Pelkey to play in 12 Nations Camp

I got a call from Amanda Pelkey's father, John, the other day telling me about Amanda's latest hockey endeavor.

(Yes, "One Coach," I'm writing about hockey.)

Pelkey, a Montpelier girl who has played for the North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) during her high school career, has played in several overseas events and was in the running for a spot on the women's national team that will play in the next winter Olympics.

Most recently, she was one of a handful of players invited by USA Hockey to participate in the first annual 12 Nations Camp in Slovakia. The hope of the camp is to elevate the level of women's hockey around the world leading up to the next Olympic Games.

The roughly two-week camp will feature some of the world's best women's hockey players who will be broken up into multi-national teams who will train together and play against each other this July.

Pelkey is also on the women's roster for the Make-A-Wish game, held at UVM on July 16.

Should make for an interesting, hockey-filled summer!

-Anna Grearson

Maritime teams form new league

"It's Showtime!"

That's the motto of the new National Basketball League of Canada, founded by Ian McCarthy of the Saint John Millrats and Andre Levingston of the Halifax Rainmen after severing ties with the Premier Basketball League earlier this spring.

I am so, so excited for this new league, it's hard to put my thoughts into words. Both franchises have been run superbly well while they were foes of the Vermont Frost Heaves, and I am very much looking forward to this new hoops endeavor.

The league is the first-ever national professional basketball league in Canada, which surprised me. Sure Canada is a hockey nation, but basketball is also such a big part of the sporting world up there. Steve Nash is Canadian, the Toronto Raptors have done well, and as Vermont Frost Heaves fans know, there is plenty of talent in the minor leagues to go around as well - just take a look at the Laval products that have lit up the ABA, PBL and other leagues in the past few years.

The new Canadian league - the NBL - will require teams to have a league minimum of two Canadians on their rosters. This is a similar rule to overseas leagues that place limits on the number of Americans allowed on each roster.

The three maritime teams that left the PBL - Halifax, Saint John and Quebec - are the only teams to commit so far - but there has been interest from groups in Moncton, New Brunswick and London, Oshawa, Kingston and Barrie, Ontario.

According to a release issued last Thursday - the day everything became official - the league will be jointly owned by the teams and "all member teams will have an equal vote on the day-to-day business of the league." I like this. A lot. It does away with the assumption of bias that was prevalent in the ABA and PBL with 'favorite' teams and teams owned by the league ownership. This way, every team is equally represented with equal power in the league's affairs.

As for players, obviously none have been announced yet, but I expect to see several former Frost Heaves on rosters this winter. The league aims to start the season this fall - also an immense improvement. Basketball is supposed to start in the late fall. Not in early January. By the first of the year, fans are already into the college and pro seasons, and the media have been dealing with high school sports for weeks by the time the PBL got started. The waiting and anticipation was awful.

The league's website can be found at www.nblcanada.ca or www.lnbcanada.ca.

-Anna Grearson