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17, 1991 £ 4 The NHL schedule his reached the quartes pole and'ds headed for the back stretch and perhaps it is time to take stock of [what has transpired in the world of hockey and what the future may hold as the year progresses. Asually at this siage of she game, many sportswriters and pundits alike begin to place their carly return wagers on the League's hardware contenders in terms of individual awards such as. the Calder and Norris Trophies. Ong award I usually find fault b to the 'player judged to be the most valuable to his team." I think4he key phrase here is "his team," and not "1b€ league." My interpretation of that crite- ria is the player any team can least afford to without. Unfortunately, the sportswriters who vote on this award seem fb feel that only a superstar should be give consideration, and gven ented and dominant player of the decade, I feel he deseryed to win" the Hart orily she first two years of that stretch: 1980 and 1981. At that time, in the early 1980's, the Oiler dynasty was still in its infancy and the players had yet to realize just how good they really were. They needed Gretzky's two or three points each night to keep them going as they made the rookic mistakes and fell into defensive lapses. As the decade progressed, it was clear. Gretzky was just one of several bona fide with is the Hart Trophy, awarded # stars the Oilers could ice on any given night. With names like Coffey, Messier, Kuri, Fuhr, Anderson and Moog, the Oilers could winguithout the Great One. This type of player, in my view, does not meet the criteria for the Hart. £2 : As a matter Of fact, ifthe past * 1f years (no pun intended) Mark Messier has been the only worthy , recipient of the Hart. His mere more confi a on a winning team. Let's look into this point fur- ther. For an eight year stretch in owned this award, and while he was without a doubt the most tal- p in the Oiler dregsipg room raised their madi year Messier won the « Oilers won the Stanley Cup With the 1980's, Wayne Gretzky. 'what must be considered ordi- nary talent at best. (Gretzky, Loffey and Fuhr had either been * waded of were injured) Though Messier had missed only one game that year, he played hurt through the regular schedule and playoffs, His'guidance and lead- érship abilities were alluded to this season when Peter Klima sulked and whined about. his ice time and puBlicly berated his team mates and coachés in the media. Many Oiler players stated he would not. have made it out of the dressing foom alive had he pulled that stunt last year. They did not state specifically who would have meted out the punishment. They didn't have 10. Messigr exudes and commands respect)' and any team he plays for is better because of it. There are several players who have shown their MVP value so far this season and to a man, they will probably ncver receive a vote from the writer's guild. Wendel Clark heads the list of such players. Of the six games he has played with the Leafs, they are 4-2, or a winning percentage of .666. The Leafs will be fortunate to play even .400 this season with or without Clark. The writers' argument against Clark is that he has missed too many games to be "is 16-2-3. Hardly a coi by Todd Healey given consideration, but that is exactly how to measare a play- er's worth----how well it plays without him. . Another player emerging ds a star in his.own right-is youthful Trevor Linden of the Canucks. 1. Even more startling, Howe is an impressive +7 in the plus/minus category. There isn't another Flyer high- er than -3. ; Obviously a healthy Howe would "greatly increase the After a medi Flyers' ch of a playoff berth P (J jinx" last season, he has impressed so far this year and is among the league leaders in scor- ing. ~~ But consider this, when Linden scores a goal, 'the Canucks are 11-1-0. When he registers at least a point, the team in the suddenly powerful Patrick. However unfair, these players will not be given consideration for the Hart this year and the writers are not totally to blame. Marketing and PR directors from cach team spend a lot of money sending out stat sheets and player profiles, explaining why their but certainly a point well worth remembering come awards night. Mark Howe is another choice for the Hart who has never won a major award in his lengthy career, despite the fact he has carried the Flyers for years. Their fall to the lower eche- lons of the league in the past cou- ple of years can be traced directly to Howe's injury woes. It is beyond shaméful he has never picked up a Norris as best defenseman. This year, like the last two, he has seen limited action duc to back problems. But in the eight games he has started, the Flyers are a-respectable 5-2- - which shows every one of Brett man should win a certain award. A writer which has video cassette from the Blues PR department Hull's 86 goals without interrup- tion, is likely to forget that Joe Sakic's points total. 56 per cent of the Nordiques entire out-put. The only fair method is to poll the players and have them select the individual awards. They know that without Cam Neely, the Bruins are dead in the water, and that Scoit Stevens is the franchise in New Jersey. The writers, for the most part, only see most NHL players a couple of times each year. Wrap-up from Port Perry Bantam 2's The Pory Perry Bantam 2's have been busy with league and tournament action over the last couple of weeks, Here's a wrap- A B [3 AB up. On December 11, Millbrook was in town looking for a bit of revenge and they got it with a 4-1 win that made up_for af carlicryy defeat at the h¥inds of Port. Bourgeois from Olaisen got the lone goal. One day earlier, Port was in Pickering and this was a heck of Jgame with plerity of hard hitting. Port won it 6-2 thanks to four goals in the final period. Harper had a pair with singles to. Zaparanuik, Bourgeois, Thompson and Vernon. 9 Az n v On December 7, the team was in Bancroft for a tournament and ° lost the opener 3-0 to Haliburtofi. The luck of draw put Port against a big, 'strong team from Desoronto and Port was blanked 4-0. Fig The last game was against Trenton and'the guys put up a fine effort in going down to defeat 5-3 with Bourgeois, Thompsoh and Zaparanuik get- ting the goals. " In another tournament Nov, 30 At Duero, Port lost a squeaker 3-2 fo Oshawg in the opener with scoring by Jon Jamieson and Olaisen, A Game two _proved to be a vic- tory over Bowmanville with Lefory getting the gdal. Late last month, the team-hooked up withg Millbrook for-a pair of games with the Millbrook winning by a 5-4 score. Sportsland goals camé. from . Bourgeo#; Olaisen, "For an honest deal on 4s New Car, Truck or Decent Used Vehicle, callMag! - House a Specialty, 852-3313 Toronto Line 640-2793 NEW & USED CARS & TRUCKS Tomp and Jon J; ! ro - Six nights later against the Malcolm "Mac" Ward oh team .in 'Port Perry, ,. 1990 Membér Sportsland dominated in all cate- Chrysler Sales Guild gories romping 10 a 14-0 victory: Vemon had three in this one, with 4 wi [XH Lefort and Jamiesoff netting two each and singles from Zap,-Hall, Bourgeois," Hobbs and Jeff Jamieson. YMCA floor hockey . Chris and Gary Langford teamed up for seven big goals to lead the Blues 6 a 12-7 win over the Flames in YMCA Intérmedjate floor hockey action December 9. Kevin Duncan added a pair for the 'Blues with Joey Drebit, Ryan Dunkley and Darryl Dalton getting singles. For the Flames, Mau McMaster. and Brad Fraser had two with sin- gles to Mark Heffern, Ryan Fraser and Even Bertrand. In action the previous week, the Blues had a Big Mac attack as Mati McMaster clicked four times to lead the' Flames to a 9-4 victory. Steve Doan scored twice with Adam: Youmans, Mark Heffern and Even Bertrand getting the oth- ers. For the Blues, Eric Bird fired "two with Kevin Duncan and Mike Wiseman chipping in with one each.! ¢ v PPHS Rebel of the Week _ This"weeks Reel is Paul, inten. Paul is 4 very busy grade 10 student. Pau} was the setter for this fall's BOSSA Junior Championship lleyball team. At the same time, he represented Hl PPHS in tennis. Paul has played ,'a critical rale in getting the 'midget basketball team-off to a very successful 104 start. Paul'is "very well known for y cious defense and his 0 drive the basketball, Paul is also help to the PHE department - i i to with a big officiating. Well done, Paul! ~ FORDER "34 Walter Street, Port Perry, INSURANCE BROKERS INC. * Onfario L9L 1)2 9858471. PERSONAL ATTENTION TOALL OF YOUR GENERAL INSURANCE NEEDS Gl Ji Hay 7 Sou, urisgep