Bedard should be allowed to stay with Pats

Connor Bedard jets up ice for the Pats in a game in April.

If Connor Bedard wants to stay with the Regina Pats, he should be allowed to stay with the world’s oldest major junior franchise.

Since the start of the current season, there has been no end to the speculation that the Pats should trade the phenom centre for what would be a massive haul of players and WHL Prospects Draft selections. That speculation has increased due to the fact the Pats appear to be your typical middle of the road post-season team.

Without Bedard on Friday night, the Pats downed the Raiders in Prince Albert 3-2 for third straight win to improve to 15-12-1-1.

Bedard, who is the Pats captain, is a generational talent and was one of a handful of players to be granted exceptional player status to play in the major junior ranks at age 15.

 During an abbreviated 2020-21 regular season, Bedard at age 15 suited up in 15 games for the Pats posting 12 goals, 16 assists and a plus-nine rating in the plus-minus category. The 2020-21 campaign was an abbreviated one due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

In 105 career regular season contests with the Pats, Bedard has recorded 90 goals, 102 assists and a plus-23 rating. He is currently at the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team and is pretty much a lock to be on that squad again to play in the world juniors that start December 26 and run through to January 5, 2023 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

Bedard, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 185 pounds, helped Canada win gold at the last world juniors that were held this past August in Edmonton. He is the consensus pick to be selected first overall in the next NHL Entry Draft, which will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to 29.

Following the first overall selection, Bedard will be signed to an NHL entry-level contract and be playing in the NHL full time as an 18-year-old. Only something unforeseen would see that chain of events not play out.

Bedard handles himself so well on and off the ice with a maturity seemingly beyond his years that one tends to forget the North Vancouver, B.C., product is still 17-years-old. He isn’t old enough to vote in a political election or have an alcoholic drink legally.

Yet, it seems people already expect him to be Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, when they were in their prime as NHL players. At the moment, Bedard is still technically an amateur hockey player. While Bedard has a tonne of maturity for his age, he still deserves to have some leeway to be your typical 17-year-old who is finishing a final year of high school.

When Bedard met the media in Regina on Wednesday before departing for the selection camp of Canada’s world junior team, he said he wanted to remain with the Pats and play the entirety of his junior hockey career in Regina. Right there, that should be the end of the story.

Connor Bedard has 192 points in 105 career WHL regular season games.

If Bedard wants to stay in Regina and is able to stay there, it would meet the spirit of the rules that are currently in place in the WHL when it comes to making trades.

Following the 2017-18 season, the WHL put in rules that teams aren’t allowed to trade 15-or-16-year-old players who have signed WHL contracts. The only time a 17-year-old player will be allowed to be traded is if that player requests a trade.

The 17-year-old player will have to approach the team’s general manager to ask for a trade, and a team won’t be able to make the first move asking a 17-year-old player to waive his no trade clause.

The rule changes were made in response to the large number of trades that were made involving younger players leading to the WHL’s trade deadline of January 10, 2018. There were cases where 15-year-old players were being dealt before they had a chance to play a regular season game with the club that originally drafted them.

The spirit of the rules were to allow those players the chance to play with the team that drafted them and not have to worry about changing schools, while they were still in high school. The request for trade provision was put in to allow players who felt they were slipping through the cracks with regards to a lack of playing time to get a fresh start with a new club. A reality of junior hockey is that happens.

There are fans out there that believe somehow Bedard should be convinced that he wants to be traded to a club that is viewed to be a contender for the WHL championship and a CHL title, which is awarded to the winner of the Memorial Cup tournament. Often talk involves Bedard being moved to the Memorial Cup hosting Kamloops Blazers, the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice, Red Deer Rebels, Portland Winterhawks or Seattle Thunderbirds.

There are some fans that say if Bedard doesn’t want to be traded to a contender that has a major shot to win a Memorial Cup that there is something wrong with him and maybe he shouldn’t be the first overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft.

Once again, Bedard is 17-years-old and he is still not a professional hockey player at the moment. If he wants to remain with the Pats, that should be the end of the story.

He should be allowed to be a 17-year-old in some ways, because he will have lots of time in his life to deal with the business aspect of hockey. As a generational talent, it is unlikely he will be passed up as the first selection of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Back on November 30, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock got old school confrontational and testy with the media in Kamloops regarding questions about trading Bedard. Once it was clear Bedard wasn’t going to be traded, things calmed down and he had a pretty good discussion with the media.

Frankly, Paddock should have the freedom to go the old school route of being confrontational and testy with the media if he believes that is what is needed if Bedard doesn’t want to be traded and that question comes up. Over the years, Paddock has often been viewed by former players as the best coach they’ve ever hard, and Bedard is fortunate to have Paddock as his junior head coach and general manager.

With the way the WHL trade rules are, the only exception that could come up with the trading of a younger player would be to deal them to their hometown club, if their parent is dealing with a critical illness. Back in the 2006-07 season, then Pats general manager Brent Parker and then Saskatoon Blades head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken made one of the classiest trades ever involved left-winger and Saskatoon product Derek Hulak, who was 16-years-old at the time.

Connor Bedard said he wants to stay with the Pats.

Derek’s mom, Alina, was battling cancer and ultimately passed away on March 27, 2007. Derek was playing with the Pats at the time, and Parker and Molleken ensure he was dealt to the Blades partway through that season to allow him to be closer to his mom.

If that type of situation came up again, you can be sure WHL office and the league’s member teams wouldn’t stand in the way of that type of trade being made to help a player off the ice.

In Bedard’s case, he doesn’t have to deal with anything like that. If his heart is set on staying with the Pats, that is the team he should be rejoining once his time with Canada’s entry at the upcoming world juniors concludes. That would also show the WHL’s current trade rules are doing what they are supposed to be doing too.

Benson nets first hat trick in Ice win, other notes

Zach Benson had a hat trick for the Ice on Friday.

Zach Benson had a milestone night powering the Winnipeg Ice to victory.

On Friday night playing before 1,621 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, the 17-year-old centre recorded his first career WHL hat trick. Benson also picked up an assist as the Ice, who are rated third in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, doubled up the visiting Spokane Chiefs 6-3.

On the season, Benson, who is eligible for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, leads the Ice in scoring with 43 points coming on 18 goals and 25 assists to go with a plus-26 rating in the plus-minus department in 27 games.

Conor Geekie had a pair of goals and an assist for the Ice, while import centre Vladislav Shilo potted a single into an empty net for the Winnipeg side.

Tommaso De Luca had a pair of goals for the Chiefs, while Carter Streek had a single.

Daniel Hauser made 25 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Ice, who top the WHL’s overall standings with a 24-4 mark. Cooper Michaluk turned away 38-of-43 shots for the Chiefs, who fell to 5-19-0-1.

The Chiefs return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings (11-15-3).

The Ice get back at it on Sunday, when they host the Pats.

• The Moose Jaw Warriors hammered the visiting Calgary Hitmen 9-2 on Friday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. Import left-winger Martin Rysavy had a huge night for the Warriors recording two goals, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.
• Tyson Greenway scored 21 seconds into overtime as the Tri-City Americans slipped past the visiting Prince George Cougars 4-3 at the Toyota Centre in Kennewick, Wash. The Cougars led 3-1 early in the third period, before the Americans rallied back to take the game. Netminder Ty Young turned away 48 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars.
• On Friday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on University of Saskatchewan Huskies place kicker and punter David Solie, who recently signed with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Solie has worked at the Complex for a number of years and made a tonne of good relationships there over that time. The piece on Solie can found by clicking right here. I also created a photo roundup that focuses on showing the Indoor Training Centre getting into its busy season, and that piece can be found by clicking right here.

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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Roulette comes up OT lucky in big night for Blades

Saskatoon quietly improves to 20-5 with win over Wheat Kings

Conner Roulette had two goals and two assists for the Blades.

Conner Roulette had the luck of James Bond in a casino when it came getting goals on video review.

With his Saskatoon Blades locked in a 4-4 tie in overtime with the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday night at the SaskTel Centre, Roulette broke into the offensive zone on a two-on-one rush to support linemate and standout centre Trevor Wong, who was carrying the puck. Wong zipped down the left wing and slid a pass across the front of the Brandon net to Roulette.

Roulette quickly wired a shot to the top left corner of the Wheat Kings net but the puck hit a post and quickly deflected away, but the officials weren’t sure if the puck hit one of the posts inside the net holding off on calling a goal. Roulette was certain the puck went in for the winning tally and raised his arms to celebrate.

Trevor Wong picked up an assist on the Blades OT winner.

As the Wheat Kings got set to rush back up ice, Roulette got set to be in a defensive position, but kept yelling his shot went in along with voices from the Blades bench. The officials proceeded to blow the play dead to go to video review.

They didn’t look at the video for long as the video angle from the top of the Brandon net clearly showed the puck going into the goal. That video was played on the scoreboard at the SaskTel Centre and the victory celebration was on for the Blades who pulled out the 5-4 victory in the WHL regular season clash.

The host side received an appreciative salute from the 2,611 spectators in attendance, who braved the -35 C conditions outside to make it two the Blades home rink located in the north end of Saskatoon.

The Blades celebrate Conner Roulette’s OT winner.

Netting the overtime winner capped a big night for Roulette. The 19-year-old right-winger finished the night netting two goals, which both had to be confirmed by video review, and two assists to go with a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

The Blades increased their winning streak to five games improving to 20-5 on the campaign. Their .800 winning percentage in the overall WHL standings trails only the .852 winning percentage of the league leading Winnipeg Ice (23-4).

During their winning streak, the Blades have beaten the Ice and the Red Deer Rebels (18-5-1-3), who sit first in the Central Division. When the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings were released on Tuesday, the Blades moved from sixth up to the fifth overall ranking.

Justin Lies scored the Blades first goal on Tuesday.

While the Blades have jumped out to one of their best starts in team history, they’ve kind of come up under the radar. When the season started, the Blades were expected to be a playoff caliber team, but the Ice and Rebels were projected to be the class clubs of the WHL’s Eastern Conference to contend for the league championship.

After the Blades graduated star netminder Nolan Maier at the conclusion of last season, the Blades weren’t expected to be contender for a WHL title or even occupy a top five spot in the circuit’s overall standings. Maier graduated from the WHL holding the league’s career record for regular season goaltending wins at 122, and the Blades didn’t have any concerns in net during the five campaigns Maier was with the club.

Calder Anderson scored the Wheat Kings first goal on Tuesday.

Saskatoon looked towards a pair of 18-year-olds in their system to carry the load in net in sophomore Ethan Chadwick and rookie Austin Elliott. So far, the Blades have posted the WHL’s lowest team goals against average at 2.10, while Chadwick has recorded a .908 save percentage and Elliott has put up a .930 save percentage.

Against the Wheat Kings, the Blades showed they had the mental toughness to withstand the push backs of a pesky opponent that gained some confidence looking to build on two straight wins entering play on Tuesday.

The Blades opened the game’s scoring just 1:56 into the first period, where Roulette picked up his first assist of the contest. Roulette had control of the puck at the left side of the Brandon net and fed a pass across the face of the goal to linemate Justin Lies. Lies potted home the backdoor feed to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

Tyler Parr scored on a second period breakaway for the Blades.

Just over 10 minutes later, Roulette proceeded to put the Blades up 2-0 on his first goal that was confirmed by video review. He had puck deep in the Brandon zone by the right boards at a bad angle, but he still managed to fire home a shot to the top left corner of the Wheat Kings net for his ninth tally of the season.

The officials didn’t at first rule Roulette scored, even though he started to celebrate. When play stopped, the officials went to a video review and confirmed that Roulette did score to put the Blades up by two.

With just over two minutes remaining in the first period, the Blades turned the puck over at the Brandon blue-line to Wheat Kings 20-year-old right-winger Calder Anderson. Anderson broke down the ice on a contested breakaway and fired home a shot to the left corner of the Saskatoon net to cut the Blades lead to 2-1 with 1:59 remaining in the frame.

Rylen Roersma scored the Wheat Kings second goal on Tuesday.

The Blades restored their two-goal edge at the 8:13 mark of the second. Wong sent a long flip pass to spring left-winger Tyler Parr on a breakaway. Parr broke into the Brandon zone and snapped home his fourth of the season to give the Blades a 3-1 advantage.

With 4:04 remaining in the second, the Wheat King cut the Blades lead to 3-2 when Brandon left-winger Rylen Roersma tipped home a shot from the point taken by defenceman Andrei Malyavin.

Saskatoon again went back up by two goals with 1:34 remaining in the second, when centre Jayden Wiens corralled a loose puck at the right side of the Brandon goal during a net scramble and popped home his 10^th of the season to put the hosts up 4-2. Roulette picked up his second assist of the game on Wiens’s tally.

Jayden Wiens scored his 10th goal of the season on Tuesday.

Just 69 seconds into the third, Wheat Kings left-winger Brett Hyland potted his 11^th of the season to cut the Blades lead to 4-3. The Blades challenged that the Wheat Kings were offside on the play, but the officials ruled the video replay was inconclusive allowing the Brandon tally to stand.

The teams traded scoring chances as the frame went on, but the Wheat Kings found some last second heroics to force overtime. With 10.1 seconds remaining in the third, Wheat Kings 20-year-old centre Nolan Ritchie had the puck at the right side of the Saskatoon net and fed a pass across the face of the goal to linemate Jake Chiasson.

Chiasson converted the backdoor feed popping the puck into an empty cage to create a 4-4 tie and force overtime.

Jake Chiasson celebrates his equalizer in the third period.

That set the stage for the dramatics of Roulette’s winner that had to be confirmed by video review.

Chadwick made 16 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Nicholas Jones turned away 25 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (10-15-3).

The Wheat Kings return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 10-15-2 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades get back at it Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

As the Blades keep moving forward, they will be looking to keep building on the feel good story they’ve created so far in the current campaign. You can be sure there are doubters out there who are waiting for the wheels to fall off.

The Blades leave the ice happy with pulling out their OT victory.

On the other hand, what if the wheels don’t fall off for the Blades this season? What if this Blades team is special?

If this turns out to be a Blades team that can accomplish special things, it might be best to just soak and appreciate in the cool moments that happen in the present like Roulette’s memorable big Tuesday night.

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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Enjoy Bedard phenom while it is still in WHL

Pats centre a generational player in final major junior season

Connor Bedard leads the WHL with 59 points this season.

“We need to tank for Bedard.”

At some point this season, there have likely been fans of every team in the NHL that has thought, said or written that line. Even if an NHL club is occupying first place in a division, all it takes is a skid as small as two games to get at least one supporter in that club’s fan base to have that thought cross his or her mind.

If the NHL club is one of the circuit’s seven Canadian franchises, a sizable group of fans will be thinking that thought, and that group gets even larger if the Canadian club they are supporting is struggling. All of sudden, you have some fans who hope their team immediately rolls off a 50-game losing streak to have a better chance to gain the first overall selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The odds of a team winning the NHL draft lottery to get the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft increase the worse that club does in the regular season.

Of course, the big prize for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft for the team that is bad enough is 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard, who is currently the captain of the WHL’s Regina Pats. Bedard is a true generational talent, who was the first player to be granted exceptional status to play in the WHL full time as a 15-year-old.

Now in his third season in the major junior ranks, Bedard, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 185 pounds, leads the WHL in goals (26), assists (33) and points (59) appearing in all of the Pats 27 regular season games to date. The North Vancouver, B.C., product, who has a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department, was held pointless in the Pats first game of the current campaign and has proceeded to register at lead one point in each of the 26 contests that have followed.

Bedard’s latest body of work was a two-goal performance in a 5-1 Pats victory against the Cougars in Prince George on Friday that allowed the Regina side to improve to 13-12-1-1. Just 20 seconds into the second period with the Pats holding a 2-1 edge, Bedard came down the right-wing on a power play rush, toe dragged the puck closer into his body and snapped a shot between the legs of Cougars defenceman Keaton Dowhaniuk and blocker side on Cougars netminder Ty Young for his first goal of the contest.

Connor Bedard has made frequent highlight reel clips.

At the 13:12 mark of the third period, Bedard entered the Cougars zone on a rush down the left wing, stopped top of the left faceoff circle and roofed home a shot to the right corner of the Prince George net for his second tally of the contest to give the Pats a 4-1 advantage. Bedard could have had at least four more markers in that contest, but Young made some big saves to limit the Pats superstar to a two-goal night.

Bedard’s appearance drew a crowd of 6,027 spectators to the 5,971 seat CN Centre in Prince George. The attendance was by far the largest gathering the Cougars attracted all season and well above their average attendance of 2,818 spectators for the 13 home dates they’ve hosted.

The win over the Cougars completed road tour for the Pats where they played each of the five teams in the B.C. Division posting a 4-1 mark. The first two games in Vancouver and Victoria were sellouts, and the contests held in Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George were well into standing room and well above this season’s average attendance in each centre.

That is part of the crazy that comes with Bedard playing what will inevitably be his final campaign in the major junior ranks. When the next NHL Entry Draft is held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to 29, 2023, Bedard is the consensus choice to be selected first overall.

Following the first overall selection, Bedard will be signed to an NHL entry-level contract and be playing in the NHL full time as an 18-year-old. Only something unforeseen would see that chain of events not play out.

From the start of the 2022-23 campaign, NHL fans and the media that covers the NHL seem to be keeping closer tabs on what Bedard is doing with the Pats as he is eligible for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. It is common to see Bedard’s name trend on social media lines like Twitter seemingly every third day.

Connor Bedard brings a bigger spotlight to the games he plays in.

Frequently, a Bedard highlight that results in a goal will pop up on social media and receive a large number of shares. Often, that highlight finds its way on the national broadcasts for TSN’s Sportscentre or Sportsnet’s Sports Central.

Junior hockey highlights are not a normal staple on those shows unless the world junior tournament is on, and Bedard highlights have made those shows on a regular basis this season. There are a few times NHL followers will notice another good player in games that Bedard skates in, but it often feels like an overshadow aspect is still there.

Take the Pats visit to Winnipeg to play the Ice back on November 17. The Ice, who sit first overall in the WHL with a 23-4 mark, downed the Pats 9-5 that night, and Winnipeg star 18-year-old centre Matthew Savoie had three goals, three assists and a plus-two rating in that contest.

Just 10 seconds into that game, Bedard intercepted an Ice pass at centre ice, broke into the Winnipeg zone, undressed and skated around an Ice defenceman, deked out Ice netminder Mason Beaupit and tucked home a goal to complete the highlight reel play. Bedard finished with a goal and two assists in that outing.

There were people who don’t normally follow the WHL notice that Savoie, who was the first round selection NHL Entry Draft held this past July by the Buffalo Sabres, was a pretty good player. Still, it seemed like the video from Bedard’s goal that night was shared seemingly everywhere, and Savoie’s big night didn’t get anywhere near that attention.

Another player that gets noticed quite a bit due to playing on the same team as Bedard is left-winger Tanner Howe, who turned 17-years-old on November 28. In 98 career regular season games with the Pats, Howe has 45 goals, 62 assists and a plus-nine rating. The Prince Albert product has 17 goals, 19 assists and a plus-nine rating in 26 appearances this season with the Pats.

Connor Bedard packed rinks in a tour of the B.C. Division.

Howe picked up a WHL player of the week nod for the week ending November 27 for collecting five goals and two assists in the Pats first two stops on their tour of the B.C. Division. That included posting four goals, two assists and a plus-six rating in the Pats 9-5 victory over the Royals in Victoria on November 26. Bedard had three goals, one assist and a plus-six rating in that victory.

Howe actually isn’t eligible for the NHL Entry Draft until 2024 due to his late in the year birthday. Thanks to playing with Bedard, more NHL followers are aware of Howe than they normally would be.

In the grand scheme of things, the endless hype around Bedard has caused more people than normal to pay attention to the Pats and the WHL. That attention will go away, when Bedard is no longer playing in the WHL.

Actually, the WHL will lose some attention for about the last two thirds of the month of December through the first week of January when the IIHF’s world junior hockey tournament is on. The upcoming world juniors start on December 26 and run through to January 5, 2023 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

Bedard will be skating with Canada’s entry at that event and at selection camp and practices with Canada in the two weeks leading up to that tourney.

When the world juniors conclude, Bedard will jet through his final stretch in the major junior ranks. The Bedard hype train in the WHL has a finite time limit, so it would be prudent to enjoy it while it is still going on.

Connor Bedard, left, enjoys a goal celebration with the Pats.

Come next year at this time, you will likely have to play $300 or more just to get in a rink to see Bedard play in the NHL.

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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Captain’s role fine fit for Raiders’ Herman

Evan Herman sets to fire a shot on goal for the Raiders.

Becoming the captain of the Prince Albert Raiders has brought out the best version of Evan Herman.

The 20-year-old centre was named the 47^th captain in the club’s history on November 18. Herman was tabbed with the captain’s role just two days after the Raiders dealt their former captain in Nolan Allan to the Seattle Thunderbirds in a blockbuster trade.

In the Raiders first four games with Herman as captain, they’ve posted a 3-1 record. Over that stretch, Herman, who is from The Pas, Man., has collected four goals, four assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

With their burst over the past four games, the Raiders improved to 10-13-2 and sit tied with the Swift Current Broncos (11-11) with 22 points for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click the link right here.

Nyhus departs football Huskies as an all-time great

Mason Nyhus is one of the best the Huskies ever had at QB.

What would have happened had Mason Nyhus engineered a two-minute drill drive to win the Vanier Cup?

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team’s fifth-year quarterback would have been the toast of “the Wheat Province,” and fans of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders would be demanding that the community-owned franchise should sign the local product now. On top of that, talk about the 24-year-old would have dominated Saskatchewan’s sports radio talk shows and been main focus for stories from the remaining sports reporters working for mainstream media outlets.

Nyhus was in that position twice in the Vanier Cup. The first opportunity provided the most realistic chance to pullout victory.

After the University Laval Rouge et Or got a field goal to increase their lead to 30-24 last Saturday in the U Sports championship game played at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont., the Huskies had the ball at their own 18 yard line with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter and two timeouts. Had Nyhus orchestrated a drive at that point to allow the Huskies to score a touchdown to win the game and capture the Vanier Cup, his hero status in the history of the Huskie Athletics program would have hit mythical status.

That drive sputtered out after four plays.

The Huskies were able to get the ball back at their own 20 yard line with 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and no timeouts. That scenario would have required a miracle big play to allow the Huskies to score the game-winning points.

Mason Nyhus (#8) throws a pass in a controlled scrimmage in 2016.

The Rouge et Or ultimately made the 30-24 score hold up as the game’s final outcome to win the Vanier Cup to become U Sports champions for the 11^th time in team history.

While Nyhus wasn’t able to guide a two-minute drill drive to score the winning points against arguably the most storied football program in the history of U Sports, the Regina product will go down as one of the all-time bests the Huskies ever had.

When Nyhus first stepped foot on the U of S campus in 2016, he was hyped a signal caller that could potentially take the Huskies all the way. He would experience some unique challenges before experiencing high points with the Huskies, and some of those challenges were things you couldn’t envision.

In 2016, he was a red shirt with the Huskies, who finished third in the Canada West Conference with a 5-3 record and fell 47-17 in a conference semifinal to the University of Calgary Dinos. At the time, that marked the eighth straight playoff loss in a row for the Huskies, and they were in a stretch where they had won only one of their previous 12 post-season contests.

It seemed like the days when the Huskies regularly made long post-season runs were something that was left in the past.

A short time after the 2016 post-season loss to the Dinos, Nyhus discovered he would no longer be playing for the head coach that recruited him. In late December of 2016, the Huskies’ legendary head coach in Brian Towriss retired after holding that position for 33 years, and Scott Flory, who had been the Huskies offensive coordinator, was named head coach on March 13, 2017.

Mason Nyhus throws a pass for the Huskies in 2018.

Nyhus was moved to the active roster as the backup to veteran star starter Kyle Siemens. The Huskies missed the post-season in 2017, but Siemens worked magic in his final campaign in 2018.

In 2018, the Huskies returned to the playoffs finishing third in Canada West with a 5-3 record, and they went on a playoff run where they won the Hardy Cup as conference champions for the first time since 2006. The post-season run came to an end with a 47-24 loss to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in London, Ont., in the Mitchell Bowl U Sports semifinal contest.

After playing behind and learning from Siemens and experiencing a long post-season run, Nyhus was set to hit the ground running as the Huskies starter in 2019. The Huskies finished second in Canada West with a 5-3 mark, but a massive amount of injuries accumulated for the team when the playoffs came around.

The Huskies fell 29-4 in the Hardy Cup to the Dinos in Calgary. The Dinos advanced forward to win the Vanier Cup.

In March of 2020, the world came into the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which caused the 2020 Canada West football season and U Sports nationals to be cancelled for the 2020-21 campaign. With no games to play, Nyhus and his teammates continued to work out and train for the day U Sports would resume play.

That whole situation was something no one ever thought would happen, when Nyhus first joined the Huskies.

Mason Nyhus scrambles out of trouble in 2019.

The family feeling the Huskies built served them well as almost all the team’s key returnees were in uniform for the 2021 season. In a shortened regular season, the Huskies finished first in Canada West with a 5-1 mark and Nyhus was named the conference’s all-star quarterback.

In the Huskies six regular season games, Nyhus, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 215 pounds, was in stellar form completing 109-of-187 passes for 1,653 yards and 16 touchdowns, while only throwing two interceptions. 

While Nyhus looked like a Brett Favre style gunslinger in 2019, he was a composed surgeon on field in his second year as a starter in the image of Tom Brady.

The Huskies advanced on to win the Canada West title and produced one of the program’s most memorable moments in the Uteck Bowl against the Universite de Montreal Carabins in CEPSUM in Montreal, Quebec.

The Huskies trailed 10-7 and had the ball on their own 27 yard line with 1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. Nyhus executed a perfect two-minute drill drive that concluded with star running back Adam Machart running home the winning touchdown from 13 yards out to put the Huskies up 14-10 with five seconds remaining on the clock.

The Carabins couldn’t come up with a miracle and the 14-10 score in favour of the Huskies held up as the contest’s final outcome. The Huskies were in the Vanier Cup for the first time since 2006.

Mason Nyhus throws a pass in the 2021 Canada West final.

U of S played strong in the 2021 Vanier Cup before falling 27-21 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs at Stade Telus – University Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

Nyhus followed his 2021 season up with a 2022 campaign that was one for the ages. He signal called the Huskies to another first place finish in Canada West with a 7-1 record. 

In the Huskies eight regular season games, he completed 197-of-298 passes for 2,759 yards and 18 touchdowns, while throwing three interceptions.

Nyhus’s passing yardage total was tops in all of U Sports and set a new Huskies team record for most passing yards in one season. He was named a Canada West all-star, the Canada West player of the year and a second team U Sports all-Canadian all-star.

The Huskies returned to the Vanier Cup but were unable to knock off Laval. Rouge et Or second year star quarterback Arnaud Desjardins was pretty outstanding as well finishing in second in U Sports passing yards behind Nyhus.

While the Huskies weren’t able to take the Vanier Cup this past Saturday against the Rouge et Or, Nyhus’s stock remained high. In the setback, he completed 34-of-43 passes for 344 yards, three touchdowns and one tipped interception.

Mason Nyhus (behind banner) celebrates a Canada West title win.

Following the U Sports title game, Michael Ball, who is the voice of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, reported that the Roughriders added Nyhus to their negotiation list. Nyhus’s days of playing quarterback may indeed continue on at the professional level.

The impact he left on the Huskies was a big one. Nyhus helped bring the Huskies back to a level they hadn’t seen since 2006. The stretch where the Huskies won only one of 12 post-season contests is long forgotten.

Nyhus, who won all 16 of his career home starts at Griffiths Stadium, achieved “The Golden Boy” stature he was tabbed to potentially have back in 2016. As he has now graduated from the program, Nyhus’s biggest impact is that dreams of long playoff runs resulting in Vanier Cup title wins are things that can be realized by the Huskies.

Huskies’ Solie signs with Roughriders

David Solie (#15) has signed with the CFL’s Roughriders.

Wearing green and white has been a theme in David Solie’s football career, and he will get a chance to sport that colour scheme at the professional level.

On Tuesday, Solie, who is the place kicker and punter with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team, was signed by the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. The signing came just three days after the Huskies dropped a 30-24 decision to the Universite Laval Rouge et Or in the U Sports championship game – the Vanier Cup – this past Saturday at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont.

The 23-year-old had an outstanding campaign in 2022 playing out his fourth year of U Sports eligibility for the Huskies. During the Huskies eight regular season games, Solie connected on 17-of-21 field goal attempts with a long from 44 yards and hit on 23-of-24 of his conversion attempts. He punted the ball 58 times for 2,276 yards for an average of 39.2 yards per kick.

Solie was named a Canada West all-star at place kicker and he was a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star at place kicker.

In 2021, Solie captured honours as the all-star punter in Canada West and was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star at punter.

Before moving to the post-secondary ranks, Solie played his high school football for Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders Football Team, which has a green and white colour scheme like the Huskies and Roughriders. He also suited up for Saskatchewan’s provincial team program, which also wears green and white.

After playing the 2017 season are a rookie with the Huskies right out of graduating high school, Solie elected to play for the Saskatoon Hilltops in 2018, which marked the only time Solie hasn’t worn green and white on the football field for about the past nine years. Donning the Hilltops traditional blue and gold, Solie took on duties as a receiver, place kicker and punter in helping the storied club win their 21^st CJFL championship in team history.

Ron and Jane Graham named U Sports alumni award winners

On Tuesday, Ron and Jane Graham were named winners of the U Sports-Mitchell Family Alumni of the Year Award for their contributions to the University of Saskatchewan and Huskie Athletics over the decades.

The Grahams shared the honour with Stu and Kim Lang, who have made big contributions to Queen’s University and the University of Guelph.

The U Sports-Mitchell Family Alumni of the Year Award is presented to former student-athletes who have graduated from a Canadian university after having participated in a U Sports sanctioned sport.

Ron and Jane Graham graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1962 with degrees in engineering and education respectively. Ron was a dual student-athlete as quarterback for the Huskie football team and a member of the basketball team. Jane was a swimmer.

Since their first gift to the U of S and Huskie Athletics in 1995, the Grahams have become the university’s largest cumulative donors with over $30-million in donations. They have been key partners in major capital projects including the basketball practice facility at Merlis Belsher Place, the Ron and Jane Graham Sport Science and Health Centre at Merlis Belsher Place and the Graham Huskie Clubhouse at Griffiths Stadium.

In addition to capital projects, the Grahams’ contributions have enhanced the student-athlete experience for Huskie Athletics programs. Their unwavering and generous support has provided student-athletes with scholarships, mentoring, equipment, uniforms, championship rings, travel, financial literacy, coaching support, mental-health and wellness support, technology, academic support and career and employment opportunities.

In 2007, the Grahams were inducted into the Huskie Athletics Hall of Fame.

Four Rams defenders named all-Canadians

Ryder Varga (#56) takes the field for the Rams.

The defenders stole the show at “Receiver U” in 2022.

The University of Regina Rams are best known for the high level receivers who have graduated from their football squad and have gone on to have solid careers in the CFL. As a result, the U of Regina was given the nickname “Receiver U.”

As the Rams finished second in the Canada West Conference in 2022 with a 5-3 record, their defensive players took centre stage. The Rams picked up four U Sports all-Canadian all-star selections this past season, and all of those selections were on defence.

Fifth-year lineback Ryder Varga led the way as a first team all-Canadian all-star. In the Rams eight regular season games, Varga led the team with 38.5 total tackles to go along with two quarterback sacks, one fumble recovery and one interception.

Varga was named Canada West’s most outstanding defensive player to make him a finalist for the Presidents’ Trophy as the stand up defensive player of the year in U Sports. That honour went to linebacker Nicky Farinaccio of the Universite de Montreal Carabins.

Rams fifth-year defensive end Anthony Bennett and fourth-year defensive tackle Tanner Schemekel were tabbed as first-team all-Canadian all-stars, while fourth-year defensive back Jaxon Ford was a second team all-Canadian all-star.

The Universite Laval Rouge et Or, who won the Vanier Cup as U Sports champions, had seven U Sports all-Canadian all-stars in 2022. The first team all-Canadian all-stars on offence included quarterback Arnaud Desjardins, receiver Kevin Mital, offensive tackle Nathan Dumoulin-Duguay and guard Nicolas Guay.

The Rouge et Or’s two first team all-Canadian all-stars on defence included defensive tackle Jean-William Rouleau and defensive back Cristophe Beaulieu. Rouge et Or linebacker Alec Poirier was tabbed as a second team all-Canadian all-star.

Mital took home the Hec Crighton Trophy as the player of the year for U Sports.

Hilltops cool naming Johnson team rookie of the year

Davin Johnson sets in his stance at right tackle for the Hilltops.

The CJFL’s storied Saskatoon Hilltops have always been outstanding when it comes to recognizing members of their offensive and defensive lines.

Throughout the years, the members of the offensive and defensive lines have been the heart of the Hilltops teams. During the team annual awards banquet that was held back on November 19 at the Delta Marriott Hotel, the Hilltops presented right tackle Davin Johnson with the Past President’s Trophy as the club’s rookie of the year.

Johnson was a true first-year player having graduated from Saskatoon’s Walter Murray Collegiate this past June. The 18-year-old became the Hilltops starting right tackle about halfway through this past season and started the Hilltops two post-season games. It is rare for any rookie straight out of high school to earn a starting spot as a rookie with the Hilltops, so Johnson accomplished big things with the venerable CJFL team in 2022.

At the PFC conference and CJFL league levels, the Hilltops most celebrated rookie was 17-year-old running back Charles Sawi. Sawi was named the PFC’s rookie of the year and to the conference’s all-rookie team. He also captured the CJFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

To outsiders, they would likely be confused as to how the Hilltops decided to not give their team rookie of the year award to a player who took rookie of the year honours on a conference and league level.

For those associated with the Hilltops, the team rookie of the year accolade makes sense. Most would overlook what Johnson accomplished on the offensive line, and the team award allowed him to get a nod for his special personal season.

The best part is Sawi is humble enough at his young age to understand why Johnson claimed the team’s rookie of the year award. In the end, they both got great recognition for the amazing first CJFL seasons they had.

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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Heartbreak for Huskies again in Vanier Cup

Rouge et Or prevail 30-24 in showcase U Sports title game

Mason Nyhus played his final game with the Huskies on Saturday.

If you told the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in training camp that they’d be in position to make a two-minute drill drive at the end of the fourth quarter to win the Vanier Cup, they would take it.

If you told the Huskies they would have to make that drive against the forever powerful Universite Laval Rouge et Or, the Dogs would still take it.

That was the position the Huskies were in on Saturday playing before 8,420 spectators at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. They were actually in that position twice.

Trailing the Rouge et Or 30-24, the Huskies had the ball at their own 18 yard line with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter with two timeouts. They needed to drive 92 yards to win the game, but it was something that could be realistically done and had been done in the past.

The Huskies got 21 yards downfield on four plays before turning the ball over on downs. The drive ended when Huskies star fifth-year quarterback Mason Nyhus hit sophomore star second-year running back Ryker Frank with a pass on a third-and-six situation.

Frank initially caught the ball six yards downfield, but took a step backwards looking to make a cut for additional yards. Because of that step backwards, Frank was stopped short of the first down marker and the Rouge et Or took over at the Huskies 39 yard line.

Connor Delahey had 8.5 total tackles for the Huskies.

After the Rouge et Or offence went two and out, they punted the ball to the Huskies, who had the ball at their own 20 yard line with 34 seconds remaining with no timeouts. Needing chunk plays, the Huskies went three and out to turn the ball over on downs.

The Rouge et Or took two kneel downs to end the contest and begin the celebration of their 30-24 victory, and the fact they won the Vanier Cup to become U Sports champions for the 11^th time in team history. Before Saturday’s game, the last time the Rouge et Or won the Vanier Cup was in 2018.

Overall, U Sports football was the biggest winner on Saturday. The 57^th Vanier Cup played between the Huskies and Rouge et Or was an outstanding showcase of the sport of football at the Canadian university level. The fact it was shown live on CBC’s national network made it even better, because people who wouldn’t have normally watched the game would have been pulled in by a compelling encounter.

When the dust settled, the two teams combined for 975 yards of total offence. The Huskies had 469 total yards, and the Rouge et Or had 506 total yards.

Nyhus, who was playing in his final U Sports game, completed 34-of-43 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing one interception due to a tipped pass. Rouge et Or star second year quarterback Arnaud Desjardins connected on 27-of-36 passes for 397 yards. Nyhus was the U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star quarterback, and Desjardins was the first team all-Canadian all-star quarterback.

Daniel Perry had five catches for 85 yards on Saturday.

Ultimately, Saturday’s contest was one of those games that could have gone the Huskies way had the result of two or three plays changed.

The teams were trying to gage what they could do in the first quarter and traded field goals. David Solie hit a 20 yard field goal for the Huskies, and Vincent Blanchard replied with a 15 yard field goal for the Rouge et Or to create a 3-3 tie after 15 minutes.

Early in the second quarter gambling on a third-and-goal situation, Nyhus rolled right and hit third-year receiver Everett Iverson with a three-yard touchdown toss to put the Huskies in front 10-3.

The Rouge et Or answered back on their ensuing offensive series with first-year running back Kalenga Muganda running in a touchdown from three yards out taking a direct snap in the wildcat formation to force a 10-10 tie. The Rouge et Or proceeded to take their first lead when Blanchard booted the ensuing kickoff through the end zone for a rouge and an 11-10 edge.

The Huskies retook the lead on their ensuing offensive series, when Nyhus hit star second-year receiver Rhett Vavra with a three-yard touchdown pass for a 17-11 advantage.

Before the second quarter came to an end, Blanchard hit a field goal from 28 yards out to cut the Huskies lead to 17-14 and knocked home a field goal from 49 yards out with 0.2 seconds to play in the frame to force a 17-17 tie at halftime.

Everett Iverson had the Huskies first TD catch on Saturday.

With 9:07 remaining in the third quarter, the Rouge et Or caught a positive break to avoid falling behind again on the scoreboard. Solie launched a long punt, which Rouge et Or returner Alex Duff allowed to bounce into his own end zone playing the situation like the punt return rules in the United States were in play.

Duff circled back into his end zone to get the ball. As soon as his fingers grabbed the ball, he was hit by Huskies long snapper Jayden Engel. The ball popped out of Duff’s hands and Huskies backup running back Kody Gutek recovered the ball in the end zone for an apparent touchdown.

 The officials correctly called a no yards penalty on Engel, which negated the major score and even the opportunity to pick up a single point.

After surviving that mishap, the Rouge et Or accounted for the only points in the third quarter with a 10-yard field goal from Blanchard to take a 20-17 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Rouge et Or went into the bag of tricks to pull out a major score. Facing a first and goal situation from the Huskies one yard line, star receiver Kevin Mital lined up behind centre in the wildcat formation. Mital faked like he was going to run the ball and looped a one-yard touchdown toss to second-year fullback David Dallaire to increase the Rouge et Or’s lead to 27-17.

Ryker Frank had 65 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving on Saturday.

The Huskies looked like they were going to trim the Rouge et Or’s advantage on their ensuing offensive possession. U of S got the ball down to the Rouge et Or six yard line for a first-and-goal situation.

Nyhus threw a pass in the end zone to third year receiver Caleb Morin. Morin wasn’t able to hold on to the high pass and the ball slipped through his hands into the arms or Rouge et Or defensive back Felix Petit for an interception with 9:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The result of the play was an unfortunate one for Morin, who had a strong game leading the Huskies with seven catches for 97 yards.

After the interception, the Huskies defence forced the Rouge et Or offence to go two-and-out. Following a 35-yard punt return by Vavra, U of S started a drive on the Rouge et Or’s 51 yard line.

The Huskies quickly drove the short field and Nyhus hit sure handed second-year receiver Daniel Wiebe with a three-yard touchdown pass to cut the Rouge et Or lead to 27-24 with 4:58 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Nick Wiebe had six total tackles for the Huskies on Saturday.

The Rouge et Or pushed their lead out to 30-24 on their ensuing offensive series with Blanchard hitting a 25 yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. That field goal was set up mainly by Desjardins hitting Rouge et Or fourth-year receiver Antoine Dansereau-Leclerc with a 55-yard pass. Blanchard made all five of his field goals on the afternoon.

That set the stage for the Huskies final two failed drives as the Rouge et Or made the 30-24 score hold up as the game’s final outcome.

Mital, who won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the player of the year in U Sports football on Thursday, was awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the Vanier Cup game MVP. Mital hauled in eight passes for a game high 142 yards to go with his touchdown toss.

The Bruce Coulter Award for the defensive player of the game went to second-year linebacker Charles-Alexandre Jacques. Jacques made 5.5 total tackles for the Rouge et Or in the win.

The Huskies piled up 125 yards rushing as a team in the first half and only nine yards rushing as a team in the second half. Frank carried the ball 12 times for 65 yards and caught five passes for 30 yards.

Teb Kubongo had two carries for 65 yards for the Huskies.

Third-year running back Ted Kubongo ran the ball twice for 65 yards and caught two passes for five yards.

Huskies star fourth-year receiver Daniel Perry had five catches for 85 yards, and Vavra had six catches for 66 yards.

Muganda topped the Rouge et Or in rushing with 19 carries for 76 yards to go with his major score. Dansereau-Leclerc finished the contest with eight catches for 119 yards.

Defensive end Connor Delahey led the Huskies with 8.5 total tackles, while linebacker Nick Wiebe had six total tackles.

Defensive back Maxym Lavallee topped the Rouge et Or with 7.5 total tackles, while defensive lineman Jean-William Rouleau had a quarterback sack.

Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin picked up his 10 Vanier Cup win as the team’s head coach and increased his U Sports record for career head coaching wins to 202 with Saturday’s result.

Huskies head coach Scott Flory saw his team’s overall record conclude at 10-2, while the Rouge et Or close out at 11-1 overall. The Huskies went into the game rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 rankings, while the Rouge et Or were rated second.

HC Scott Flory saw his Huskies fall after a strong effort.

When Saturday’s game reached its conclusion, it was another lesson in heartbreak in the Vanier Cup for the Huskies. The Dogs were in last year’s Vanier Cup, and they fell 27-21 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

The Huskies last won the Vanier Cup in 1998 downing the Concordia University Stingers 24-17 at the venue then known as the Skydome and now Rogers Place in Toronto. 

The Huskies have returned to the U Sports title game six times since dropping five of those contests by six or fewer points.

One of these years, you have to think the Huskies persistence will result in a U Sports championship. Still with how most of amateur sport in Canada isn’t followed that closely anymore by mainstream media outlets, it was big the Huskies could play well and make the Vanier Cup a showcase game before a national television audience.

The Huskies finish the 2022 campaign with a 10-2 overall record.

If Saturday’s Vanier Cup gets more people talking about U Sports football, that is a big victory for the sport as a whole.

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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