Noteworthy: Timing perfect for a Memorial Cup, now we just need to bid

By Bruce Penton on December 6, 2023.

Should the Medicine Hat Tigers make a bid for the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament?

The Canadian major junior hockey championship has never been held in the Gas City, but it will be the Western Hockey League’s turn to play host in 2026 – it’s in Saginaw, Mich., in 2024, and it will go to a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team’s arena in 2025 – and the Tigers could be poised for a national title in front of their home fans.

With superstar Gavin McKenna playing in what would probably be his final season with Medicine Hat in 2025-26, along with Cayden Lindstrom and the Ruck twins lighting it up on offence, and strong goaltending with Ethan McCallum, the Tigers would in all likelihood be a strong ‘host’ team, with a championship certainly within their sights.

The city is also blessed with Co-op Place, a state-of-the-art facility, one that Hatters would be eager to show off to the hockey world. Hosting a Memorial Cup requires a tremendous amount of volunteerism, but this city has a strong record in that area, so why not?

An event such as the Memorial Cup would also bring a massive amount of national media attention to our city, it would help to fill up most of our hotels and restaurants for a week or so and the Tigers’ hockey legacy would be solidified, or at least enhanced.

– Public theft: A sign at a concession stand at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge announces that American money is accepted at par. That’s outright theft, in my book, without having to wear a mask. An American buck should buy at least $1.25 worth of goods in Canada. The Enmax folks deposit those American dollars and get a nice little profit from them.

– A ‘go-figure’ moment from Medicine Hat traffic: The right-turn-only lane at the bottom of Dunmore Hill is a godsend. No longer would those wishing to turn right have to wait behind a vehicle intent on going straight. However, last week, I happened to be the third car in a line at the bottom of the hill, my right-turn blinker signalling my intentions, but the lead truck sat … and sat … and sat. “He’s in the wrong lane,” I muttered to myself. After a minute or 90 seconds, the light finally turned green, and the truck turned right. Aaagh!!!

– Medicine Hat certainly hasn’t avoided the pickleball craze. It’s one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and our city was the site last summer of the Western Canadian Regional championships. Interesting fact about pickleball is that some people who live near outdoor courts are annoyed with the constant thwack-thwack-thwack of ball hitting paddle. Complaints and lawsuits have been filed. Yahoo Sports recently reported that the decibel level of a pickleball shot is 70 dBA (not sure what those initials stand for, but they sound loud). By comparison, the story noted, a vacuum cleaner comes in at 75 dBA. Naturally, the world of free enterprise is working on developing a paddle that produces a sound about 50 per cent quieter.

– Apropos of nothing, the oddest thing I read last week was that King Charles III insists on having his shoelaces ironed daily. That’s just weird.

– The Baby Boom generation is one with which I’m most familiar, because I belong to that group of people born between 1946 and 1964. Boomers have had every advantage possible, according to those who haven’t enjoyed those advantages, citing employment, housing and socio-economic aspects of lifestyles.

So while I’m familiar with Boomers, some research was required to enlighten me about Gen Z, which was referenced in a story about 2023’s new word of the year – rizz. The story I was reading said members of the Gen Z generation use ‘rizz’ as a slang term for ‘charisma’. Like, Taylor Swift has plenty of red lipstick and rizz.

My ignorance about generational names was reduced somewhat when I went Googling and discovered Gen Z refers to people born between 1997 and 2012, and that the current generation, those born between 2013 and 2023, are part of what’s referred to as the Alpha Generation. As for the word of the year, the older I get, the less rizz I emit.

– Only old codgers like me stop to reminisce about the musical days of yore when we hear of the recent deaths of Chad Allen, original lead singer of the Guess Who, and Myles Goodwyn, who led April Wine to a string of hits in the 70s and 80s. Old codgers would probably agree: The music back then was great.