like Michael Dal Colle and Mitchell Vande Sompel will also try to crack the lineup as they currently suit up for the Islanders’ farm team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. With the game happening late in the pre-season, the game is likely to feature key players from both sides and especially former Generals.
Sports chronicle.durhamcollege.ca December 12 - 18, 2017 The Chronicle 19 Quidditch growing rapidly across Canada Durham Sports tourism coordinator hopes tourney grows the game in the region Cameron Black-Araujo The Chronicle Quidditch has quickly grown from a fictional game in Harry Potter books, to a real-life played all over the world. Quidditch is a sport played by two seven-player co-ed teams. They compete against each other to score more points than the opponent by the time the ‘snitch’ is caught. This fall, Durham Region learned about the popularity of the game itself when it hosted the Quidditch Canada Eastern Regional Championships. Fourteen quidditch clubs from eastern Canada, including eight clubs from Canadian universities, competed at the Oshawa Civic Fields. In quidditch, there are always three ‘chasers’, one ‘keeper’ and two ‘beaters’ on the pitch while the seeker is off-pitch. The chaser’s job is to pass the quaffle and score points. Keepers are similar to goalies in other sports. They try to stop the opponent from scoring. Beaters try to hit opposing players with bludgers while stopping their players from being hit with them. Lastly, seekers try to catch the snitch. Hugh Podmore, captain of Quidditch Canada, describes the sport as “sort of like a mixture of handball, rugby, basketball, dodgeball and tag all rolled into one sport.” McGill University and Carleton University introduced the sport of quidditch to Canada just four years after the sport began in 2005 college in Vermont. It is now played across six continents and well over 12 countries, including Uganda, Argentina and Spain. While quidditch has grown worldwide, it is still relatively unfamiliar to the Durham Region. Players here must travel into Toronto to play, but Lori Talling, Durham Sports Tourism coordinator, hopes this tournament will change that. “One of the things we’re really looking forward to with bringing the Eastern Regional Championships here is really exposing the sport of quidditch to our community and hopefully as a legacy we will be able to set up a team in Durham,” says Talling. Clubs typically begin in high school at the earliest and have grown very popular in colleges and universities. While most teams are represented and formed by a school, some teams are not. It takes seven players to field a team but a team is allowed a maximum of 21 players. Since quidditch came north of the border in 2009 through McGill and Carleton, the sport has grown by 18 teams as Quidditch Canada officially recognizes 20 different clubs across the country. Although the sport has grown in the number of teams, players still find many people are unaware the sport exists outside of Harry Potter. Cory Smithson of Valhalla Quidditch in Toronto, the champions of the Eastern Regionals, hopes to see the game grow enough to be recognized as a sport by the general public. “Nine times out of ten when you mention you play quidditch and people always say ‘Sorry, what? You play what sport?’” he says. As quidditch continues to look for growth in Canada, players and representatives from Durham Region hope hosting the Eastern Regional Championships is the beginning of a future for quidditch in Durham. “It would be great if we could branch out a little and have a team in Pickering, a team in Whitby and a Team in Oshawa,” says Bill Whyte of Valfreya, Valhalla’s development team. “We have the people and I think there’s interest, we just need to get the word out a little more.” Photograph by Cameron Black-Araujo Quidditch is relatively unknown in Canada, but Lori Talling is hoping to change that.
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The Durham Chronicle - 2017-12-12

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