Cripps makes immediate impact on Raiders back end

Darren Steinke
-
0
Cripps makes immediate impact on Raiders back end

Darren Steinke

Stanks On Sports

Brock Cripps is showing he doesn’t need to be eased into the WHL.

The 16-year-old rookie defenceman with the Prince Albert Raiders has dived head first into the deep end and is swimming at a fairly good pace. In the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, Cripps was selected by the Raiders second overall in the first round.

The Victoria, B.C., product came to “Hockey Town North” with the potential to be a WHL standout or star. The Raiders were pegged to have a sturdy blue-line crew for the current campaign that could also move the puck and spark offence.

On paper, it appeared Cripps, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 160 pounds, was going to be in a spot to have a great learning season that would allow him to take off in later campaigns. Cripps is showing he is a quick learner and is already taking off. In the 16 appearances he has made with the Raiders so far this season, Cripps has recorded two goals, seven assists and a plus-12 rating.

He also played under Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald for Canada Red at the U17 World Challenge that ran Nov. 2 to 8 in Truno, Nova Scotia. Canada Red posted a 4-0-1 record at that event and claimed a 6-3 victory over Canada White in the Gold Medal game. The Canada White roster contained Raiders 16-year-old right-winger Ben Harvey.

Cripps led that event in defencemen scoring with six points coming off one goal and five assists. He also captured honours as a tournament all-star.

With the Raiders, Cripps has allowed the Raiders back end to be as dynamic and as deep as it has ever been. When the Raiders graduated star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic to the professional ranks at the conclusion of last season, it felt like they would take a step backwards on defence. Dragicevic is currently playing with Coachella Valley Firebirds, who are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.

Prince Albert returned captain Justice Christensen as a 20-year-old and star 17-year-old Daxon Rudolph on defence for the current campaign. With the presence of Christensen and Rudolph, it was a safe bet that the Raiders were going to get offence from the back end.

Cripps is already blowing everything away on the eye test at both ends of the ice. He is doing his part with his performance to give the Raiders coaches confidence to play him in all situations. Of course, Cripps is still going to make some 16-year-old type mistakes as the campaign goes along, but he is still way further along than most defencemen his age are at this point in their major junior careers.

At the moment, the Raiders are getting steady play from their regular group of six that suit up on defence that also includes Linden Burrett, Matyas Man and Benett Kelly. Prince Albert doesn’t have to hide anyone on the back end, and that is a good problem to have.

Still, it can be argued that Cripps is the biggest head turner for how well he has played for how young he is.

McKenna underwhelming in NCAA

In what seemed like an unthinkable notion at the start of October, the idea is starting to float around that Gavin McKenna might not be the first overall selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

Over the past month, there has been increased commentary coming from media persons that follow college hockey in the United States that Gavin McKenna has been “underwhelming” in the NCAA Division I ranks skating with Penn State University Nittany Lions Men’s Hockey Team. McKenna, who is still 17-years-old and will turn 18-years-old on December 20, has recorded four goals, 14 assists and a minus-five rating in 16 games with the Nittany Lions.

Expectations for McKenna in the NCAA were sky high, because the Whitehorse, Yukon, product’s 2024-25 campaign with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers was sensational. In 56 regular season games, McKenna, who stands 6-feet and weighs 170 pounds, piled up 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department.

He played in 16 games in the WHL Playoffs recording nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points to go with a plus-14 rating helping the Tigers win their sixth WHL title in team history. In the four games the Tigers played at the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion, McKenna had three goals and three assists and a plus-two rating.

Thanks to those efforts, McKenna won the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL player of the year and claimed honours as the CHL player of the year. To add further to expectations on McKenna, ESPN reported in July that McKenna’s Name Image and Likeness money for attending Penn State is “in the ballpark” of US$700,000. Fairly or unfairly, that huge dollar figure brings a notion that McKenna has to produce, and if he doesn’t produce, he will deal with criticism coming his way even at his young age.

Observers that have seen McKenna play in the NCAA said he has been outstanding skating on the power play or four-versus-four situations when he has time and space on the ice. The NCAA league is filled with players aged 18 to 23 with the majority being aged 20 to 23 and that has changed things for McKenna when it comes to five-on-five play.

When it comes to McKenna’s five-on-five play going against players who are more physically developed because of their age, observers have said McKenna hasn’t been good. Observers noted McKenna has shown a lack of engagement and been unwilling to compete in those situations. The word “passenger” has been used to describe McKenna’s effort when it comes to five-on-five play.

One media observer showed in a video on YouTube of one example where McKenna could have won a race for a loose puck and visibly gave up on the play. If the Nittany Lions, who are 11-5 and rated ninth in the NCAA Top 20 Rankings, are in positions where they are trying to protect a one-goal lead in the third period, media observers are saying McKenna pretty much never gets shifts in those situations.

If a growing number of media persons are noticing a lack of effort on McKenna’s part when it comes to five-on-five play, that opens the door that McKenna may not be the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Some NCAA hockey media observers have said McKenna is a good player, but they couldn’t attach the “generational player” tag to him. To those observers, McKenna is not as lofty a prospect as Adam Fantilli and Macklin Celebrini were when they played in the NCAA.

While a number of NCAA media observers want to see more out of McKenna, those same media observers have been pleased with the play of 17-year-old defenceman Keaton Verhoeff of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks Men’s Hockey Team. As a 16-year-old WHL rookie with the Victoria Royals last season, Verhoeff appeared in 63 regular season games collecting 21 goals, 24 assists and a plus-23 rating.

In 12 games with the Fighting Hawks, Verhoeff, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 212 pounds, has posted four goals, four assists and a plus-four rating. He has been praised for his all-around game and for how well he can battle physically with the older players in the NCAA. While it is early, it is possible Verhoeff could slide into that number one overall spot in the NHL Entry Draft.

It is also possible Swedish 18-year-old winger Ivar Stenberg could jump into the number one overall position in the NHL Entry Draft. Stenberg is playing in the top league in Sweden with Frolunda FC, and he has five goals, 15 assists and a plus-nine rating in 21 regular season games.

 It should be noted that McKenna is still doing better than most of the players who were in the WHL last season and jumped to NCAA Division I hockey in the current campaign. A lot of the WHL players who moved on to play NCAA Division I hockey are having their challenges and are not putting up the big offensive numbers like they did in major junior. It is uncertain how this development will factor into the decisions others may make when it comes to jumping from major junior to NCAA.

As for McKenna, he will still surely be selected early in the first round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft at this point in time. If his play in five-on-five situations doesn’t come around, his good seasons in Medicine Hat might only be a memory when NHL Entry Draft time comes around.

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

Adamko brothers soak in CJFL title win with Hilltops

Darren Steinke
-
0
Adamko brothers soak in CJFL title win with Hilltops

SASKATOON, Sask. – The reality was better than the dream for brothers Ryan and Scott Adamko when it came to winning the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl.

On Sunday, the Adamko brothers suited up to play on the defensive line for the storied Saskatoon Hilltops as they battled the Okanagan Sun for the CJFL title at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Sun star quarterback Liam Kroeger ran home an 18-yard touchdown with 1:33 remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 18-18.

On the ensuing series, Hilltops kicker Ryden Gratton booted a 37-yard field goal with 28.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put the host side up 21-18. The Sun’s last ditch effort to even the score or go ahead was ended on an interception by Hilltops strong side linebacker Zaden Taylor that cemented the 21-18 score as the final outcome in favour of Saskatoon.

The Hilltops completed the 2025 campaign with a 9-2 overall record, while the Canadian Bowl was the only loss for the Sun in posting a 13-1 overall mark. The win was the Hilltops 24th CJFL title in team history, and it was a perfect cap for Ryan as his CJFL eligibility came to an end at the conclusion of the Canadian Bowl.

“Everybody wishes to go out this way, but it is just an absolute blessing that it was us who were able to come out on top,” said Ryan, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 270 pounds. “It was a crazy good game.

“It was just a blessing and good enough. Oh boy. It is going to be something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

“Being able to go out on a win and not have that pit in my stomach and knowing that we gave it everything and not have to play the what if game in the back of my head (is great). It is just absolutely surreal to think that I’ll be going out as a champion.”

The CJFL title win was the second one Ryan got to experience as he was a member of the Hilltops 2023 Canadian Bowl winner that posted a 12-0 record. Scott completed his second full season with the Hilltops and was still processing what the CJFL championship win was like after a tough battle with the Sun.

“It is pretty good,” said Scott. “I can’t complain about it.”

“They fought back in the last bit, and we managed to get that last field goal. That is the game. It came down to the last few plays.”

The Adamkos came to the Hilltops after finishing up their respective high school careers with the Carlton Comprehensive High School Crusaders. Both were also products of Prince Albert’s minor football system.

The Hilltops roster also included Crusaders alums and receivers Gage Prodaehl, who is in his first year, and Jordan Umukunzi, who is in his third year of CJFL eligibility. Both pass catchers weren’t on the Hilltops dress list for the CJFL final.

With the CJFL title game being played in Saskatoon, the Adamkos had a large contingent of family and friends travel down from Prince Albert and the surrounding area for that contest. When the game came to an end, Scott said it was special to get a CJFL championship win with Ryan in the final game of his junior eligibility.

“It is definitely something you’ll remember for a lifetime,” said Scott, who recently turned 20-years-old. “It is once in a lifetime, so it is a good way to end it.”

Having played his final CJFL game and graduating with a second CJFL title, Ryan said that win will strengthen the bond he has with Scott as the years go on.

“That is something phenomenal that I’ll be able to share this memory with him,” said Ryan, who is 22-years-old. “We can both always no matter how long back and how further down we go in life, we can always look back.

“We have this moment to sit together and just be able to (explanative) smile.”

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

McDonald has come a long ways in the sport of hockey

Darren Steinke
-
0
McDonald has come a long ways in the sport of hockey

What would that scrappy 14-year-old Prince Albert Mintos forward from 2002 have said if someone told him he would become the head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders one day?

Way back in 2002, Ryan McDonald attended training camp and skated in practice sessions with the Mintos under-18 AAA team looking to get some extra ice time before playing in his upcoming under-14 season. The young 14-year-old who lived on 11th Avenue East made an approach to the Mintos coaching staff, who elected to have him on the ice as an extra skater for drills.

The Mintos were looking to have a fairly strong team that season, and they would have a number of forwards who all had great campaigns including Chris Wilson, Tyler Mugford, Cole Fern, Scott Vaughan and Dallas Thiessen. As the skating sessions went on, an idea came up about offering McDonald a spot on the Mintos forward group as a 14-year-old underage player.

Ron Bonneau, who was the Mintos head coach that season, brought the idea up amongst the team’s older players, and they thought it would be a good idea to have McDonald on the team. When offered the spot, McDonald was more than happy to suit up for the Mintos.

As a player, McDonald played a style of game fairly identical to Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and more recent Raiders alum Parker Kelly. McDonald had the skill to score, but he wasn’t afraid to mix it up and agitate. When he got an opposition player off his game, that trademark pest smirk would come across McDonald’s face.

The often overlooked part about the feisty and pest type player is that they are the perfect teammate, when they are on your side. They are viewed as the guy that would do anything to win a game.

During his 14-year-old season with the Mintos, McDonald appeared in 39 regular season games recording 10 goals, four assists and 66 minutes in penalties. WHL scouts were flocking to the rink to see McDonald play with the Mintos, because they wanted to see how he would handle competing against players that were one to three years older than him.

He was selected by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the second round and 38th overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft. McDonald was pegged as a player that could potentially step in and play in the WHL right away.

In his 15-year-old and final campaign with the Mintos in 2003-04, he appeared in 42 regular season games recording 22 goals, 19 assists and 109 penalty minutes. Before that season’s WHL trade deadline, the Wheat Kings dealt McDonald’s WHL rights to the Regina Pats as part of a blockbuster deal to get star netminder Josh Harding.

McDonald, who stood 5-foot-11 and weighed 174 pounds in his WHL playing days, kept up his style of play through his five seasons in the WHL skating for the Pats and the Raiders. He was acquired by the Raiders part way through the 2006-07 campaign. He ultimately played in 306 WHL regular season contests posting 97 goals, 86 assists and 391 penalty minutes.

During that time, McDonald would often joke his idol was Kindersley, Sask., product and Medicine Hat Tigers high scoring agitator Derek Dorsett. After helping the Tigers win a WHL title in 2007, Dorsett went on to a professional career that included playing in the NHL from 2008 to 2017 with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks.

McDonald wasn’t able to move on to the professional ranks as a player. From 2009 to 2014, he played four seasons in the U Sports ranks including three campaigns for the Lakehead University Thunderwolves in Thunder Bay, Ont., from 2009 to 2012 and one season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 2013-14. In 78 career regular season games in U Sports, McDonald posted 40 goals, 32 assists and 88 penalty minutes.

Over all those years as a player, the idea that McDonald would become the Raiders head coach wasn’t on anyone’s mind.

Speed up to the current day, McDonald is a married family man and head coach of the Raiders. In that role, you would have never thought he was a feisty forward type that liked to stir things up like Marchand. The 37-year-old McDonald is the mindful players’ first head coach who guides his team in a style similar to current long time Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins.

While he never played for Desjardins, McDonald as a member of the Pats did play for current Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt, who was the Pats head coach for almost all of McDonald’s time with the team. Hunt was a mindful players’ first head coach when he worked behind the bench.

McDonald played for a number of coaches who all had good traits to draw from including Bonneau, Peter Anholt and Bruno Campese from the Raiders and Dave Adolph with the Huskies. Still, McDonald, who joined the Raiders as an assistant coach before the start of the bubble season in 2021, has his own style and a vibe where it feels like everything is under control.

Another aspect that became apparent behind the bench was that McDonald has the “believe” intangible installed in the players he coaches. That really came to light last season when McDonald went from assistant coach to interim head coach in the Raiders first 15 games coming back from the WHL Christmas break when then head coach Jeff Truitt had to go on medical leave for eye surgery.

The Raiders went 10-4-0-1 over that stretch with McDonald as head coach. The belief factor and “anything is possible” intangibles went up a notch, and I found talking with some close friends on the circuit that was noticed by other teams. That path seemed set that Hunt was going to have to make a tough decision.

Hunt did that this past March 10 relieving Truitt, who is a quality coach and person, of his duties with the Raiders in the midst of going 1-3-2 in a six game stretch. McDonald was promoted to interim head coach.

That move allowed the Raiders to go 5-1 over their last six regular season games to top the WHL’s East Division with a 39-23-5-1 mark. They eliminated the Edmonton Oil Kings in seven games in the first round of the WHL Playoffs before being swept by the eventual WHL champion Tigers in an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

In the off-season, McDonald had the “interim” tag removed from his job title becoming the Raiders head coach. Heading into action on Tuesday, the Raiders lead the East Division with a 12-1-3 mark and are rated fifth in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released that day.

The belief that McDonald instilled continued as part of the Raiders start as he left the team to be the head coach of team Canada Red for the U17 World Challenge in Truno, Nova Scotia. On Saturday, McDonald guided Canada Red to a 6-3 victory over Canada White in the event’s gold medal game. Canada Red posted a 4-0-1 record at the event.

He got to share that moment with Raiders defenceman Brock Cripps, while Raiders right-winger Ben Harvey was skating for Canada White. McDonald became the first person to win gold medals at the U17 World Challenge as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

McDonald picked up a gold medal as a player in 2004-05 playing for Canada Western while still a member of the Pats. He captured a gold medal as an assistant coach for Canada White last year.

Of course, the sample size of McDonald working as the role of head coach is still a small one. The Raiders will have bumps in the road, and you can expect the always tough current road trip through the U.S. Division will provide some bumps.

Still, McDonald is well on his way. When it comes to being a hockey head coach, it feels like McDonald has the “it” factor. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more successes in store for him as his coaching career goes on.

That feisty 14-year-old forward with the Mintos has done pretty good for himself.

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

Adamko brothers to play for CJFL title with Hilltops

Darren Steinke
-
0
Adamko brothers to play for CJFL title with Hilltops

SASKATOON, Sask. – For brothers Ryan and Scott Adamko, the upcoming Canadian Bowl provides a chance that will never come again.

On Sunday, the pair will dress and play on the defensive line for the CJFL’s storied Saskatoon Hilltops when they host the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl. The Hilltops (8-2 overall) will go up against the Okanagan Sun (12-0 overall) from Kelowna, B.C., at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in Saskatoon. Scott is in his second season with the Hilltops, while Ryan is in his fifth and final campaign of CJFL eligibility with the club.

For the two graduates of the Carlton Comprehensive High School Crusaders Football Team, that means the Canadian Bowl will be the last time they play together in a CJFL contest and the only time they will play together for a CJFL title.

“It is pretty special,” said Scott, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 265 pounds. “It is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“He (Ryan) is in his last year, and it is just not very often you get to play at home with a natty (national title game). It is good timese .”

For Ryan, he will be going through a number of emotions as it is his final CJFL game. He is pumped he gets to do it playing alongside his brother.

“It is definitely surreal that it has already been the five years,” said Ryan, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 270 pounds. “It has been a phenomenal time here.

“I couldn’t have asked for any better place to be, any better coaches and any better boys to be around to call them family. Just to be able to play with my brother, it is something special. I never really got to play with him much.

“Just our age gap worked out just right, so we never really got to play much together beforehand. Now that we’re both here, it is quite special.”

The Adamko brothers followed their cousin and star defensive back Justin Adamko, who is also Crusaders alum, to the Hilltops. The three played together for one season with the Hilltops in 2024 before Justin exhausted his CJFL eligibility. Following games, it became a custom for the Adamko players to pose for a family picture with all the family members that came out to support them on that particular game day.

With Prince Albert and the Candle Lake area where Ryan and Scott reside being a short jaunt away from Saskatoon, the brothers are expecting a big contingent of family to be out on Sunday.

“We’re going to have a big group of people coming,” said Scott, who had 10 total tackles during the 2025 regular season for the Hilltops. “We already know about lots, so it’ll be good.”

Ryan believes that anyone that comes out to see the Hilltops and Sun go at it in the Canadian Bowl on Sunday are in for a show.

“They are definitely going to have their playmakers everywhere,” said Ryan, who had 24.5 total tackles and one fumble recovery in the regular season for Saskatoon. “We’re just going to have to keep an eye on those guys and make sure we got them always accounted for and respect them.”

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant has enjoyed having both Adamko brothers as members of his venerable club. Sargeant is looking for both to have big games on Sunday against the Sun.

“They’re awesome kids,” said Sargeant. “They come from a great family, and you know it started with their cousin, Justin (Adamko), who was a Hilltop first.

“Ryan is a fifth-year player who has been a key starter. He has really been significant in us stopping the run. Scotty has developed, and he has earned himself on to the travel roster, playoff roster, and now he is going to be playing in the Canadian final.

“We moved him from linebacker to nose guard, and he also has some long snap abilities. They’ve been key contributors to our success this year in 2025.”

Sargeant said the Adamko brothers are tough, hard-nosed, physical and love to battle. The sideline boss said he sees those as common characteristics in athletes that come from Prince Albert mirroring the community’s WHL hockey team and taking those characteristics to their respective sports.

“Prince Albert, that is an area we like to recruit heavily, because we know there is great stock there,” said Sargeant, who has guided the Hilltops to 14 of their 23 CJFL title wins as head coach. “They are great athletes and there is a great tradition within that city.

“The P.A. Raiders are a big, big part of that and so is St. Mary (High School Marauders) football and the P.A. Carlton (Comprehensive High School) Crusaders football. A lot of good players have come from there that have been very significant to our program. We’ll always continue to recruit Prince Albert kids, because we know what we’re going to get.

“It is what we are looking for with the Hilltops.”

Speaking of the Crusaders, Scott, who recently turned 20-years-old, said he would like to be part of a CJFL champion winner with the Hilltops on Sunday to make up for the fact he missed out on Carlton’s 5A Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association title win playing in his rookie season in the CJFL. On November 8, 2024, the Crusaders edged Saskatoon’s Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints 35-34 in the 5A SHSAA football championship clash at SMF Field. A large contingent of the Adamko family including Ryan and Scott were in attendance for that game.

“It hurt, but I had a great high school career,” said Scott about missing out on the Crusaders win. “We did fine when I played.

“It was good. That was our first in program history, so it was good times.”

Ryan, who is 22-years-old, was a member of the Hilltops last CJFL title winner in 2023. In that campaign, the Hilltops went 12-0 and gave up their fewest points against in regular season competition at 51 and combined regular season and post-season play at 76 since 1949.

For the upcoming CJFL title game, Ryan said a dream finish would be taking part in a family picture at the end of that contest with the Canadian Bowl.

“That will be something very special, if we are lucky enough to have that happen,” said Ryan. “That will be something very special for me, my brother and our entire family.

“That will just be a very special moment.”

NOTES – The Hilltops roster also includes Crusaders alums and receivers Gage Prodaehl, who is in his first year, and Jordan Umukunzi, who is in his third year of CJFL eligibility.

Raiders are at their best when they are more than a hockey team

Darren Steinke
-
0
Raiders are at their best when they are more than a hockey team

Darren Steinke

Stanks On Sports

The Prince Albert Raiders encompass the best of “Hockey Town North.”

They are the team of Mike Modano, Dave Manson and as seen by the Raiders faithful, the forever CHL MVP Dan Hodgson. They are the franchise where honour still matters.

The Raiders of today have gotten out to a 9-0-2 start in the current WHL regular season, and they sit in the top four overall in the WHL entering play on Tuesday. They are also rated eighth overall in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings that were released on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, 17-year-old star defenceman Daxon Rudolph was named to Team CHL for the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, which runs November 25 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary and November 26 at Lethbridge’s VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

Actually when you sit back and reflect, it is pretty cool Prince Albert has been home to the Raiders since they came into existence back in 1971.

When Terry Simpson first became the Raiders head coach back on November 9, 1972, he had the simple goal of just creating a hard-working hockey team. When you talk to Simpson, he will modestly say his teams were that – no more and no less.

Over the decades, the Raiders when they are truly at their best stand for being more than a hockey team. In the simplest terms, they above all are known for their honour and ability to do the right things on the ice and off it when in the community. The team has a family dynamic that includes the City of Prince Albert helping it gain the moniker “Hockey Town North” thought up by late long time Raiders business executive and community icon Bruce Vance.

For style of play, they can play the run and gun game, if opponents want to run and gun. If opponents want to get down in the trenches, they can get down in the trenches. If opponents want to have a flat out brawl, the Raiders can do that too.

Those three lines regarding style of play I remember being proudly told to me by Dave Manson about the 1984-85 team that won the WHL title and captured the Memorial Cup as CHL champions. It is a style of play that extends through the history of the Raiders.

The Raiders biggest characteristic that shines out the most is their heart. The most recent example was seen this past Friday at the Art Hauser Centre, when the Raiders honoured their director of ticketing, community relations and accounting as well as team billet mom Kim Page.

Page has been battling breast cancer for a year. Her husband and Raiders billet dad, Roger, still has the uplifting video of Kim ringing the bell to show she had beaten cancer proudly on her Platform X account on April 2.

The Raiders honoured Kim on Friday as part of their Cancer Awareness game. She came to centre ice of the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre to drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff with daughters Brooklyn and Cailin.

Her current billet sons Oli Chenier and Evan Smith took the ceremonial faceoff. Messages were also shared from former billet sons Carson Latimer, Aliaksei Protas and Max Hildebrand. The Raiders wore special jerseys for that night, and once again long time business manager Michael Scissons knocked it out of the park with those jersey designs.

Behind the scenes, Kim and Roger have carved their niche in being an important part of the Raiders family. A lot of that comes from those two just being themselves.

When you arrive at the Hauser, it feels like it is impossible not to run into one or both of them. They are always happy to see you and seem to enjoy welcoming you to the game. Even if you are having a bad day, you feel welcomed and are happy you decided to go to the Raiders hockey game that night when you run into one or both of them.

From the video tributes from Latimer, Protas and Hildebrand, you get the vibe that Kim and Roger are the cool billet parents. You also got that vibe when Roger talks about Mario Kart games on his Platform X account. The most memorable are likely the ones Roger had with Protas.

Kim also gets beyond full marks for putting up with the noise from those Mario Kart clashes and the movie nights Hildebrand talked about. These types of heartwarming moments and upbeat vibes are a regular occurrence with the Raiders.

Because of everything you see and all the intangibles, the Raiders value system seemingly extends to the other sports teams in Prince Albert, athletes and community as a whole. That is true for those from outside the city looking in. One of the more recent examples came on November 9, 2024 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, when the Carlton Comprehensive High School Crusaders won the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association’s 5A championship game over the host Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints.

With 72 seconds remaining in that contest, Crusaders star quarterback Sullivan Smith-Windsor hit standout receiver Zane Litzenberger on a five-yard slant pass for a touchdown to give the Carlton side a 35-34 victory. Smith-Windsor and Litzenberger had mind blowing outstanding performances in that contest. While Smith-Windsor and Litzerberger are Crusaders, there was a notion they “Raidered” that game with their performance.

Same went with celebrations that occurred on the field with the Crusaders and the massive amount of fans that came from Prince Albert to support them. The celebration felt unbelievably similar to the on ice celebration the Raiders had at the Hauser after they won the WHL title. Looking at the scene, it felt so “Raiders” and so Prince Albert.

If you go and live somewhere else and it becomes known you are from Prince Albert, you kind of get typecast that you have the Raiders mindset and values, even if you were never a part of the hockey team. If a person who used to live in Prince Albert does something exceptional living in another community, that Prince Albert product is dubbed as being such a “Raider” in that moment.

Abby Soyko scores overtime goals in two straight nights on a toe drag snapshot that goes top corner to allow the University of Alberta Pandas Women’s Hockey team to win the Canada West Conference title. While she played for the Prince Albert Northern Bears becoming their leading scorer, it felt like she was a “Raider” in those clutch times with the Pandas. With her overall style of play, she does get mentioned as being a “Raider.”

Brothers Ryan and Scott Adamko, who are both graduates of the Crusaders football team, go out and make big plays on the defensive line for the CJFL’s storied and historic Saskatoon Hilltops. Having come from Prince Albert, it seemed that was expected, because that is where the Raiders are from.

Gage Grassick goes off for a game-high 35 points and collects seven assists and three steals helping the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Basketball Team take the U Sports title game 85-66 over the Carleton University Ravens. She captured honours as the tournament MVP. Being from Prince Albert, it was like she “Raidered” everything in that moment even though she is a basketball player.

Raiders alum and current star of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers Leon Draisaitl is remembered more for his two full seasons in Prince Albert than his short stay with the Kelowna Rockets before staying in the NHL full time. When he has his clutch moments, it comes with a feeling he got it from his days with the Raiders.

Stryker Zablocki, who is a phenom forward with the Northeastern University Howlin Huskies, could end up being the current day Prince Albert product that emulates Modano for making plays that are both skilled and pretty while still being a game. Zablocki has already had numerous big moments where she is considered a “Raider.”

In all of those things, the Raiders have become more than a hockey team. They have become a special all-encompassing thing for the city.

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

Clark enjoys returning to his late older brother’s “Hockey Town North” stomping grounds

Darren Steinke
-
0
Clark enjoys returning to his late older brother’s “Hockey Town North” stomping grounds

Darren Steinke
Special to the Herald

Wendel Clark will always see Prince Albert as a place his late older brother Donn viewed as a home.

While Wendel is best known as being a legendary power forward for the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and playing defence for the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL from 1983 to 1985, Donn developed big ties with the Prince Albert Raiders. Donn was a defenceman for the Raiders during their inaugural season in the WHL in 1982-83.

He was the club’s head coach for two seasons from 1993 to 1995. After leaving the Raiders, Donn returned to the team before the start of the 2000-01 campaign as head coach and transitioned over to the executive side part way into the 2001-02 campaign as the director of hockey operations and then later as general manager before being ousted on January 14, 2008.

During his years with the Raiders, Donn got to experience two magical post-season runs in 1995 and 2005 when the club advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in both of those jaunts in a series-deciding Game 7 to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Wendel will be back in Prince Albert on Saturday as the guest speaker for the Kinsmen-Raiders Sportsman Dinner to be held at the Ches Leach Lounge at the Art Hauser Centre. The doors open at 5 p.m., supper follows at 6 p.m. and the program starts at 7:15 p.m.

“I’m very honoured to be able to come up and speak and be a part of helping raise money and in a place where my brother loved,” said Wendel over the phone from the Toronto area. “He loved coaching and managing and being a part of the community.

“I know he always spoke very highly of it. It is great that I can, you know, be a part of it and be in a town that we had a lot of fun times being that the old Saskatoon and Prince Albert rivalries were awesome.”

The Kinsmen-Raiders Sportsman Dinner will honour young hockey phenom Stryker Zablocki as the Prince Albert’s Female Athlete of the Year, lacrosse star Brayden Rieger as the Male Athlete of the Year and softball organizer and executive Ian Litzenberger as the Sportsman of the Year. Funds will be raised at the dinner for the wave pool at the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre.

Wendel remembers well being in “Hockey Town North” on March 1, 2019 to accept Donn’s induction as a builder on to the Raiders Wall of Honour. Donn was in the palliative care unit at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon battling cancer at the time and would pass away one day later, which was just two days before what would have been his 57th birthday.

He is remembered as a beloved figure in the history of the Raiders, and Wendel said it means a lot to his family that Donn is remembered fondly in Prince Albert.

“We’re very honoured, you know, as a family and everybody back home,” said Wendel reflecting on Donn’s Wall of Honour induction. “I know my mom and everything we’re very honoured when that happened for him, because he was not well at the time when it did happen.

“It was a huge honour for us as a family and being understanding that you know what he did for the team and community trying to try to represent the Raiders when he coached and managed there and bring kids along and hopefully make them better hockey players and in the big picture better people.”

Looking back on his own hockey playing days, Wendel’s memories of playing against the Raiders were enjoyable ones. He appeared in 136 regular season games for the Blades collecting 55 goals and 100 assists.

Wendel’s arrival in the WHL coincided with the Raiders going into their second season in the major junior ranks after winning 16 games in their inaugural WHL regular season in 1982-83. The Raiders had a core group in Dan Hodgson, Dave Pasin, Manny Viveiros, Ken Morrison, Dale McFee and netminder Ward Komonosky who took their lumps in that first season and were ready to fly with the team built around them by iconic head coach and general manager Terry Simpson.

The Raiders posted 41 wins in the 1983-84 regular season and 58 victories in the 1984-85 regular season before going on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions.

“Terry Simpson being a good coach he brought them along quickly,” said Wendel, who enjoyed the atmospheres at the Hauser and the now demolished Saskatoon Arena. “By the time I got there, they became a very good team, and they were starting to want to give it back to everybody that was giving it to them when they were youngsters.

“Being a player that played physical for me, it was fun. It was an awesome atmosphere to be able to play in, because it was going to be a tough night with the skill you had with Danny Hodgson and Dave Pasin and the guys that were playing at that end. Then, you also had Kenny Baumgartner and Dave Manson and all those guys leading the way on the other end plus the role players they had played very physical.

“It was always a fun, exciting match between the two teams even when sometimes they weren’t at the same skill level in the standings. You always knew it was going to be a good home and road game.”

Wendel would play on Canada’s entry at world juniors during the 1984-85 campaign that was coached by Simpson and included Hodgson. Canada won that event played in Finland marking the first time a team from North America claimed gold at that tournament when it was played in Europe.

Looking back, Wendel was impressed with how quickly Simpson brought that team together and how good they were on the penalty kill. Wendel couldn’t remember Canada giving up any power-play goals at that world juniors.

After joining the Leafs in 1985-86, Wendel was a first-year professional for most of that campaign playing alongside Hodgson. While they had fun playing together as teammates, Wendel appreciated how well Hodgson played with the Raiders.

“He was the guy that stirred the drink,” said Wendel. “He was a small finesse player.

“He was not a scared player, but he was always involved. You looked and he was always in the middle of everything whether it was getting points, or if he thought something had to be stirred up if his team needed some energy, because he knew that “Bomber” (Baumgartner) and Manson and every teammate was going to come and stick up for him. He’d start stuff to bring the team together as well.

“Hodgy did that very well. He knew the game so well that he’d make sure the team was ready to play if the game started slow.”

At the Kinsmen-Raiders Sportsman dinner, Wendel, whose 59th birthday will be on Saturday, plans to share stories and memories from his time in hockey. He hopes to do it in a way to get the crowd engaged leaving a good memory for all who come out.

“Basically, I’m hoping you will all be doing a lot of talking about different hockey,” said Wendel. “We are going to be probably doing a little bit of a hot stove.

“There will be questions answered, and hopefully, maybe there is going to be some interaction with the audience. We will see maybe I will answer some questions and give my side of a story. It is always great when you get some different opinions about the same story in the game of hockey, but really, we’re just coming out to celebrate the game of hockey and raise some great money.

“Basically, we will just talk hockey and hopefully jog some memories about the hockey days back in the older days or even talk about what is happening today in the game the way it is.”

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

Christensen’s return brings extra poise to Raiders back end

Darren Steinke
-
0
Christensen’s return brings extra poise to Raiders back end

By Darren Steinke

Stanks On Sports

Isn’t it great to have Justice Christensen back.

The 20-year-old captain and star defenceman returned to the Raiders on September 30 after attending training camp with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. While the Raiders have been playing strong in the early going posting a 6-0-1 record, Christensen’s poise has been so noticeable in the three games he has played this season.

While he isn’t the biggest player on the back end standing 5-foot-9 and weighing 191 pounds, Christensen has been a presence along the Raiders blue line, and it feels like there is an extra sense of security when he is back there. Of course, the best aspect of having Christensen back is his ability to score goals.

On October 8, all Raiders fans would have to admit it was a tonne of fun seeing Christensen score a pair of power-play goals off point shot blasts 23 seconds apart from each other in a 6-0 home ice victory over the Vancouver Giants. “Juice” had the “Juice Bomb” going once again at the Art Hauser Centre.

Last Friday, Christensen netted his third goal of the season joining in on an offensive rush against the Kamloops Blazers. He tipped home a shot from Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead, and they would claim a 5-2 victory at the Hauser on that night.

Also on Christensen’s tip in goal against the Blazers, star 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring picked up the second assist on that play. With Christensen, Dube and Oiring in the fold, the Raiders 20-year-old situation is looking as solid as it has ever been.

Christensen, who was never selected in the WHL Prospects Draft, has been a career member of the Raiders signing on with the WHL franchise on May 3, 2022 from the Yale Hockey Academy under-18 Prep team in Abbotsford, B.C. He went through the expected growing pains all 17-year-old rookies experience in the WHL appearing in 64 regular season games in 2022-23 collecting two goals and seven assists.

The Red Deer, Alta., product broke out offensively as an 18-year-old sophomore in 2023-24 appearing in all of the Raiders 68 regular season games recording 45 points off 13 goals and 32 assists. Last season in his first campaign as the Raiders captain, Christensen found the back of the net quite a bit with his “Juice Bomb” as Prince Albert finished first in the East Division with a 39-23-5-1 mark.

Christensen led all WHL defencemen with 22 goals to go with 24 assists and a plus-19 rating in the plus-minus department once again appearing in all of the team’s 68 regular season contests. He became the first Raiders defenceman to score 20-or-more goals in one regular season since Jesse Lees netted 23 goals in the 2015-16 campaign.

To show how rare it has been for a defenceman with the Raiders to score 20-or-more goals in a season in the WHL history of the franchise, two of the franchise’s all-time greats in Manny Viveiros and Josh Morrissey each accomplished that feat once in their time with the club. Of course, James Patrick had 21 goals and 82 points in 60 regular season games in his one lone legendary campaign for the Raiders in their junior A days when they won their third Centennial Cup in 1980-81.

With all that noted, Christensen is a heart and soul member of the Raiders in the current day, and he would have been a heart and soul member of the club in any era of the team’s history dating back to the Raiders birth in 1971. While the Raiders looked strong in their first four regular season games of the current campaign, they seemed that much more poised, in control and purposeful on the ice with him back in the fold.

Christensen’s presence is one of the many reasons going to see the Raiders play will make for a great day at the rink.

Blazers’ Hurlbert as good as advertised, other notes

J.P. Hurlbert is already making what might be his one lone season in the WHL a good one.

The 17-year-old centre from Allen, Texas, left the United States national development hockey program to sign with the Blazers days before the team’s training camp opened. He is projected to be a first round selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

Heading into action on Tuesday, Hurlbert, who stands 6-feet and weighs 181 pounds, leads the WHL in goals (nine) and points (20). The Blazers are currently making their road trip through the WHL’s East Division. In the first game on that trip this past Friday, Hurlbert picked up assists on both Blazers goals as they fell 5-2 to the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre.

One night later, Hurlbert was held pointless as the Blazers were blanked 3-0 by the host Blades in Saskatoon while holding a 32-27 edge in shots on goal. Even in that setback, Hurlbert had jump and made flash and creative plays in the offensive zone.

Last Monday, Hurlbert had helpers on all four of the Blazers goals as they slipped past the host Pats in Regina in overtime 4-3. The Blazers trust Hurlbert enough that he is already playing the point on the power play. Kamloops coaching staff, who are led by head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston, believe that Hurlbert is already mature enough that they already named him an alternate captain.

While the CHL leagues including the WHL lost a fair share of players to the NCAA Division I ranks this season, Hurlbert is part of the wave of United States born players who have come to the Canadian major junior ranks to showcase themselves in their NHL Entry Draft eligible year. When the NCAA changed its rules to allow CHL players back on November 7, 2024 for the start of the 2025-26 campaign, that created more of an incentive for players like Hurlbert to come to Canada.

Hurlbert has committed to play for the University of Michigan Wolverines starting 2026-27. When players from CHL were barred from playing in the NCAA, someone like Hurlbert likely would not have appeared on the Blazers roster.

Now, he is a player that is worth the price of admission every time he steps on the ice with the Blazers.

  • On Tuesday, the Raiders traded the rights of 19-year-old defenceman Tyrone Sobry to the Saskatoon Blades for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2029 WHL Prospects Draft. Sobry started the season with the Raiders before they assigned him to the Junior A ranks in the Humboldt Broncos. Sobry has three goals and three assists in his first five games with the Broncos. The deal involving Sobry marks the first time since January 8, 2014 the Raiders and Blades have completed a trade with each other.
  • Rookie 18-year-old forward Stryker Zablocki recorded her first four career points in NCAA Division I league play with the Northeastern University Huskies Women’s Team this past weekend. Last Friday, she had one goal and one assist in a 4-0 home ice victory over Providence. One night later, she had a pair of assists in a 6-1 home ice win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
  • Raiden LeGall has gotten out to a hot start in his 19-year-old sophomore season with the Everett Silvertips. He leads the WHL in goaltending victories with six and has posted a 6-0-1 record, a 1.83 goals against average and a .929 save percentage in his first seven appearances with the Silvertips this season.

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

The 2025-26 campaign could be a fun one for Raiders

Darren Steinke
-
0
The 2025-26 campaign could be a fun one for Raiders

The good early returns might foreshadow a fun 2025-26 campaign for the Prince Albert Raiders.

Usually when a team is a handful of games into a hockey season and the early returns are good, one usually cautions that the early returns can be deceiving. In the case of the Prince Albert Raiders, their fans might get to see a lot of memorable games at the Art Hauser Centre and wherever they decide to follow the legacy franchise on the road.

Just four games into the WHL regular season, the Raiders have gotten out to a 3-0-1 start. Last Friday, they downed the Pats before 4,929 spectators at the Brandt Centre in Regina 6-4. That contest was the home ice debut of expected 15-year-old Pats phenom centre Maddox Schultz, who was selected first overall in the WHL Prospects Draft held this past May.

Last Saturday at Assiniboine Credit Union Place in Brandon, Man., the Raiders found themselves trailing the host Wheat Kings 4-2 after two periods, but they rallied for a 5-4 victory in overtime. Star 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring got the extra time winner for Prince Albert.

Last season, the Raiders captured the East Division title posting a 39-23-5-1 mark. In a best-of-seven first round series, Prince Albert rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Edmonton Oil Kings with a 4-3 set win thanks to a 5-0 victory in a series-deciding Game 7 at the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders were then swept 4-0 in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series by the eventual WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers.

Along with Oiring, the Raiders are returning a large number of players from a season ago. The returnees include a trio of talented 17-year-olds in defenceman Daxon Rudolph and centres Riley Boychuk and the pride of St. Albert, Alta., Ty Meunier.

Prince Albert is currently stacked with a quartet of strong 20-year-olds in captain and star defenceman Justice Christensen, Oiring, right-winger Brayden Dube and centre Harrison Lodewyk. The unfortunate part is the Raiders can only keep three overagers, so general manager Curtis Hunt is going to have a tough decision on whom to part ways with. Christensen officially returned to Prince Albert on Tuesday after taking part in training camp activities with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.

Other key returnees in the forward group include Jackson Kostiuk, Oli Chenier, Evan Smith and Ethan Bibeau. Big returnees on the back end include Tyrone Sobry and Linden Burrett.

Of course, star right-wingers Niall Crocker and Rilen Kovacevic and franchise netminder Max Hildebrand all graduated due to aging out of the major junior ranks. Star 20-year-old defenceman Lukas Dragicevic is not expected back as he begins his full-time journey in professional hockey in the system of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken playing for their AHL affiliate the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Raiders lost 19-year-old star forward Tomas Mrsic to the Colorado College Tigers Men’s Hockey team in the NCAA ranks.

Hildebrand is the biggest loss. He had a spectacular regular season posting a 33-16-5 mark, a 2.87 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and three shutouts. In the Raiders 11 games in the post-season, he posted a 3.05 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and one shutout.

Thanks to his work in the regular season, Hildebrand was a nominee for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL player of the year, the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as WHL goaltender of the year and the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s humanitarian of the year. He would be named the WHL goaltender of the year and third team CHL all-star.

At the moment, the Raiders are turning toward 19-year-old veteran Dimitri Fortin, 18-year-old Czech import rookie Michal Orsulak and 17-year-old rookie Steele Bass to carry the load in goal. While making 26 stops in the overtime win over the Wheat Kings, Orsulak made some big time game-altering stops in that contest. All of a sudden, you start thinking the Raiders might be alright in net.

There is also excitement about how rookies like Ben Harvey, Connor Howe and Jonah Sivertson in the forward group and Benett Kelly might initially contribute as they go through the learning process in the major junior ranks.

The other thing the Raiders have going for them is that they are coming in under the radar. They weren’t rated in the first CHL Top 10 Rankings and weren’t in the Week 2 ratings that were released on Tuesday. The Spokane Chiefs were the highest rated WHL squad sitting in the fourth spot.

 So far, the biggest believers in the Raiders are those within the team and the fans that make up “Hockey Town North.”

Actually, a big salute has to go out to the Raiders fans and the folks in Prince Albert. You can bet their support of the team was one of the big factors that allowed the Raiders to only immediately lose one returnee to the NCAA ranks, because most other teams across the CHL were not that lucky.

Anyways, let the Raiders be under the radar. The Raiders and their fans can legitimately have quiet expectations that some great memories can be made in 2025-26.

Habscheid homecoming on Saturday, other notes

If anyone says Saturday’s game between the Prince Albert Raiders and Red Deer Rebels at the Art Hauser Centre is going to be a normal WHL regular season contest, they are lying.

That contest, which is slated for a 7 p.m. faceoff, will mark the first time Marc Habscheid will be back at the storied and historic rink for WHL game action since resigning as head coach of the Raiders on July 14, 2022 to become the head coach of the Bemer Pioneers Vorlarlberg in Feldkirck, Austria.

The 62-year-old Habscheid is serving his first season as the head coach of the Red Deer Rebels. Habscheid returned to the WHL after taking a year off from hockey to have surgery on both his hips.

During his coaching career, Habscheid always gets the itch to try something new. The seven-and-a-half seasons he spent as head coach of the Raiders is still the longest stint he has spent coaching anywhere in hockey. The support of the community in “Hockey Town North” was the reason he had an extended stay in Prince Albert.

Of course, the biggest memories come from the magical 2018-19 season where the Raiders topped the WHL standings with a 54-10-2-2 record. They captured the WHL championship taking a series-deciding Game 7 of the WHL Championship Series 3-2 with Dante Hannoun netting the winner in overtime. When Hannoun scored in what is the defining moment of the history of the Art Hauser Centre on May 13, 2019, the sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580-seat building erupted like never before.

In June of 2018, Habscheid’s father, Nicholas, passed away, and the Raiders in 2018-19 rallied around their head coach to support him. That meant a tonne to Habscheid.

The Raiders rallied around a few passing that season include defenceman Adam Herold, who was killed in the Humboldt Broncos’ bus tragedy on April 6, 2018, director of player personnel Ron Gunville, who passed of cancer on December 11, 2018, and player, coach and manager alumnus Donn Clark, who passed of cancer on March 2, 2019.

When Habscheid is back in the Hauser on Saturday, there will be all sorts of emotions happening. Those memories from his time as the Raiders head coach will be flooding back. He was the Raiders best head coach since team icon Terry Simpson last departed from the franchise in 1990.

I suspect there will be a salute for Habscheid during a stoppage early in the first period, and the salute will be a well-deserved one.

  • If you want a sign that the winds of change are blowing through the WHL, just check out the scoring leaders for the circuit entering play on Wednesday. Right-winger JP Hurlbert, who is a 17-year-old rookie, is listed first with six goals and three assists for nine points in three games. Left-winger Roan Woodward, who is a steady 20-year-old veteran, is placed second with five goals and four assists for nine points in three games. Left-winger Chase Surkan, who is a 16-year-old rookie, takes up third spot with four goals and three assists for seven points in three games. At the end of the 2024-25 regular season, the top three scorers in the WHL were pretty familiar names in Andrew Cristall of the Chiefs (48-84—132), Gavin McKenna of the Tigers (41-88—129) and Berkly Catton of the Chiefs (38-71—109).
  • On Monday, Hurlbert was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week ending this past Sunday. He had three goals, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in two games with the Blazers. Blazers 17-year-old netminder Logan Edmonstone was the WHL’s goaltender of the week for making 38 saves in a 6-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds this past Saturday in Kamloops. Surkan was the WHL’s rookie of the week for recording two goals and an assist in the Wheat Kings 5-4 overtime setback against the visiting Raiders this past Saturday in Brandon.
  • With all the returning players various WHL teams lost to the NCAA ranks in the off-season, the biggest winner might be the Kelowna Rockets, who will host this season’s CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The Rockets will host the Memorial Cup from May 22 to 31, 2026 at Prospera Place in Kelowna. Thanks to the player moment, the Rockets are now on more even footing with the rest of the team’s in the WHL. Had McKenna, Cayden Lindstrom and Ryder Ritchie still been with the Tigers instead of going to the NCAA, you would have been hearing all season on how the Tigers should have been the host of the 2026 Memorial Cup.

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

The CFL game on the field is a gem, changes not needed

Darren Steinke
-
0
The CFL game on the field is a gem, changes not needed

By Darren Steinke

Stanks On Sports

Apparently, the CFL product on the field is a game that is “radically” flawed.

To me, it felt like that was the message that was sent, when the Canadian professional football circuit announced some major rule changes on Monday with one phase of changes coming in 2026 and another phase in 2027. From what I understand, it was announced on Sunday that the press conference for the rule changes would happen on Monday.

Attention grew for the Monday announcement when long time former Saskatchewan Roughriders play-by-play voice and current independent sports media pundit Rod Pedersen put out a post on Platform-X that he was told to be prepared for an Americanization of the CFL game.

On Monday, the following rule changes were announced that are coming in 2026. First, the famous rouge has been altered.

No points will be awarded for missed field goals, punts and kickoffs that go through the end zone via either through the air or a bounce. If a returner fields any of those types of kicks in the end zone and is tackled in the end zone or kneels down in the end zone, a single point rouge will be scored.

A 35-second play clock will replace the 20-second play clock in 2026. Next year once a play is blown dead, a 35-second play clock begins. Also in 2026, team benches at all CFL stadiums will be on opposite sides of the field.

In 2027, the field of play will change. The field of play between the goal-lines will be 100 yards instead of 110 yards. The depth of the end zones will shrink from 20 yards to 15 yards.

The width of the field will still be 65 yards. The uprights will be moved from the goal-line to the back of the end zone.

I elected to mull on the changes over a 24 hour period. During my life, one of my blessings was I got to be friends with the late iconic CFL coach and general manager and scout of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts in Cal Murphy.

Murphy truly loved the game and his passion got you excited for the sport. He loved both the Canadian and American versions of the sport and the uniqueness each version of the game brought.

Murphy is best known for his time with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers serving as either head coach or general manager or both from 1983 to 1996. If Murphy was still alive, my gut feeling is he would mirror current Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea and current British Columbia Lions star quarterback Nathan Rourke in not liking the changes.

I think Murphy would say the rule changes are, “A crock of crap.”

Murphy was the lone voice in the league against United States expansion in the 1990s, and it turned out he was right with all the concerns he brought up with how that failed.

I guess I have hit the age where I am an old fuddy-duddy in liking the Canadian game of football the way it is.

When it comes to the game itself on the field, I felt there was nothing wrong with the game currently being played in the CFL and the Canadian version of the sport in general. I believe the Canadian version of the sport in its current form is as perfect of a version of the game you can get.

I know there are critics of the rouge and want it totally removed. I think that adds to the charm of the game.

I love the quirky moments that come with the rule in its current form like in the University of Regina Rams first post-season win in the U Sports ranks way back on November 3, 2000 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. The Rams were tied 32-32 with the University of Calgary Dinos in a Canada West semifinal.

On the final play of the fourth quarter, the Rams had the ball at the Dinos 16 yard line. The Rams Canadian Football Hall of Fame head coach Frank McCrystal sent his future star NFL punter Jon Ryan into the game. Ryan booted a 36-yard punt single through the end zone to give the Rams a 33-32 walk off victory, and they continued on a run to an appearance in the U Sports championship game – the Vanier Cup.

I know in the current day there are pundits saying that is a horrible way to win a game like getting a single off a missed field goal. Back then, McCrystal and his staff were credited with their astute coaching work and mastery of the rulebook for getting in position where Ryan could win the game with a punt single.

Starting next season in the CFL, you won’t be able to boot a punt single through the end zone to win a game with a rouge.

Of course, the CFL’s problem has always been marketing and storytelling. There have been some years the marketing has been better than others.

I believe the Roughriders reached unprecedented heights in the 2000s and early 2010s by marketing themselves as “Canada’s Team” and putting up billboards outside of opposing team’s stadiums that displayed a big picture of their fans that make up Rider Nation with the caption “We walk among you.”

That rallied the Roughriders faithful around their team. That also rallied the fans of the other CFL clubs around their respective franchises due to being shown up by the folks that make up Rider Nation.

If you want to look at the weakness of the story telling of the CFL, just ask any CFL fan who were the “Alberta Crude?”

The “Alberta Crude” was the defensive line made up of Dave “Doctor Death” Fennell, Ron Estay, David Boone and Bill Stevenson. They played a crucial role in helping the Edmonton Eskimos win five straight Grey Cups from 1978 to 1982.

To me, the Eskimos of that era should be viewed as one of the most if not the most iconical squads in the CFL and one of the most iconical teams in all of Canadian sports. That dynasty was highlighted by the play of two legendary quarterbacks with Tom Wilkinson giving way to Warren Moon.

Those that saw Moon play can still see him throwing the most picturesque passes to his trio of 1,000- yard receivers in 1981 in Brian Kelly, Tom Scott and Waddell Smith.

Edmonton’s coaching staff of that era was made up of head coach Hugh Campbell with Murphy, Don Matthews and “Papa” Joe Faragalli working as assistant coaches. Faragalli did move on to become the Roughriders head coach in 1981. With Campbell, Murphy, Matthews and Faragelli working the sidelines, one had to wonder how the Eskimos ever lost a game.

(*Side note – “Papa” Joe was the innovator pretty much for all the passing sets you see in the CFL in the current day*).

Still, you don’t see sports documentaries made about the Eskimos teams from 1978 to 1982 like you do of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers of the 1960s, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s, the San Francisco 49ERS of the 1980s, the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s or the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era New England Patriots of the 2000s and 2010s.

Outside of old fuddy-duddies like me, the Eskimos teams from 1978 to 1982 aren’t remembered the way they should be if they are remembered at all. That goes for so many different eras of history of the CFL and no one is forking out the money to ensure those tales are remembered.

If you can’t get your past properly respected in the public eye, how do you venture into the future as an elite sports league?

Having that narrative of then, now, forever and together helps build the community of everyone being part of something.

The NFL had that question answered with the creation of NFL Films way back in the 1960s, and that has contributed to the creation of iconic teams and iconic stories.

As for the CFL, those in the ownership and board of governor positions have decided the product on the field is the problem, and that is where change needs to be made.

I wonder if “Uncle” Wally Buono is “all in” with the rule changes, or is he just an old fuddy-duddy that doesn’t matter anymore. I would be really comfortable with having him as the head of a competition committee or a rules committee for the CFL at age 75, if that would be something he would ever consider doing.

I do understand the reasons the CFL presented in their rule changes.

With that said, I didn’t know offence was a critical problem, kicking too many field goals was a critical problem, the time clock was a critical problem, the uprights on the goal-line created a critical visibility problem and field dimensions were a critical problem in the Canadian game. In the two CFL games I’ve attended this season, I believe the product on the field is as good as it has ever been, but also none of today’s current teams would beat the Eskimos from 1978 to 1982.

I personally don’t think the rule changes will result in more offence. I am willing to see how they look in action.

I know the league’s economic struggles, and I think the circuit’s leaders believe that alignment with the NFL and the American game is the only path forward to grow the game, because the NFL is so huge. Amateur football and high school football in the Toronto area and in Vancouver is already played with four down rules from the United States, which means about 18-million of Canada’s population of 40-millon are more in tune with the American game in just those two areas.

From that perspective, I think CFL leadership see harmonizing with the NFL as the only way forward, and they are comfortable with losing the old ardent CFL supporters. Like in politics, the large population centres in Canada dictates what the rest of the country does.

With that said, the CFL did start to rebound in the late 1990s and early 2000s the circuit made a rebound focusing on the “Canadian” aspect of the game. I think that is an important lesson to learn.

Still, I think the essence of the CFL game will still hold up after the rule changes. However, I can’t see the rule changes being the vehicle that motivates people to buy more tickets and watch more games. If the marketing and storytelling isn’t there, the changes are doomed to fail.

Until I get convinced otherwise by actions, I think football in the CFL and Canada has been accelerated to being converted to the style of game that is played in the United States. Something that is “Radically Canadian” is about to be truly lost.

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

McKenna’s departure to NCAA casts shadow over WHL/CHL

Darren Steinke
-
0
McKenna’s departure to NCAA casts shadow over WHL/CHL

Steinke: it’s hard for CHL teams to compete against NIL money

By Darren Steinke
Stanks On Sports

The WHL and by extension the CHL won’t be able to avoid the storyline of who is not here.

A year ago at this time, superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna was envisioned as the face of the WHL and the CHL for the 2025-26 campaign. Due to the fact his birthday is December 20, 2007, McKenna wasn’t eligible for the NHL Entry Draft held this past June 27 to 28 in Los Angeles, California.

In what appeared originally to be a bonus for hockey’s major junior ranks, McKenna was going to play an 18-year-old season as a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers. The phenom helped the Tigers win the WHL championship last season and appear in the Memorial Cup tournament’s title game falling to the OHL’s London Knights.

He is tabbed as the consensus pick to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. When his draft selection happens, he will not be announced as a member of the storied Tigers but the NCAA’s Penn State University Nittany Lions Men’s Hockey Team.

McKenna officially committed to joining the Nittany Lions on July 8. Had McKenna turned 18-years-old on or before September 15, he would have been eligible for the NHL Entry Draft held this past June. He would have been selected first overall and would be playing in the NHL this coming season.

The direction McKenna was heading in changed on November 7, 2024 when the NCAA Division I Council voted to abolish old rules that classified CHL players as professional. Starting on this past August 1, players from the CHL’s three major junior circuits in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL were eligible to play for NCAA Division I teams. Basically, CHL players will maintain NCAA eligibility as long as they have not signed an entry-level contract with an NHL team.

Since 2021, the NCAA’s guidelines regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) changed, and athletes were now able to make money through NIL deals. In July, ESPN reported McKenna’s NIL money for attending Penn State is “in the ballpark” of US$700,000. When you look back in the 2024-25 season, there was no doubt NCAA hockey teams were going to make a pitch for McKenna.

The Whitehorse, Yukon, product’s 2024-25 campaign with the Tigers was sensational. In 56 regular season games, McKenna, who stands 6-feet and weighs 170 pounds, piled up 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department.

He played in 16 games in the WHL Playoffs recording nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points to go with a plus-14 rating. In the four games the Tigers played at the Memorial Cup tournament, McKenna had three goals and three assists and a plus-two rating.

Thanks to those efforts, McKenna won the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL player of the year and claimed honours as the CHL player of the year. I even had one or two hockey observers tell me they thought McKenna was more NHL ready than phenom centre Connor Bedard was when he joined the Chicago Blackhawks as an 18-year-old.

Personally, I feel like McKenna is a better defensive player than Bedard was at the age McKenna is now. McKenna played with a Tigers squad that was strong defensively in their systems play, and he learned how to play his role in the system and trust his teammates. When the Tigers got the puck, McKenna knew where to go on the ice and the puck would come to him and away the transition rush would go.

All of what McKenna was able to experience in Medicine Hat on that front would directly make him that much more ready to play in the NHL.

Offensively, I would say Bedard was more ahead than where McKenna is now. The counter argument there is that McKenna knew how to trust his skilled teammates specifically fireplug and all-heart centre Oasiz Wiesblatt along with star right-winger Ryder Ritchie. With that said, the chemistry McKenna and Wiesblatt had together was undeniable, and you could see they played a lot together with Ritchie being a later addition to that dynamic after a trade with the Prince Albert Raiders.

McKenna was allowed to judge and pick his spots to do something offensively that came out of an EA Sports NHL hockey video game. The biggest example there was the short-handed goal he scored against the Prince Albert Raiders in Game 2 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series at Co-op Place.

McKenna tied Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic in knots and proceeded to use Dragicevic as a screen to roof a shot to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net. That highlight went seemingly viral everywhere.

That type of exposure for the WHL and CHL is now lost. Had McKenna still been with the Tigers, he would have been shown regularly on highlight packages aired by TSN and Sportsnet.

His highlights were already a staple on both networks last season. Broadcasters on the WHL circuit were doing their best to create calls that added to the showcase of the highlights that were shown nationally.

Those highlights won’t completely disappear. McKenna will be back on those networks making highlights with the Nittany Lions. When world juniors come around, McKenna will be the star attraction for Team Canada.

There is a chance he will be on a line centred by Cayden Lindstrom with Ritchie taking up a spot on the right wing. Lindstrom is playing this season with the NCAA’s Michigan State University Spartans, while Ritchie skates with the Boston University Bulldogs. Originally, there were visions of McKenna, Lindstrom and Ritchie forming the top forward unit on the Tigers, which arguably would have been the best forward line in the CHL.

The NCAA’s championship game is set for April 11, 2026 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and if the Nittany Lions are in that game, McKenna will be all over all Canadian media along with having heavy media coverage in the United States.

With McKenna in the NCAA, it basically sends the message that the NCAA is the place to be for players wanting to get ready to be in the NHL. He is the phenom, the best player for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and he chose the NCAA route. Sportsnet has estimated the CHL has lost more than 150 players to the NCAA, but it looks like that number includes 20-year-olds from the 2024-25 campaign who have aged out of major junior hockey.

Still, the CHL and by extension the WHL will be home to lots of quality hockey and some outstanding players. But, the landscape has changed. All one has to do is look at a couple of quotes from Everett Silvertips general manager Mike Fraser in a Sept. 9 feature in The Athletic to see that.

In that piece, Fraser said, “I have a document that has three years (of roster projections) ahead of me, and I find that it’s almost a waste of time to have it now. And that’s a little bit scary and a little bit challenging.”

Fraser also said in the piece in the Athletic that he understands why players have jumped from the CHL to the NCAA.

“I don’t blame the players – if they’re getting money like that thrown at them, I understand,” said Fraser. “It’s a tough thing to compete against – if you want to call it competing.

“I can sit there and talk to a player about our track record and how we’ve been the best development league for 50-plus years, but if someone’s throwing $100,000 or more at them, and that’s what I’m up against, that’s a pretty tough sell for us.”

The economics and cultural impacts of sports in Canada compared to the United States are two different universes. CHL teams can’t anywhere near match what the NCAA offers financially. CHL teams that are owned by parent companies that have NHL franchises could match that, but those parent companies don’t want to pay out those types of dollars to players on their CHL clubs, who are there for usually at most five seasons.

ESPN is also reporting that the NHL and NHLPA have opened things up in the new collective bargaining agreement that is set to begin in 2026-27 to reopen talks regarding the NHL-CHL transfer agreement. It is possible rule changes on that front will further reinforce a space where drafted and unsigned players move from the CHL to the NCAA and NCAA hockey is used as the bridge to prepare for professional hockey.

To be honest with year round training that is common in the sports world, only about one or two 18-year-olds make the NHL in the current day after being drafted, and because of their age, they can’t be as physically developed as NHL veterans. Playing in a league that contains players aged mainly 18 to 23 will further help in that transition.

As for the Raiders this season, they are in a better spot than most CHL teams. They lost 19-year-old star forward Tomas Mrsic to the Colorado College Tigers Men’s Hockey team.

Three of the team’s stars in centre Aiden Oiring, right-winger Brayden Dube and captain and defenceman Justice Christensen are projected to be the club’s three 20-year-old players with gritty 20-year-old centre Harrison Lodewyk still on the roster as a failsafe. Oiring and Christensen are committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks, while Dube is committed to the Bemidji State University Beavers.

The new reality in the CHL’s and by extension the WHL’s place in the hockey landscape with the NCAA is still settling out. With McKenna at Penn State, there will be constant reminders this season the landscape has changed.

Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

123...10Page 2 of 10