Raider coach Jeff Truitt has a history of success when it comes to first year head coaching jobs, and the Prince Albert Raiders hope that history repeats itself this upcoming season.

There was no place like Kelowna in 2003 and 2004. The Rockets were coming off back-to-back appearances in the Memorial Cup after winning the President’s Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2003, the Rockets won the 2004 Memorial Cup on home ice serving as the host team for the event.

Following the Memorial Cup win in 2004, Rockets head coach Marc Habscheid stepped down from his role in order take on a role with Canada national team. Habscheid was replaced as head coach by his assistant coach of four years, Jeff Truitt.

In his first season as Kelowna’s head coach, Truitt led the Rockets to a 45-13-12-2 record, good enough for 104 points and the top spot in the B.C division. In the playoffs, Kelowna defeated Vancouver in six games in the first round, Seattle fell in seven hard fought games in round two, the Rockets overpowered the Kootenay ICE in six games in the Western Conference final and defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings in five games to secure the third straight trip to the Memorial Cup.

Although Kelowna did not win a game in the 2005 Memorial Cup, it was still a great success for Truitt to win the WHL championship in his first season behind the Rockets’ bench.

Bruce Hamilton is the current president and general manager of the Kelowna Rockets and served in that role during the years Habscheid and Truitt coached for the Rockets. He says the duo helped shape the Rockets success.

“We were in desperate need of a total makeover and a culture change. (Habscheid) came in and it took two or three years to get it changed over and Jeff was brought in as an assistant. I’ve known them well, stayed in touch with them. They both were instrumental in the success of our team.”

Hamilton says Truitt replacing Habscheid was exactly what the Rockets’ needed at that time.

“It was exactly what we wanted. We wanted some consistency. At the time we hired Jeff, we wanted to bring in an assistant coach that was fully capable of taking over when the head coach was ready to move on. No different then our coach here today, Kris Mallette.”

Turn the clock ahead to 2022. After Habscheid resigned to coach professionally in Europe, the Prince Albert Raiders needed a new head coach to take over. It was an easy decision for the new bench boss in Hockeytown North, none other than Habscheid’s former assistant coach with the Raiders, Jeff Truitt.

Truitt says he is looking forward to keeping the winning ways in Prince Albert, exactly like what he did in Kelowna.

“We want to continue our championship mentality. We want to win no matter what the roster looks like. We expect to win here. We want our team to compete hard and the building blocks here are going to stay the same. My expectations for this team is we are going to work hard, we’re going to work through the highs and lows. (We’re) going to represent the logo and our city the right way.”

After his time with the Rockets, Truitt moved onto to coach in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Falcons, San Antonio Rampage and Texas Stars. Truitt has also served as an assistant coach with the Red Deer Rebels from 2013-2014 through 2017-2018, the Lethbridge Hurricanes from 1993-1994 through 1996-1996 and served as the director of hockey operations for the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2009-2010 season.

The Raiders open the season with Truitt behind the bench on Sept. 23 when the Saskatoon Blades will visit the Art Hauser Centre.

After a 0-2 start, the Prince Albert Prairie Dogs rebounded to take two of three in Saskatchewan Field Lacrosse League play last weekend.

Prince Albert secured a 9-5 win over the Saskatoon Plainsmen, a 15-5 win over Sturgis before falling 8-6 in the final game of the weekend to the Moose Jaw Tommy Gun’s.

Prairie Dogs head coach Matt Robin says he felt the team had a nice bounce back weekend after a tough start.

“The first weekend in Saskatoon we fell short of getting a win. We came out of the weekend two of three and the one loss was just at the end of the day. It’s tough playing those three games and trying to get that third win. But it was a close game and we fought hard.”

Robin says he felt the Prairie Dogs were solid in their own end and that lead to the weekend success.

“Defensively we were really strong, we were still missing some of our big defenders. It was nice to stop them from scoring and clearing the ball and getting transition opportunities that turned into goals.

The Prairie Dogs will enjoy a league wide bye week for the Labour Day long weekend, before getting back in action in Moose Jaw on September 10th. The Prairie Dogs will enjoy a bye week before championship weekend in Sturgis.

As the summertime begins to wind down and the fall begins, the stirring of hockey season begins at the Art Hauser Centre.

Thursday, Sept 1 marks the start of training camp for the Prince Albert Raiders. The team will look to build off the success of last season which saw the Raiders scratch and claw their way into the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but only to fall in five games to the top seeded Winnipeg ICE.

There will be a familiar, yet fresh face behind the bench this season for the Raiders. Jeff Truitt, an assistant last season under Marc Habscheid will take over the head coaching role after Habscheid resigned to take a job in the professional ranks in Europe.
Truitt says the opening day of training camp will be all about incorporating players in the team culture and identity.

“We’re going to do a lot of things, we are going to do presentations to the players, parents are going to get to toured around. We’re going to give them a real good feel about the Prince Albert Raider community, and our expectations for our club and what our value and culture entails.”

Heading into training camp, the Raiders will look build from the net out. Returning goaltenders Tikhon Chaika and Max Hildebrand compliment a returning defensive core of Nolan Allan, Eric Johnston, Terrell Goldsmith, Trevor Thurston, Landon Kosior and Tayem Gislason.

Truitt says the Raiders are going to expect a lot from older, returning veterans this season.

“They’re going to have to lead the charge, lead the pace and lead the compete factor. They’ve got to lead through training camp and prove that they want to be a leader and an impact player.”

Raiders training camp will run from Sept. 1 through Sept. 4 and the Raiders open the pre season on Tuesday, Sept 6 against the Saskatoon Blades in Big River First Nation Arena.

Camp Schedule

September 1:

• 10 am registration

• 11am orientation

• 1pm photos

• 2:15 team 1 ice session

• 3:30 team 2 ice session

• 4:45 team 3 ice session

• 6pm team 4 ice session

September 2:

• 8:45 am Team 1 vs Team 2

• 10:30 am Team 3 vs Team 4

• 5:15 pm Team 1 vs Team 3

• 5pm Team 2 vs Team 4

September 3:

• 8:45 am Team 2 vs Team 3

• 10:30 am Team 1 vs Team 4

• 5:15 pm consolation game

• 7:15pm Championship Game

September 4:

• 12pm Green vs White game

Registration is just around the corner and the Prince Albert Sharks swim club are ready to get back into the water.

The Sharks are hosting registration on Thursday Sept. 1 from 5-7pm at Frank J. Dunn pool. Prince Albert Sharks head coach Hazem Hussein said the club appeals to all demographics.

“We are a competitive club, but we have different programs for all categories,” he explained. “We have swim schools, or swim lessons, we have competitive, high performance, masters, we have something for everyone.”

The Sharks have programs that range from Cadets, which runs 3x a week and is aimed at swimmers trying to learn new skills through group activities and games to the Great Whites which is focused for youth swimmers trying to compete at a provincial or national level.

Hussein says he is excited to see the growth the club has sustained over the last season.

“The club for last season was successful. It was growing, we had swimmers qualify for the westerns and the nationals. We are very optimistic and confident for the season to start.”

Swimmers interested in joining the club can attend the in-person registration on Thursday, or sign up online on the sharks website.

With the season just around the corner, there will be some fresh faces with the Prince Albert Mintos.

The Mintos announced some changes to their coaching and operations staff for the upcoming season adding former Raider and Minto Dane Byers as an assistant. Byers enjoyed a long professional career as a player after being a second-round pick of the New York Rangers, 48th overall, in 2004. Byers appeared in the American Hockey League, the Finnish Liiga, the DEL in Germany, the EIHL in England and the National Hockey League.

Mintos head coach Tim Leonard says he is hoping Byer’s work ethic will rub off on the Mintos team.

“We’re excited to get Dane on board. The guy is an example of what hard work will get you. The guy earned everything he got. He was a professional hockey player and has lots of experience to hand down and he is excited about it. I’m excited to bring him aboard.”

Also joining the Mintos staff is Aaron Bergey as the team’s athletic therapist, Kim Jackson will take over as the associate manager of operations and Doug Padget has taken over the role as director of player personnel.

The Prince Albert Mintos have two home exhibition dates scheduled for the month of September. On Sept. 10 at 7 p.m., the Mintos welcome the Warman Wildcats and on Sept. 13, the Mintos take on the Saskatoon Blazers at 1:30pm. Both games take place at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Mintos open their season on Sept 24 at home against the Swift Current Legionnaires.

It was a great experience at the Canada Summer Games for Prince Albert’s Seanna Trumier.

The St. Mary alumnus was a member of the Saskatchewan women’s volleyball team at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario. Trumier says it representing her home province at the national level was a great experience.

“It was super cool. There was a core group of us working towards that goal for a long time. To be able to go and get to compete with each other was so cool.”

The Team Sask women’s volleyball team fell just short of the podium in Niagara, as they fell in four sets to eventual silver medalist Alberta and dropped the bronze medal match in three sets to BC. However, Saskatchewan would have never been in that position without a thrilling five set quarterfinal victory over Ontario. Trumier says that win is a memory she will remember for life.

“We had lost to them in Canada Cup in five sets a few weeks before. This time when we played them again, we beat them, and nobody expected us to win. Just coming in as the underdogs and really going for it that game. It was super fun, and the atmosphere was really good. It was definitely something I will remember.”

Throughout the Canada Summer Games, athletes from across the country would get a chance to interact with each other and would often cheer on their provincial teammates in other events. Trumier says she enjoyed the encouragement and the chance to meet many new people.

“It was super sweet. In Team Sask, we were able to stay on the bus and we would be able to chat with a few other athletes and learn stuff about each others sports. It was cool to see them later watching our games or we watched a few of the other Team Sask games. It was super cool to cheer each other on.”

Trumier is entering her second season with the Lakeland College Rustlers of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC).

It was an eventful summer for Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Landon Kosior, but the 20-year-old is ready for the 2022-2023 WHL season to get underway.

Kosior attended Development Camp this offseason with the Los Angeles Kings. The five day camp took place from July 11-July 15 just outside of LA at the Toyota Sports Performance Center. Kosior was an invitee to the camp that included several of LA’s recent top draft picks, including former 2nd overall selection Quinton Byfield.

Kosior says he loved the opportunity and tried to learn all he could.

“Anytime you get an opportunity to go, especially to a nice place like Los Angeles, you always want to make the most out of it. It’s cool to be able to go down there and skate with all the best players in the world. It’s an exciting time and I just tried to make the most out of it.”

Last season for the Raiders, Kosior scored 18 goals and 45 points in 68 games. Kosior will be one of five overage players heading into Raiders training camp which begins Thursday, September 1st. Kosior says his advice to younger players is to play to their strengths.

“The most important thing is just to play your game. Everyone’s invited here for a reason.You got to play your game and stick to what you are best at. Play your game, stick to what you are good at and you’ll stand out.”

After finishing 8th in the Eastern Conference and a first round playoff exit to the Winnipeg ICE last season, Prince Albert is looking to build off of last season’s success. Kosior says he is looking forward to playing in front of the Hockeytown North crowd for one final season.

“I strongly believe PA has the best fans in the league. And it shows how much support we have. Small community and everyone rallies around us.”

Kosior and the Prince Albert Raiders begin training camp on Thursday, September 1st. The Raiders open the preseason on September 6th against the Saskatoon Blades on Big River First Nation. Prince Albert begins the Western Hockey League regular season on Friday, September 23rd when the Raiders welcome the Saskatoon Blades to the Art Hauser Centre.

It was a beautiful day for golf Friday at the 2022 Junior Northern tournament at Cooke Municipal Golf Course.

Max McDougall took home the tournament crown firing a 77 to win by two strokes. McDougall says he was happy to see his commitment and dedication rewarded.

“It feels pretty good to finally get a win. I worked very hard all summer and it finally paid off.”

It was a family affair in the Junior Northern top three as Max edged out his younger cousin Ronan by two strokes and younger brother Grady by five shots. Max says he is glad to have the family bragging rights and the championship.

“It feels really good. My brother and cousin were the ones pretty close. I’m going to make sure I let them know who won today.”

McDougall will look to build on his win at the Junior Northern into the MJT event in Warman Saturday at the Legends Golf Club. He says the win at the Northern will be a good building block for the MJT tournament.

“Winning this event gives me a lot of confidence going into Warman. Hopefully that goes well, it’s a big tournament. Plenty is up for grabs.”

In the other flight, Cameron Fiddler finished in first place followed by Lochlan McDougall and Dylan Dreaver.

It was a golden summer for the Team Saskatchewan Men’s Volleyball program.

The program took home a pair of gold medals at the Canada Cup and the Canada Summer Games., topping Alberta in the gold medal game in both tournaments.

Ethan Smith, a libero from Prince Albert, says having won in Canada Cup was extra motivation for the rematch against Alberta in the Canada Summer Games.

“We had the X on our backs. It was really exciting to play such a good team and come out on top.”

It was a process for Smith to represent his home province. He says he had trained for years to make the team.

“It’s been a dream of mine to play at Canada Games for a long time. It means a lot to be able to play for Team Sask and to win a gold medal two times this summer this well.”

Smith was not the only player with local connections to be a part of the gold medal winning teams. Outside hitter Brock Tomyn of Prince Albert and setter Noah Opseth of Birch Hills were also on the squad. Opseth says the accomplishment is so special because of the timeframe it took place in.

“It’s a pretty rare experience for any single person. I’ve talked to people who have been to Canada Cup and Canada Games before and it’s almost impossible to go back-to-back to win both. “

Opseth says it felt like an underdog moment straight out of a movie,

“For our team to be able to do it, it’s a huge accomplishment. Especially with the guys we have, we’re all Sask guys, all small town guys. Kind of like a Cinderella story, but we weren’t the Cinderella story really because we were the best team there.”

Both Smith and Opseth red-shirted last season for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Volleyball program while Tomyn played for the Lakeland College Rustlers in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC).

Opseth says the summer of success will provide some huge momentum going into the collegiate season, especially since other U of S teammates were also a part of the gold medal teams.

“I think this just builds confidence for our program for the future. It shows we have the guys that can compete with the best in the nation. It makes us all want to play for each other the entire time.”

The 2022 Canada Summer Games took place in Niagara, Ontario while the Canada Cup took place at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex on the Tsuut’ina Nation just southwest of Calgary, Alberta.

It took her a long time to make the roster, but the experience was more then worthwhile for Prince Albert’s Kiana Mullner.

The Prince Albert softball player was a part of the women’s softball team representing Saskatchewan at the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, Ontario. It was a goal for Mullner to represent her province at a national level and it took her years to accomplish. She says pursuing her goal helped her grow, more then just as a softball player.

“There was a lot of ups and downs. I had a moment where I thought I did well and then another moment you are really upset because you didn’t show good, and I thought I wasn’t going to make the team. Throughout it all, I learned so much and grew so much as a player and as a person. “

Even though Team Saskatchewan finished just short of the podium finishing fourth in the tournament, Mullner says the team believed they had a shot to advance to the medal round in their game against Ontario.

“All of us really wanted it and believed that we could do it. Losing the game was really, really hard but at the same time, but at the same time the experience and all of it was amazing.”

Saskatchewan held a 3-1 lead after 5 innings, but Ontario scored 4 runs on five hits in the top half of the 6th inning including a two-run single off the bat of first basemen Deanna Grahek and an RBI double from catcher Katie Lorenz.

In the final game of the tournament for Team Sask, Mullner went 1 for 3 recording a single in the 2nd inning and walked and scored a run in the 4th.

The Canada Summer Games marked the end of the summer for Mullner, as she is currently in Hickory, North Carolina to begin her sophomore season with the Catawba Valley Community College Red Hawks. The Carlton alumnus is hoping to commit to a four-year school later this year.