SPORTS

B4

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015

Photo by MARISSA TIEL/CanoeKayak Canada

Darius Ramrattan of Innisfail competes at the 2013 Nationals on the Kananaskis River, Alta. Ramrattan finished 71st overall at the 2015 ICF World Championships in
Foz Do Iguasso, Brazil last month. This season is setting up to be a big one for the 17-year-old Notre Dame student.

Paddling for the podium

DARIUS RAMRATTAN HAS HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS YEARS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
BY JOSH ALDRICH
ADVOCATE STAFF
Darius Ramrattan did not get the
results he wanted out of his first trip to
worlds but he did learn some valuable
lessons.
The Innisfail kayker finished 71st
overall at the 2015 ICF World Championships in Foz Do Iguasso, Brazil last
month.
It was his first taste of international
competition but it will not be his last.
After Brazil, I reset my goal for
next years worlds in Krakw, Poland,
said Ramrattan. I want to make semifinals.
This season is setting up to be a big
one for the 17-year-old Notre Dame
student.
He made the junior national team

this summer as one of the top three

male kayakers under 18 in the country.
However he has yet to medal at nationals at the junior level after dominating the cadet age group (14 and under) for three years.
The junior age group is expansive,
covering 15-18 year olds and the difference in those ages are huge. Now that
hes one of the older kayakers in the
junior division, he has high expectations for this years national championship in Chilliwack, B.C. in July.
Im aiming for podium at nationals
... theres definitely some fast people
that didnt make the junior national
team, but I think its definitely an
achievable goal, said Ramrattan.
His experience in Brazil will play a
big role in his development this year.
In kayaking, competitors travel in a
one-man craft through a slalom style

course on a river. They must weave

around gates, collecting penalties for
every gate they hit.
The 400-metre, 23-gate course on the
Itaigo Canal a 10-hour drive inland
from Sao Paulo, Brazil was not overly difficult, but he got caught up in the
atmosphere and being surrounded by
some of the best in his sport. His goal
was to finish in the top 40 to advance
to the semifinals, but he finished well
back with a best time of 117.30 seconds,
which included 10 seconds in penalties.
It was definitely an off day, I needed to work a little bit more on the mental aspect and being more prepared for
the pressure, said Ramrattan. Just
sitting the start gate, thinking, Wow,
this is worlds, 10 seconds until I go ...
its a crazy surreal experience.
To help deal with the mental side

of the equation he works with a sports

psychiatrist set up through the Alberta
Sports Development Centre.
We were making process, but I was
not quite ready for worlds, said Ramrattan.
My biggest challenge is executing
my race plan. I can make a great plan
on how to do it ... but I need to work on
how to apply my skills to that and make
a plan that I can execute.
The trip to Brazil also allowed him
to get as close to his fathers native
home in Guyana as he has ever been.
The three-week trip served as a wider life experience and an opportunity
to see a part of the world most of his
peers never will and he may never see
again.

Please see RAMRATTAN on Page B6

Canada needs to
stop Jagrs heroics

Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Czech Republics Jaromir Jagr, right, celebrates with Michal Jordan, left, during
the Hockey World Championships quarterfinal match in Prague, Czech Republic,
Thursday.

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

PRAGUE, Czech Republic The

passion of the Czech Republics hockey-mad fans can be infectious. Even
Canada forward Tyler Seguin was
caught up in the fervour when Czech
legend Jaromir Jagr scored the winning goal to lead the host nation to a
5-3 quarter-final win over Finland at
the world hockey championship.
I was watching the game and the
whole place where I was eating dinner
was chanting Jagrs name, Seguin told
reporters after Canadas practice on
Friday.
I started chanting too and I took a
video of it. Jar-o-mir Jagr!
Seguin wont be chanting Jagrs
name on Saturday, when Canada meets
the Czechs in a semifinal which is
sure to draw a vocal partisan crowd to
Pragues O2 Arena.
Already a national hero for his two
Stanley Cups, two world championship gold medals and his gold with
the Czech Olympic team at the 1998
Nagano Games, the 43-year-old Jagr
announced his retirement from international competition after the Czechs
finished fourth at the 2014 world championship.
He reversed his decision after a

strong finish to the 2014-15 NHL season, when he had 18 points in 20 games
after a trade-deadline move to the
Florida Panthers.
Canada defenceman Aaron Ekblad
had just turned two years old when
Jagr and the Czechs ousted Canada in
a shootout in the Nagano semifinals.
Ekblad admitted that he was a little starstruck at first, when Jagr arrived in Florida in March, but seeing
how nice of a guy he is, how patient he
is and how good of a teacher he is with
all the young guys including myself in
Florida, hes definitely an asset for any
team.
Hes a strong guy, added Seguin,
who played with Jagr on the Boston
Bruins during the late stages of the
2012-13 NHL season. Not only on
their power play but a lot of their
plays, their system goes through Jagr
or (Philadelphia forward Jakub) Voracek. Weve got to know where they
are on the ice and make sure we key
on them.
Canada held Jagr to a single assist
during a 6-3 win over the Czechs in the
preliminary round.

Please see JAGR on Page B6

St. Louis, Callahan in spotlight for Lightning-Rangers series

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREENBURGH, N.Y. There was
no bigger deal at the NHL trading
deadline in 2014 than Martin St. Louis
going from the Tampa Bay Lightning to
the New York Rangers for Ryan Callahan and draft picks.
Captain for captain. The face of the
Lightning franchise unhappy as he
was at the time for a homegrown,
hard-working blue collar guy the Rangers were not going to be able to re-sign.
For the Rangers, it was the last
piece of the puzzle in getting them to
the Stanley Cup Finals. St. Louis prob-

ably provided more of an emotional

lift than a scoring one with his ability
to rally after his mothers death in the
second round.
A year later, St. Louis and Callahan
are again focal points, this time as the
Rangers and Lightning meet in Game
1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Coming in, both carry question
marks. Callahan has yet to score a goal
in the post-season and had an appendectomy earlier this week. St. Louis
not only hasnt scored in the playoffs, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault
benched him in the third period of

Game 7 against Washington on Wednesday.

Of course coaches make decisions
at key times in the game for whatever reason, St. Louis said Friday after practice . Ive never liked being
left on the bench at certain times, but
thats just reality. If I liked it, I dont
think I would be here today. Nobody
likes that.
But right now Im focusing on Game
1 and helping my team win. Im not too
worried about what happened toward
the end of that game. I trust AVs judgment.
St. Louis has had chances, but has
been unable to bury the puck. Its wont

Greg Meachem, Sports Editor, 403-314-4363 E-mail gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com

>>>>

get any easier against the Lightning

and goaltender Ben Bishop, who has
not lost to the Rangers in eight games.
Bishop has a 1.81 goals-against average in 13 playoff games.
That St. Louis is struggling going
into a series when people will focus on
him adds more pressure.
Like I said, Ive got a lot of close
friends, but this is playoff hockey,
said St. Louis, who will turn 40 next
month. Weve got the rest of our lives
to be friends. This is right now a team
thats in our way of getting where we
want to be.

Please see NHL on Page B6

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