Is it just me, or is our community getting healthier?
Take a drive around our city in the afternoon/evening, and it's seemingly impossible not to see pods of runners cruising the sidewalks, or pairs of cyclists hugging the right side of the road.
Some are taking it to another level -- such as John Beebe, who is one of many from Prince George attempting the Canadian Death Race later this summer. You've likely kept pace with the training log that has chronicled his every step to this point. The latest installment ran Tuesday.
More and more, the Citizen sports staff find themselves writing stories about people attempting insane races, including local teacher Reid Roberts, who 50 kilometres in an ultramarathon in Kelowna. Yes, that's more than a marathon. No, he wasn't the only one from Prince George to enter.
--- I wonder if local hockey watchers fully grasp what happened last weekend, with both Brett Connolly and Brett Bulmer being selected in the National Hockey League entry draft.
Connolly was selected sixth overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Steve Yzerman and his advisors looking past the injury risk that had other teams taking a hands-off approach.
A day later, Brett Bulmer's rocketing up the rankings was complete when the Minnesota Wild jumped the queue and selected the winger 39th overall, an early second-round choice. Reading the coverage provided by Citizen sports reporter Jason Peters, it was an early call that stunned Bulmer and his family as well.
It's a painstaking process Peters went through to present a list of local products who have been drafted over the years, and the list comes to 21 players, with Darcy Rota the first, 13th overall in 1973. Over the years, P.G. has gone six years, five years and four years without someone being called by an NHL team.
But two Prince George minor hockey products being selected in the NHL draft -- that's only happened three times in 30 years (Doug Morrison and Don Nachbaur in 1979; Sean LeBrun and Tony Twist in 1988; Turner Stevenson and Stew Malgunas in 1990).
None of those trios can match the numbers assigned to Connolly, a Prince George Cougar, and Bulmer, a Kelowna Rocket, with both of them taken off the market before the draft hit its 40th selection.
Those who follow hockey in this town can rattle off numbers when it comes to the draft and local connections. They remember defenceman Eric Brewer going fifth overall to the New York Islanders (damn you, Mike Milbury) in 1997, and that Brewer still holds the mark for being the Cougars player taken highest in an NHL draft. Of note that same year, the Islanders made it two Prince George picks when the enigmatic Jarrett Smith was taken in the third round, 59th overall, a fair slide from his early teen days when he was the first overall selection in the WHL bantam draft.
People also remember Dan Hamhuis walking to the NHL draft stage after the 12th choice was declared by the Nashville Predators, and many can also quickly add the trivia of Ty Wishart's status as a first-rounder, going 16th overall to the San Jose Sharks in 2006. Or, quick now, name the only Spruce King to be drafted -- defenceman Brad Fast, a third-rounder in 1999 who would accomplish a notable feat in the NHL, scoring a goal in his only NHL game.
But the point with Connolly and Bulmer is what happened a few days ago is now a part of history, a reference point that will be noted time and time again should either, or both, start appearing on highlight packages on Rogers Sportsnet. It will be much the same as the constant references in these parts to Dustin Byfuglien's time, and status as an eighth-round draft pick, while barging his way to the Stanley Cup with Chicago.
If they weren't before, Connolly and Bulmer have now become "ours," proud exports whose successes will be nothing but positive for themselves, their families and friends, the local hockey community, and this city on the whole.
It will be an interesting journey to chronicle.
