The future of hockey is full of weird names

While the NHL is drafting some plan

Sunaya Sapurji @sunayas

My favourite #DubNames2020: @MazdenLeslie Saige Weinstein Talon Bridgley Ryker Singer Bauer Dumanski Teydon Trembecky Eastyn Mannix Hoyt Stanley Van Eger Ephram McNutt Florian Wade Xander Schulte Cosmo Wilson Oakley Mcilwain Zach Zahara Omen Harmacy Foxx McCall Truman Wurst

COVID-19 couldn’t kill one annual tradition: keeping score of the names selected in the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. The trends include a decline of Brayden (and variants) among the picks aged 14 to 20—it’s been eclipsed by Hayden, Aiden and Caden, and is now tied with Kaden. But there are many better one to fill out a top 24 ranking.

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Dreaming of the Stanley Cup

Sportsnet @Sportsnet

“We can’t play in a small college rink in the middle of a smaller community because if we’re going to be centralized, we need the back of the house that NHL arenas provide.” Gary Bettman on why having NHL facilities is important in order to resume play.

sportsnet.caGary Bettman explains why NHL rinks are best for centralized games - Sportsnet.caCommissioner Gary Bettman says the facilities in NHL arenas are too important for the league to resume play at other sites.

Scenarios for restarting the NHL season have shifted to considering Edmonton, Minnesota and Raleigh as cities where games can proceed along divisional lines, rather than using neutral sites. Jason Kenney acknowledged he was contacted by Garry Bettman about Alberta’s status to conquer COVID-19, but made no formal proposal.

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The state of cherry blossom emergency. John Tory confirmed the plan to close all of High Park when the Sakuras start to bloom, but the city of Toronto will produce a virtual walk-through. Meanwhile, the premier’s suggestion that Ontario would loosen restrictions by Victoria Day was clarified by Doug Ford, who imagines a trickle at best.

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A journey of 13 million tweets

CBC reading the riot act to quarantined fans of Anne with an E, who remain outraged over its cancellation, had the effect of more media attention. The Guardian talked to the campaign organizers, who claim the onslaught of calls for a renewal are entirely genuine, as they redirected their rage to a video of Netflix’s quarterly earnings report:

The Guardian @guardian

Angry fans lay 'siege' to TV station over cancellation of Anne With an E

theguardian.comAnne With an E fans wage digital war with Netflix over cancellationOutraged fans posted 13m tweets, signed a petition and placed billboards to demand that show be revived for another season

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Quibi decides to start casting to TV. While its 50 series were produced for mobile viewing, the video service aligned with Bell Canada will soon let subscribers watch on bigger screens. Quibi claims to have hit 2.7 million downloads, although its popularity with iPhone users fell fast, behind an app that provides a simulation of slicing sand.

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Finally, still rock ‘n’ roll to J.D.

John Roberts was caught on a hot mic in the White House briefing room, bantering about a study that claims a low COVID-19 case fatality rate—which prompted a New York Times photographer to joke that the entire news media was already vaccinated. After the quips went viral, the MuchMusic VJ turned Fox News hound tried to explain:

John Roberts @johnrobertsFox

Because you asked.....The @USC @lapublichealth study is real - but not yet peer-reviewed. The rest of the exchange was sardonic humor and sarcasm... There is NO vaccine. And it is NOT a hoax.