THE SIBLING SERIES
Craig Bonner is general manager of the Kamloops Blazers.
His older brother, Scott, is general manager of the Vancouver Giants.
On Friday night, when the two squads clash at Pacific Coliseum in Game 1 of their WHL Western Conference first-round playoff series, it will be the first time the brothers met as opposing GMs in the post-season.
Despite that fact, Craig contends he’s not placing any real emphasis on the fact that he’ll be facing his brother.
Sort of, anyway.
“There’s obviously some mixed emotions,” he said, denying any extra stress that might be caused by the sibling series.
“I think more so for my mom and dad, though.
“My mom, she’s pretty stressed out about the whole thing.
“Whenever we play in the regular season, she’s always cheering for a tie.
“The bad part for her, I think, is that one of our teams is going to lose.”
Pam Bonner might claim she’s rooting for her sons’ teams to tie, but her place of residence — deep in Scott’s territory, in Ladner — would indicate otherwise.
So would her husband Terry’s occupation: Director of scouting for the Vancouver Giants.
Still, Craig maintains she’s neutral.
But he said he hasn’t talked to her about the impending playoff series.
“She hasn’t said much,” he said.
To him, anyway.
“Oh, I’ve talked to her lots,” Scott said.
“I know she was hoping it didn’t happen. It’s the worst for her.”
But Scott said he and Craig learned quickly not to take the sibling rivalry thing too far when the Blazers meet the Giants.
“One thing we both figured out really quick was that neither one of us is on the ice,” he said.
“You have to keep that in mind.”
Craig agreed, saying there’s not much a general manager can do come playoff time, whether the opposing GM is his blood or not.
“At this point, it’s not about Scott or I,” he said.
“We’re basically just putting our teams on the ice and watching them play.”
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