The expectations are as high as they've been in years for the Edmonton Oilers. Ryan Kennedy and Mike Stephens discuss if they will meet them. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNDA1MzYyMDQ4NzcxNDQ4/edmontonpridecup.jpg] The final full week of August means hockey is inching closer to fully returning. NHL players start to make their travel plans to return to camps, and junior teams begin pre-season play. The summer fun didn't stop the content from coming at the end of August, however. Here are three topics that garnered attention last week: PRIDE CUP RETURNS TO EDMONTON One of the coolest events promoting inclusivity in hockey returned to the ICE District outside of Rogers Place in Edmonton this weekend. The second annual Pride Cup street hockey championship took place between two Alberta-based 2SLGBTQ+ focused teams, the defending champions Edmonton Rage and the Calgary Pioneers. The game saw the Pioneers beat the Rage 3-1 and also included a Drag brunch, a game involving local community leaders, as well as an Oilers and WHL alumni game [https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1696219914544234614?s=20] on Sunday. The Edmonton Oilers and Oilers Entertainment Group continue to be behind the event, said co-founder of Pride Tape, Dr. Kristopher Wells. Wells is also a professor at MacEwan University and the Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth. "It's super exciting to see Pride Cup continue to grow and evolve and get bigger and better than ever, particularly with what is going on in the world around us," Wells said on Friday. "Now is the time we need allies to really stand up and stand along the 2SLGBTQ+ community, so to have the Edmonton Oilers not back down but double down in their support is something that is going to have reverberations far beyond our local community here in Edmonton." The event also saw Nashville Predators prospect and Edmonton native Luke Prokop taking part in the Oilers-WHL alumni game. Prokop became the first player signed to an NHL contract to come out as gay in 2021, and he felt a tremendous sense of pride seeing his hometown take the lead in hosting an event like the Pride Cup. "It's really cool, it's special, it makes me proud to be an Edmontonian," Prokop said. "It just goes to show the love that we have for the community in Edmonton and the work that a lot of groups do to make sure that it is an inclusive city and within the sport as well." Holding events like the Pride Cup in an accepting community and teams welcoming players from various walks of life are vital to help push hockey forward to be more inclusive to all, said Brandon Plowman of the Edmonton Rage. "It's very important – our team is made up of extremely diverse backgrounds," Plowman said. "Whether it's gay people, it's straight people, we have people of color, people of different sexes, people who identify as trans, we have people who identify as two-spirited – if you name it, they're on our team. We're as diverse as we can be, and we're always expanding and always including more people. It's very important to just continue to grow and include everyone because everyone needs to have that attitude." The event is expected to return to Edmonton in 2024. Morgan Barron [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNDA1NTExNTY3MzIwNDQw/usatsi_19841526_168400847_lowres.jpg] Morgan Barron MORGAN BARRON TEES IT UP AT THE MANITOBA OPEN The sports world is full of passionate golfers, and then there are a few who are so good that they can actually try their hand at competing against the pros. The Winnipeg Jets' Morgan Barron put his name on the list of athletes from other sports teeing off at a PGA-sanctioned event when he played in PGA Tour Canada's Manitoba Open on a sponsor's exemption this weekend. Barron became the third Jet to take part in the event after Mark Scheifele played in the 2018 and 2022 events, while Kyle Connor took part in 2019. Barron missed the cut, shooting 80 and 86 over the first two days of the tournament. While his combined 166 strokes were the most of all participants to miss the cut, many recreational golfers out there would love to consistently hit that score. BREAKAWAY GOALS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE What humans are able to do with a puck and a stick will always progress as time goes on. Hockey training company Elev802 showed the world the ability to apparently defy gravity. It's now up to the goaltenders to even things up after seeing a goal like that.
