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Student Life

Cashing in on ‘awkward’ moments

by Riva Gold on

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Generally speaking, the average student goes to the bathroom with one or two specific goals in mind; one of which is not to select a new social action group to join. Or is it? Washroom stalls across campus are becoming increasingly more cluttered with advertisements ranging from club meetings to Vonage telephone service. It’s a frightening trend that’s creeping up and it is more than just awkward: it’s pointless, invasive and simply inefficient.

Saunter into the washroom in the basement of Leacock across from the Arts Lounge and one will find a plethora of papers competing for attention. At the forefront of this race is a proactive French tutor. While she’ll “listen to your specific needs,” she makes no promise to meet them. Amazingly, dozens of copies of her contacts have been taken.

Then there are the science and engineering buildings. Wong Chemical Engineering and Otto MAASS Chemistry’s washrooms contain ads for SACOMSS, Helpline, Walksafe and McGill Nightline. But really, is anyone ever going to be sitting on a toilet thinking, “let me jot these numbers down” while proceeding to pull a pen out of his or her derriere? The same door has an ad about resisting privatization. Never has a more ironic choice of words ever invaded a washroom stall.

The Shulich Science and Engineering Library does not have any ads in its johns. Maybe the advertisers pity the poor overworked science students and realize they don’t have time to read.

Sherbrooke 688, the building where languages are imprinted into the brain, also has some washroom issues. There aren’t that many ads, but on one floor, each stall has a bold-print, bilingual sign reminding patrons to flush the toilet. These signs are also illustrated with a picture of a bear on a potty – in case the message isn’t clear. Yet, the toilets remain unflushed- an accident or a silent protest of bilingualism?

There are also posters encouraging social action. Picture it: eager young students see the ad, and think “ah yes, now I’ll change the world” and join their political peers to promote justice. Imagine the following awkward conversation between the leaders of the organization and the new members: Exec: “What inspired you?” Aspiring activists: “We saw an ad on the toilet.” Exec: “Oh.”

Last but not least: James Administration’s classy third-floor, single-stall, wheelchair-accessible washroom contains nothing more than a sign that reminds patrons to lock the door to avoid “awkward moments.” Thank you, administration. You have once again proven your advice to be invaluable to the students you serve.

Opinion

Money makes the world go ’round

by Conor Graham on

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Private donations constitute a bulk source of income for most post-secondary institutions. McGill is no different. In 2004-2005, total private funding for McGill was just over $55-million dollars. This may seem like a large number, but keep in mind that it’s just under $1,700 per student and with tuition covering a minor portion of total university costs, gifts are a very necessary part of the income. And while McGill enforces a no-strings-attached policy on the donations it accepts, the university uses a variety of strategies to solicit much-needed dough.

Giving until it hurtsVery little of the total buildings and land of McGill were purchased by the university itself. In 1925, Lady Roddick donated the front gates that are now a quintessential McGill symbol. The most interesting and, some would argue, best gift to McGill, came from Commander Carlyon Bellairs in 1954 when he left his beach-front estate in Barbados to the university. The Ballairs Institute is now Canada’s only teaching and research facility operating in the tropics.

Traditionally, McGill has had several programs in place to collect private donations. The first of these programs, the Twenty-First Century Fund, raised over $205-million for McGill programs. Another program is the McGill Student Phonathon Program, which is run by the Alumni Association. While the Phonathon achieves excellent results with approximately $8-million collected annually, McGill walks a fine line between tasteful inquiry and blatant solicitation when contacting alumni.

Please sir, I want some more . . .The active pursuit of alumni donations is a thorny issue. On one hand, the university needs funding. On the other hand, there is always some pressure associated with soliciting. In the case of the Phonathon, the explanation is that the students are calling to make sure information about the alum is up to date. Whether the phonathon uses this as a guise to its real objectives, or if the request for funds actually is a coincidental thing that happens in a normal conversation, the pressure to give is still there.

Mallory Dash, U3 Political Science, who currently works at the call center, explains one of the methods used to relieve the donation pressure on the alums. “Whenever the Phonathon calls people, we do ask for a certain amount to start out but it is always up to the grad himself. We take any sort of donation because really anything helps the university.” Any donation is appreciated, but the students will always push, albeit gently, for a higher donation. “There is a lot of pressure involved with calling up complete strangers and asking for a lot of money, but you would be surprised at the amount of graduates who do feel like helping their alma mater out… people do tend to look back on their time at McGill fondly and give accordingly.”

One of the most questionable tactics used by McGill and many other organizations is the concept of special treatment for those who donate more. This is where ethical questions come into play. Special treatment can be a decisive factor when choosing to make a donation, especially if the reward is something like an invitation to the Chancellor’s Dinner; an event that only a large donation to McGill can get you into. Whether they are thinking of it or not, benefactors, just like all other people, are constantly wanting to be part of an exclusive group. The solution to the question of generosity vs. ego? Donate anonymously. Or, at the very least, decline to have your name published in the donations report.

Editorial, Opinion

EDITORIAL: Our assemblies are dysfunctional

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The Tribune found itself in a difficult position last year when deciding whether or not to support the constitutional amendment on general assemblies. Essentially, we supported the idea of having regular assemblies but believed it would be damaging, democratically speaking, to lower the quorum from 200 to 100 students. Unfortunately, the ballot combined both questions and we decided that it was more important to have broad representation than it was to have regular assemblies. The amendment was passed last spring, meaning that twice a year, 100 students can get together and make policy for the Students’ Society.

On Thursday we were reminded of why lowering quorum was a bad idea after several resolutions brought forward by fringe groups were passed with fewer than 200 students present-less than one per cent of McGill’s 22,700 undergraduate students.

But that isn’t the only problem with general assemblies. In their current form, they are severely dysfunctional and they need to be improved to better represent the will of the student body. The motions debated at the GA were too broad in scope and poorly publicized. For example, although the constitutional amendment that mandates the GA calls for the agenda to be publicized in the campus press, including the Tribune, this was not done.

The idea of a General Assembly is a good one. Students should be able to discuss, debate and pass general SSMU policy. However, it is not very meaningful to have a debate if everyone already has their mind made up before the event happens. Effectively what happened on Thursday was that motions were introduced, some people spoke into microphones and nobody listened.

The Midnight Kitchen brought a motion that claimed an agreement was in place between SSMU and the group to give it property rights to the third-floor kitchen. This was presented in the motion as fact, however, the claim was disputed. “There was no formal or informal agreement between SSMU and Midnight Kitchen,” said former SSMU President Martin Doe during the Assembly, “and I should know because I was the President the year the Shatner building renovations referendum took place.” Doe therefore proposed that the Midnight Kitchen issue be diverted to a committee.

SSMU executives would have assembled a group of elected councilors and other students and sat down to work the issue out. Unfortunately, those at Thursday’s GA chose to ignore the person who had the most direct experience with the issue and voted down the proposal, mainly because everyone’s minds were made up before the event was held.

Instead of a GA, what we have now is a mobilization contest. It’s a race between those who support the proposals and those who don’t, where those who have proposed the motions have a much greater incentive to get them passed. It’s not much of a contest. This adversarial element, which was clear as day on Thursday, hurts the democratic process.

But there is another problem with the GA-the motions were far too broad. The Grassroots Association for Student Power proposed two of the motions that were debated. Their proposals, while well-intentioned, encompassed far too much to ever be reasonably implemented. Instead of being a general framework within which SSMU could work, the resolutions were more like omnibus bills containing many different elements.

For example, it made sense for GRASPé to propose a resolution condemning corporations on campus, but the actual resolution had several aspects to it, including a demand that McGill hold a student referendum each time a major decision is made concerning corporate financing.

Students were persuaded to say “boo corporations,” which is something many people could get on board with, but by doing so were also voting for SSMU to press the McGill administration to consult students each and every time an investment decision is made. The resolution called for a number of things and it’s easy to conclude that many students were voting on the underlying idea of the motion, rather than the complex plans that the motion set out.

Thursday’s motions were either too broad, factually incorrect or extremely slanted. There should be some sort of body of rules to which a motion must comply with.

Until the general assemblies are shaped into a forum where a dialogue can take place and a significant number of undecided students choose to show up, it will remain an illegitimate policy arena. In its current incarnation, hundreds of moderate students will have to show up at these general assemblies just to make sure their student union isn’t hijacked.

Lowering the quorum to 100 allows exceedingly small yet vocal minorities to hijack the Students’ Society business.

The resolutions on the whole were generally unclear and not at all well thought out. We shouldn’t be enforcing blind policy at the GA and there should be some sort of mechanism that ensures foolish motions are ameliorated before they are put to a vote.

Opinion

SIMPLY SPOKEN: Canadian defence indefensible

by Miriam Martz on

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I was lying in bed last week, spaced out from migraine meds and depressed from feeling out of sorts and useless, when I finally found something that made me laugh: “Guards walk off job at four B.C. border crossings.” As you may already know-and as I quickly found out-Canadian border guards have the right to walk off the job if things get dangerous. In this case, the danger was yet another crazed American criminal suspect trying to run north.

I had a little cartoon picture running through my head of 60 Canadian border guards, standing strong, guarding the border and gossiping like old hens: “There might be an American coming our way with a gun!” “That sounds scary!” “Let’s run away!”

Really though, the joke is on me. There have been two hot topics in the news lately: Guns and the war on terror. This minor headline on the B.C. border guards, however, made me realize that there was only one hot topic, not two. The bottom line in every big news story lately is that Canadians don’t like the idea of dying.

The New Democratic Party wants to pull Canada out of the conflict in Afghanistan because 40 people have been killed. Fourty. The outrage over one girl murdered in Montreal was nationwide. There were three school shootings in the US the week before last. By the time the third one happened, most Americans had nothing more to say than “Again?” before going back to their normal lives. Canadians would not be able to take a week of school shootings so calmly.

Should Canadians have the legal right to run away from danger, even if it is at odds with their moral obligations?

To be honest, I am having a little bit of trouble understanding the issue. Guards are supposed to protect. In most countries, guards are armed. How are unarmed guards supposed to protect a country from someone with a gun? They can’t, which is why the border guards in B.C. have run away from their jobs four times this year.

Should we give the border guards guns? Looking a man in the eyes and shooting him is not something that average people can easily bring themselves to do; even soldiers-hired and trained to defend their country with their lives-sometimes have trouble firing when ordered to do so. Would arming the border guards really keep them from running away? Hopefully it would give them a feeling of safety and help them to stay at their jobs.

If the Conservatives were smart, they would revoke the law allowing guards to run away. But such a move might not go over so well with the ultra-cautious, safety-obsessed Canadian public.

Harper’s plan is to arm and train half of all border guards over the course of the next decade. Guards have been pushing for the right to carry guns for years. Why doesn’t the government speed up the process a little? Surely with an extra $13.2-billion lying around-the amount of the most recent budget surplus-a little bit can be put to use to speed up the arming of the border guards in the interest of protecting those whose job it is to protect us.

Opinion

THE HELPLESS ROMANTIC: Cogs of the Big Red Machine

by Richard Tseng on

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I agreed to stand as a delegate to attend the Liberal leadership conference, so I found myself in church last Sunday. The service was well under way and so was the delegate selection meeting. Delegates get to pick the next Liberal leader and possibly the next Prime Minister of Canada. There was a big lineup full of old folks discussing who to vote for, which went along the lines of “If you vote for my brother, I’ll vote for you,” or “You can pick 14 delegates, so you can send Sheila, your uncle Ted and my sister too.” With all the hard politicking right up to the election, it was clear that I didn’t stand a chance.

Turns out that was exactly it. I had no chance because not only was everybody better connected than me, I wasn’t even on the ballot. I checked my wallet. It was five dollars lighter, so I had paid the fee to stand. Moreover, I did remember filling out and handing in the form. Apparently I wasn’t the only one whose name was lost: Several other Young Liberals had been removed from the ballot in their ridings with little explanation. Surely not reverse ageism, I thought, as I filled out my form like an obedient child who had been told he had to do homework instead of going to the cool party where all the grown-ups were.

Then I went over to the Liberal McGill station and was frustrated to find McGill students who weren’t club members voting as well. Didn’t this somehow violate the club constitution-a constitution drafted by the club’s members and supported by the Young Liberals of Canada in Quebec? It did, especially since the club had submitted the list of names for people who could choose the club’s delegates well ahead of time and in accordance with the rules. Yet here I was, having paid good money to become a member of Liberal McGill, standing in line behind strangers not in the club who were going to decide who the club’s representatives at the convention were going to be. The poll clerks, picked because they were neutral in the coming leadership race, had been forced to bend to the pressures of the older, more ignorant officials. They may as well have thrown their lists away.

To a non-Liberal or non-Liberal McGill member, this may be dull, but it affects all students-even those in the Conservative party, which doesn’t have a youth wing. Students make up a large number of eligible voters and could be an important interest group. Politicians’ platforms are always addressing education and other things of interest to the country’s youth. They will always claim, as is undeniably true, that we are Canada’s future. Yet at the same time, whether it’s the leaders themselves or the hacks who work below them, somebody is screwing young people.

But it isn’t just their fault. Few of my peers actually care about party politics or who to elect. Many pick who I tell them to pick come election time or get lumped with the radicals and trust fund Trotskyites who start riots or ineffectual picket lines.

Voting in larger numbers isn’t going to change anything either. The same old-timers who draft the delegate lists also choose the candidates for Parliament come election time. Party politics, by all accounts, is an older man’s game.

While it is infuriating how powerless I am right now, I can take solace in the knowledge that when I get to their age, I’ll finally be able to take revenge by screwing over their grandchildren.

Student Life

CHATTERBOX: ‘I just enrolled Trump in a basketball league’

by Rachel Melnik on

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Lee Bienstock, runner-up on the hit reality series, The Apprentice, talks about New York, the corporate lifestyle and hanging out with Donald Trump. Speaking at the Hillel House, the recent college grad and high-profile business guru tells McGill students about his rise to the top of the Trump Towers.

You have quite a strong friendship with both Donald Trump and with Sean Yazbeck. The final challenge was pretty intense. Do you think the age factor contributed to your loss?

It might have been an age factor; it might have been an experience factor. I didn’t know it at the time, but I think they kept me around because I was a good TV character. … I’m man enough to admit that I should have been fired at [earlier] times. Maybe Trump wanted me to stick around because he thought I was stronger [on TV].

Did you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement when working for NBC? Could you say anything about Trump, be it good or bad?

I now work for the man [laughs]. If I said anything bad about him I’d be gone. The list of things that I was not allowed to do was so long. … I couldn’t talk about anything. After I got fired and re-hired, things became a little more lenient.

Is the show a farce? How well does it mirror an actual business environment?

The show is not a farce. … I think it mirrors a business environment incredibly well. There is a tremendous game aspect to it [the business world]. … I probably learned more…my eight weeks there [on The Apprentice] than I learned at Cornell. You learn so much in every path: advertising, marketing, strategy, sales.

Did your New York upbringing help you out on the show?

Absolutely. I don’t know how anyone could have been on the show, not having grown up in New York. … I knew how to get around, I knew…where things were, I knew the markets. If we were in a college town, I knew who we were selling to. If we were in more of an affluent area, I knew who our customers were there.

What do you do in your spare time?

Probably the same thing as you guys. Go out with my friends. I play basketball. I just enrolled Trump in a basketball league. I like to read.

What do you think of Canada?

It’s really nice here. … Of course, I’ve only seen two blocks. But from what I see it’s gorgeous. … I’ve skied up in Mount Tremblant with friends.

On MySpace, you mention that one of your favorite TV shows is American Idol. If the whole business-man thing doesn’t work out for you, do you think you’d have a shot at pop stardom?

If I could sing.

What about Dancing with the Stars, then?

That would be even worse. I like television shows that are very competitive, but are a test of will. If someone on American Idol can just get up on stage like that and sing, I have enormous respect for that.

 

Sports

MARTLETS HOCKEY PREVIEW: McGill’s Crown Jewel

by Aaron Blossom on

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It’s an unfortunate circumstance of our society that female sports almost always get tucked away behind their male counterparts. Even here on the largely egalitarian campus of McGill, women’s athletics still seem to lack the spotlight that Redmen squads receive. While the Redmen soccer, hockey and lacrosse programs will field extremely competitive, even dominant, teams, the gem of the entire McGill Intercollegiate Athletics line-up this season could very well be the Martlets hockey team-a powerhouse that will challenge for Canadian university supremacy.

Coming off a season in which the team went 12-2-1 in the Quebec Conference-yet missed out on the ultimate goal of a CIS National Championship-a revamped and retooled Martlet team has only one item on its agenda for this campaign: bring the elusive title to McGill’s doors.

“I think that every team will tell you that it wants to win the national championship,” said Head Coach Peter Smith. “However, we feel that we have a pretty good team out on the ice and a team with a lot of potential. Obviously we’d like to come out of our conference and go to the national championship where McGill has a lot of rich history despite not having won the title.”

Top ranked team, top ranked goalie

The Martlets are off to a quick start this season in their attempt to become part of the deep tradition that is McGill hockey. With their recent 3-2 victory over perennial powerhouse University of Alberta Pandas, McGill vaulted itself into the top seed in the national ranking entering regular season play. The players are aware, though, that success can breed complacency and the team is prepared to fight this potential locker room demon.

“The feeling in the dressing room is good right now, we’re calm,'” said Captain Shauna Denis. “We have the top ranking right now but we know that it’s not the first ranking that matters but the last one. So we’re excited but we know we have to keep working really hard. The competition is too good out there not to.”

Undeniably, the foundation of any dominant hockey team is found in the cage and McGill’s net is certainly very secure under the watchful eye of the Martlets’ most prized recruit, Charline Labonté, the 2006 Canadian Olympic gold medal-winning goaltender. Labonté, in her first season at McGill, has already raked in one QSSF player of the week award as well as a CIS national player of the week prize. With an Olympian guarding the cage, the Martlets are expecting to improve on their already low goals against total (20) from last season.

While the rest of the team doesn’t boast any international stars, its strength is in its speed and depth.

Although McGill will be fielding an extremely young team at both forward and defensive positions with nine new players on the roster, the squad has markedly improved in its balance and in team quickness.

“This is probably the first time I’ve ever said this, but we have balance in all positions,” Smith said. “We have 12 forwards, six defensemen and three very good goalies; all of our players can play and the balance is the strength of the team. The girls all want to play and because there is such depth, the girls will have to work even harder for ice time.”

The Martlets, an extremely fast squad, will try to play an offensive style and push up the ice, beating opposing defensemen on the wings and then maintaining puck possession in the attacking zone. Players like Denis, high scoring power forward Vanessa Davidson and the speedy Valerie Paquette will be relied upon to score big Martlet goals and lead this overwhelmingly young squad. The defence will be anchored by another star recruit, Catherine Ward, a very shifty defenseman who excels on both the offensive and defensive ends.

“We’ve got a bunch of young players on the team,” Smith said. “We’re good now, but there is so much potential. We’re going to be a whole lot better.”

Sage words of warning for the rest of the competition in the CIS.

Arts & Entertainment

PERSPECTIVE: Clix This

by Tessa Blanchfield on

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There is an excellent, clever and effective commercial invading our airwaves, and it drives me freakin’ crazy. Unilever, the maker of Axe deodorant spray, has hired ex-Newlywed Nick Lachey as their flirtatious, dimpled spokesman for its new fragrance, Clix. For 43 seconds, Lachey walks around town, going about his mundane activities: grabbing a cup of coffee, picking up his laundry and shopping at designer stores. At every location beautiful women give him the eye (you know what I’m talking about) and for every come-hither gaze directed his way, Lachey “clix” his hand-held counter, tallying his sex-appeal.

Now, it might be worth pointing out that when Axe deodorant was originally released in South Africa, it was named “Ego,” with the tagline, “Get a girlfriend.” Throughout its 32-year history, the Axe marketing team has convinced millions worldwide that this deodorant will in fact help a geeky-looking guy get a girlfriend. And maybe it has. I’ve smelled the product, and while I was not instantaneously overcome with uncontrollable lust, I wasn’t particularly repulsed by it either. However, unless Axe bottles pheromones (though… who’s to say it doesn’t), there is no way that I would ever give Nick Lachey the sex-eye.

He’s just too smug. He is the manifestation of Ego, and maybe that is why he’s perfect for the job. Every time his manicured thumb clicks his counter, I cringe. He is conventionally hot and he knows it. Men want to be him and women (and certainly many men) want to do him. Or at least they should, according to the commercial. But honestly, what kind of modern-day female sits outside a coffee shop and seductively licks her finger every time a tomcat saunters by? A whore, that’s who!

In Nick Lachey’s world, however, this animalistic display of attraction is not only expected, but it happens over 100 times a day! Yet Axe’s atonement is swift, and this is where the clever part of the commercial kicks in. Nick, so proud of his “accomplishments” (wow, you can click a button on some daft fucking device), shows his high score to an unassuming, slightly gangly hotel employee. This Average Joe – that’s all of you guys who aren’t named Nick Lachey – counters by revealing that he clicked over 2,000 times that day. Hooray for the Morlock!

Of course, this is only possible because he sprayed Axe’s new deodorant, Clix, upon his skinny, unimpressive body earlier that day, thus releasing the mojo-enhancing powers of the concentrated fragrance. And after 43 seconds of watching an inflated ego strut his stuff, it was refreshing to see the underdog win the proverbial pissing contest. But I was still put off from seeing such a display of arrogance and undeserved airs. Lachey could be the hottest, sexiest man alive, but I am too blinded by his vacuous cockiness to see it.

And thus I have discovered what it is that really makes men attractive: it is the lack of a clicker. Naturally, women will fantasize about an extremely attractive man, with a great body, good hair, soft eyes and maybe even a couple dimples, but they never dream of a cocksure attitude or of a conceited jackass. Women want gorgeous men who don’t know that they are gorgeous. Humble hotties are a rare find, and girls, if you have one, don’t let him go… and don’t let him buy Clix for that matter either. The last thing you want is your man clicking about town.

Sports

REDMEN HOCKEY PREVIEW: Redmen have CIS title in the crosshairs

by Paul Schwatrzman on

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Despite key personnel losses, the McGill Redmen hockey team is set to make a run at their third straight OUA East division title. More importantly, the Redmen hope to get another shot at the CIS Nationals after last year’s campaign ended in heartbreak.

Although the loss of star forward Doug Orr and last year’s captain Pierre-Antoine Paquet stings, Head Coach Martin Raymond remains optimistic. Raymond (159-85-23 in regular season play) is returning for his twelfth season in charge and believes that the Redmen can look at last year as a learning experience.

“Last year we realized that we can do it, but at the same time we remember that it was quite a challenge,” Raymond said.

While the players are eager to get another shot at a national championship, they understand that all of last season’s accomplishments have put pressure on this year’s team to deliver. Fortunately, pressure is what one makes of it and the Redmen understand that it can be used as a motivational tool.

“We can’t sit on what we’ve done last year,” said defenseman David Urquhart. “We’re lucky that we’re at the point now to be part of a winning tradition.”

Speed and size upfront

McGill will carry 16 forwards on their roster-six centres and 10 wingers-including four rookies. The loss of Orr and his 21 points will certainly hurt but that’s not to say goals will be hard to come by for this group. Veteran Shawn Shewchuck, who led the Redmen in goals (11) and points (33) in 2005-2006, returns for another year, as do fellow snipers Mathieu Leclerc (20 points), Benoit Martin (20 points) and Charles Gauthier (18 points).

The Red ‘n’ White will have speed to burn with players such as Martin, Eric L’Italien and Chris Churchill-Smith in the lineup. McGill’s explosive offence also features some grit, in the form of third year forward Teddy Kyres, who’s been known to send McConnell Arena into a frenzy with punishing body-checks. Rookies Leonard Verrili, Benoit Arsenault, Vincent Lambert and Jeremy Burgess, meanwhile, will try to forge themselves a spot on this deep and talented unit.

New rules hamper defence

The biggest challenge this squad will face is adjusting to rule changes. The CIS has decided to follow the NHL’s lead in their strict enforcement of clutch and grab penalties. Generally, this favors forwards over defensemen, who will have to play a much more disciplined game if they want to stay out of the box. While the new rules may not require the Redmen to change their defensive system, it will certainly change how one-on-one battles along the boards are fought.

McGill boasts a lineup of seven defensemen, six of which are returnees. Urqhart-who last year led all OUA defensemen with 24 points-brings his crisp passing and powerful slap shot back to quarterback what promises to be a potent power play unit. Joining Urqhart on the blue line will be fellow junior Steve Pearce along with sophomores Erik Stilling, Yan Turcotte, Ken Morin, Louis-Simon Allaire and Benoit Lessard. Rookie Ben Gazdic joins the established defence that gave up a league low 29 goals against in 2005-2006.

Top goalie in the nation

Also returning for his third year is CIS all-star Mathieu Poitras. In addition to winning the Bill L’Heureux Trophy in 2005-’06 as the most outstanding player in the OUA, Poitras also led the CIS in goals against average (1.40), save percentage (.947), and wins (14). Additionally, Poitras set a CIS record for most shutouts in a season with seven.

Even when Poitras needs a rest, the Redmen can still expect outstanding goaltending from backup Jean-Michel Filiatrault, a former Rimouski Oceanique who recorded an astounding five shutouts in just seven starts. The goaltending tandem combined to set CIS single-season records for both lowest goals against average (1.21) and total shutouts (12). Rookie Jake Jarvis will be hard-pressed to earn himself anything more then target practice duties this season.

Redmen to challenge for supremacy

McGill should be able to repeat as division champions if last year’s experience can be used as a positive learning tool. Despite the departures of a few players on offence, the Redmen still have the skill, size and determination to be a scoring machine in 2006-2007. However, while the forwards will benefit from the new CIS rules, the defensemen might find it difficult to adjust. Even when mistakes are made, though opposing forwards will have a hard time putting the puck past McGill’s stellar goaltenders. It is for these reasons that the fantasy of McGill winning a national championship could very well become a reality in 2007.

Sports

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW-Kelly Hrudey: The man “Behind the Mask”

by Charlie Blore and Aaron Sigal on

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This past Thursday, Hockey Night in Canada kicked off its 54th season on the CBC. This year’s edition features a few fresh faces in former San Jose Sharks colour commentator Drew Remenda and former Canadian women’s national team captain Cassie Campbell as well as a new feature called “Think Hockey.” We had a chance to catch up with former NHL goaltender and current HNIC “Behind the Mask” analyst Kelly Hrudey, about speculation of HNIC moving to CTV, the new NHL, the challenges of broadcasting and of course, his famous bandanas.

Do you think there should be an extra effort made to keep HNIC at the CBC because of the historical ties, or should it go to the network that makes the best offer?Well I suppose there are two thoughts on that. The first would be that you like the history and I know that’s something that a lot of Canadians have expressed to me, that it would seem odd if it weren’t on CBC. The second would be that it should go to whoever does the best job because it is such an important property. Having said that, I think that when I watch, whether it’s TSN, Sportsnet or The Score, I think they all do a great job and they all have terrific analysts, I think that we have a terrific show as well. I think we broadcast the game as it should be and we bring an important difference to the broadcast, which is that we make sure to remember how the show was done 50 years ago and try to stay true to that.

What do you think of the new NHL and how do you expect it will evolve this season?I hope that it continues to morph into how the game is supposed to be played and last year was a good first step. I know it’s not for everybody but I prefer the game as it was last year. It just seems to me that if they can continue along this path and make sure that they enforce all those penalties, we’ll get rid of all that stuff that bogged the game down for the last five years. But the coaches are smart and if you give them a break they’ll go back to it, so we have to make sure that the rules are enforced as they should be and that the product can continue to grow from that.

Did you always see yourself becoming an analyst when you retired?I had hoped so but honestly, I figured it was a bit of a long shot. When I first started playing in New York I really enjoyed the interviews that you do in a big city like that and you do tons of them, that’s really where I got the interest and my foot in the door. But it’s one thing to have an interest; it’s another to be hired. So I was really fortunate and I tell you what, I’ve learned from some of the best at Hockey Night. The presence that that show has and the people who work behind the scenes is just amazing.

Is there anything that as a player you think helped facilitate your transition into the booth?Clearly. When everything’s live there’s nowhere to hide. When you’re playing goal and you’ve got Mark Messier and Jari Kurri coming down on you two-on-one you’ve got to react quick and decisively and it’s no different when you’re in broadcasting. When the light is on it’s live, you’re in front of a million and a half Canadians and you’re just asked a really tough question, you cannot answer with a cliché. You have to give a real analytical answer about what just happened and why, while sounding like you know what you’re doing.

Not just as a former player, but as a Canadian, what does it mean to work for HNIC?Well it’s an institution. I think when I had my first opportunity in 1994, the pressure of that was almost overwhelming. More so than anything I’ve ever done I think because of the prestige that the show has. When you’re sitting behind the desk and you hear that HNIC music come on in your ear, just the thoughts that run through your mind: Can I live up to the people that have been at this desk prior to me? It’s not a lot different in that sense from when I first broke into the NHL with the New York Islanders and they had just won their fourth Stanley Cup. There I was trying to live up to those standards, it’s just like on Hockey Night. There have been a lot of great broadcasters that have been on before me and so I have to live up to that standard. What that does though is it makes you work harder; you do more research to make sure that you’re prepared so that you can carry on that tradition.

You found it more pressure filled then a Stanley Cup finals game in the Montreal Forum?I’d probably say yes because, as silly as it sounds, I had a lot of experience playing hockey prior to that. When you’re growing up and you’re playing road hockey or you’re in the rink, that’s all experience and those are all things that you can draw upon. But when you’re an NHL player and you’re thrown into a broadcast booth or behind a desk, I had no experience whatsoever, I didn’t even know any of the terminology. So you’re learning on your feet and hoping that you’re doing the right thing but you’re guessing in some cases too. So in that sense it was a lot more difficult than a lot of my playing experiences.

Finally we would be remised if we didn’t ask about the origins of your famous bandana?[laughs] How did I know? It’s pretty simple and I never intended it to be a trademark of mine but I guess it’s kind of turned into one. I always had long hair and I wore contact lenses when I played. I needed something to keep the sweat out of my eyes because as anyone who wears contacts knows, sweat and contact lenses don’t mix very well. I tried a whole bunch of different things and finally I decided to go to the t-shirt that you wear under your equipment. I tried that and it seemed to be pretty absorbent so I went with that and lo and behold over time it sort of became, I guess reluctantly to me, this trademark. After a while I even asked some friends if I should get rid of it and they said no, people recognize you for that. So I kept wearing it but I guarantee you the day I retired those all went in the garbage. There are no more of the originals floating around.

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