
North Bay Battalion hope to strike gold with two new CHL Import Draft picks
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North Bay already has Ihnat Pazii returning, so they had two slots to fill and made a pair of picks.
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At pick 78 North Bay selected Arseny Pronin who hails from Belarus. Pronin is a right winger who was born in 2007. Winstanley had an interesting reaction when asked about this prospect.
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Winstanley knows the players drafted this year are coming to play and to be regular contributors.
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'If you are going to spend the time and money to being them over here the goal is to help them achieve their goals. To do that we have to put them in spots where they can be successful. With our core and who we have coming back, we set up well to insulate players moving to a new country and learning a new language. They will also have to acclimate to a new league, new ice surface and a new country,' says Winstanley.
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Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion: Hockey Canada sexual assault trial latest story spotlighting dark side of sport
Opinion Countless times throughout the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, the question has come up: is this a story for the sports section at the Free Press? The resounding answer is: yes. Yes, this is a sports story. I am not writing to offer my opinion on the decisions made today. I am here to remind readers that the world of sports is not always a fun, fantasy world. Sports are a fantastic way for fans, including me, to escape hard times — but a shadow hides behind the blinding, refracted light of historic goals and legendary names. This trial shone a spotlight on the ugliness of that shadow. The fact that people are high-fiving over the five men involved in this case being acquitted is absolutely disgusting. Whether or not you believe the five men are guilty, a woman was traumatized. So much so that, as the Toronto Star reported, E.M. thought she would be able to testify in person in the courtroom, but when she was taking a tour of the courthouse and sat in the witness stand, she started crying. She was so traumatized by what happened to her that night in a London, Ont., hotel room that she had to testify via video from another room in the courthouse, and the defendants were blurred on her end. What those cheering the acquittals seem to quickly forget is that trauma and abuse in sports isn't just a woman's story — it's a part of sports culture that has thrived in the shadows for far too long. This case just so happened to involve a woman. This is also a man's story. Whether Winnipeg Jets fans want to admit it or not, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was previously involved with a franchise that saw Kyle Beach identify himself as a player at the centre of sexual abuse allegations. A second former player also sued the Chicago Blackhawks. Hometown favourite Jonathan Toews was also part of that franchise at the time these abuses took place. I am by no means saying either Cheveldayoff or Toews were involved or knew of the abuse. The point of including this is as a reminder that abuse is happening to athletes themselves in top leagues. This is not just a minor league issue. This is not just a women's issue. This is a high-profile issue that continues to get swept under the rug whenever the defendants are deemed not guilty, whether in the court of law or the court of public opinion. If one of these players is signed by an NHL team, we will have to cover them in the Free Press sports section in a way where it appears as though this story never existed. Just as we have had to cover Alex Ovechkin, regardless of his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. You can add as many disclaimers and explainers as you want; these are still stories emphasizing the 'greatness' of these athletes. Abuse is rampant in professional sports, and I'm tired of it being so often left out of the larger story of sports. We can celebrate the accomplishments of athleticism while at the same time acknowledging it's a system built on abuse that tries to shelter perpetrators instead of helping victims of abuse. The story of 'ruining his career' is so often presented in cases like the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. But what about the responsibility of the five hockey players to not ruin their respective careers by participating that night? It's just a question. Moreover, the case was so toxic to Hockey Canada before it went to court, the organization had already settled out of court, wanting the story to go away — to be swept under the rug and into the ugly shadows. If I may offer one opinion, it is that I fear these acquittals will dissuade future victims of sexual assault from reporting abuse. We're at a point in society where women have to be believed more than ever while navigating a justice system built to cast doubt on testimony. Whether you believe E.M. or not, I ask that you consider how you would feel if you weren't believed. I hope there's a day when the story of sports doesn't include abuse of any kind. Thursday, however, punctuated and perpetuated the 'boys will be boys' culture ingrained in sports at the expense of another person's trauma. Maybe this trial will help forward ongoing conversations about consent and, if anything, remind sports fans of the dark, toxic side of these stories of heroes and history books. Grace Anne Paizen is the Free Press Sports editor Grace Anne PaizenSports Editor Grace oversees the team that produces sports journalism for the Free Press. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.


National Post
3 days ago
- National Post
Former Czech ice hockey great Josef Černý dies at 85
Article content PRAGUE — Josef Černý, one of the highest-scoring forwards in the former Czechoslovakia who helped his country win three Olympic medals, has died. He was 85. Article content His former Czech club, Kometa Brno, announced his death on Thursday. Article content Černý hit 75 goals in his 210 appearances for Czechoslovakia. With 478 goals in the domestic league and in international games, he was the sixth best scorer in the country, according to the Sport daily. Article content He said he considered his 'biggest one' to be the second goal in a memorable 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union at the 1969 world championship in Stockholm. Article content That was the first major tournament after the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in August of the previous year that crushed a period of liberal reforms known as the Prague Spring. Article content 'I scored more than 400 goals but the Russian one I value the most,' he once said. Article content Černý played in the team that finished runner-up at the Olympic tournament in Grenoble in 1968, and claimed bronze in 1964 in Innsbruck and in 1972 in Sapporo. He also won four silver medals and four bronzes at world championships. Article content He retired from international hockey briefly before the 1972 worlds in Prague that Czechoslovakia won. Article content In his 21 seasons in the domestic league, he became the first player to score 400 goals. Article content


Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former Czech ice hockey great Josef Černý has died. He was 85.
PRAGUE (AP) — Josef Černý, one of the highest-scoring forwards in the former Czechoslovakia who helped his country win three Olympic medals, has died. He was 85. His former Czech club, Kometa Brno, announced his death on Thursday. Černý hit 75 goals in his 210 appearances for Czechoslovakia. With 478 goals in the domestic league and in international games, he was the sixth best scorer in the country, according to the Sport daily. He said he considered his 'biggest one' to be the second goal in a memorable 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union at the 1969 world championship in Stockholm. That was the first major tournament after the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in August of the previous year that crushed a period of liberal reforms known as the Prague Spring. 'I scored more than 400 goals but the Russian one I value the most,' he once said. Černý played in the team that finished runner-up at the Olympic tournament in Grenoble in 1968, and claimed bronze in 1964 in Innsbruck and in 1972 in Sapporo. He also won four silver medals and four bronzes at world championships. He retired from international hockey briefly before the 1972 worlds in Prague that Czechoslovakia won. In his 21 seasons in the domestic league, he became the first player to score 400 goals. Černý rejected an option to emigrate in fear of the persecution of his family, he once said. After retirement, he turned to coaching at home and in Austria and Italy. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Czech ice hockey association offered condolences to his relatives, calling him 'a legendary forward.' ___ AP sports: