Yorkton’s Johnson earns third straight top ten finish

By his own admission, the 2021 season has been a strange one for Ange-Gardien, Que.’s Raoul Menard.

The 29-year-old has spent most of the year based out of Florida and competing in Monday qualifiers for PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and Forme Tour competitions before making his way up to the Elk Ridge Resort this week to compete in the Mackenzie Tour’s Elk Ridge Open.

“I hadn’t played a three or four-round tournament in a while so I was really curious as to how this week was going to go,” Menard said.

The decision to travel to Saskatchewan turned out to be a great one as Menard captured his first Mackenzie Tour title with a total score of nine-under-par for the 54-hole event to defeat Toronto’s Sebastian Szirmak by four shots.

“I’ve been working hard for a while now and I’m really happy to have had a week like this and cap it off with a win,” Menard said. “I’m looking forward to the future already as I’ll be heading out to Calgary for next week’s event with the tour and then going to the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying event in West Palm Beach, Fla. after that.”

While Menard had a five-shot advantage going into Saturday’s final round, he bogeyed three of the first four holes, which allowed Szirmak to close the gap down to two strokes.

Menard returned to form however on the back-nine as he birdied the par-five 10th hole to regain a three-shot edge and also birdied the par-five 16th and par-four 18th to finish the event with a nice one-under-par round of 69.

“I got off to a slow start and I just told myself to keep up with the game plan and be patient,” Menard said. “That approach worked as I found my rhythm and achieve my goal of finishing off the tournament with an under-par round.

“I wasn’t trying to pay too much attention to what was going on with the other golfers, but that’s always in the back of your mind. With that said, I know that I really had to focus on what I was doing and not what the other guys in my group or the guys in front of me were doing.”

Although Menard’s previous competitive golf experience in Saskatchewan was during a junior event at the Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon several years ago, he was able to use a recent experience in his home province to his advantage at Elk Ridge.

“I was able to play at a course called Owl’s Head (which is located in Mansonville, Que.) and it is very similar to here,” Menard said. “It’s hilly and in the woods and you have to hit straight as you can’t go too far to the left or the right.

“I also like to walk the course before I play any practice rounds and I was able to do that as soon as I got here. I think that really helped me as I was able to see the subtleties of the course and where I needed to hit the ball.”

Travis Fredborg of Selkirk, Man. and Franklin Huang of Poway, Calif. were in a tie for third place and ended up five shots behind Menard, while Meridian, Idaho’s Taeksoo Kim and Yorkton’s Kade Johnson came in fifth place.

Johnson’s result was his best to date on the Mackenzie Tour circuit and his third top ten result in as many events since he turned pro last month.

“This has been a pretty surreal experience,” Johnson said after birding the last three holes of the day received a huge round of applause from the crowd in the process. “I’ve never had this many people cheer me on or support me before.

“This just shows how much everyone in the province loves local sports and it means a lot to me to be part of a number of Saskatchewan guys that were close to the top of the leaderboard this week.”

The other Saskatchewan golfers that made the cut this week were Brennan Rumancik of Swift Current (tied for 32nd), Jerry Christiansen of La Ronge (tied for 36th), Josh Nagy of Saskatoon (tied for 40th), Tayden Wallin of Humboldt (tied for 40th), Clint Schiller of Lloydminster (tied for 43rd) and Alex Swinnerton of Saskatoon (tied for 53rd).

The Mackenzie Tour is slated to return to Waskesiu for the second Elk Ridge Open from June 20-26, 2022.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the Western Hockey League in March 2020, Prince Albert Raiders captain Kaiden Guhle has only played in a pair of games for his team.

The Montreal Canadiens first round pick was expected to play a key role for the Raiders during the 2020-21 campaign, but his season came to a sudden halt on March 14 as he suffered a hand injury during a game against the Moose Jaw Warriors and missed the rest of the East Division Hub at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

“I was sidelined for about three months so I couldn’t really do a whole lot,” Guhle said. “I was able to get into the gym right away after the injury, so I was thankful for that, but I wasn’t able to get back out on the ice again until the start of June.

“Once I got back out there, I was pretty much playing catch up from the time that I missed and I was getting on the ice as much as I could.”

Those extra on-ice sessions were important for Guhle to have as he attended Hockey Canada’s World Junior Summer Camp in Calgary last month.

“That was a big test for me as I didn’t really know how that week was going to go,” Guhle said.

“It was huge for me to be out there with the guys in Calgary as it almost felt like I had gone through another COVID year with the amount of time I had off.”

A silver medal winner at last year’s event, Guhle is expected to be one of the key leaders for Canada’s squad at the 2022 tournament, which will be held in Edmonton and Red Deer and is expected to have fans this time around.

“One of my roles during the camp was to help the younger guys feel as comfortable as possible,” said Guhle, who could be joined by goaltender Dylan Garand, defenceman Jamie Drysdale and forwards Quinton Byfield and Cole Perfetti as a returning player for Canada. “I know that when I went to my first World Junior camp last year, it was a little overwhelming at times, especially with how many good players were there.

“The group of the guys that we had at the summer camp was really talented and I was familiar with many of them from when we played at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2019. We also got to be around the guys from the Under-18 camp during that week and it was special to be around some great young players.”

After taking part in the Raiders training camp at the Art Hauser Centre this week, Guhle will be heading to Brossard, Que. for the Canadiens rookie camp, which runs from Sept. 15-21.

“That’s going to be my first pro camp with Montreal as I ended up going straight to Laval last year (to play with the Rocket of the American Hockey League) and we went straight into getting ready for the season,” Guhle said.

“I’m looking forward to diving right in with them and learning a lot from the veteran guys from the team. There were a lot of things that I learned during my time in Laval last year, especially when it came to the speed of the game and trying to limit your mistakes. If you make just one little mistake, it’s going to end up in the back of the net.”

Before he left Prince Albert, Guhle joined the other veteran players on the Raiders in giving pointers to the younger skaters on the roster, who are gearing up for the Green and White Game at 1 p.m. on Saturday and the first pre-season contest of the campaign next Friday against the Regina Pats.

“I think the biggest thing we’ve been trying to preach to them is just the speed of the game in the WHL and how important playing with speed is for how we do things here in Prince Albert,” Guhle said.

“I remember that during my first camp here I was trying to get used to the speed and I think it’s important to learn that right away in camp. Everyone’s fast in the WHL and you need to be prepared for that at both ends of the ice.”

In addition to Guhle, three other Raiders will be taking part in pro camps over the next couple of weeks.

Forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Reece Vitelli are currently with the San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes respectively, while Nolan Allan and Landon Kosior will be traveling south to join the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings in the coming days.

As the son of Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Martin, Anthony Brodeur has grown accustomed to people doing a double-take when they realize who his father is.

“I don’t think people realize it at first but then the other two guys in the group will start talking to themselves a little before they ask me about my dad,” Brodeur said. “That kind of thing happens quite often, but I’m used to it and it’s all good.”

Like his younger brother Jeremy, who was part of an Oshawa Generals team that won the Memorial Cup in 2015, Anthony followed in his father’s footsteps as a netminder.

A seventh round pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 2013 NHL Draft out of the Shattuck St. Mary’s program in Minnesota, Brodeur spent two seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Gatineau Olympiques and the Drummondville Voltigeurs before wrapping up his junior career with the British Columbia Hockey League’s Penticton Vees in 2016.

He then joined the Ottawa Gee-Gees in U Sports for four seasons, where he suited up for their hockey team and also played golf on a competitive basis for the first time.

“I had always golfed but you only have a certain window of time that you go for it in the world of hockey so I went that route,” said Brodeur, who now calls Oshawa, Ont. home.

“When I went to school, I met the golf coach (Paul Carson) and after chatting with him I decided to play both sports for the Gee-Gees.

“I fell in love with the competitive aspect of golf, as I hadn’t been in that side of the game before, and I wanted to see how far I could get with my game.”

Brodeur became a pro golfer following his time in U Sports and joined the Mackenzie Tour last year for a handful of events during their shortened 2020 campaign.

“It’s pretty exciting to know that the route I’ve chosen to go down has led to this opportunity,” Brodeur said.

“It’s been an awesome experience so far and it’s been great to check out places that I haven’t been to before, such as Prince Edward Island where we were for the last two weeks and now here in Saskatchewan.”

Heading into this week’s Elk Ridge Open, which started on Thursday and finishes on Saturday at the Elk Ridge Resort in Waskesiu, Brodeur was coming off of his best finish to date on the Mackenzie Tour.

He ended up in a tie for 17th last week at the Brudenell River Classic, where he shot an opening round 65 to sit in a tie for second and was tied for third place entering the final round.

“I feel like I was able to learn quite a lot during my events last year that I was able to carry over into this year, as I had a better idea of what I needed to do in order to be prepared for the tour,” Brodeur said. “I’ve made two out of the four cuts going into this tournament and I only missed the cut by a stroke at those other two events, so I feel like I’m a lot more competitive this year.

“There’s still a long road to go in the season as we have three more events after this one. My goal is to make the cut and compete for top 10 finishes as we head into the final event of the year in Victoria. Then we’ll see what happens from there.”

Although his competitive hockey days are now behind them, Brodeur is taking many of the lessons he learned from his time between the pipes towards his current career.

“You’re out there on your own as a goalie and I think that helps you mentally out here,” Brodeur said.

“I’m used to playing in high-pressure games and big moments and I definitely thank that translates to the scenarios you face in golf.”

Since being selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the second round of the 2020 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft, forward Harrison Lodewyk has been champing at the bit to take to the ice at the Art Hauser Centre.

The 16-year-old from Red Deer got to do just that on Thursday as the Raiders officially began their 2021 training camp with on-ice scrimmages at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Lodewyk said. “It sucked that I missed out on training camp last year because of COVID-19, but I’m super pumped to be in Prince Albert and I’m looking forward to the rest of the pre-season.”

While Lodewyk was limited to just five games last season with the Red Deer Under-18 Chiefs due to the pandemic, he was able to get on the ice this spring as he took part in spring camp for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Blackfalds Bulldogs.

“That helped me out a lot as I was able to get back into the game and get used to everything after hardly playing for over a year,” said Lodewyk, who recorded four points for the Chiefs before the season came to a halt last fall.

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed so far in the scrimmages is the overall intensity out there. It’s crazy to see how much faster the game is, especially compared to the Junior A camp I went to.”

Prior to being selected 37th overall by the Raiders in April 2020 and inking a contract with the club shortly after the draft, Lodewyk recorded 33 points in 31 regular season games during the 2019-20 campaign for the Red Deer Under-15 Rebels.

“I was super pumped up to be picked by the Raiders, as they were one of the top teams I was hoping to go to,” Lodewyk said.

“I had heard a lot of good things about Prince Albert from fellow players. They have a really good program here and the guys with the team are always happy to talk with you and answer any questions that you might have.”

Lodewyk, who models his offensive side of the game after Connor McDavid but likes to focus on his defensive play, will be learning what it takes to play in the WHL over the next couple of weeks at the Raiders gear up for their season opener on Friday, Oct. 1 when they’ll welcome the Regina Pats to town.

“It’s important to test the waters during that pre-season games so that you can see what you can and can’t do out there,” Lodewyk said.

“I think the biggest thing I’m focussing on right now is just making sure that I’m slowing the game down and knowing what’s around me, in addition to keeping my head up and looking for the open play.”

Raiders Roundup

There were a few notable faces missing from the Raiders training camp roster when it was released on Thursday morning prior to the team’s first scrimmage.

While the club is still in a holding pattern as to when Belarusian forward Uladzislau Shyla and netminder Tikhon Chayka will come to Prince Albert, returning forwards Matthew Culling, Logan Danis and Logan Linklater were not listed on the three scrimmage rosters, along with returning blueliner Graydon Gotaas.

“With our two imports, we’re still waiting on the Canadian consulate, so that’s been a bit tricky,” Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt said.

“With the other guys, after consultation with the players and their agents, we all agree that at this point in time it would be better to allow them to stay a little closer to home and then we’ll reevaluate things as we move forward.”

Forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Reece Vitelli are also not with the team at the moment as they are taking part in prospect camps for the San Jose Sharks and Arizona Coyotes respectively.

The Raiders have also announced that an Aliaksei Protas bobblehead will be available for fans to purchase during their pre-season game against the Saskatoon Blades on Friday, Sept. 24.

The Protas bobblehead, which is part of a series that includes Kaiden Guhle and Leon Draisaitl that came out earlier this year, will cost $10 and can be bought in the Johnny Bower Lobby.

Around the WHL

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Western Conference teams will only play against their B.C. and U.S. divisional counterparts for the month of October due to the current border restrictions that prevent non-essential bus travel from Canada into the United States.

“The WHL continues to work with government and public health authorities in each of the six provincial and state jurisdictions located in WHL territory to ensure the health and safety of WHL players, staff, and officials, as well as the communities in which the WHL operates,” the league said.

In other news, the WHL announced several rule changes for the upcoming campaign, the biggest of which will occur when the regular season gets underway on Oct. 1 as the coaches challenge will be available.

“A Head Coach can challenge a goal that he feels was off-side, with the decision to be determined by the video goal judge in consultation with the linesman,” the league said.

“There are three possible decisions the video goal judge can make following the review: Disallow goal, reset time on score clock and face-off outside the blue line, Allow goal and assess bench minor to coach for requesting the challenge and Inconclusive video replays, therefore, the goal is allowed and no penalty.”

A full list of the rule changes can be found on the WHL website.

Yorkton product in his rookie season on Mackenzie Tour

The last couple of months have been a bit of a whirlwind for Yorkton’s Kade Johnson.

After completing his collegiate career at Southern Arkansas University, Johnson announced in August that he was entering the pro ranks and joining the Mackenzie Tour.

“I was planning on turning pro at some point this year, but I didn’t know where or when that would be happening,” Johnson said on Wednesday before taking part in a practice round for the Elk Ridge Open at the Elk Ridge Resort in Waskesiu. “I was able to get into the events in Prince Edward Island and the rest of the year on the Mackenzie Tour, and at that point, it felt like the right time to turn pro.

“It’s definitely been a new experience after being an amateur for a long time, especially in terms of getting used to the business side of the sport and all of the travel that’s involved, but it’s been a good experience so far.”

Johnson, who captured the 2018 Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur title at Dakota Dunes, is off to a strong start on the Mackenzie Tour as he finished in ninth place at the Prince Edward Island Open on Aug. 29 and followed that up with a tie for 10th spot at the Brudenell River Classic on Sept. 5.

“I didn’t really have any set expectations going into those two tournaments so I was really happy about getting a couple of top tens to start my pro career off,” Johnson said.

“I feel like I can work a little more on my wedge play and getting a little bit closer to the hole, which is something that you see the top guys on the tour do on a consistent basis. With that said, I was really happy with how I was competing out there and I was really happy with my mental game during both tournaments as I was able to stay focussed the whole time.”

Paying attention to the finer details of the game was something that Johnson knew he had to be prepared for before joining the Mackenzie Tour, especially when he had conversations with pro golfers as he was wrapping up his collegiate and amateur career.

“One of the things that the pro guys talked to me about a lot was just making sure that you are managing your time away from the course,” Johnson said. “When you are playing six weeks in a row like we are right now, it can be tough on both the body and the mind, so you need to make sure that you are taking time for yourself and keeping up your work in the gym.”

After being away from Saskatchewan for his first two pro events, Johnson will be on familiar ground this weekend as he’s one of several golfers who will have the home province advantage during the three-day tournament.

“It’s going to be an awesome week and I’ve already seen a lot of my buddies since I got up here,” said Johnson, who will be playing with Jamie Depiero of Thunder Bay, Ont. and Andrew Harrison of Camrose, Alta during the opening two rounds of the event.

“I haven’t been up here since a junior event back in 2013 and it’s really nice to be back at Elk Ridge again. The course is in incredible shape.”

After the Elk Ridge Open concludes on Saturday, Johnson will be heading to Calgary to take part in the ATB Financial Classic next weekend before competing in GolfBC Championship in Kelowna and the Reliance Properties DCBank Open in Victoria.

“My goal is to show that I can compete at this level and with these great golfers, in addition to learning as much as I can from these guys,” Johnson said.

“There’s a lot that I can learn just by picking their brains, which is something that happened out in Prince Edward Island as I got to play with Derek Gillespie, who has been a pro for 21 years. There’s so much knowledge that you can gain by asking the right questions and the things that I’m learning from them will help me out a lot in these last four events, especially going into next year.”

Scrimmages to take place Thursday and Friday; Green and White game to be held Saturday

For the first time since 2019, the Prince Albert Raiders will be welcoming players and prospects to the Art Hauser Centre for a training camp.

The Western Hockey League club will take to the ice on Thursday and Friday for a pair of scrimmages before hosting their annual Green and White game on Saturday afternoon.

“We always want our camps to give the players an opportunity to make our club and sign a WHL contract, and that’s definitely the case this year as we have roster spots open,” Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt said during the team’s golf tournament last Thursday.

This week’s camp will mark the first on-ice activity for the Raiders in their home rink since March 6, 2020, when the Brandon Wheat Kings came away with a 3-2 overtime triumph.

“When you see the kids coming back to town, you know that the season is getting closer,” Hunt said. “The returning players are already working out together and you can hear them laughing, reminiscing about last year and catching up about what they did during the summer.

“It’s been great to see the fan base once again as well with the events we had surrounding the golf tournament. Now we just have to dot the i’s and cross the t’s before he hit the ground running.”

While a full roster has yet to be announced by the Raiders, Hunt was expecting around 51 players to be divided among three teams for the first two days of scrimmages.

This week will also mark the first time that the team brass will get to see the players that they selected from the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.

The Raiders have already signed first round selection Terrell Goldsmith, who played for the team in Regina and earned the club’s rookie of the year honours, and second round choice Harrison Lodewyk.

“There’s a lot of unknowns there for us and the other young players that we are bringing in,” Hunt said.

“We’re really excited to see the 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds and we’re hoping for some great surprises.”

As was the case in 2019, the Raiders enter training camp with questions at the overage situation.

Forwards Matthew Culling, Michael Horon, Eric Pearce and Reece Vitelli are all expected to battle for one of the three slots on the roster, along with blueliner Remy Aquilon.

“We have some tough decisions to make but I think it’s important to have good competition during this time of the year,” Hunt said.

Belarusian forward Uladzislau Shyla and netminder Tikhon Chayka, who are both signed by the Raiders, are expected to join the club this season but their status for the pre-season was still up in the air as of last Thursday.

“We’re optimistic about it all but we’re waiting on the Canadian consulate right now,” Hunt said.

“They have both been vaccinated and they have all the paper work done that we would usually use. We’re not sure what the hold up is right now, but as soon as we have their visa work done they will be on a plane and heading to Canada.”

Thursday’s and Friday’s scrimmages are slated to get underway at 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. with Saturday’s Green and White game set to start at 1 p.m.

As of Tuesday night, admission for the scrimmages were free of charge while a minimum donation of $2 to the Raiders Education was required to attend the Green and White game.

However, those details could change as a result of a debate at Tuesday’s Prince Albert City Council on masking and vaccination requirement at city venues, such as the Art Hauser Centre.

For the students that take part in the Saskatchewan High School Rodeo Association circuit, having a balance between their studies and their favourite sport is extremely important. 

“There are some nights where you are riding your horses, other nights where you are doing your homework, and then there are other nights where you are doing both things,” said Chase Skene, who is a Grade 9 student at St. Mary and competes in team roping and tie down roping.   

“It’s important to have some sort of consistency with how you do things,” added St. Mary Grade 12 student Kolby Skene, who joins his brother in the team roping and tie down roping competition. “I try to do everything that I can during the week so that you’re focused on doing good on the weekend.”

The SHSRA officially kicked off their new season on Saturday and Sunday as the Red River Riding and Roping Arena played host to the Lakeland Ford High School Rodeo for the third straight year.

“It’s such an awesome weekend, especially with how excited everyone is to start a new year,” said Kaci Henry, who is a Grade 11 student at Carlton and competing in the pole bending, barrel racing and breakaway roping events.  

“It’s really like a big family on the tour. Everyone knows everybody and they are all supportive of each other. If you are missing a saddle, someone has a saddle they are ready to lend you.” 

The Skene brothers and Henry are experienced competitors in the SHSRA. 

Henry has been on the circuit for the last four years, while Kolby and Chase have been competing for six and three years respectively. 

“Our mom rode horses when she was younger, so we got into rodeo through her,” Kolby Skene said. “A lot of our friends got involved as well, so there’s a pretty group of people that we get to see during the course of the year.” 

“I had a mentor who helped me at my very first event and I remember how fun that whole weekend was,” Henry added. “As the years have gone on, I have a better idea of what to expect during the rodeos, and it had made things a lot easier.”

All three competitors had the chance to compete on a big stage earlier this summer. 

Henry and Chase Skene went to the Canadian High School Rodeo Finals in Swift Current, while Kolby Skene was joined by his older brother Tanner at the National High School Rodeo Finals in Lincoln, Neb. 

“Those events are such a big deal,” said Henry, who also qualified for the Nationals in Nebraska this year but was unable to attend. “Once you get to those events, it pushes you harder to go back there and do well on the provincial circuit.” 

The main goal for all of the competitors is to earn scholarships for collegiate and university rodeo programs, where they will get to continue in the sport while pursuing their education. 

“That’s still a few years away for me, but that’s definitely something I want to do,” Chase Skene said. 

“It would be a super cool opportunity if I was able to do that,” Kolby Skene added. “Not only would you be able to be involved with rodeo at a higher level, but you’ll be to pursue what you want to do for a career.” 

The complete results from this weekend’s competition are expected to be posted on the SHSRA website on Thursday.  

What was once a dream is about to become a reality for the Elk Ridge Resort as the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada circuit will be coming to Waskesiu this week for the Elk Ridge Open.

“During our most recent staff meeting, I told everyone that we have to pinch ourselves back to reality a little bit as this is for real and it’s about to take place,” managing partner Ryan Danberg said on Friday.

“Since our first initial conversations with the Mackenzie Tour way back when, we certainly all looked at each other and felt very humble that they were even thinking of us to hold the event.”

The tournament, which begins on Thursday and runs until Saturday, marks the first time that the Mackenzie Tour has visited Saskatchewan since 2016, when the Dakota Dunes Open wrapped up a nine-year run at the Dakota Dunes Golf Links just south of Saskatoon.

“We haven’t had a golf event of this nature in the province in a few years,” said Danberg, who was referencing the 2018 CP Women’s Open at the Wascana Country Club in Regina, which was won by Canadian golf star Brooke Henderson.

A total of 117 golfers are listed on the entry list for the tournament, which includes Callum Davison, who won the most recent event in Cardigan, P.E.I. last week, and several Saskatchewan players, such as Prince Albert’s Danny Klughart and Yorkton’s Kade Johnson, who joined the tour on a full-time basis last month.

“There’s going to be a really strong caliber of players from across Canada that will be here for this tournament and I think that’s a testament to the strong grassroots programs and the junior tours we have in our country,” Danberg said.

“It’s impressive when you see guys shooting 23-under-par for a three-day tournament. That’s good golf on any course.”

The course itself is expected to provide several challenges, especially with the natural terrain that’s surrounding the holes.

“There really are no shortcuts on the course,” Danberg said. “A lot of the young guys tend to bomb the ball pretty far, especially compared to 10 years ago with how technology has advanced, but they aren’t hitting it quite as straight as they did back in the day.

“Hitting the ball straight is the most important factor to having a good tournament here. It’s important to keep the ball in play or you’ll be deal with trees, or as we like to joke around here, the 40-foot high rough.”

The tournament will officially get underway at 2 p.m. Tuesday with an opening ceremony, which will feature a ceremonial tee-off that will include honorary chair Graham DeLaet and Premier Scott Moe.

“It’s such a nice touch to have two top leaders from our province in their respective fields coming up for that event,” Danberg said.

“I grew up in the same era as Graham as he came up through the golf ranks and I grew up just 20 kilometers away from Premier Moe. We’re very grateful to have both of them come up and kick things off in a big way.”

Admission for Tuesday’s opening ceremonies, Wednesday’s practice rounds and all three days of the tournament, is free of charge thanks to the support from event sponsors Callaway Golf and Molson Coors.  

“With our world being a little crazy right now, we feel like this is a great opportunity for people to come up here, walk around and keep their social distance, in addition to seeing some great golf being played,” Danberg said.

For the last couple of years, Labour Day weekend has meant the Saskatchewan High School Rodeo Association will be paying a visit to the Red River Riding and Roping Arena.

That will be the case once again on Saturday and Sunday as the SHSRA kicks off their 2021-22 season with the Lakeland Ford High School Rodeo at the facility, which is located just north of Prince Albert.

“I know the kids are all excited and most of the parents are also,” RRRR Arena barn director and event chair Larry Henry said on Friday.

“There’s a lot of work and a little bit of driving that takes place, but we’re ready to get started again and for the kids to renew their friendships, which is really important.”

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s event was limited to 150 spectators due to the protocols that were in place by the province and the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

“We had to stop traffic at the gates on both days, so it showed us that people we’re looking for something to do,” Henry said.

“It’s not really lake weather anymore so we’re expecting to get a good crowd for both days, especially since we aren’t capping the crowd at 150 like a year ago. I think it will be pretty similar to what we saw back in 2019.”

While the final entry list won’t be known until the weekend, organizers are expecting 150 competitors to be on the grounds for the event, which is up from the 110 that were in attendance a year ago.

“We actually just got an email from the SHSRA on Thursday saying that the overall membership in the province is now at 200 competitors,” Henry said.

“It (the SHSRA) has definitely been growing over since we started going to events with our daughter Kaci around four years ago, as I think the membership was only at 110 members at that point.”

The two-day competition will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an admission fee of $5 for both days.

“We’re going to try and keep as much parking close to the outdoor as we can so we can have easy access to the facility for the seniors, and there’s plenty of space for people to move around and sit during the weekend,” Henry said.

“It should be a great event and the forecast looks to be okay for both days. The rodeo grounds are in fantastic shape and the rain that we’ve had here lately was a very welcome sight for all of us.”

Having grown up here and suited up for his hometown team during his Western Hockey League career, Ryan McDonald’s coaching journey has brought him back to the Prince Albert Raiders.

After spending the 2020-21 season with the club in the Regina hub, the 33-year-old has joined the Raiders as an assistant coach on a full-time basis.

“To be able to walk back in the Art Hauser Centre yesterday and hear the sounds of the rink as the guys were out on the ice…it brought back a lot of great memories,” McDonald said on Thursday during the Raiders annual golf classic at the Cooke Municipal Golf Course.

“It was a very unique situation in the bubble and being around the guys 24/7 for a couple of months, but everything ran seamlessly from start to finish and it was a ton of fun. I learned a lot about the game from (head coach) Marc (Habscheid) and (assistant coach) Jeff (Truitt), but it was also great to be with them away from the rink. They took me in right from the start.”

Prior to joining the Raiders last spring, McDonald was the head coach for the Warman Wildcats Under-18 program, who made the jump to the provincial AAA ranks in 2020-21.

He had also spent three seasons as the bench boss for the Wildcats Under-15 squad.

“When I was leaving the Raiders after my 20-year-old season, (general manager and head coach) Bruno (Campese) pulled me aside and asked if I had considered any coaching opportunities, and that kind of put the bug in my ear so to speak,” McDonald said.

“Once I finished my U Sports career (which lasted from 2009 to 2014 and saw him play for the Lakehead Thunderwolves and the Saskatchewan Huskies), I stepped back for a year to decided what I wanted to do.

“A position opened up in Warman and I got involved with the Bantam AA team there. It’s really turned into a love affair as I love giving the knowledge of what I learned during my career back to the kids as we help them develop for the next level.”

A second round pick by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft, McDonald was dealt to the Regina Pats at the 2004 trade deadline as part of a deal that saw the Wheat Kings acquire netminder Josh Harding.

After putting up 24 points in 124 games for the Pats, McDonald was acquired by the Raiders in Dec. 2006 and posted 162 points in 182 games before graduating from the junior ranks in 2009.

During his time in junior and university hockey, McDonald learned a lot from his coaches that he’s been able to bring into his roles behind the bench.

“I think every coach that you have teaches you something different and that was certainly the case for me, especially starting out in the Prince Albert Minor Hockey system,” McDonald said. 

“When I got to the WHL, (current Raiders general manager) Curtis (Hunt) was my head coach with the Pats and I learned a lot from watching how he and the coaching staff did things in Regina. When I was with the Raiders, Peter Anholt was someone that I loved playing for, as he was such a down-to-earth guy. Bruno, Joel Sherban at Lakehead and Dave Adolph with the Huskies all had different voices and approaches to things, but I learned a lot from all of them as well.

“You just try to take each piece and put what you think is the best approach for the kids you are coaching and the team you are with, which was something I really focused on during my time in Warman.”

Unlike other coaches who have made the jump up to a major junior staff, McDonald won’t be spending the pre-season getting used to all of the players on the Raiders roster, as he got to know the majority of the squad during his time in the Regina bubble.

“It was great to catch up with a lot of familiar faces when I came to the rink on Wednesday,” McDonald said.

“When you are around the same group of people for a couple of months, you start to build those tight connections and we had a lot of fun as a group during the spring.”

The Raiders, who will start their exhibition slate on Friday, Sept. 17 at home against the Regina Pats, will be announcing their schedule for next week’s training camp on Friday.

In off-ice news, the Raiders have made a change in their hockey operations department as they parted ways with director of player personnel Curt Brownlee on Wednesday.

Brownlee had been with the Raiders scouting department since the 2011-12 season and moved into the director of player personnel role after the passing of Ron Gunville in Dec. 2018.

“We thank Curt for his time as a Prince Albert Raider,” general manager Curtis Hunt said in a prepared statement.

“He was a big part of our championship team and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.”

Bruno Zarrillo, who has been a scout with the Raiders for the last decade, has been promoted to the director of player personnel position.