“Man of Steel” will make admirable Pats captain

Soft-spoken centre leads Regina in Memorial Cup season

Sam Steel was named the Pats captain for the 2017-18 season.

    Sam Steel’s actions always speak louder than his words.

    When you watch the Regina Pats superstar centre on the ice, his special talents for the game of hockey are obvious. If you try to get him to talk about himself during a scrum or an interview session, his modesty is a great as his actions on the ice.

    Steel plays with a great passion on the ice, and he is a great supporter of his teammates. When it comes to talking, Steel is very soft spoken, because that is just who he is.

    His interview skills have improved as his WHL career has gone on, but it is truthful to say most of the other members of the Pats are likely better in the talking department. While Steel is quiet, he exudes a vibe of being a great guy and a very well-mannered person, and that is noticed among media members in Regina and elsewhere on the WHL circuit.

    It is safe to say media members enjoy reporting on Steel’s exploits, and you want to see him succeed. You find a way to work with the fact he is soft-spoken.

    It is almost common to blurt out after a Pats win with both excitement and dread something along the lines, “Sam Steel scored four tonight!”

    The excitement come from seeing a great guy do something special. The dread comes from the fact you are trying your best to phrase questions to encourage him to talk.

Sam Steel controls the puck in the offensive zone.

    You also don’t want to give the impression to Steel that he might be a bad interview subject for fear of hurting his feelings, because he is a nice guy. You realize that is who he is.

    During a press conference in Regina on Wednesday, the Pats named the 19-year-old Steel as captain for the 2017-18 campaign, where the franchise will celebrate its 100^th anniversary and host the 100^th Memorial Cup running from May 18 to 27, 2018. Steel had been an assistant captain the previous two seasons.

    For Steel to succeed as a captain, he just has to be who he is and try not to be someone he is not.

    At times, it seems there is a public perception that the captain of the team has to be the fiery guy that always raises the roof in the dressing room.
    Barret Jackman, who was the Pats captain when the franchise hosted the Memorial Cup in 2001, was the heart on the sleeve fiery guy that could put up points, penalty minutes and was always game to say something in the dressing room. That also isn’t the only way to lead.

    Steel is one of the ultimate examples of the lead-by-example type player. He is the Pats most talented player, and he is the team’s hardest worker. Over three seasons, he has built a reputation of being able to lift the club with an outstanding play at a critical time.

    Just being who he is, Steel inspires others to be better.

    When the Medicine Hat Tigers won the WHL title in 2007 and ultimately lost the Memorial Cup title game to the host Vancouver Giants 3-1, Kris Russell led the Tigers as a lead-by-example captain. He made the game look easy as an offensive defenceman, who was also sound defensively.

Sam Steel looks to set up one of his teammates in the offensive zone.

    As a 19-year-old in the Tigers 2007 WHL championship campaign, Russell piled up 32 goals, 37 assists and was a plus-14 in the plus-minus department in 59 regular season games, and he was named that season’s WHL player of the year, the WHL’s Defenceman of the Year and the CHL’s Defenceman of the Year award winner.
    Russell was never a vocal shouter, but he calmly said things when they needed to be said and talked more one-on-one with teammates. He took a genuine interest in the personal lives of his teammates and was very positive and encouraging with them.

    If the Tigers were running away with a blowout win on the scoreboard, Russell turned away chances to boost his statistics and often told coaches to give more ice time to younger guys, who always seemed to be working hard in practice.

    When younger guys at the WHL level see an older player do these types of things, they become motivated to go to the rink every day, and they try that much harder because someone is investing in them.

    Now that Steel is the captain of the Pats, it would be a safe educated guess to predict his leadership style with the Pats will mirror what Russell did with the Tigers. 

    Last season, Steel was named the WHL’s most valuable player and he led the entire Canadian Hockey League in scoring with 50 goals and 81 assists in 66 regular season games. He has been inspiring his teammates with his actions for some time now including last season’s run to the WHL Championship series.

Pats centre Sam Steel circles around the net in the offensive zone.

    Steel will have great help in the leadership department as well. The Pats named 18-year-old centre Jake Leschyshyn, 19-year-old defenceman Josh Mahura and overage centre Matthew Bradley as assistant captains. All three are quality persons.

    Both Steel and Mahura have signed NHL entry-level contracts with the Anaheim Ducks and will be attending Ducks training camp. The fact the Pats named Steel captain and Mahura an assistant captain likely mean both will play in the WHL this season.

    Due to being drafted out of the major junior ranks, Steel, who was a first round selection, and Mahura have to play in the WHL, if they don’t make the NHL club as 19-year-olds. They could still stick in the NHL, but with them being named to the Pats leadership, the odds are way greater they will be playing in the major junior ranks.

    The Pats made a good choice in naming Steel captain. If the past is any indication, he will continue deliver with passion in big moments and continue to speak softly while doing it.

de Wit hat trick powers Pats past Blades

Jeff de Wit in action last season for the Pats.

    Jeff de Wit’s hat trick helped push the Regina Pats past the Saskatoon Blades 5-3 in an exhibition tilt on Thursday night at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

    The 19-year-old centre’s third marker at the 9:37 mark of the third period gave the Pats a 4-2 lead and ultimately held up as the game winner. Rookie 17-year-old Russian import Igor Zamula and 16-year-old centre Tristen Robins potted singles for Regina.

    Overage centre Cameron Hebig, 18-year-old defenceman Jackson Caller and centre Gage Ramsay, who turns 19 in October, replied with singles for the Blades.

    Nolan Maier, who is a 16-year-old from Yorkton, went the distance in goal for Saskatoon making 36 saves.

    Max Paddock, who is a 17-year-old from Brandon, Man., started in goal for the Pats turning away 22-of-23 shots fired his way. Kurtis Chapman, who is a 19-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., entered the contest at the 9:46 mark of the second period and stopped 12-of-14 shots sent in his direction. Paddock is the nephew of Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock.

    Thursday’s game was the first pre-season contest for both the Pats and Blades. The Pats return to action on Saturday, when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The Blades will stay in Regina and face the Swift Current Broncos on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

“Willo” nears 100-point plateau for Huskies

Kaitlin Willoughby, front centre, might celebrate some milestones.

    With university classes set to begin next week, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey teams have started skating at the Rutherford Rink, and women’s team star forward Kaitlin Willoughby begins the campaign nearing a few career milestones.

    The 22-year-old Prince Albert product has piled up 41 goals and 51 assists in 106 regular season games, and her total of 92 points ranks fifth all-time on the Huskies career list one behind the 93 compiled by Julie Paetsch, who played from 2009 to 2012. Besides being on the verge of passing Paetsch, Willoughby is set to become the fourth player in the history of the Huskies women’s team to record 100 career points.

    Cara (Wooster) Muench, who played from 2010-13, sits third on the Huskies all-time career scoring list with 100 points, Danny Stone, who played from 2008 to 2013, is second with 106 points and Breanne George, who played from 2007-12, tops the list with 149 points.

    Willoughby is third on the career goals list with 41 sitting behind Stone’s 57 goals and George’s 86 goals. On the career assists list, Willoughby sits fifth behind Paetsch’s 60, George’s 63, Muench’s 64 and the 66 helpers complied by Julia Flinton, who played from 2011-16.

    The Huskies women’s team opens their regular season on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink against the University of Regina Cougars. The two squads meet again on Oct. 7 in Regina at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.

    The Huskies men’s team opens their regular season on Oct. 6 traveling to Regina to face the U of Regina Cougars at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre. The two squads meet again on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Tuer memorial service set for Tuesday

    The memorial service for long time hockey builder Graham Tuer is set for Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Queensbury Convention Centre in Regina.

    Tuer died at the age of 87 in a Regina hospital on Aug. 29. He entered hospital after suffering two heart attacks.

    Tuer was born in North Battleford on May 23, 1930 and spent more than 50 years in and around arenas in Western Canada in various roles with various teams, leagues and organizations. He had been with the Pats as a scout and their liaison with Hockey Regina since 2015, and served with the team earlier in his hockey travels.

    Besides the Pats, Tuer had roles in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, the Moose Jaw Warriors, the Kelowna Rockets and NHL Central Scouting. He had a huge positive impact on many people in the sport.

    He will be missed by countless numbers of people, and a lot of fond memories will likely be shared at his memorial service.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Huskies look sweet on the pitch

Kwame Opoku scored his first career U Sports goal on Sunday.

     It looks like the reload might not be a long one for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s soccer team.

    While you can’t get over excited about one weekend of play, you can get optimistically excited. Having missed the playoffs last season, the Huskies opened their current U Sports campaign sweeping the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns in a two-game series at PotashCorp Park. The Huskies took the opener 1-0 on Saturday and closed the series with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.

    A year ago, the Pronghorns went 8-6-2 to finish five points ahead of the Huskies, who were 6-7-3, for fourth place and the final playoff berth in the Prairie Division of the Canada West Conference.

    Actually when you watched the two clashes, you come away impressed with how well “the beautiful game” can be played in the men’s U Sports ranks. Both sides moved the ball well and both contests had real good pace.

    Had the Pronghorns manufactured about a couple of more plays each game, they could have come away with two road wins.

    On Saturday, Huskies third-year midfielder Marcello Gonzalez scored the contest’s only goal in the 59^th minute and fourth-year keeper Patrick Pranger made four saves to give the host side the victory. Matthew Vandervoort took the loss in the Pronghorns goal.

    On Sunday, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead late in the first half, when a corner kick from third-year midfielder Gabriel Buatois bounced around inside the box and deflected into the Pronghorns goal off Vandervoort. Early in the second half, rookie midfielder Kwame Opoku scored his first U Sports goal to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge.

U of S’s Jakub Rogowski collides with U of L’s Matthew Vandervoort.

    In the 76^th minute, Pronghorns rookie midfielder Ellie Davies scored on the penalty shot to cut the Huskies lead to 2-1. The visitors continued to press, but they couldn’t find the equalizer.

Huskies keeper Kyle Moore made three stops in the win, while Vandervoort stopped five shots in the setback for the U of L side.

    For most of both outings, the Huskies did well advancing the ball up the pitch with triangle passing, and the players who didn’t have the ball presented passing outlets for the teammate that did have the ball. U of S also did well in withstanding the Pronghorns pressure at the end of both contests to preserve the win. With wins being worth three points in the standings in soccer and ties worth just one point, the fact Huskies didn’t give up the lead late was big.

    Now three years removed from winning the Canada West title in 2014, the current Huskies are more on the young side with their roster containing 10 rookies and five players in their second year of eligibility. While they have no fifth-year players, they do have six players in their fourth-year of eligibility to provide some veteran presence in the quest to end a one-year absence from the post-season.

    For the first time out, youth helped carry the day on two occasions for the Dogs. Hopefully, they can keep the good vibes going as the campaign progresses, but win or lose, they should be fun to watch.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Saturday and Sunday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the MacEwan University Griffins and the U of Alberta Golden Bears respectively.

Blades sign MacInnes, skate with good pace

    The Saskatoon Blades wrapped up their training camp by signing their possible goalie of the future.

    On Tuesday, the Blades inked 15-year-old Burnaby, B.C., product and netminder Koen MacInnes to a standard WHL player agreement. MacInnes, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 165 pounds, was selected in the second round and 35^th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft held in May.

    Last season, MacInnes played goal for goal for the Burnaby Winter Club’s top tier bantam team and backstopped the squad to a Western Canadian Bantam Championship title. MacInnes isn’t eligible to start playing in the WHL on a full-time basis until the start of the 2018-19 season.

    The Blades entered Tuesday with 38 players on their roster including 21 forwards, 13 defencemen and four goaltenders. Not included in those numbers were injured forwards Lukus MacKenzie and Tyler Lees, who both have upper body injuries.

    The Blades held their Blue and White game on Tuesday, where the Blue side prevailed 5-1. The contest, which included three periods that were 15-minutes in straight time, was played at a very fast pace. Both sides were fairly focused in transitioning up ice with speed.

    Overage centre Cameron Hebig was looking fairly good. He missed all of last season due to injury after piling up 26 goals and 43 assists in 59 regular season games as an 18-year-old in 2015-16.

    At the moment, the Blades have four overage players on their roster including Hebig, forward Braylon Shmyr, defenceman Evan Fiala and goaltender Logan Flodell. WHL clubs have to cut down to three overage players on Oct. 10.

    The Blades open their exhibition schedule traveling to Regina on Thursday to face the Pats. “The Bridge City Bunch” opens the regular season on Sept. 22, when they host the Swift Current Broncos at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Hilltops O-line rounding out well

The Hilltops offensive line has run over the opposition so far this season.

    In football, you always have to show love to your offensive line, and the Saskatoon Hilltops are rounding out to be good in that department.

    The Toppers were expected to go through some growing pains in that area thanks to the graduations of Tyler Hoath, Drake Unger and Cord Ivanko.

    When the Hilltops trounced the Ottawa Sooners 49-15 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on Saturday, they started Kirk Simonsen at right tackle, Taylor Elderkin at right guard, Patrick Arno at centre, Jack Sloboda at left guard and Mason Ochs at left tackle. Simonsen and Elderkin were regulars last season, while Sloboda missed much of the 2016 campaign due to injury.

    That group of five has been a main cog in helping the Toppers get out to a 3-0 start and pile up the yards offensively.

    Thanks to the offensive line, the Hilltops are still finding a great balance offensively, where the yards they pile up through the air and along the ground are split 50/50.

    Hilltops offensive line coach Donnie Davidsen has to be given credit here in helping the team not a miss a beat in this area.

    The Hilltops are off until Sept. 9, when they host the Regina Thunder (2-1) at 7 p.m. at SMF Field.

    The Toppers are also hosting their annual “In the End Zone” fundraiser before the clash with the Thunder. This year’s guest speaker is legendary former Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Don Narcisse, while Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant will also give a pre-game address. Tickets are $680 for a table of eight or $85 per single ticket and can be purchased clicking the link right here.

Servetnyk the best at stats

    When it comes to the local Saskatoon football front, no one is better at doing statistics than Danny Servetnyk.

    Servetnyk can be found in the press box at Saskatoon Minor Football Field at all Saskatoon Hilltops and Saskatoon Valkyries games as well as all high school games played at the facility. In what seems like a matter of a handful of minutes following Hilltops and Valkyries contests, he has the statistics for that night’s game complete, and they are pristine.

    During the high school football season, you can expect an email with all the stats from that night’s games moments after the last contest concludes. They are as good as the statistics from Hilltops and Valkyries.

    I definitely thank Servetnyk big time for the efforts he puts in compiling football statistics. It helps make my blog posts and stories that much better.

    Servetnyk made his mark as an athlete back in the day in the late 1970s and early 1980s building storied career playing football with the Hilltops and wrestling with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team. He was inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Hockey community loses great guy in Tuer’s passing

ICYMI: Graham Tuer's interview from the 2017 #SHHOF Induction Ceremony in North Battleford. Rest in peace, Graham. 💚 pic.twitter.com/TYXXYqYviA

— SHHOF (@saskhockeyhall) August 29, 2017

    I felt stunned and sad when learned of Graham Tuer’s passing around the lunch hour time here in Saskatoon.

    He died at the age of 87 in a Regina hospital on Tuesday morning. He entered hospital late last week after suffering two heart attacks.

    Here in Saskatoon, Tuer’s passing was talked about often during the Saskatoon Blades intrasquad Blue and White game.

    Tuer, who was inducted into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame on July 22, was born in North Battleford and spent more than 50 years in and around arenas in Western Canada in various roles with various teams, leagues and organizations.

    When I would venture to the Brandt Centre in Regina last season to cover Pats contests in the regular season and during their run to Game 6 of the WHL Championship series, I visited with Tuer regularly before most games. I always enjoyed those visits, and I will cherish them even more now. Tuer had been with the Pats as a scout and their liaison with Hockey Regina since 2015, and served with the team earlier in his hockey travels.

    Tuer’s presence added to my familiarity of being at the Brandt Centre after being away from that facility for a number of years. I remember visiting him when I covered the Pats as a beat writer during the last half of the 1999-2000 and first half of the 2000-01 seasons.

    While I will miss Tuer, I know a lot more people in hockey will take his passing to heart way more than me. He had a huge influence on a number of people involved in the game. Over the next few days, I know I am going to learn a lot more about Tuer’s impact on the game.
    Funeral arrangements are pending.

    Gregg Drinnan wrote a great piece on Tuer for his Taking Note blog. It can be found right here.

Graham Tuer was a legend I was privileged to have known such a great man. You were a mentor and a great friend. You will be sadly missed

— Dean Brockman (@67BrockD) August 30, 2017

Back in the Express with a cover story on Flory

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this week with a cover story on new University of Saskatchewan Huskies football head coach Scott Flory.

    Actually, I got to be part of a sweet looking cover, and the front of the local weekly contained my story and one on Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant penned by Keenan Sorokan.

    My story on Flory talks about how he is preaching that everything matters with the Huskies football team. Before becoming the Huskies head coach, Flory had been team’s offensive coordinator for the three previous seasons.
    Sorokan’s story focuses on the colourful impact Sargeant has had on the success of the Hilltops. Sargeant has been the Hilltops head coach since 1998, and he has guided the team to 10 CJFL titles.

    If you have a chance, be sure to big up a hard copy of the Express, which can be found in yellow dispensers located throughout the city.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.