Young ones leaders in protests against racism in Saskatoon

Protesters march at the “Justice for George Rally” on Thursday in Saskatoon.

    “I understand that I will never understand. However, I stand.”

    I wish I could say I thought that up.

    That is a message I’ve seen on a handful of social media accounts of young friends usually aged 18 to 24 over the last handful of days as protests against racism continue across North America and dare I say the world.

    The demonstrations were triggered due to the death of African-American George Floyd on May 25 after he was arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minn.

    Video of the arrest showed Floyd being pinned on the ground with a police officer identified as Derek Chauvin driving his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck.

Young adults made up most of the crowd at the “Justice for George Rally.”

    Four officers were fired over the incident including Chauvin, and at first, Chauvin, who is Caucasian, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter over Floyd’s death. The charges against Chauvin were increased to second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday.

    The three other officers - Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao – were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

    Being a middle aged person who can get jaded from time to time due to seeing my share of bad happening to good people in this world, I thought this would be another one of those things that would blow over, which is awful to admit. I didn’t think it would get the momentum that it did.

Some of the protesters who took a knee at Kiwanis Park - North.

    That changed on Tuesday after I opened up my person Instagram account in the morning. The first thing I saw on my newsfeed was a post from Ryan Fontaine, who was a star goalie for the Prince Albert Northern Bears female under-18 team from 2015 to 2018.

    Her post was a blacked our screen with the hashtag phrase #blackouttuesday.

    The next thing that crossed my mind was, “Wow, I didn’t know she was engaged with that.”

    Right after seeing that posts, I saw similar posts from Parker Kelly, who is an alumnus of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders and forward with the AHL’s Belleville Senators, and Tristen Robins, who is a star centre with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.

A protester with a bike takes a knee at Kiwanis Park - North.

    As I continued to go through all my social media accounts, I found similar posts from current players from the Raiders, Blades, six time defending CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops, defending WWCFL champion Saskatoon Valkyries, members of various teams of the SFU18AAAHL, from the various University of Saskatchewan Huskies teams in U Sports and Saskatchewan based players who play in the NCAA.

    At that point, I decided to follow the lead of my young friends on my social media accounts hoping to be a show of support that they were doing the right thing.

Thursday’s “Justice for George Rally” in Saskatoon had a massive turnout.

    Clavet product Willow Slobodzian, who stars on defence for the Cornell University Big Red women’s hockey team, was constantly upgrading her Instagram story feed with education items regarding racism and news items about what various people were trying to do to address the issue.

    One of the best social media posts came from Jadyn Pingue, who finished up his five-year career playing linebacker for the Hilltops being named the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player. On Thursday, Pingue, who is African-American, put together a well written post about black men building up other black men.

    The post included a strong portrait type picture of Pingue.

View this post on Instagram

WE are BLACK MEN!..... We BUILD .... We NEVER TEAR DOWN other BLACK MEN! .... We have felt the pain of being torn down and we have decided we will be deliberate about building others! All too often, we men find it easier to criticize each other, instead of BUILDING each other UP. With all the negativity going around let's do something POSITIVE!🌟 Upload 1 picture of yourself...ONLY YOU. Then tag as many brothers as you need to do the same. Let's BUILD ourselves UP, instead of tearing ourselves down. Be PROUD of who you are, PEACE & LOVE. 🖤✊🏾🙏🏾✊🏾🖤 COPY AND PASTE 🖤 📸: @dankaroundtheworld Agency: @masalamodeltalent

A post shared by 𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑼𝑬 (@pinguexo) on Jun 4, 2020 at 4:47pm PDT

    I found out later on Thursday the care and passion for this issue wasn’t limited to young athletes on my social media feed.

The crowd at the “Justice for George Rally” begins to march again.

    At 6 p.m., I saw two different newscasts doing live video of a rally against racism, where everyone was gathered at Saskatoon City Hall. I decided to head downtown to check things out.

    When I got to downtown, I met up with the rally as it had moved to the Saskatoon Police Station. I was floored by how many people I saw.

    A couple of reports said the gathering included about 2,000 people, but it seemed larger than that. The next thing I noticed was how young the crowd seemed to be.

    I estimate that at least 95 per cent of the people at the rally were aged 18 to 24, and it seemed like a lot of those were U of Saskatchewan students and students from out of town universities, who were home for the summer.

Thursday’s “Justice for George Rally” contained a diverse cultural crowd.

    I noticed some in the crowd were members of Huskies teams. It was visible to see the crowd contained high school students too.

    I later found out the rally was organized by Braydon Page, who is an African-America young man, and the rally was called the “Justice for George Rally.”

    On a Facebook page, Page invited people from all cultural backgrounds to attend. Canada has had challenges to say the least with racism issues with First Nations, and there were a number of signs in the crowd that referenced that fact too.

    The crowd that gathered was as culturally mixed as I’ve seen from any gathering in Saskatoon.

The protesters at the “Justice for George Rally” near Saskatoon City Hall.

    The young ones were passionate too, and it was obvious they believed they could make a difference.

    They had a Kevin Garnett “Anything is possible!” feeling to them.

    It was a feeling I could relate to thinking back to my university days at the University of Regina from 1995 to 2001.

    Most in the crowd were wearing protective masks due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has engulfed the world and certainly North America since around March 11.

    The crowd knelt at the police station for eight minutes and 46 seconds, which was the time Floyd was pinned on the ground before he died.

The crowd at Saskatoon City Hall shouts a number of chants.

    The crowd proceeded to do a march looping south to Midtown Plaza before heading east on 22^nd Street to Kiwanis Park – North. Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark marched with the young crowd too.

At the park, the crowd once again took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

    After that knee, the march returned to city hall, where the people took another knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds.

    The rally continued for a bit with speeches and chants including “black lives matter,” “I can’t breathe” and “no justice, no peace.”

At least 2,000 turned out for Thursday’s “Justice for George Rally.”

    The whole event was peaceful. The Saskatoon Police Service ensured streets were blocked off, when the crowd marched.

    A few police officers took a knee with the protesters at the police station. I think they came away being impressed with the youngsters too.

    When it comes to the issue of racism, it felt like the young adults and the teenagers that took part in the “Justice for George Rally” were the adults in the room.

    All of us in the older generations bluntly haven’t got the job done on this front, if the past two weeks have shown us anything.
    For myself, I am ill-equipped if I tried to put together a column regarding racial issues.

In Saskatoon, the young generation leads in the protests against racism.

    Back in my university days, I saw my friends from different races and cultures as buds. Looking back, I think I had a naïve quality that everyone would somehow live together in harmony.

    The protest that took place on Thursday night in Saskatoon was ultimately a civil rights type rally.      In my lifetime, that was the first time I saw one of those live and in person.

    It was cool to see the young people take the initiative to lead the way. The rest of us would be wise to follow.

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

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Raiders 2019 WHL title win still feels special

The Raiders raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2019.

    Waking up in Prince Albert on the morning of May 13, 2019, I felt a surreal calm that it was going to be a special day.

    One night earlier, the Prince Albert Raiders had a chance to capture the WHL championship at the Art Hauser Centre but fell 4-2 in Game 6 of the league title series to the Vancouver Giants. With the Giants win, the best-of-seven set was tied 3-3.

    The Raiders led the highly-competitive series 3-1, before the Giants won two straight to even things up.

    If there was any disappointment by the locals that the Raiders weren’t able to capitalize on their first two chances to win the WHL crown, it didn’t show.

    “Game 7” might be the most exciting term you could inject into a hockey series. 

Raiders fans rush into the Art Hauser Centre for a standing room spot.

    On May 13, 2019, Game 7 of the WHL Championship series would be played, and the Ed Chynoweth Cup would be awarded to either the Raiders or the Giants.

    The winner would advance to the CHL championship tournament - the Memorial Cup - that was set to be played in Halifax, N.S.

    For the Raiders, this was going to be their biggest home game since May of 1982, when they downed the Guelph Platers 8-4 to sweep the best-of-seven Centennial Cup Championship series 4-0.      

The standing room spots at the Art Hauser Centre are filled quickly.

    On that night, the Raiders became national champions of junior A hockey for a fourth and final time as they graduated to the major junior ranks joining the WHL the very next season.

    On May 13, 2019, I was enjoying the moment as I got to cover that game. I couldn’t believe how calm I felt. It seemed like everything that day was floating on air for me.

    There have only been a handful of times in my life where I have felt that calm for a big day.

    I reflected back to covering Game 7 of the WHL title series between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Giants on May 14, 2007. The Tigers won that contest in epic fashion when Brennan Bosch scored the winner in double overtime to give the Tabbies a 3-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators at The Arena in Medicine Hat.

The Raiders enter the ice for the start of Game 7 of the WHL title series.

    When I arrived at the Art Hauser Centre on May 13, 2019, I told people outside and inside the building before the contest that the Raiders were going to win 3-2 in double overtime and Parker Kelly was going to net the winning goal.

    I was actually just having fun saying that scenario would go down. I thought something amazing would happen that night, and it would likely be something I had never thought of.

    I felt ready to cover the game no matter how the final outcome would play out.

Ultimately, I ended up seeing another one of the most epic games in the history of the WHL. It was a contest I will always remember.

Parker Kelly in action in Game 7 of the WHL final.

    I arrived inside the rink part of the Art Hauser Centre nice and early before the main doors opened for the fans. I just soaked in the calm of the scene.

    Before I knew it, the main doors were open, and the fans were racing to get their standing room spots standing on top of milk crates and portable benches. The seats filled and the sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat facility were all set to rock.

    The teams played through a scoreless opening frame. The Giants scored first in the second and the Raiders evened things up at 1-1 going into the second intermission.

    Star centre Noah Gregor scored at the 4:25 mark of the third to put the Raiders up 2-1, and I thought that might end up being the series winner.
    Just over four minutes later, Giants import centre Milos Roman scored on a power play to even the score at 2-2 and force overtime.

    For the second time in the history of the WHL, Game 7 of the league championship series would be decided in overtime. 

The Raiders faithful celebrates one of the team’s goals in Game 7.

    I would find out well after this clash between the Raiders and Giants finished that I would be one of the few that was in the building for both of those games.

    In overtime, the Giants had at least three outstanding chances to win the game, but they were turned away by Raiders star netminder Ian Scott, who would be named the MVP of the WHL playoffs.

    That set the stage for what would become the signature moment in the history of the Art Hauser Centre.

Noah Gregor put the Raiders ahead 2-1 in the third period.

    With 1:35 remaining in overtime, overage centre Dante Hannoun tapped in a backdoor feed from Gregor to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory.
    Hannoun jetted from one side of the rink to the other throwing his helmet in the air and the team piled into the northwest corner of the rink in celebration.

    I was just energized by the moment. I quickly finished some deadline items for The Canadian Press and raced down to the ice surface for the trophy presentation and celebrations.

    I think I was on the ice for at least two hours soaking in the moment, while doing interviews and visiting. I remember standing at centre ice looking around and marvelling at the full building.

    It felt like I knew half of the people in the stands, and it was so heartwarming to see them soak in that moment.

    I had covered the Raiders as a beat writer for the Prince Albert Daily Herald from 2001 to 2004, so I knew how big this moment would be for “Hockey Town North.” 

Dante Hannoun would be the overtime hero.

    I believe the reality of what happened was far better than the dream.
    On the ice, I was happy for so many friends. I really didn’t want that celebration and the great feeling of that moment to end.

    Of course, that moment was a huge topper for team’s core group of eight that has been together since the 2016-17 season in captain Brayden Pachal, Sean Montgomery, Kelly, Cole Fonstad, Spencer Moe, Zack Hayes, Max Martin and Scott.

    I was pumped to see Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason celebrate with his family. Leason’s father, Darryl, has been a long time bud going back to our University of Regina days about a couple of decades ago.

    I enjoyed seeing trainer Duane “Puff” Bartley and skills coach Mark Odnokon lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup, because they had put in a tonne of time with the team over a lengthy stretch.

    It was fun to see general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid beam with pride over their young men.

Dante Hannoun and the iconic OT goal celebration picture.

    Even when I went back to the pressbox to finish my work, I was still walking on air.

    I didn’t realize how good my picture was of Hannoun’s celebration, until I started finishing my pieces about the game later that night. I noticed that shot, when I was working on a quoter for The Canadian Press and a lengthy story for this blog.

    When I was back at my hotel room after finishing my work, it started to hit me what had happened. I was amazed I got to cover another Game 7 in the WHL Championship series that concluded with an overtime finish.

    For the first few days, I kept thinking, “Did that actually happen again?”

    Even now in the world that is consumed with uncertainty due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the lockdowns that has brought on, the memory of the Raiders Game 7 WHL Championship series overtime win on Hannoun’s goal helps you escape to a much better place for a time.

Sean Montgomery goes for a skate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    The moment of Hannoun’s goal easily brings a smile to the face to this day. That moment will keep creating a happy reaction as time keeps going by.

    It was one of those instances where it truly felt incredible to be alive.

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

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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Blades handled Malysjev departure well - D-man has to do what is best for him

Emil Malysjev elected to leave the Blades to play closer to home.

    In his one season with the Saskatoon Blades, Emil Malysjev left you wanting to see more.

    That makes his departure from the team tough to see. After going unselected in the NHL Entry Draft that was held June 21 and 22 in Vancouver, B.C., Malysjev informed the Blades he was staying in his home country of Sweden to pursue career opportunities in the game there.

    As a result, he wouldn’t be returning for an 18-year-old sophomore campaign in the WHL.

    Malysjev had informed the Blades brass for a lengthy stretch after the team’s playoff run came to an end what his thought process was. The club started preparing for the fact the Malysjev wouldn’t be back.

    That included selecting two defencemen from the Czech Republic in the CHL Import Draft held via conference call on Thursday in 19-year-old Libor Zabransky and Radek Kucerik, who will turn 18-years-old in December.

Emil Malysjev was solid in his own zone.

    Zabransky has played in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets, but after the Rockets released him on Jan. 12, he became available again for the Import Draft.

    In Malysjev’s case, the Blades did what was best for the player. He felt more comfortable staying home, and the team showed understanding and let him do what he thought was best for him.

    The majority of the players in the WHL are teenagers, and when all is said and done, about 90 per cent of them won’t skate in an NHL regular season game as a player.

    All players coming into the WHL will wrestle with the fact that one day they will no longer be active players in the game at a competitive level including the ones that go on to have NHL careers.

Emil Malysjev improved steadily throughout the 2018-19 season.

    You have to weigh if the experience you gain being away from home playing in the WHL is worth it. For every player, that evaluation will be different.

    For imports like Malysjev, you have to add in the fact he left his home country and family and friends behind to cross an ocean to play hockey in a new country and a new city. Import players have to work through learning and adjusting to a new culture and often a new language on top of figuring out what their new team expects from them.

    Malysjev was taking on all of that as a 17-year-old, but he did have an advantage in the fact he could speak English fluently.

    The blue-liner, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 190 pounds, was succeeding on all fronts.

Emil Malysjev could potentially make noise on the international stage.

    He improved greatly as the season progressed. Paired with overager Dawson Davidson, Malysjev appeared in 63 regular season games with the Blades posting three goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Malysjev skated in all 10 of the Blades post-season games scoring a goal and posting an even-rating.

    He was rated 192^nd among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

    With Davidson and fellow overage defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus exhausting their major junior eligibility at the conclusion of the Blades run in the WHL playoffs, Malysjev was initially pegged at being a key returnee for the team.

Emil Malysjev was solid in his one full season with the Blades.

    However, that won’t be the case.

    With the improvement Malysjev showed last season, one had to wonder how much he would have improved had played with the Blades as an 18-year-old or even as a 19-year-old.

    Still, Malysjev might still find his way to the NHL or even a lengthy professional career playing in Sweden or somewhere in Europe. Some of the Blades might cross paths with Malysjev on the international stage.

    It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him possibly skating with Sweden’s world junior team some day.

    Malysjev is doing what his best for him. As a teenager, he is still growing on many levels, and now he will continue that growth near the support system of his family and friends.

    The Blades helped him take a big leap forward in the game during his season in Saskatoon. Now, they are helping him by letting him go home, which is what he had his heart set on doing.

Raiders’ Kelly receives sweet Senators award again

Parker Kelly was a repeat award winner at Senators development camp.

    Parker Kelly was rewarded for the second straight year for a strong showing at the development camp of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

    On Friday, the Prince Albert Raiders power forward was presented the Jonathan Pitre Memorial Trophy as the hardest working player at the Senators development camp for a second straight year.

    The Camrose, Alta., product was a co-winner of the inaugural edition of the award last year with Brady Tkachuk.

    The award is named after Jonathan Pitre, who was also known as the “Butterfly Boy.” Pitre passed away in April of 2018 from recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, which is a rare genetic mutation that causes the skin to blister and fall off at the slightest touch.

Parker Kelly (#27) played a key part helping the Raiders win the WHL title.

    He bonded with many of the Senators players and was named an honourary scout for the team in 2014. Pitre raised more than $200,000 for research of the disease.

    Last season, Kelly had a big campaign for the Raiders setting career highs in goals (35), assists (32) and points (67) in 64 regular season games. He posted a plus-42 rating in the plus-minus department, which was also a career high.

    Kelly helped the Raiders win the WHL championship posting eight goals, nine assists and a plus-19 rating appearing in all of the team’s 23 games in the WHL playoffs.

Parker Kelly lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    He is eligible to return to the Raiders as an overage player next season. Kelly signed an entry-level contract with the Senators in September of 2017 after a strong showing at their training camp that year, and it is highly likely he will play next season somewhere in the Senators system.

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

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Montgomery soaked in farewell lap with WHL champion Raiders

Sean Montgomery skates with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – For Sean Montgomery, his first days and season with the Prince Albert Raiders seem like they are from another lifetime.

    “I think most of all I was just kind of just shocked to be playing here,” said Montgomery. “I was just happy to be here.”

    Way back in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, the Raiders selected Montgomery in the sixth round and 114^th overall. The Calgary, Alta., product was going to have his chance to crack into the WHL, but there were no guarantees he would have a career in the major junior ranks.

    Montgomery made the Raiders in his 16-year-old season in 2014-15 collecting six goals and six assists for 12 points while posting a minus-four rating in the plus-minus department in 65 regular season games.

    The hard working centre would ultimately play a career record 345 regular season games for the Raiders netting 72 goals and 72 assists for 144 points and a plus-three rating.

    He skated in 35 career games in the WHL post-season posting 12 goals, nine assists and a plus-11 rating.

    Montgomery played in his final three games at this year’s Memorial Cup tournament in Halifax, N.S., for the Raiders picking up one goal in those outings.

    He had by far his most productive campaign as an overager this past season. In 67 regular season games, Montgomery posted 29 goals, 30 assists and a plus-41 rating.

Sean Montgomery leads the Raiders in career regular season games played.

    Over his five seasons with the Raiders, Montgomery became a solid two-way player. Looking back, Montgomery said he can’t remember too much about his first campaign, but he enjoyed being the elder statesman as a career member of the team in his final season.

    “It has been pretty cool,” said Montgomery. “I never thought I would get to that point, but I am here now.

    “I am just honoured to have that record.”

    With Montgomery having a big year, the Raiders had one of their best seasons ever since joining the WHL in the 1982-83 campaign.

    The Raiders topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record. The only time the club posted more regular season wins in the WHL came the only other time the squad finished first overall in the 1984-85 campaign, when the Raiders recorded a record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.
    Prince Albert went on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup that season.

Sean Montgomery record 59 points in the regular season in 2018-19.

    During the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders topped the CHL’s Top 10 rankings for a number of weeks and were rated second in the final installment of those rankings.

    In the playoffs, the Raiders advanced on to win the WHL title for the second time in team history.
    Prince Albert captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in dramatic fashion on May 13.

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun scored the overtime winner in Game 7 of the league final in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.

    During the club’s journey to reach the WHL’s peak, Raiders captain Brayden Pachal said Montgomery’s importance to the Raiders can’t be understated.

    “He (Montgomery) is a huge leader on our team,” said Pachal. “He has tonnes of games in this league.
    “He has the experience. He comes to play every single night. He battles, and that is the definition of a playoff guy.”

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said Montgomery has earned tonnes of respect for years of work he put in with the team and deserved to graduate from the major junior ranks as a league champion.

Sean Montgomery (#25) battles for a draw for the Raiders.

    “Look at Sean Montgomery and what he went through with the losing and the taunting,” said Habscheid. “If he would have lost (the WHL final), it wouldn’t have been right.

    “I’m really happy for him.”

    The Raiders missed the playoffs in Montgomery’s first and third seasons with the team, and he said persevering through those times helped his special final season materialize.

    “Whenever we did have 15 or 20 wins, it looked like a long shot, but those kind of helped us in the long run,” said Montgomery. “We just kept building off it, and now we are here.”

    Remembering those struggles, Montgomery said he soaked in and enjoyed every moment of his magical final season with the team.

    “It was a blast the whole time,” said Montgomery. “It was incredible.”

    After the Raiders bowed out of the Memorial Cup falling 5-2 to the OHL champion Guelph Storm in their final round robin game last Tuesday, Montgomery enjoyed the reception the team received from the fans upon returning to Prince Albert.

Sean Montgomery celebrates a hat trick goal against the Blades.

    Montgomery had fun seeing everyone that met the team bus at the Art Hauser Centre last Wednesday and taking part in a final rally for the team last Thursday at the club’s home rink.
    “It is pretty special,” said Montgomery. “We’ve come a long way, and we’re pretty proud of everyone.

    “We’ve had some tough years. To end it off on the most incredible year of my life, I can’t put it into words.”

    Now that his Raiders playing days have come to a completion, Montgomery said he wasn’t sure what waits ahead for him in the future as far as hockey goes. He planned to spend some down time in “Hockey Town North” before returning to Calgary.

    “I’m just going to enjoy the next few days, and then I am going to start to focus on what I am going to do next year,” said Montgomery. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Kelly sets sights on future with NHL’s Senators

Parker Kelly will likely find a home in the professional ranks next season.

    With the Prince Albert Raiders WHL championship winning season having come to a close, it has crossed Parker Kelly’s mind that he might have played his final game with the team.

    The 20-year-old power forward is eligible to return to the WHL for an overage season. With that noted, Kelly signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators back in September of 2017.

    The Camrose, Alta., product earned the contract as a free agent after having a good showing at the Senators development camp held in July of that year.

    It is highly likely Kelly will play in Ottawa’s system next season either with the NHL club, their AHL affiliate the Belleville Senators or their ECHL affiliate the Brampton Beast.

    Kelly will have to get used to a new head coach in Ottawa. On Thursday, the NHL Senators hired D.J. Smith to be the team’s new head coach. Smith has been an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    “Obviously, that is the next chapter in my career,” said Kelly. “Hopefully, I can make it to part of their organization whether that is in Ottawa next year or in Belleville.

    “That is going to be the next chapter, and I am really looking forward to it. They just hired a new coach today. I’ll be looking forward to meeting him and getting back and seeing all my friends down there and hopefully kicking off a great career with the Senators organization.”

    Kelly has played four complete seasons with the Raiders appearing in 273 regular season games posting 93 goals and 95 assists for 188 points and a plus-50 rating in the plus-minus department.

    This past regular season, Kelly appeared in 64 games with the Raiders picking up career highs in goals (35), assists (32) and points (69) to go with a plus-42 rating. In the WHL playoffs, Kelly had eight goals and nine assists for 17 points to go with a plus-19 rating in 23 games.

Leason notes mom is the boss of the family household

Brett Leason said his mom, Rhonda, makes the family household run.

    Brett Leason might be a star right-winger for the Prince Albert Raiders, but he is quick to note his mom, Rhonda Leason, is the boss at home.

    Brett had a breakout season with the Raiders leading the team in regular season scoring in the 2018-19 campaign with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points to go with a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department. He topped the Raiders in scoring in the WHL playoffs with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points to go with a plus-six rating in 22 games.

    Father, Darryl Leason, was a star quarterback with the Regina Rams from 1992 to 1995 when the team was in the Canadian Junior Football League and with the University of Regina Rams in 2000 and 2001 when the squad joined the U Sports ranks. In between those stints with the Rams, Darryl was a star with the University of Calgary Dinos.

    While Brett and Darryl have fame from athletic pursuits, Brett said Rhonda is the one who is always right at home and makes sure everything runs well in the household.

    “I think she rules it pretty good,” said Brett.

    Both Brett and Darryl know that life is happy when Rhonda is happy. Brett, who turned 20 in late April, is expected to be an early selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Habscheid said Simpson still “the man” with Raiders

Marc Habscheid gave props to Raiders coaching legend Terry Simpson.

    Marc Habscheid would never put himself ahead of the legendary former Prince Albert Raiders head coach and general manager, who has a street beside the club’s home rink named after him.

    Terry Simpson, who achieved legendary status as the Raiders head coach and general manager, said in an online CBC story on May 10 that the current team, “is probably a lot better coached than the team in 1985.”

    When the Raiders played in the junior A ranks, Simpson guided the club to Centennial Cup victories as national champions in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1982. After the Raiders moved up to the major junior ranks and joined the WHL for the start of the 1982-83 season, Simpson guided the Raiders to WHL and Memorial Cup titles in the 1984-85 campaign.

    Simpson has a vast coaching resume that includes being a head coach in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Winnipeg Jets. One of the streets that runs beside the Art Hauser Centre is name Terry Simpson Lane.

    Habscheid has his own lengthy and impressive resume, but doesn’t put himself on Simpson’s level.

    “I don’t think so,” said Habscheid. “He (Simpson) has had a way better coaching career than me.”

    With that noted, Habscheid was proud his Raiders could win the club’s second WHL title this past season.

    “I’m just so happy for these kids,” said Habscheid. “I really am.

    “They are proud Raiders. They hung in there and faced a lot of adversity. Nobody picked us to do this at the beginning of the year.

    “We have four guys that have NHL allegiance, and they just kept believing. We have great players. A lot of these guys are going to get opportunities because of this and deservedly so.”

Huskies rally to win first Memorial Cup title 4-2

    The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies weren’t going to be denied.

    On Sunday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S., the QMJHL champion Huskies fell behind the host Halifax Mooseheads 2-0 before rallying for a 4-2 victory in the title game at the Memorial Cup tournament played before a sellout crowd of 10,595 spectators. The win gave the Huskies their first CHL championship in team history.

    The Huskies topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 59-8-0-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They won the best-of-seven QMJHL final 4-2 taking out the Mooseheads.

    The Mooseheads finished first in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference in the regular season with a 49-15-2-2 mark and were rated eighth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    In Sunday’s clash in the Memorial Cup championship game, Samuel Asselin scored with 44 seconds remaining in the opening frame to give the Mooseheads a 1-0 lead. At the 5:26 mark of the second, Raphael Lavoie tallied to increase the Mooseheads edge to 2-0.

    From that point, the Huskies took over. Before the second period ended, Felix Bibeau and Joel Teasdale each netted singles for the Huskies to even the score at 2-2.

    At the 3:02 mark of the third, overage centre Peter Abbandonato scored the winning goal for the Huskies to put Rouyn-Noranda up 3-2. Just 2:01 later, the Huskies received an insurance goal from Vincent Marleau to round out the 4-2 final.

    Samuel Harvey made 23 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who posted a 4-1 record at the tournament. Alexis Gravel turned away 31 shots to take the setback in goal for the Mooseheads, who finished the tournament with a 2-2 mark.

    Teasdale was named the MVP of the Memorial Cup recording four goals, one assist and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in the Huskies five games.

    Huskies head coach Mario Pouliot became the first head coach to win back-to-back Memorial Cup titles with two different teams having guided the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to the CHL title last season.

    Huskies star offensive defenceman Noah Dobson was a member of the Acadie-Bathurst squad that won the Memorial Cup a year ago.

    Huskies import left-winger Jakub Lauko led the tournament in scoring with two goals and six assists for eight points to go along with a plus-three rating.
    Between action in the regular season, QMJHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament, the Huskies won eight of 10 head-to-head meetings with the Mooseheads.

    The tournament’s title game has been plagued off the ice by people trying to make a quick buck. Gregg Drinnan, who is the dean when it comes to covering the WHL, reported from a source on his Taking Note blog that a pair of tickets for today’s championship game was offered for sale at $1,500.

    On Thursday, CBC ran a story online stating it has found tickets for the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament being sold on resale sites for $1,000 each.

    Individual tickets for the Memorial Cup’s title game were running from $50 to $75 each at face value.

    Over the last 11 Memorial Cup tournaments, teams from the QMJHL and the OHL have won five titles each, while the WHL has claimed one championship.

    The next Memorial Cup will be hosted by the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets running from May 22 to 31, 2020 in Kelowna, B.C.

THE ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES ARE YOUR MEMORIAL CUP CHAMPS! pic.twitter.com/X4Rhm0Dr0X

— Memorial Cup presented by Kia (@CHLMemorialCup) May 27, 2019

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

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Legacy of spectacular Raiders season will live on forever

The Raiders celebrate winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    The Prince Albert Raiders relished in a 2018-19 campaign that you couldn’t script for the most part.

    How could anyone envision a campaign that sees star netminder Ian Scott score a goal during the regular season.

    The same goes for winning a league title on home ice in Game 7 in overtime. That Raiders pulled that off on May 13 before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun had the honours of netting the winner with 1:35 remaining in overtime tapping home a backdoor feed at that right side of the Vancouver Giants goal. He converted a beauty pass from linemate Noah Gregor.

Brett Leason celebrated scoring a number of goals for the Raiders.

    Hannoun’s tally gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory and sent the faithful at the Art Hauser Centre into a joyful celebration that might have been unmatched in the history of the club’s storied home rink. It delivered the Ed Chynoweth Cup to the Raiders as WHL champions.

    That goal is destined to become the building’s signature moment and a legend that will live on forever in “Hockey Town North.”

    For the Raiders and their fans, it was a season under the sun that was a long time coming. Entering the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders hadn’t experienced a whole lot of success in the 13 previous campaigns missing the playoffs seven times and being eliminated in the first round six times.

    In the 2018 post-season, Prince Albert almost pulled off a major upset.

Noah Gregor had a stellar final WHL campaign for the Raiders.

    The Raiders, who were 32-27-9-4 in the 2017-18 regular season, went the distance before falling in seven games to the Moose Jaw Warriors, who led the 2017-18 WHL regular season standings at 52-15-2-3, in the first round.

    The Raiders were tied 4-4 late in the third period in that Game 7 with the Warriors before falling 5-4.

    Prince Albert entered the 2018-19 campaign with legitimate hopes of having a special season like when it advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series in 2005. The Raiders fell in seven games to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the conference final that year.

    The Raiders were carrying a core group of eight players in Brayden Pachal, who became the team’s captain this season, Parker Kelly, Zack Hayes, Max Martin, Spencer Moe, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery and Scott.

Dante Hannoun will always have a special place in the hearts of Raiders fans.

    That group was with the team in 2016-17 when the Raiders finished third last in the WHL with a 21-44-5-2 record.

    People in Prince Albert watched that likable and well-mannered group grow together and hoped their hard work would pay off in a big way with big accomplishments.

    Still, optimism was tempered. It seemed there was still a slight fear that maybe special seasons weren’t meant to come the Raiders way and that fate might ultimately conspire to bring down the team.

    No one expected the chips to fall like they did.

    The Raiders topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record.

Spencer Moe (#11) gets set to take a draw for the Raiders.

    The only time the club posted more regular season wins in the WHL came in the 1984-85 campaign, when the Raiders recorded a record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.

    Prince Albert went on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup that season.

    During the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders topped the CHL’s Top 10 rankings for a number of weeks and were rated second in the final installment of those rankings.

    The fans in Prince Albert realized early that something special was at hand. They started to pack into the Art Hauser Centre early in the campaign, and the team averaged standing room crowds of 2,615 spectators over 34 regular season home dates.

Zack Hayes was solid defensively on the back end for the Raiders.

    It was a big jump from the 2,050 spectators the Raiders averaged for 36 home games in the 2017-18 campaign.

    During the 2019 playoffs, attendance at Raiders games never dipped below 3,000 over a run that included 12 home contests. The sellout figure of 3,289 became a fixed sight over the last 10 of those games as people brought in milk crates, stools and boxes to stand on to see the action on the ice.

    When doors opened an hour before game time, fans ran to get their standing room spots.

    Faith in the Raiders always existed in Prince Albert. The 2018-19 campaign finally saw that faith be rewarded and the fans soaked in every moment of the journey.

Sean Montgomery (#25) wins a battle on the boards for the Raiders.

    The Raiders received a shot in the arm with a breakout season by 19-year-old right-winger Brett Leason, who shot up to star status. He led the Raiders in regular season scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points, while posting a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department in 55 regular season games.

    Leason and Scott earned spots on Canada’s world junior team.

    In the WHL post-season, Leason emerged as the club’s top scorer there too with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 22 appearances.

    Gregor, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, showed he is ready for the next level piling up 43 goals and 45 assists for 88 points to go with a plus-49 rating in 63 regular season games.

The passion of the Raiders faithful could not be denied.

    The WHL rights to the star overage centre were acquired from the Victoria Royals last June.

    Hard-working career Raiders centre Sean Montgomery had a big personal season the squad’s followers were hoping would come his way. He piled up 29 goals and 30 assists for 59 points to go with a plus-41 rating in 67 regular season games.
    Import left-winger Aliaksei Protas took on hero status in the post-season netting 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points to go along with a plus-12 rating in 23 games in the WHL playoffs. 

    The Raiders had a starting six on defence that was one of the best in the CHL in Pachal, Hayes, Max Martin, Sergei Sapego, Jeremy Masella and Kaiden Guhle. They were arguably one of the best groups of six the Raider have ever placed on the ice to protect their back end.

The Raiders faithful cheer one of the team’s goals.

    Scott was a clutch last line of defence in goal.

    All the work of general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid came to fruition. The pair has worked together building the team since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

    Habscheid joined the Raiders partway through the 2014-15 season and Hunt came up board before the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

    Both men have been popular with the fans in all their years with the team. Hunt was also a Raiders defenceman back in their 1984-85 Memorial Cup winning season.
    Even when you walk into the team’s business office, there is a warm family type feeling there among that group headed up by business manager Michael Scissons.

At times it felt like the fans were on top of Raiders goal celebrations.

    As a whole, the organization is all class. The class came through when deaths had an impact on the club.

    On April 6, 2018, Raiders prospect and defenceman Adam Herold passed away in the bus crash involving the junior A Humboldt Broncos. Herold played four career regular season games with the WHL club and made strong friendships during his time with the squad.

    Last summer, Habscheid’s father, Nicholas, passed away and the bench boss said his players were big in helping him through that.

    Last December, Ron Gunville, who was the Raiders director of player personnel, passed away as well. In March, former Raiders player, head coach and general manager Donn Clark passed away too. Clark was inducted on to the Raiders Wall of Fame in his final days of life.

    The memory of all four men was prevalent during the Raiders run to winning the WHL title.

Parker Kelly, left, and Brayden Pachal do their handshake after a win.

    When the Raiders won the WHL title, the team picture at centre ice with the Ed Chynoweth Cup was heartwarming. The family that was made up of good people was happy and on the league’s mountaintop sharing that moment with the community.
    The only thing the Raiders weren’t able to do was win the Memorial Cup. They went 0-3 in the CHL championship tournament.

    That will ultimately just be an epilogue.

    The overriding memory of the 2018-19 season will be the fact the Raiders finished first in the WHL’s regular season standings and won the league crown both for the second time in team history. It has been a 34-year wait for the Raiders and their fans to go through those experiences again.

    The Raiders received a shot in the arm, and it was deserved shot that was long overdue. “Hockey Town North” is once again a force on the hockey map.

Scott claims CHL goaltender of the year honours

Ian Scott earned CHL goaltender of the year honours for the stops he made.

    Ian Scott achieved a first for the Prince Albert Raiders, when it came to the CHL awards.

    On Saturday, the CHL’s major individual awards were handed out as part of the Memorial Cup tournament festivities going on in Halifax, N.S., and Scott was named the winner of the goaltender of the year award.

    The Calgary product, who turned 20-years-old in January, became the first goalie from the Raiders to ever win the CHL goaltender of the year award, which was first handed out in the 1987-88 campaign.

    Scott, who has signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, had an outstanding season posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Ian Scott makes a kick save during a post-season game in Edmonton.

    His goals against average, save percentage and shutout totals were all regular season club records.

    In his 49 regular season appearances, Scott, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 183 pounds, collected two assists, and he scored a goal. Scott scored his goal shooting the puck into an empty net in the Raiders 3-1 victory at the Art Hauser Centre on Nov. 16, 2018.

    During the WHL playoffs, Scott continued his impressive performance. He played in all of the Raiders 23 games in the WHL post-season posting a 16-7 record, a 1.96 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and five shutouts.
    When the Raiders won the WHL title, Scott was named the MVP of the WHL playoffs.

Ian Scott stops a shot in Game 7 of the WHL final.

    Scott has played in four complete seasons with the Raiders. Over that time, he has appeared in 175 career regular season games posting an 87-64-14 record, a 2.90 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and 11 shutouts.

    Scott is the Raiders all-time career leader in regular season victories. He is eligible to return to the WHL for an overage season, but he is expected to play next season somewhere in the Leafs professional system.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was nominated for Brian Kilrea coach of the year award, but that honour went to Mario Pouliot, who is the head goal of the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
    Bowen Byram, who is a Vancouver Giants defenceman, was named the top prospect. Jason Robertson of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs claimed honours as the top scorer.

Ian Scott, left, took MVP honours in the WHL playoffs.

    Justin Almeida of the Moose Jaw Warriors picked up the sportsman of the year award. Charle-Edouard D’Astrous of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic claimed honours as the humanitarian of the year.

    Netminder Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips was named the scholastic player of the year. Quinton Byfield of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves claimed rookie of the year honours.

    Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs took home the defenceman of the year award. Alexis Lafreniere of the Oceanic was named the player of the year.

    The Memorial Cup title game will conclude the CHL’s 2018-19 campaign. It is set for Sunday and features the Huskies taking on the host Halifax Mooseheads in an all-QMJHL tilt (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet).

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

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