John MacNeil
Daily Herald
With a new coaching staff and general manager in place, the Prince Albert Mintos hope their fresh start doesn’t end there.
As they stage their fall camp this weekend at the Art Hauser Centre, the Mintos are shooting for a return to respectability in the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League.
Last winter, the historically strong franchise missed the playoffs, finishing the regular season in 10th place in the 12-team league, which is the top rung on the provincial U18 hockey ladder.
“We’re not being shy about it,” said Chris Bourdon, the Mintos’ new GM. “Our goal is to get back in the playoffs.
“That’s going to be our goal. How high we end up being, I guess that’s going to be up to the players to show that in the standings.”
Regardless of where the Mintos finish the 2026-27 season, Bourdon is confident he and new head coach Tyson Dallman are of the same mindset as they chart the organization’s direction.
“We need to get the Mintos’ organization back in the playoffs,” he said. “It slipped quite a bit over the last number of years, and we need to get back to a winning tradition.”
The Mintos are tapping into Prince Albert’s rich hockey history, and their hometown alumni, to guide the ship this season. Dallman, the newly minted head coach, is a Mintos graduate who went on to play junior A, major junior and university hockey. The 32-year-old teacher has had extensive coaching experience in P.A. hockey circles, including a stint as a Mintos’ assistant and most recently as head coach of the Saskatchewan U15 AA champion Prince Albert Pirates.
Another hometown product, former Mintos captain Jason Duret, has come on board as an assistant coach. The other new assistant coach is Colten Smith, a personal trainer with Alberta roots. His expertise came in especially handy Friday as he directed the team’s fitness testing to kick off camp.
Dallman succeeds Dion Antisin, who served just one season as the Mintos’ head coach.
Bourdon has familiarity working with Dallman while coaching together under former pro Rod Dallman — Tyson’s father — with U15 and U13 teams.
“I know Tyson really well,” said Bourdon, who has been involved in coaching and managing Prince Albert minor hockey teams for 16 years.
“I haven’t coached with him since then, but he and I have both been involved for a long time.”
Those strong P.A. connections are expected to shape the Mintos’ identity for this season and beyond, and develop a sense of continuity behind the bench. The legendary Tim Leonard, who coached Dallman as a Minto, gave the organization such stability for many years.
“Tyson has had a tremendous amount of success,” Bourdon said. “Last year, his team won provincials in the U15 AA league in Saskatchewan. He has coached for a number of years. I mean, he’s the right guy for the job, there’s no doubt about it.
“It gives a little bit of stability to the (head-coaching) position, as well. We’re not going to be worried about losing Tyson in the next year, or the year after, to a higher league. He’s planted his roots in Prince Albert. His family is here, his job is here.
“Never say never, but at the same time, he and I are a really good fit together, because we’ve both given a commitment to give some stability to the organization, when it comes to the GM and head coach positions.”
The Mintos already have 19 players signed for the coming season, but Bourdon believes there’s still plenty to play for this weekend for prospects and returning players alike. More roster spots could become available if players stick at junior camps, and some prospects are also auditioning for possible affiliated-player status for this season.
The organization is focused on trying to revive Prince Albert as a first-choice option for U18 AAA prospects across Saskatchewan.
“In saying that, over the last number of years, I think that has fallen off,” Bourdon said. “Again, we want to get back to the days where the Mintos are a player’s first choice. We don’t want to be second fiddle to anybody.
“We want to grow a program that people know if they’re going to come here, not only are the players going to be in a great environment to learn the game of hockey, but also learn how to be a good young man, to be a good student, to learn from each other, to learn from the coaching staff. Just overall being a really good human.
“That’s our main goal. We want to make sure these kids leave P.A. better than when they came.”
With the Sept. 1 signing deadline coming soon, about 65 prospects are gathered in Prince Albert this weekend for the three-day fall camp.
“That’s a pretty good number,” Bourdon said. “We’ve got four full (intrasquad) teams. Each team is going to have one on-ice practice session with the coaching staff Friday night. They’re each going to have two games on Saturday, and then on Sunday they’re each going to have one game.”
It’s a compact camp that doubles as a tune-up of sorts for the many Mintos bound for major junior and junior A camps in the next week or two.
