3rd year Tommies winger (and STUTOMMIES.COM blogger) Jason Cassidy is being featured as an Insider at The Hockey News with his own blog. Consider us the minor pros of hockey blogging. But you've got to get started somewhere. We're really proud of Jason, and are excited to see the exposure he'll receive which will help him toward his goal of becoming a journalist, as well as the attention he'll bring to STU's hockey program and to the journalism program at St. Thomas.
In Jason's first entry, he examines the difficult choice to be made by a graduating junior hockey player between pursuing a professional hockey dream or attending university.
I’d love to continue my career and work towards making it to the big leagues, but what if I don’t make it? Have I wasted that education package? Have I made any progress that will support my life after hockey?
A wise Tommies fan once said, "you have to be good enough to play in the pros, but smart enough not to". We're thankful Jason made the smart choice.
Jason gives some attention to, and extols the virtues of playing for STU:
I decided on attending St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., a team led by former NHLer Mike Eagles. It’s a small campus with a community feel and for those who haven’t been, eastern Canada is a fantastic place. In Ontario people get lost in the crowd, but in the Maritimes everyone is someone.
Writing for THN, that's awesome. This is no small accomplishment. Way to go Jason! Way to go STU!
ReplyDeleteThat is a huge sigh of relief. I subscribe to the Hockey News, so this is great newsand since he is a good writer,he will do well.
ReplyDeleteOilSlick.
Nothing better than having St. Thomas' name in The Hockey News on a regular basis. Goes to show what a good education can do for you.
ReplyDeleteGreat for Jason, great for STU.
Congratulations Jason,You are making good use of your educational/atheletic experience at St.Thomas and should be a fine example for other student/atheletes to follow as they come to understand the demands of hockey players @ STU;you can anticipate great things for yourself and will look back on these days as the many great moments that you have had in your life,have another great year.
ReplyDeleteBill Hunt mentions this in his article yesterday. Usually that is posted here but here is the link. http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/731849
ReplyDeleteI think Bill was a little ticked at Jason for not mentioning UNB in his blog. Why should he? I realize UNB fans love to get their 2 cents worth of digs in about STU, but we have no need to promote those slugs, nor do we feel compelled. Poor UNB didn't get mentioned in The Hockey News this time. Boo hoo. If your hockey graduates could read and write at more than a high school level perhaps someday they could write for something more than a letter to Santa once a year.
How credible a journalist is Jason Cassidy considering that he would omit the national champions, never mind intra-city rivals in a supposedly unbiased report on university hockey in the east. Pretty sad commentary on his sense of journalistic "integrity.''
ReplyDeleteUNB is the most insecure champion I've ever seen... we're the champs but if we're not the center of your universe too we can't handle it.
ReplyDeleteCry me a river Squirrels. It just goes to show how petty some of you are. Cassidy is promoting CIS/AUS hockey and all you can think about is that he didn't mention you in his article. Then for someone to mention his integrity...get a grip. This is a positive for everyone. Smile :-)
ReplyDeletewow, UNB wasnt mentioned in the hockey news by a university hockey player. Lets all go to the AUC and stand at centre ice and have a good cry!
ReplyDeleteTommies Video Guy
I'm a UNB fan and quite frankly I couldn't care one bit whether Jason Cassidy mentioned us in his blog or not... big friggin' deal. I really don't think we as a team or School are defined by what he does or does not write. The fact is that this article was originally written in support of Cassidy himself and certain individuals have once again turned this into a pissing contest between UNB & STU is pathetic. Grow up LOSERS!
ReplyDeleteAny of you STU fans want to start counting the amount of Academic All-Canadians that the UNB Men's Hockey team has graduated as compared to STU? Or maybe the amount of players that have received pro offers? Didn't think so. Make the playoffs first and then start talking trash... okay.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, wait a minute. It's pretty easy to achieve academic all Canadian when your final exam consists of telling the difference between a football and a basketball. Bachelor of recreation..seriously? A degree program that prepares you for a career in the public school system wearing a whistle and an awkwardly fitting pair of sweat pants.
ReplyDeleteWell, we can't all get into the "High School on the Hill" can we?
ReplyDeleteTried to post earlier on this, without success. To the fellow who thought I was "a little ticked that Jason didn't mention UNB" -- I could care less, honestly. My point was only that, if you're looking to locate STU as to what conference and what city the school is in, there's a pretty obvious reference point half a campus away -- and they happen to be national champions.
ReplyDeleteThat's all.
As I mentioned, perhaps Jason is saving a "Battle of the Hill" piece for a future blog.
I think it's a great accomplishment for a hockey player/writer to contribute to the Hockey News. I've seen some of Jason's stuff and he does a fine job. I look forward to reading more of his stuff.
And please don't assume anything on my behalf in forums like this.
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It's good for Jason to get a blog like that. But if I'm a reader looking for an unbiased informative piece on what the Atlantic University Conference is all about and his involvement as a STU Tommies player, the fact he would mention Moncton and Saint Mary's and not national champion UNB is simply poor journalism. It's one thing to omit or denigrade the hockey team at UNB if you're writing for the STU newspaper. Nothing wrong with being partisan in that forum because the readers are basically STU fans. But writing for the Hockey News with readers who could care less about UNB and STU and its rivalry, Cassidy needs to consider that his readers are simply looking for an accurate assessment of the conference and its teams. The fact he would ignore a team which happens to win a national title because it happens to be a "rival'' of the team he plays for tells me he's not somebody I would place a lot of trust in anything he wrote.
ReplyDeleteThat's too strong a comdemnation in my opinion. There are editors who could have made that correction. Jason will bring a unique perspective as an athlete who can effectively communicate what goes on in preparation for a game; how teammates interract, perceptions of the coach and the school etc. There's lots of potential for great reading here. I'm sure he'll mention The Battle Of The Hill as a subject all ts own.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible he submitted this even before UNB won the title. I spoke to Edward Fraser, the editor of the online edition, and he mentioned how it had been pushed out of a couple of editions by the start of the playoffs, then the draft, then free agency. I know from working with editors -- and from editing myself -- that it's not always the writer's fault
Like someone else mentioned earlier...I am a UNB fan as well and I could care less that he failed to mention UNB in his article, it does not both me in the least...the way I look at it is he is exposing the CIS and AUS (especially) to a large audience that might not be aware of just how good the hockey is...it is only good news from a publicity/marketing standpoint and I think that is how everyone has to look at it...and not nitpick what he does or does not write....
ReplyDeleteRight on UNB Bruins Fan,having watched CIS hockey with more than a critical eye since the '60's, I can tell you that AUS hockey (especially) is the best undiscouvered hockey in the country and any and all exposure of that can only be good so lets not dignify any of those negative comments with any respose;I expect the Tommies to settle hockey matters "on the ice" in '09-10 ,all fans get to the rinks and see what you are missing.
ReplyDeleteBarry Collrin, BA 68
Last time I checked Bill Hunt is a journalist, and not a representative of UNB. If Gardiner MacDougall had said that then your point would be valid, this is just STU fans fighting off the ice. If the new STU fans acted with half of the class that Barry does then they would be fighting for AUS championships rather then fighting for scraps off the table. I'm not even going to bother going into the petty fights but time to grow up. Great accomplishment for Jason Cassidy.
ReplyDeleteUNB think everything revolves around them. Yes they are a good team,but Jason is writing a Blog,if he wants to mention them he
ReplyDeletewill.We read and hear enough about them here,we do not need to do the same with the Hockey News.
NY Yankee Fan
did anyone else notice that he also didnt mention the defending AUS champions in his blog as well...you know, the team that beat UNB 5-1 in game 3 of the finals
ReplyDeleteSTU Video Guy
Oh yeah, that team. Didn't they blow a 3-goal lead at the nationals? If indeed Jason didn't mention Saint Mary's for all you people who might not know, that really doesn't say much for Jason's report on the Atlantic Conference, does it? No mention of the national champion. No mention of the conference champion.Who did he mention besides the St. Thomas Tommies?
ReplyDeleteAgain, who cares what teams he mentioned?? I wonder if UPEI fans are upset that their team didn't get a mention...this is ridiculous. Some people will do anything to turn nothing into something when it comes to STU and UNB...I really hope Mr. Cassidy is reading this and shaking his head/getting a good laugh at how stupid some people are...
ReplyDeleteRight back at you UNB Bruins Fan. This has got nothing to do with STU and UNB. It's got everything to do with credible journalism. If somebody does a story on the Atlantic Conference, doesn't it seem to make sense to give readers a point of reference of how strong the conference is? UNB Bruins Fan feels that's being stupid,I guess. Ignorance is bliss.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I am wrong but he wasn't doing a story on the AUS at all....he was doing a story on choosing between university and pro. In fact...he doesn't mention the AUS once in the entire article. Maybe he decided on mentioning Dal/FX/Moncton because they are arguably the three most well known schools nationally in Eastern Canada...
ReplyDelete"Maybe he decided on mentioning Dal/FX/Moncton because they are arguably the three most well known schools nationally in Eastern Canada...", that's a laugher. Where did you come up with that piece of information?
ReplyDeleteDal - largest university in the Maritimes, located in the largest city...St. FX - ranked as the top primarily undergraduate university in Canada for five straight years and usually boast very good athletic teams...UdeM - located in one of the fastest growing cities in the country, also has had athletic teams that have performed well recently...so I don't think it is a stretch that those three may be the most well known schools in the Maritimes...yes, UNB could be included in that group but it's not a travesty they weren't. Again, this isn't even an issue to almost anyone...why is it to you? If it was an article about the competitive nature of the AUS then yes it would be silly to omit UNB and SMU (and even Acadia as well since they have historically been one of the best AUS teams)...but the article didn't have anything remotely to do with that...
ReplyDeleteSince you seem to be all about credible journalism...so you think the fact that he didn't mention UNB or SMU (or Acadia for that matter...historically one of the most successful AUS teams) in an article that has absolutely nothing to do with the AUS or how strong the conference is makes Mr. Cassidy a less credible journalist??
ReplyDeleteThere have been other contributors to this discussion relative to the omission of UNB and Saint Mary's in Jason's blog. Having just read his piece, it does basically deal with the decision of playing university hockey and what lead to that decision, namely the education package that the junior leagues provide to sway players from going the U.S. college route. It's an interesting piece and useful if a player finds himself in a similiar circumstance and is facing the decision of where he wants to take his hockey.
ReplyDeleteExactly...that is what he is writing about...not about educating the general public about the AUS or its relative strength compared to the OUA/CW or other leagues.
ReplyDeleteI also don't believe that the article has anything to do with the demographics of either Halifax or Moncton or whether the academics at StFX are ranked first or last within the Country.
ReplyDeleteNo it isn't...but because of those reasons those are universities that people from across the country might recognize...maybe moreso than the other schools in the AUS.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with the point that you've made, I disagree that his article even touches on that subject. Maybe in the future he'll write an article about what factors to consider when choosing a university or why certain individuals may choose one school over another, but he didn't write that in this article.
ReplyDelete