It was a pretty cool moment for the family of local hockey product Dalton Bancroft of Madoc at the former Yardmen Arena last weekend.
Bancroft, whose dad, Steve, played for the OHL Belleville Bulls and was a Toronto Maple Leafs first-round draft pick before embarking on a lengthy minor-pro career, is in his first year in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, the No. 1 farm club of the NHL Boston Bruins. With the younger Bancroft in the lineup, Providence swept a two-game series against the host Belleville Senators, 6-4 and 6-3.
Twenty-six years ago, the elder Bancroft was a member of the 1998-99 Providence Bruins club that claimed the Calder Cup AHL playoff championship with a 4-1 decision over the Rochester Americans in the best-of-seven league final.
Dalton was a junior star with the Trenton Golden Hawks before going on to NCAA Div 1 prominence with Cornell Big Red in Ithaca, NY. He inked a one-year entry-level deal with Boston in April as a highly-regarded free agent.
DESERONTO EXTENDS STREAK
The Deseronto Bulldogs continue to tear up the Western Conference of the Northern Premier Sr. A Hockey League and former pro Luc Brown is a big reason for the club’s recent success.
Heading into weekend play the Bulldogs sat atop the Highlands Division standings with a five-game win streak and an overall record of 7-3-1. Brown, meanwhile, has racked up 30 points in just nine games including a dozen goals.
Bulldogs haven’t lost since Nov. 1 and over the course of their five-game win streak have outscored the opposition by a whopping margin of 32-16. Brown is second overall in league scoring, one point back of Smiths Falls Rideaus forward Tate Leeson (17-14-31).
Of interest, former Tweed Oil Kings forward Andrew Rhynold — now with the expansion Durham Hawks — is third in league scoring (13-14-27) while Brett Gustavsen, a former OHL Belleville Bull, is fourth with 23 points. He plays for the undefeated Manotick Mariners who lead the conference overall with a perfect 9-and-0 slate.
Speaking of the Oil Kings, the Tweed team was 7-and-3 in second place in the Heritage Division going into the weekend. Smiths Falls (8-1) was leading the group.
The other local club in the conference, the Wellington-based PEC Royals, were experiencing a bumpy ride in their freshman season in the NPHL with a 2-7-1 record after their first 10 games.
ARGOS HIRE NEW HELMSMAN
The CFL’s Toronto Argonauts hired from within to replace outgoing head coach Ryan Dinwiddie who has jumped to the division rival Ottawa Redblacks in the dual role of GM-head coach.
Mike Miller moves up from quarterbacks coach to head coach in Toronto. He brings to the top job a reputation for being something of a quarterback whisperer. Three QB’s under the tutelage of Miller — McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Chad Kelly and Nick Arbuckle — all put up outstanding numbers during his tenure in the pivot’s room.
Argos GM Mike (Pinball) Clemons, one of the truly nicest guys in all of professional sports, hopes Miller’s work with Toronto quarterbacks transfers to the overall field where he will call the offensive plays. Argonauts missed the playoffs this year after capturing the Grey Cup in 2024.
It’s no secret Argos were originally gunning for former Toronto linebacker and longtime Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, who has opted to remain in the Manitoba capital where he’s been since 2014. Miller will undoubtedly want to prove Argonauts made the right choice when O’Shea was unavailable.
VANIER CUP DOMINANCE
Canada’s national university football final has become a two-team tug-of-war.
The powerhouse Montreal Carabins and Laval Rouge et Or have combined to win the last four Vanier Cup championships. The intra-provincial rivals have won two Vanier titles apiece since the last non-Quebec team to win national gridiron bragging rights, the Western Mustangs, were crowned in 2021.
This year, in Regina, Montreal defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 30-16 in the 2025 college finale on Nov. 22.
Led by Laval, with four, the Rouge et Or and Carabins have captured six of the last 10 Vanier Cup banners.
OLYMPICS ON THIN ICE
Don’t look now but reports indicate the NHL will not participate in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympic Games hockey tournament in Milan, Italy if construction of the rink isn’t completed on time and — get this — if the ice surface is too small.
What the heck?
Apparently, the builders are behind schedule and, somehow, when completed, the ice surface could be slightly smaller than NHL standards. How does that even happen?
NHL players haven’t participated in the Olympics since 2014. Realistically, NHL commish Gary Betman and team owners probably don’t care.
But the fans do.
