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Players ‘tour’ seedy Lower East Hastings

John Persson took in the sights, sounds and smells of the drug-addled back alleys of Vancouver’s Lower East Hastings district earlier this week.
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John Persson took in the sights, sounds and smells of the drug-addled back alleys of Vancouver’s Lower East Hastings district earlier this week.

It was not a pleasant visit, however . . .

“It was a really good experience seeing all that stuff down there. It was a real eye-opener for us,” the Red Deer Rebels third-year forward said Thursday, reflecting on the RCMP Drug Squad trip that also involved teammates Adam Kambeitz, Locke Muller and Turner Elson and members of the RCMP.

The visiting party toured the skid row area by both day and night, watching as the addicts abused drugs with no regard to their own well being or surroundings. The filth, the sorry sights, the stench . . . the whole experience was basically overwhelming.

“We walked down there in the day first, and it’s just like . . . well, you just look at them like they’re animals, kind of,” said Persson. “Then you get down there at night and you start asking them questions and they really open up to you. Then you realize that they’re actually real people down there and have feelings and family members, and yet all they really have is their addiction.”

Overall, it was not a pretty picture.

“The smells and how that small area is just packed with people is just . . . it’s not a pretty sight,” said Persson.

The native of Mora, Sweden, is certain that such a run-down, drug-infested area does not exist in his home country.

“Not in my hometown, at all. I mean, there is some in Stockholm, but it’s more spread out. It’s not that intense like it is in Vancouver,” he said.

The visit to Vancouver’s underbelly made an impact with Persson and his teammates, who will now share the experience with Red Deer and area school students in an attempt to discourage the use of drugs and alcohol.

“I was really excited before the trip and after it’s a really good thing to have in the back of your head,” said Persson, “You have all the pictures in your head and it’s good to tell the younger kids about it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

As head coach of the Canadian national junior team for the 1995 world junior championship in Red Deer, Don Hay had an overload of talent at his disposal due to the NHL lockout that occurred that year.

The Vancouver Giants bench boss won’t have that luxury as the Team Canada bench boss for the upcoming world juniors in Calgary and Edmonton.

As many as eight WJC eligible players are currently skating in the NHL and the Canadian squad is unlikely to acquire any of them for the 2012 event.

For starters, Jeff Skinner and Tyler Sequin are in their second season in the NHL and firmly entrenched — Skinner, in particular — as contributing members of the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins.

“Skinner and Seguin are totally out of the question,” Hay told Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun.

“They’ve both played a full season in the NHL. One won rookie-of-the-year and the other won a Stanley Cup and, the last time I looked, both were leading their teams in scoring. And with the way some of the other young players are playing, they are taking themselves out of the equation, too.”

The latter list includes former Red Deer Rebel Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, already a valuable member of the Edmonton Oilers, fellow forwards Ryan Johansen (Columbus), Sean Couturier (Philadelphia), Brett Connolly (Tampa Bay) and Devante Smith-Pelly (Anaheim), and defenceman Erik Gudbranson (Florida).

“You can’t wait for someone to show up, you have to move on,” said Hay. “As a coach, my focus is on the players who are available. I think we have a very deep depth chart and, if those players in the NHL do become available, we’d be very excited to have them back.”

l Just notes: The Lethbridge Hurricanes heaved a heavy sigh of relief Wednesday following their 4-3 shootout win over the travel-weary Everett Silvertips. The ‘Canes shrugged off a 3-0 deficit to snap a 13-game losing streak. “It’s feels unbelievable,” two-goal scorer Brady Ramsay told Dale Woodard of the Lethbridge Herald. “Everybody is happy and the mood in the room is 100 per cent different. We worked hard for it and we’re going to enjoy it for the night.” . . . Brandon Wheat Kings forward Darian Dziurzynski has been suspended for two games by the WHL head office for his hit on Swift Current Broncos forward Andy Blanke in the late stages of a 7-3 win over the host Broncos Tuesday. Dziurzynski, who was given a charging major and a game misconduct on the play, will begin serving his suspension tonight when the Wheat Kings host the Calgary Hitmen . . . Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Griffin Reinhart will replace injured Everett Silvertip Ryan Murray as a member of Team WHL for the Subway Super Series versus Team Russia set for Nov. 16-17 in Regina and Moose Jaw. Also added to the WHL squad Thursday for the game in Regina were Kelowna Rockets forwards Brett Bulmer — who returned to Kelowna this week after a nine-game NHL audition with the Minnesota Wild — and Zach Franko, and Kamloops Blazers forward Colin Smith. Forwards Michael St. Croix of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Cody Beach of the Moose Jaw Warriors were added to the Team WHL roster for the game in Moose Jaw . . . The Medicine Hat Tigers have lost import forward Adam Rehak for an unspecified period of time. The 19-year-old has returned to the Czech Republic to deal with a family issue, Tigers GM Brad McEwen told Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News. “The spot is open,” said McEwen. “We certainly assured him that if he would like to come back and is able to come back that he is more than welcome. It’s something that we don’t really know, because of what he has to deal with. We are hoping for him to come back for sure.” . . . Team Russia won’t have to look far for a goaltender when they participate in the upcoming Super Series versus Team WHL. Saskatoon Blades netminder Andrey Makarov will suit up with the Russians for the Nov. 16 game in Regina . . .

gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com