John MacNeil
Daily Herald
On the eve of their first weekend homestand of the season, the Prince Albert Mintos named their captaincy group on Friday afternoon.
As the Mintos gathered for practice, coach Tyson Dallman introduced his four captains to the rest of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League team.
All four of the leaders are returning players with the U18 AAA Mintos, including new captain Noah Gibson.
Gibson’s assistants are fellow defencemen Staiden Parenteau and Cooper Sawatzky, along with centre Max Cooper. Parenteau also wore an A last season.
This year’s coaching staff met with the new captains after Thursday’s practice, offering them the titles and their expectations for this season.
“I’m definitely very honoured to have a letter,” said Cooper, the Mintos’ top scorer last season.
“We’ve got three D-men and one forward as the leadership group. So, the D-men can definitely see most of the ice and see what the boys need to push for, and I think that’s why we went with three D.
“Last year, we didn’t really have that leadership group to push players to go. I think (the approach) this year will definitely help, having those three D-men.”
Cooper said the new captain, Gibson, will provide the kind of assertive leadership that’s needed at such a competitive level of hockey.
“He talks a lot in the room, so it’s good that he got the C, for sure. He can definitely wake the boys up and say what we’re doing wrong. He’ll go and do it himself, too. He’s not one of those guys who just picks on other guys, and not do it himself. He’ll actually do it.”
Among the Mintos’ four designated leaders, Gibson is “definitely the most vocal,” Cooper said about the Outlook resident.
Gibson joined the Mintos in 2025 after playing with prep teams for two years at Prairie Hockey Academy. Sawatzky is from Hague, Parenteau is a Prince Albert product, and Cooper comes from Porcupine Plain.
All four captains are 17 years old and in their final year of U18 AAA hockey.
They hope to embrace an inclusive environment for new and returning Mintos alike, Cooper outlined Friday.
“Just getting the players to buy in to what we’re going to do this year,” he said. “Stay kind and act like you want to be treated. If you’re a leader, do so.
“Just set good standards for the team for next year, too, and good habits — like putting food away or cleaning up after yourself. Talking to the rink staff, getting to know them, is definitely a big part of what we can do as a group, off the ice.”
As their team mantra indicates, the Mintos are rebuilding the historic organization one step at a time.
“Our motto this year is Brick by Brick, because we’re trying to rebuild that foundation to as it was many years ago when they won back-to-back Telus Cups,” Cooper said about the Mintos’ national championship history.
In the league’s season-opener Wednesday at the Art Hauser Centre, the Mintos lost 3-2 to the Battlefords Stars.
This weekend, Prince Albert hosts the Notre Dame Hounds for games at 7 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, both at the Art Hauser.
“We’re definitely not taking Notre Dame lightly, because they could be a good team,” Cooper said about the Wilcox hockey academy. “Everybody sees them like a point night kind of team, but we’ve got to go in there thinking that they’re a Regina Pat Canadians team or the Moose Jaw Warriors, just as good as them, so we can get these four points.
“This year, there’s been talk that (the Hounds) are going to have a pretty decent team, so we definitely need to come out strong and not flat-footed.”
Tisdale taps Tait
In other captaincy news from the U18 AAA league, the Tisdale Trojans appointed veteran Jacob Tait as their captain. Tait, a 17-year-old forward from Prince Albert, rejoined the Trojans last week after a strong pre-season with the junior A Humboldt Broncos and the major junior Regina Pats.
