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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 23 | Friday, February 13, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Open Minded Oakville's Brent McLaughlin overseeing day-to-day operations of Canadian Open by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor As the RBC Canadian Open prepares for tee-off this summer at Glen Abbey Golf Club, the PGA Tour event has not one but two local men driving the cart. Long-time tournament director Bill Paul has handed over the reins of the day-to-day operations this year to Oakville resident Brent McLaughlin. The move allows Paul, Golf Canada's chief championship officer, to focus more on the overall future of Canada's national open championship. "The reality was, we just weren't moving forward," said the 56-year-old Paul, who has overseen the Open ever since he inherited the role from Canadian golf hall of famer Dick Grimm in 1993. "We're here (in Oakville) in '15, but we don't have '16 done, we don't have '17 done. We've got to renew RBC (sponsorship of the Canadian Open) and CP (sponsorship of the Canadian Women's Open LPGA Tour event). In my mind, in order to get this done, I had to back out of a lot of the day-to-day stuff and focus on the future stuff." McLaughlin, a 44-year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie who has lived in Oakville for 15 years, is no stranger to organization of major golf competitions. He has been the tournament director of the Canadian Pacific Women's Open the past two years (a role he will continue to hold) and has served on rules committees for The Open Championship (British Open), the U.S. Open and other significant tournaments. Prior to that, McLaughlin spent most of his time running amateur tournaments for Golf Canada. "Over the past four or five years, I've gotten closer to what goes on outside the ropes," said McLaughlin. "Our open championships are basically the pinnacle of golf in Canada. Brent McLaughlin (left) is taking over the tournament director's role of the Canadian Open from Bill Paul, who has held the position since 1993. Paul, Golf Canada's chief championship officer, will now focus primarily on the long-term future of the competition. | photo by Eric Riehl -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog There are a lot of moving parts. I think people would be fascinated with how things work... it's a great industry to be a part of. "Logistically, it's like planning a massive party for 10,000 people," he added. Though this year's Canadian Open isn't scheduled until July 20-26, McLaughlin is already hard at work in his new role. He's had discussions with the Town of Oakville about logistical issues such as parking, he's explored new catering initiatives for both the players and the public, and he's looking for ways to capitalize on the Pan Am Games being in the Greater Toronto Area at the same time as the Canadian Open. "There will be so many people visiting from out of the area," McLaughlin said. "Maybe we'll get a new crop of people." McLaughlin said he wants to put his own footprint on this year's tournament -- the addition of food trucks to serve spectators is one consideration -- but he doesn't anticipate making any drastic changes from the way Paul has done things for more than two decades. "Bill has done such a great job with this tournament for so long. To think there's a laundry list of things to change see Paul on p.24 Devils aim to end hockey title drought Jeff Gruber distinctly recalls the last time the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils were Halton high school boys' hockey champions. The title came with an asterisk. "In 1986, Lord Elgin (now Robert Bateman) played OT in the final," said Gruber, the long-time Red Devils head coach but an assistant coach for Lord Elgin at that time. "It was a best-of-three and we didn't finish the series because both teams had already qualified for OFSAA (provincials)." As Gruber remembers it, the Red Devils and Lancers split the first two games, contests that were "pretty aggressive." The coaches of the two sides agreed not to play the deciding third game, settling for being co-champions. According to the Halton Secondary Schools Athletic Association website, the Red Devils' boys' hockey drought extends back even further than 1986. The last title OT is credited as winning was 32 years ago, in 1983. The Red Devils appear on their way to ending that stretch of futility this season. OT's 2-0 win over the Frank Hayden Huskies Tuesday at Joshua's Creek Arenas improved the Devils' record to 6-0-2 in league play. And they've already beaten the defending champion, edging the Abbey Park Eagles 3-2 last month. "Our strongest players last year were our Grade 11s, and now they're our Grade 12s. So I don't know if it's a surprise," Gruber said of OT's success this year. "The guys have worked hard, they've earned the victosee Boulding on p.24 Oakville Trafalgar's Matt Lyon (in white) tries to carry the puck around a Frank Hayden Huskies opponent during Tuesday's Halton high school boys' hockey contest at Joshua's Creek Arenas. The Devils won 2-0 to remain undefeated in league play. | photo by Eric Riehl -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog