Centre aims to catch fire again with Huskies
SASKATOON, Sask. – Josh Pillar will always crack a smile when someone brings up his one full season stand with the Prince Albert Mintos Under-18 AAA Team.
In the current day, Pillar is a 23-year-old veteran centre playing out his third season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. The Warman product played a key role for the Huskies in the 2024-25 campaign culminating in the squad’s 19th Canada West Conference championship win this past March.
Pillar is no stranger to lengthy post-season runs. During his 15-year-old season in 2017-18, he experienced one of those in “Hockey Town North.”
After suiting up with the Mintos as an associate player call up for two games in the 2016-17 season, Pillar joined the Mintos on a full-time basis for the following campaign. He helped the Mintos finish third overall in the SMAAAHL regular season standings with 32 wins, nine losses and three extra time losses.
In the 2018 post-season, the Mintos proceeded to sweep their archrivals the Saskatoon Contacts 3-0 in a best-of-five SMAAAHL quarter-final series. Prince Albert pulled the booms out again to sweep away the Regina Pat Canadians 3-0 in a best-of-five SMAAAHL semifinal series.
The Mintos run came to an end in the best-of-five SMAAAHL Championship Series where they were swept 3-0 by the Notre Dame Hounds. All three of those contests were tightly contested with the Hounds pulling off respective victories of 3-1, 3-2 and 3-2.
The Hounds would advance on to win the Telus Cup as under-18 AAA national champions. At the moment, 2018 marks the last time the Mintos made the SMAAAHL final.
“I just remember we had a really good team,” said Pillar. “We were deep.
“There were a bunch of guys that I didn’t really know, and I thought we came together well. We all got along, and I remember my linemates were really good. (We had) good goaltending.
“I think it all just kind of clicked, and we played well.”
Individually, Pillar topped the Mintos in scoring with 50 points coming off 21 goals and 29 assists appearing in all of the club’s 44 regular season outings. He picked up nine points coming off two goals and seven assists in the nine contests the Mintos played in the SMAAAHL playoffs. The talented forward remembers his self-belief was really high during his time in Prince Albert.
“I think just kind of coming out of my second year at bantam I kind of gained some confidence from that year,” said Pillar, who stands 6-feet and weighs 180 pounds. “I was just kind of able to play with more confidence, and I think just playing with really skilled players helps too.”
Looking back on those days, Pillar thought it was pretty cool the Mintos had their own solid following in Prince Albert. He enjoyed attending classes at Carlton Comprehensive High School and just having to walk next door to the neighbouring Art Hauser Centre for practices and games. While he wasn’t in Prince Albert for the longest time, Pillar will always speak highly of the time that he spent there.
“I really liked it,” said Pillar. “You had like pretty decent fans like for midget.
“I liked the high school that I went to. I was used to going to the little kind of high school in Warman, so it was cool kind of just going to a bigger school with a bunch of people I didn’t know. I really enjoyed my time in P.A.”
Following that one season with the Mintos, Pillar moved on to play five complete seasons in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers and Saskatoon Blades. He had been selected by the Blazers in the first round and 14th overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.
Pillar played well enough that after his third full season with the Blazers he was selected in the fourth round and 127th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. During the 2021-22 campaign before the WHL’s trade deadline that season on January 17, 2022, Pillar was dealt by the Blazers to the Blades to be closer to home and his family to recover from a private medical situation.
He dressed for 46 regular season games played between the Blazers and Blades in 2021-22 and missed 40 of the Blades regular season games due to injuries and ailments in 2022-23. Pillar did play 17 of the Blades 18 outings in the 2023 WHL Playoffs as they advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series and were swept by the Winnipeg Ice.
When his WHL days concluded, Pillar elected to join the Huskies, because he felt it was still best for him to be closer to his family.
“I knew I was going to kind of go to U Sports after the WHL,” said Pillar. “A couple of schools reached out, but I think it was best for me to kind of just be at home around my family.
“A few buddies I knew played on the team, and I knew they had like a good culture and a lot of success. I did want to come here. I think I was still definitely battling some things when I made my decision.
“I think just being around family was a big thing for me, and I think it was good for my mental state and just good for me overall. I was comfortable here. That is kind of why I decided to do that.”
During his rookie season with the Huskies in 2023-24, Pillar appeared in 16 regular season games collecting five goals and nine assists. In the Huskies Canada West title winning campaign last season, Pillar suited up for all of the team’s 28 regular season contests recording seven goals and 17 assists. Huskies head coach Brandin Cote said Pillar played a major part in that conference championship winning season.
“He was huge to have him play the role that he did and contribute offensively,” said Cote. “He plays physical.
“He plays hard. I’ve been happy with his play for the most part throughout the year. If you look at his stats, that is one indicator of it, but I don’t really think that paints the whole picture, especially lately.
“He has been playing really well. (It is) good for him to get going and get some mojo, because that is going to be important for him to have confidence.”
This season, Pillar had one goal in his first nine outings with the Huskies, but he recorded three goals in his last three games before the club went on its Christmas break. Cote said Pillar has been bringing a strong effort out onto the ice this season but has been snakebitten around the net.
“He (Pillar) has been playing really well,” said Cote. “He has been competing.
“He is making really good plays with the puck. He has had some really good chances, so for him, it is nice to see him start to get rewarded, because he is a fantastic player for us. He is going to be an important guy coming down the stretch, so it is good to see him get a little confidence there with that.”
Cote has continued to show faith in Pillar during the slow start, which has included continuing to give the skilled centre minutes on the power play. Pillar knows he could have been pulled off of that unit, and he cherishes those opportunities.
“I really appreciate kind of Coder (Cote) sticking with me and believing in me,” said Pillar. “I can’t thank him enough for doing that.
“I hope I can keep kind of producing for him and the team. It would be good for everybody including myself.”
Pillar’s biggest memory with the Huskies came on March 9, when they blanked the Mount Royal University Cougars 3-0 in a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West Championship Series before a record crowd of 3,013 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place. The Huskies currently sit fourth overall in the Canada West standings with an 11-4-0-1 record and will resume their regular season when they travel to Winnipeg to play the University of Manitoba Bisons on January 9.
As the campaign continues on, Pillar would love to see the Huskies win the Canada West title again and maybe move on to help the program capture a second U Sports championship, with the first coming back in 1983.
“I think we definitely have the squad to do it,” said Pillar. “We didn’t really lose like a whole lot of pieces from last year.
“I think a lot of guys we brought in are really good and guys have stepped up. I think there is a chance we can do it this year for sure. I think we just have to kind of play how we can and just kind of go from there.”
Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.
