Raiders live up to being more than a team in opener

PA bests Pats 7-4 in banner raising night at home

Connor Howe first of two goals on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders were living up to their legacy of being more than just a hockey team to the folks in “Hockey Town North.”

On Friday before a standing room crowd of 2,916 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders downed the visiting Regina Pats 7-4 in the WHL regular season opener for both clubs. It was a night where the Raiders raised banners for finishing first in the WHL’s East Division and capturing the Eastern Conference Championship last season.

On their opening day roster on Friday night, the Raiders took the ice with 12 returning plays from last season’s squad that finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 52-10-5-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in five games to the Everett Silvertips. The Raiders are still without two more potential returning skaters from last year’s squad as 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Gorzynski is still taking part in NHL training camp activities with the Dallas Stars and 18-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson is in camp with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Benett Kelly skates on to the ice during pre-game introductions.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said it was important to see the East Division and Eastern Conference championship banners to up into the Hauser’s rafter, because it further cements the history that was made last season.

“It was a real special night in a number of ways,” said McDonald. “Watching the banner go up and the trophies sitting there, the guys who were here with us last year it is an amazing accomplishment and something that you should be very proud of.

“You watch those banners go to the rafters, and you’re a part of this history and this culture forever when those are up there.”

The Raiders raise two championship banners to the rafters.

The Raiders also ran a stirring video tribute for club mainstay in the late Mark Odnokon. Odnokon passed away this past May 24 due to cancer, and he was still a Raiders assistant coach at the time of his passing.

In living to age 63, Odnokon is viewed as a Raiders lifer. In the early 1970s growing up in Prince Albert, he went to Raiders games as a ticket buyer and used to camp out for tickets in the team’s early playoff runs when they were in junior A as part of the SJHL.

He was a stick boy for the Raiders first Centennial Cup winner in 1976-77, was a late season call up for their second Centennial Cup championship team in 1978-79 and was a full-time player for their final two Centennial Cup triumphs in 1980-81 and 1981-82.

After serving as head coach and general manager of the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs from 1988 to 1990, Odnokon returned to the Raiders as an assistant coach in the 1990-91 season. He was pretty much a part of the Raiders staff for most of the years he lived from that moment until his passing, when he served as a skills coach and the team’s Respect Champion. It was really only broken up for a long stretch from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s when he was a scout for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

The Raiders paid tribute to the late Mark Odnokon.

McDonald, who was born and raised in Prince Albert and played for the under-18 AAA Prince Albert Mintos and the Raiders, said Odnokon has been present in his hockey journey, and he still feels the physical void of the forever hockey coach not being there. Odnokon’s celebration of life took place fittingly at the Hauser this past May 31.

““Ozzy” was a huge part of those banners and the fabric of the culture that we have here in Prince Albert with the Raiders,” said McDonald. “He is a man who has been at this rink since I’ve been a kid.

Ben Harvey had one goal and three assists for the Raiders.

“He has been a part of it every single way with me whether it was working NorSask Hockey School, coming to the rink as a player playing for the Prince Albert Raiders to assistant and to head coach. It is hard to come and him not be here with his laughter, his humour, his work ethic and everything that he brings. He was the ultimate glue guy of a teammate.

“You heard all the stories at his funeral. Also as a coach too, he kept that coaching office extremely light, extremely close, and he is sadly missed.”

Raiders sophomore 17-year-old right-winger Ben Harvey said he still feels Odnokon’s physical absence. Following all the pre-game ceremonies, Harvey went out and had a huge night recording a short-handed empty-net goal, three assists and posting a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Maddix McCagherty (#17).

“Obviously, heavy hearts out to “Oz” and his family,” said Harvey, who has 14 goals, 13 assists and a plus-21 rating in 45 regular season games in 2025-26 as a 16-year-old rookie with the Raiders. “You never want to see that.

“He is a big part of our organization and was out with us every day.”

Harvey said Odnokon will always stand for all the good values and characteristics of what the Raiders are and mean to the community of Prince Albert.

“He means a lot to this organization itself,” said Harvey. “It was nice to do a little tribute video there.

“We’re playing for him this year, and he is definitely in our hearts.”

Following the pre-game festivities, the Raiders exploded out to 3-0 a lead. Just 70 seconds into the contest, Raiders 18-year-old defenceman Benett Kelly slipped a see-eye point shot through a screen to put the hosts up 1-0.

Carsyn Dyck sets up to score a breakaway goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders proceeded to show their skill with 17-year-old left-winger and local product Connor Howe finishing off a couple of nice setup passes with goals to give Prince Albert a 3-0 lead at the 14:14 mark of the first. Howe would finish the contest with a plus-four rating.

With any opening game of a regular season, there were moments when the sailing wasn’t entirely smooth. Just 45 seconds after Howe’s second tally, Pats 20-year-old right-winger Keets Fawcett scored on the power play to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

At the 5:29 mark of the second, the Raiders pushed their edge out to 4-1 with a grittier goal, when 20-year-old centre Maddix McCagherty backhanded home a rebound in close that came from a long range shot taken by 18-year-old rookie defenceman Darius Hordal. McCagherty also had two assists and a plus-three rating on Friday.

PIMS the Parrot meets the Raiders young fans.

Veteran right-winger Jace Egland popped a single home for the Pats just over four minutes later to trim the Raiders lead to 4-1. Carsyn Dyck, who is a 20-year-old veteran centre, proceeded to slip home a shot on a breakaway just over two-and-a-half minutes later for the Raiders to put the hosts up 5-2. Dyck previously played in the WHL for the Portland Winterhawks until being released this past off-season allowing him to be added to the Raiders roster.

Before the second frame closed out, Fawcett netted his second of the contest and centre Ellis Mieyette, who will turn 20-years-old in October, tallied with 51.2 seconds remaining in the frame to cut the Raiders lead to 5-4.

Riley Boychuk jets into the offensive zone on a rush.

The Raiders ensured the Pats wouldn’t spoil the opening game party in the third. With 4:07 remaining in the frame, Raiders star 18-year-old centre Ben Harvey burst into the offensive zone on a rush with his team working on the power play.

Harvey got in close to the Regina net and put a backhanded pass to import right-winger Alisher Sarkenov at the right post of the Pats goal. Sarkenov potted the puck into the open side of the cage to push the Raiders lead out to 6-4. Harvey would add his short-handed empty-net goal with 2:15 remaining on the clock to round out the scoring in the contest.

Maddix McCagherty had two assists to go with his goal.

Star 19-year-old import netminder Michal Orsulak made 20 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. 

Taylor Tabashniuk turned away 10-of-13 shots starting in goal for the Pats and was pulled after the first period. Drake Mooney turned away 12-of-15 shots playing the rest of the way in relief and took the loss in goal for Regina. 

The Pats were without 16-year-old star centre Maddox Schultz and veteran defenceman Kolten Bridgeman with undisclosed injuries.

The only other downer for the Raiders was that 18-year-old rookie left-winger Cash Lanigan was given a major penalty for kneeing, which also saw him get kicked out of the contest. The major penalty will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (6 p.m., InnovationPlex). The Pats also get back at it on Saturday when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Assiniboine Credit Union Place).

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

As the Raiders go forward in the season, Howe would like to see the 2026-27 Raiders create another banner raising ceremony for September of next year. He admitted it was pretty sweet to see the banners from last season get raised on Friday night.

“I think it means a lot to us all that hard work from last year,” said Howe. “I think we’re trying to do that again this year, so I think it should be a good year.”

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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Hoping “Ozzy” will be spiritually hanging in with the Raiders, team mainstay is missed

Mark Odnokon raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2019.

I can still hear Mark Odnokon’s laugh when I told him Terry Simpson was selling up his captains and players again saying he didn’t have anything to do with the success of the Prince Albert Raiders.

During this particular chat, I was talking to Odnokon, who was often referred to as “Ozzy,” about the 1981-82 Raiders that won the team’s final SJHL and Centennial Cup national junior A championships before the team graduated to the major junior ranks the next season. Odnokon, who was a feisty winger in his playing days, served as an assistant captain with that 1981-82 Raiders team along with Robin Bartel, while Bob Lowes was the captain.

Of course, Simpson is the iconic head coach and general manager of the Raiders, who has been retired from the game for some time now. Simpson always tried to deflect credit to his captains and players for the many successes the team had. He was trying to sell that he really didn’t need to do anything for a Raiders team that went 57-3 in the regular season and 20-3 in the post-season in that 1981-82 campaign saying the captains ran the show.

“Stanks,” said Odnokon, giving a pause before going on. “You’ve been around for a long time.

“You know better than that. Don’t let him (Simpson) get away with that.”

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

Optimus Prime became iconic with his 1986 death

Autobot leader is heart of the Transformers franchise

Optimus Prime’s 1986 death in The Transformers: The Movie.

Optimus Prime’s death in 1986 allowed him to live forever.

Optimus Prime is the iconic main hero in the Transformers franchise as the leader of the Autobots in their war against the Decepticons. Over the 42 years that franchise has been running since 1984 including numerous story adaptations, fans and followers of Transformers pretty much all know about Optimus Prime’s death in The Transformers: The Movie from 1986.

For kids that grew up in the 1980s when The Transformers: The Movie came out, Optimus Prime’s death was jarring, especially when it came 26 minutes and eight seconds into the film that ran about 90 minutes in length.

Back in 1986, main character deaths in fictional animation, comics and other stories targeted to children didn’t happen. Even if superheroes like Superman or Spider-Man had died in comic books or in animation, they were usually revived or brought back to life sometimes as early as that same comic book or episode the death happened.

Likely the only experience kids might come across at that point in time with main character deaths came from the Japanese animated Robotech series that first aired in North America in March of 1985. In order to see Robotech, you have had to be in a community that was fortunate enough the television stations picked up and showed that series in syndication. Also, Robotech first aired without a toy line until one came out for it a short run in 1986.

For those that didn’t live in the 1980s or grew up in it, it was the ultimate decade when it came to marketing to children. That was due to the United States government removing many of the restrictions regarding the placement of promotional content within children’s television programming. (*A big thank you to President Ronald Reagan on that front*).

Classic animated Optimus Prime.

The standard practice was for companies to create a toy line and then have an animated series hit television networks to market the toy line. Thanks to that marketing strategy, toy lines like Masters of the Universe, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were all created and took off from that decade. Hasbro rebooted the G.I. Joe toy line in 1982, and it is still carrying on in the present day.

On the girls’ side, Hasbro’s Jem and The Holograms line based off the female rock bands of that time rose up to rival Mattel’s iconic Barbie line for about three years. The Jem line was tightly linked to the 1980s music scene resulting in rare reboot attempts.

The Transformer toy line produced by Hasbro debuted in early 1984 and an animated series to promote the toys hit television screens on September 17 of that year. It ran two seasons before The Transformers: The Movie arrived in theatres on August 8, 1986.

Over the first two seasons of the Transformers animated series, Optimus Prime was established as the main hero. Voice actor Peter Cullen, who passed away on August 26 of this year, was the first and is destined to be the definitive voice of Optimus Prime.

When auditioning for the role of Optimus Prime, Cullen followed the advice of his older brother, Larry Cullen, who served as a Marine in Vietnam. After mentioning the audition to Larry, the older brother told his younger brother to not be a Hollywood hero that yells and acts tough if he was going to play a hero.

The advice was given, “If you are going to be a hero, be a real hero. Be strong enough to be gentle.”

The result saw Peter Cullen establish Optimus Prime as a father figure of the Autobots as well as being their leader. Optimus Prime came across as a character you would envision being the ideal dad that you could be proud of.

An Optimus Prime from 1984.

While the storytelling of the original Transformers animated series might look campy, it was good in fleshing out the characters. The characters – especially those that came out in the 1984 line – had worked out backgrounds that allowed audiences to identify with them. It was done in a way that wasn’t seen at that point in time in a series targeted for children.

As a 10-year-old in 1986, I didn’t see The Transformers: The Movie on the first day it hit theatres. I started hearing from my friends really quickly on the playground that Optimus Prime died in the movie. The first thing that ran through my mind was that it wasn’t possible.

On the last day The Transformers: The Movie was in theatres, my oldest sister took me to see the film. I had already dealt with the deaths of two uncles at that point in my life, so I had a rudimentary understanding of what real life death was like.

When the opening credits of the movie ran and I saw a list of new characters that didn’t appear at that point in the animated series and Peter Cullen wasn’t put on that list for voicing Optimus Prime, I knew something was up. I was surprised to see like half my toy collection get blown away in that movie and was stunned by Optimus Prime’s death scene where he turned from red to grey due to his injuries from his final battle with infamous Decepticon leader Megatron.

I actually enjoyed watching the movie in the theatre, and I was fine in the theatre. I was still stunned that Optimus Prime was killed off in the movie, and I admit I did have a cry about it before falling asleep when it was bedtime one night shortly after being at the movie.

A VHS copy of The Transformers: The Movie from 1987.

Little did I know at the time, I found out through the decades lots of kids took Optimus Prime’s death a lot worse than I did. There were kids who had to leave the theatre after Optimus Prime’s death scene.

There were kids locking themselves in their bedrooms for lengthy stretches of time due to the fact Optimus Prime had died. I was unaware that a grassroots letter writing campaign from fans and parents was flooding the Hasbro offices to bring Optimus Prime back.

That reaction sharply contrasted the really cold corporate treatment of Hasbro to the young franchise at the time. The original 1984 line of Transformers was being discontinued and the new 1986 line was hitting retail store shelves.

The executives at Hasbro saw The Transformers: The Movie as the vehicle to basically write off the 1984 toy line and introduce all these great characters in the 1986 Transformers toy line.

Screenwriter Ron Friedman, who wrote for the Transformers animated series, advised against killing off Optimus Prime and told Hasbro executives they would have to bring him back if they went in that direction. Hasbro executives said they had no plans to bring Optimus Prime back and had other great plans for the franchise and told Friedman to kill him off in the movie script that he was writing. Friedman followed orders.

As a result, The Transformers: The Movie was produced with the budget of US$6-million, and it brought in US$5.9-million in its original box office run domestically to be considered a bomb. The Transformers: The Movie didn’t have many folks coming out for a repeat viewing due to the death of Optimus Prime.

To add to that factor, 1986 was the year Top Gun was in theatres and folks of all sorts had “the need for speed” coming out to see that flick in droves. Movies in theatres in 1986 included Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Aliens, The Karate Kid: Part II, Stand by Me, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

A VHS re-release of The Transformers: The Movie from 1995.

As Friedman predicted, Hasbro had to bring Optimus Prime back permanently, which they did at the conclusion of season three of the animated series with the two part episode “The Return of Optimus Prime” that aired in late February of 1987.

In another twist that came out years later, G.I. Joe: The Movie was in production at the same time and plans were originally set to kill off one of the main G.I. Joe heroes in Duke. G.I. Joe: The Movie was intended to come out first, but production delays resulted in The Transformer: The Movie being finished first and thus hitting theatres.

Due to the reaction to Optimus Prime’s death, the scene of Duke’s death had been animated, but the story dialogue was changed to announce Duke went into a coma and it was stated at the end of the film he lived. 

The soundtrack there didn’t go with the footage of Duke taking a fatal wound to the heart. G.I. Joe: The Movie premiered on direct-to video on August 25, 1987 and hit television syndication in September of 1987.

Had G.I. Joe: The Movie came out first with Duke’s death as part of the film, his passing likely wouldn’t have hit the same as Optimus Prime’s. Duke was written as a typical military fictional hero that yelled, acted tough and was tough. Plus, it could be argued characters like Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Hawk, Flint, Lady Jaye, Roadblock and Scarlett were as equally or more popular than Duke.

As the decades have gone on, The Transformers: The Movie developed a cult following with numerous physical media releases and various returns to theatres. It is slated to make an upcoming return to theatres for its 40 anniversary running in most North American markets starting on Thursday and running through five days later to the following Monday.

A DVD of The Transformers: The Movie re-release from 2006.

The 40^th anniversary return is being dubbed “The Apology Tour” by Hasbro for killing off Optimus Prime in 1986. It will be followed by a 12-minute animated short called Optimus Prime: Awakening. That will mark the final time Cullen reprises his role as Optimus Prime.

In Saskatoon, it will run at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Scotiabank Theatre. Those will be the only showing at that location.

The Transformers: The Movie will start a short run at the Landmark Cinemas on Thursday at 3:45 p.m., 6:50 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. It will show there once on Friday at 12:50 p.m., and once on both Saturday and Sunday at 10:20 a.m. The Landmark Cinemas run ends on Wednesday, September 23 at 6:50 p.m.

The Transformers: The Movie is endeared by the generation that first watched it for being a film that treated its audience as being more mature.

The initial reaction to the death of Optimus Prime causing Hasbro to bring him back in short order made him an iconic hero. In various new stories and interpretations of the Transformer franchise over the decades, plots involving Optimus Prime’s death often via self-sacrifice and later coming back to life have been featured frequently.

In the early 1990s, even Superman and Spider-Man storylines of dealing with a more permanent death before coming back to life were rolled out in the comics.

A 40th anniversary edition of G1 Optimus Prime from 2024.

For most Transformers fans, Cullen’s recent passing means they will check out the re-release of The Transformers: The Movie in theatres as part of the way they remember the man who gave Optimus Prime his voice.

Ultimately, Optimus Prime’s death in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986 and the backlash that followed made him very much different from any other fictional hero especially because Cullen presented him as the hero that was strong enough to be gentle.

It made Optimus Prime the iconic fictional character he is, and he will be remembered by the public at large forever.

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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Berries WCBL championship win highlights August 2026

The Berries raise the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy as WCBL champs.

The Saskatoon Berries are the boys of spring and summer in “The Bridge City.”

They made Cairns Field the place to be in Saskatoon, and in three years, they created the best day ever locally to be at a baseball park.

On Sunday, August 16, the Berries thumped the Sylvan Lake Gulls 11-1 in Game 2 of the WCBL Championship Series at Cairns Field to sweep the best-of-three set 2-0. The Berries captured their first league championship in just their third year of existence in front of a record crowd of 2,579 spectators.

Before that moment, the Berries faithful, known as the “Jam Fam,” got a trial run about what winning a league title at home might feel like.

Merek Yeager delivers a pitch for the Berries in the WCBL final.

Just four days earlier on Wednesday, August 12, the Berries downed the Moose Jaw Miller Express 7-4 to sweep the best-of-three WCBL East Division Championship Series at Cairns Field. The crowd of 2,467 spectators, which was the Berries record crowd at that time, were roaring at the final pitch and that roar amplified after the final out was caught in right field.

The song “Oh, What a Night” that was released in 1963 by The Four Seasons echoed in the park as the Berries stormed the field in celebration. It felt like that night was the perfect night, but there was no certainty that scene would play out again in the WCBL Championship Series against the Gulls.

AP catcher Aiden Kilshaw was a key player in the Berries post-season run.

In Game 1 of the WCBL final played on Saturday, August 15 at Gulls Stadium in Sylvan Lake, the Berries pulled out a 4-1 victory. In Saskatoon, excitement started to immediately build for a potential league championship win the next night at Cairns Field.

The Berries weren’t going to be denied a series sweep. Game 2 of the WCBL final started with the Berries jumping out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play, before the Gulls responded with one run in the top of the third to cut Saskatoon’s advantage to 3-1.

The host side exploded for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to surge ahead 8-1 and cruised to victory from that point. The sixth-inning surge allowed the “Fam Jam” to soak in and enjoy the championship victory.

The Berries celebrate scoring two runs in Game 2 of the WCBL final.

A great Saskatchewan story played out on the mound in that WCBL title clinching game. Merek Yeager, who is a 19-year-old from Muenster, Saskatchewan, got the start on the hill for Saskatoon. The right-handed hurler picked up the win striking out four batters and scattering seven hits and a walk over six innings of work.

Brooks Jones, who is a left-handed pitcher from Lawrence, Kansas, struck out five batters in holding the Gulls scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings.

Howetown product Colin Plain, who has been with the Berries for all three seasons of their existence, got the call to close out the night in the ninth inning. The right-handed hurler struck out three out of the four batters he faced, while giving up a double in the mix to start the celebration in earnest.

Ethan Murdoch drives a hit for the Berries in the WCBL final.

At the plate, first baseman Josh Henson nailed a three-run homer to start the surge in the sixth inning. Henson’s round-tripper put the Berries up 6-1 and turned the feeling of what could be a close game into a fairly secure comfort belief that the great night was truly on for the Saskatoon side.

As an extra bonus, catcher Aiden Kilshaw, who was originally from Swift Current and moved to Saskatoon, nailed a solo shot in the seventh inning to give the Berries an 8-1 advantage at that point in time. Kilshaw, who will turn 18-years-old on September 4, was an associate player who joined the Berries on a full-time basis after his final season concluded in late July with the Saskatoon Cubs 18U AAA team.

One year earlier, Kilshaw helped the Cubs win their seventh Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League championship. With the Berries in the 2026 post-season, Kilshaw went 9-for-27 at the plate for a .333 batting average, two home runs and 10 RBI.

Gael Salinas became a fan favourite with the Berries.

Right-handed relief pitcher Wesley Shackelford, who is from Belleville, Texas, was named the MVP of the WCBL playoffs. In four games of work, Shackelford threw nine scoreless innings striking out 14 batters, while giving up one hit and one walk.

He picked up the pitching win in the Berries 7-3 victory over the Regina Red Sox in Game 1 of a WCBL semifinal series on Friday, August 7 at Cairns Field. Shackelford earned the save in the Berries 5-3 win over the Red Sox in a series-deciding Game 3 just two nights later.

Following that 2-1 series victory over the Red Sox, Shackelford came in to get the save in the WCBL East Division Series clinching Game 2 win over the Miller Express. He was on the hill for the Berries picking up the save in their Game 1 victory of the WCBL final over the Gulls in Sylvan Lake.

The Berries begin celebrating their WCBL championship win.

The WCBL championship win closed out the playing career for Berries right-fielder and Swift Current, Sask., product Ethan Murdoch. He was the first member of the Berries to lift the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy after the squad became WCBL champions.

It allowed second baseman, fan favourite and Guanajuato, Mexico, product Gael Salinas cap a memorable first series with the Berries, which saw him represent the club in the WCBL’s All-Star Weekend which Saskatoon hosted on July 18 and 19.

Part of the “Fam Jam” at Cairns Field cheers on the Berries.

The Berries win helped further build the WCBL legend of the team’s head coach in Joe Carnahan. Officially hired by the Berries on July 5, 2023, Carnahan was part of six WCBL championship winners in Swift Current.

He was a player for three title wins in 2001, 2005 and 2006, and he was the team’s head coach for championship victories in 2010, 2016 and 2017. Carnahan stepped down as the head coach and general manager of the Swift Current franchise on September 21, 2020.

With Carnahan as head coach, the Berries got through their growing pains quickly. In their inaugural 2024 campaign, the Berries finished sixth overall in the 12-team circuit with a 31-26 record and fell in a series-deciding Game 3 to the Miller Express in the East Division Championship Series.

The Berries relish lifting the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy.

In 2025, the Berries topped the league’s overall standings with a 46-9 mark, and their win total was a WCBL record for most wins in one regular season. They again fell in a series-deciding Game 3 in the East Division Championship Series this time to the Red Sox, who advanced on to claim the WCBL title.

This past season, the Berries finished fourth overall in the WCBL with a 38-18 mark. They rolled in the post-season posting a 6-1 record that included finishing with a five-game winning streak. They were 4-0 at home and 2-1 on the road.

Steve Hildebrand, left, and Joe Carnahan enjoy their WCBL title win.

Carnahan was named the WCBL coach of the year for a fifth time following the 2025 campaign. On July 11, Carnahan got to see one his Berries grads in Carnduff, Saskatchewan, product Carter Beck, who played centrefield, be selected in the first round and 26^th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Draft. Beck became the highest ever Saskatchewan born player to be picked in the MLB Draft.

Of course, Berries president Steve Hildebrand played a big role in bringing Carnahan to Saskatoon and creating a culture that allowed Carnahan and the rest of the organization to realize all this remarkable early success. They all helped create a game day atmosphere making Cairns Field a field of dreams with various promotions and concessions that contained various items that contained Saskatoon Berries.

It was fitting that following the WCBL title win on August 16 that a large number of the families and billet families of the Berries players, coaches and staffers got to take part in the championship celebrations on the Cairns Field turf. It started with a big fireworks show and ran long into the night.

The Berries WCBL title win will be a forever memory.

Ultimately, the WCBL championship win was one that everyone with the Berries organization was a part of resulting in a moment that will always be a cherished and joyful memory for the rest of their lives.

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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Taylor cemented in Hilltops lore with Canadian Bowl pick

Zaden Taylor is a team captain for the Hilltops.

Zaden Taylor already has a moment that ensures he will forever be part of the Saskatoon Hilltops storied lore.

During last year’s CJFL Championship Game played on November 9 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Hilltops kicker Ryden Gratton booted a 37-yard field goal with 28.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put the host Saskatoon side up 21-18 over the Okanagan Sun. On the ensuing Sun drive, Taylor, who has built a playmaking reputation at outside linebacker, intercepted Sun quarterback Liam Kroeger to seal the 21-18 victory for the Hilltops and allow them to raise the Canadian Bowl winning their 24^th CJFL title.

“I just remember getting swarmed by my teammates and that amazing feeling,” said Taylor. “To have something that incredible happen and a memory like that happen and get to celebrate with my teammates literally right beside me as it happened, it was pretty surreal.

“It is hard not to overplay it in my head.”

When the Sun got the ball at that point in the game, they needed to gain yards in chunks in order to get in range for a game tying field goal. Taylor remembers things were happening at a frantic pace on the play when the opportunity presented itself for him to make his interception that closed out victory.

“That one I believe it was more of a broken play, because I remember covering into the like hook/curl a little deeper,” said Taylor, who stands 6-feet and weighs 215 pounds. “I remember feeling the receiver that was trying to like hook around me was completely covered.

“I saw it was their main receiver. He kind of cut on it. It looked to be like he was either coming from an out or he skied across the field, and I saw (Liam) Kroeger’s eyes just all over him.

“I just break on the ball and try to make a play on it.”

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant has seen many team members over the decades make countless big plays dating back to when he first joined the club as a receiver way back in 1983. With Taylor’s game-clinching interception occurring right in front of the Hilltops bench, Sargeant said that moment was forever burned into his memory.

“It sealed the victory to our 24^th national championship,” said Sargeant, who has guided the Hilltops to 15 CJFL title wins as head coach to go along with two victories as a assistant coach and his first coming in 1985 as a player. “I’ll never forget that moment when he made that play and ran over and gave me the football.

“Right then and there, we knew we were taking these to celebrate a great team victory. Zaden’s been a kid that since he walked in on the first day he has been very important to us. He started as a defensive back, and then because of his football IQ and his playmaking ability and toughness, we moved him to linebacker to the “sam” position.

“He has been patrolling that greatly for the last couple of years and done a tremendous job. He is a team captain now, and as I said, he is very important to our defensive success and team success.”

Taylor joined the Hilltops for their 12-0 CJFL championship season in 2023 from the Delisle Composite High School Rebels nine-a-side football program. At that time, he was the rookie looking to capitalize on every repetition that came his way.

Zaden Taylor unloads a big hit on a Regina Thunder receiver last season.

This season, Taylor is now a grizzled fourth-year veteran and a defensive captain. The 21-year-old is living the days he envisioned getting here when he was a rookie.

“It is pretty cool to be on the other end of it,” said Taylor, who had 25 total tackles, one quarterback sack and four pass knockdowns in the Hilltops eight regular season games in 2025. “I remember as a rookie watching those older guys play hoping I’d be there one day.

“Now that I’m here, it is as cool as I thought it would be. To start for a team as prestigious as the Hilltops is pretty surreal, and it is awesome.”

Taylor’s football journey began when he was a youngster playing in Saskatoon Minor Football’s flag program, when his family lived in Saskatoon. He got a taste of tackle football playing in the Kinsmen Football League.

By the time Taylor entered high school, his family had moved out to Asquith, which is a town located about 55 kilometres straight west of Saskatoon. While going to Lord Asquith School, Taylor was allowed to play with the Rebels due to the fact his school didn’t have a tackle football program.

As a result, Taylor was traveling by car 30 minutes from Asquith to Delisle almost daily for football practices and games during the high school season. During his high school days, Taylor said he found at that time he really enjoyed the physicality of the game.

“I played hockey a lot as a kid, and I was always a big physical player,” said Taylor, who played linebacker and a little bit of running back for the Rebels. “Football kind of brings more physicality into a sport.

“I just kind of enjoyed it from there. Hitting heads is fun.”

The Rebels have built their own strong history having four provincial titles starting in 2002. With that squad, Taylor gained an experience of football being family.

“The camaraderie of that team is really fun,” said Taylor. “You get to know the guys a lot, because we did a lot of summer practices together – just like captains-led practices and all that.

“It was a winning culture out there. There was a lot of winning to do out there and a lot of fun to have after the wins.”

When his high school days concluded, Taylor’s former Rebels teammate in current Hilltops star running back Corbin Ebben just finished his first season with the venerable CJFL club. Taylor’s then current Rebels teammate in offensive lineman Tobin Kirkness was going to Hilltops winter workouts, so defensive standout decided to give that experience a chance.

Zaden Taylor has built a playmaking reputation at outside linebacker.

“I had nothing else going on after high school,” said Taylor, who was teammates with Kirkness on the Hilltops in 2023 and 2024. “I said, “Why not, and I’ll give it a try.”

“It turns out I really enjoyed it even further being around guys that were around my skill level to way better than me. It was a lot of fun to learn from those guys.”

When Taylor joined the Hilltops, Sargeant said it was noticeable how much the Rebels grad was improving each week, each month and ultimately each year. The Hilltops coaches were devising ways to get Taylor more involved on the defensive side of the game.

“He (Taylor) has got great instincts,” said Sargeant. “Sometimes, we put him on a blitz opportunity to impact the game.

“He is one of those playmakers that knows how to get to the ball, and when he gets there, he does something real productive. He is a high-end player, and we’re very fortunate that he is a big part of our success game in and game out.”

Now that Taylor is in his fourth year, Sargeant said the coaches are looking forward to how the skilled linebacker will run with the role of being a team leader.

“Well number one, we’re here to defend a national championship,” said Sargeant. “We’re here to get the 25^th national championship for our tradition, for our fifth-year players and for the city of Saskatoon.

“We’re embracing everything that comes our way. We know it is not going to be easy. We know the spotlight is on us, so we’ve got to take it on.

“I need my best players, my leaders, people like Zaden, players like Zaden, they’ve got to be the best players and the best leaders. If we do that, then we’ve got a chance to be playing in the biggest, best games, and that is what it is all about.”

Taylor said a big turning point last season came when the Hilltops fell in their regular season opener 31-11 to the Rifles in Winnipeg on August 10, 2025 at Maple Grove Rugby Park. He said the veterans led by example from that point onwards to winning the CJFL title.

“It was a tough start to the season,” said Taylor. “We lose to Winnipeg.

“We had I think our third string quarterback in at the time. We didn’t know what was going to happen going into that game, but I do believe we were overconfident in it anyway. From there, the coaches really got on us, and I think that was the biggest momentum changer.

“When you see all the older guys working as hard as they are after a loss like that, it just motivates the entire team to get better, and that is just exactly what happened.”

Taylor said he wants to carry on what he learned from his former veteran teammates who have graduated from the historic squad. When his Hilltops days wrap up, Taylor would like to continue playing the sport, but for now, he wants to fully live in the moment playing for the blue and gold.

Zaden Taylor (#8) enjoys getting a sack last season.

“If an opportunity arises after my fifth year, I’d definitely give it a lot of consideration,” said Taylor. “For right now, the focus is finishing my years off here with the Hilltops and hopefully getting two more championships.”

This piece first appeared in the Saskatoon Hilltops game program on August 23, 2026.

After far from storybook season, McKenna first overall NHL pick

Beating adversity will be asset in new life with Leafs

Gavin McKenna, centre, dons a Leafs jersey. (Photo by Natalie Shaver/CHL)

In the year leading up to being the first overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft, Gavin McKenna traveled a path no else has ever travelled.

Last Friday, McKenna was picked first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Entry Draft held at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Pop superstar Justin Bieber, who is from London, Ontario, put on a WWE style promo in making the first overall pick for the Leafs, and in the process he drew huge amounts of loud boos from the partisan Buffalo fans adding to the entertainment spectacle of the event.

From that moment, McKenna, who is from Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, has had a love in with the Leafs organization, their fans and Toronto as a city. The honeymoon phase of McKenna’s arrival in Toronto is definitely on.

The 18-year-old left-winger ultimately ended up where he was supposed to be after navigating a 2025-26 campaign with the Penn State University Nittany Lions that contained various twists and turns. During that campaign, McKenna dealt with criticisms coming from a slow first half of the season to dealing with legal matters that came up early in the second half of the campaign.

The adversity McKenna faced might make him ready for the adversity he will eventually encounter playing in the fishbowl setting the Leafs deal with in Toronto that is unlike any other market in the NHL.

Back in June of 2025, McKenna was targeted to be the consensus first overall selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. He had just come off a sensational 17-year-old season in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2024-25.

In 56 regular season games, McKenna, who stands 6-feet and weighs 170 pounds, piled up 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department. He helped the Tigers finish second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 record.

McKenna proceeded to help the Tigers win their sixth WHL title in team history posting a 16-2 mark in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. He played in 16 games in the WHL Playoffs recording nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points to go with a plus-14 rating.

The Tigers proceeded to advance to the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion. At that year’s tournament played in Rimouski, Quebec, Medicine Hat topped the preliminary round standings with a 3-0 mark to make the event’s championship game. In the Memorial Cup title clash, the Tigers fell 4-1 to the London Knights, who are a storied powerhouse in the OHL.

In the four games the Tigers played at the Memorial Cup tournament, McKenna had three goals and three assists and a plus-two rating.

Gavin McKenna in action in the 2025 WHL final.

He piled up the trophy case with all sorts of individual honours that season. The honours that came McKenna’s way included being named the recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL player of the year and being named the CHL player of the year. I even had one or two hockey observers tell me they thought McKenna was more NHL ready than phenom centre Connor Bedard was when he joined the Chicago Blackhawks as an 18-year-old.

Due to the fact McKenna didn’t turn 18 until December 20, 2025, he wasn’t eligible for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft that was held June 27 to 28 of that year in Los Angeles, California. Had McKenna been eligible for that draft, he would have been selected first overall.

Back when the Tigers selected McKenna first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, they were expecting to have him for his 18-year-old season due to his December birth date. That all changed on November 7, 2024 when the NCAA Division I Council voted to abolish old rules that classified CHL players as professional.

Starting on August 1, 2025, players from the CHL’s three major junior circuits in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL were eligible to play for NCAA Division I teams. Basically, CHL players will maintain NCAA eligibility as long as they have not signed an entry-level contract with an NHL team.

Since 2021, the NCAA’s guidelines regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) changed, and athletes were now able to make money through NIL deals. With McKenna being viewed in June 2025 as the consensus first overall selection for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the writing was on the wall that NCAA teams were in a recruiting battle to bring him to the United States.

McKenna officially committed to joining the Nittany Lions on July 8, 2025. In July, ESPN reported McKenna’s NIL money for attending Penn State is “in the ballpark” of US$700,000.

It seemed like McKenna was poised to have a dream season with Penn State before joining the NHL. Fairly or unfairly depending on your view, the NIL payout to McKenna brought expectations to perform. He ended up having the most roller-coaster season of his hockey career to date, which inadvertently might prepare him for life with the Leafs.

During the first half of the 2025-26 campaign with the Nittany Lions, McKenna came face to face with tonnes of criticism from media that covers NCAA Division I men’s hockey for being underwhelming. He recorded four goals, 14 assists and a minus-five rating in his first 16 games with Penn State.

Observers that saw McKenna play in the NCAA during that time said he has been outstanding skating on the power play or four-versus-four situations when he has time and space on the ice. The NCAA league is filled with players aged 18 to 23 with the majority being aged 20 to 23 and that changed things for McKenna when it came to five-on-five play.

When it came to McKenna’s five-on-five play going against players who are more physically developed because of their age, observers said McKenna hadn’t been good. Observers noted McKenna has shown a lack of engagement and been unwilling to compete in those situations. The word “passenger” was used to describe McKenna’s effort when it came to five-on-five play.

Gavin McKenna was the CHL player of the year in 2024-25.

The criticisms of McKenna’s play intensified at World Juniors, which were played from December 26, 2025 to this past January 5 in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The criticisms reached their height after Canada fell 6-4 to Czechia in a semifinal contest on January 4 in Saint Paul.

In that loss, McKenna had one assist and took some bad penalties inside the last six minutes of the third period. On the eye test, he didn’t look good during five-on-five play and made business decisions bowing away from spots where he had to compete and battle for the puck. The fact McKenna lost his cool after Czechia’s empty-net goal inside the final 30 seconds of that game where he got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct didn’t help things.

At that point, it was pretty definite McKenna was not a lock to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Skilled forward Ivar Stenberg of Sweden, who played for that country’s Frolunda FC men’s team, and Canadian defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, who is an alum of the WHL’s Victoria Royals and was playing for the NCAA’s University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, entered the chat.

On the ice, the semifinal loss ended up being the turning point of McKenna’s season. It seemed like he was hearing the noise at that point.

In Canada’s 6-3 bronze medal win over Finland one night later in Saint Paul, he looked a lot more dialed in when it came to playing a strong game at both ends of the ice. He finished with one goal and three assists to be named the game MVP for Canada.

In Canada’s seven overall games at World Juniors, McKenna recorded four goals, 10 assists and a plus-seven rating.

During the second half of the Nittany Lions season, he skated in 19 games recording 11 goals, 22 assists and a minus-two rating. On the season in Penn State, McKenna finished with 51 points coming off 15 goals and 36 assists in 35 games to go with a minus-seven rating. The Nittany Lions made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division I championship tournament and fell 3-1 to the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 3-1 at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York on March 27.

Penn State finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 21-14-2 overall record. McKenna was Big Ten Conference Scoring Champion with 38 points coming off 11 goals and 27 assists in 24 conference games. He was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top 10- Finalist amongst the accolades he piled up for the season.

During the second half of the season, McKenna hit a big bump off the ice on January 31 following his team’s 5-4 overtime loss against the Michigan State University Spartans in an outdoor contest played at Beaver Stadium before 74,575 spectators on the Penn State campus.

Following an alleged physical altercation on the evening of January 31 in downtown State College, McKenna was charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanour simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. According to the Onward State media outlet, the incident occurred at 8:45 p.m. in front of the Pugh Street Parking Garage and McKenna and his group were coming from Doggie’s Pub. He was arraigned on February 4 and released on $20,000 unsecure bail.

Gavin McKenna has faced adversity since leaving the Tigers.

On February 6 after reviewing a video of the altercation, Centre County District Attorney and State College Police decided that the video showed there was no evidence that McKenna had acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury and the aggravated assault charge was dropped.

On April 21, Forbes reported McKenna waived his formal arraignment in Pennsylvania court, which is a procedural step that moves his criminal case forward without requiring him to appear in person for that hearing. Basically at that point, the defendant’s lawyer confirmed receipt of the charges and a not guilty plea is generally entered automatically. The Forbes piece said that move is largely for procedural efficiency allowing the case to proceed without an additional court date that rarely changes the direction of the matter.

McKenna’s case has been advanced into the pretrial phase of the criminal process. At this stage, both sides engage in work to see if the matter can be resolved without a trial. Alternative resolutions are also explored at this point.

The Forbes article goes on to say McKenna will raise the self-defence argument as he is facing only misdemeanour charges, and his defence counsel is also likely telling prosecutors that no jury will convict McKenna given the claim that he was acting to protect his mother, Krystal, while also being harassed by the victim along with the fact he is a first time offender.

After that development, Krystal was charged on April 29 with two misdemeanour counts of furnishing alcohol to minors for an alleged incident occurring on the evening of January 31 inside Doggies Pub.

From what I can tell, these legal matters are still ongoing. In the time since Gavin’s initial arrest, I had a couple of folks message me that live in the United States to tell me it is common in that country for people to antagonize celebrities into getting the celebrity to attack them in order to get a big payout in civil court with a lawsuit over physical damages.

Looking at how the case is playing out with the McKenna family, I believe and speculate this whole situation stinks of the victim potentially trying to get a payout from Gavin or law enforcement officers trying to make up for missteps in doing their jobs. Still, I have learned from court reporters over the years to never be certain about the outcomes a court system will give to a case. The McKenna family legal situation has the potential to not go away any time soon and continue to be a pain in the butt dealing with the lesser charges.

In another smaller adversity that came up, Gavin McKenna did take on criticism for deciding against playing for Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Men’s World Championship held this past May 15 to 31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, to better prepare for the NHL Draft Combine. The Combine was held in the KeyBank Center in Buffalo from June 1 to 6, and McKenna finished in the top 10 of five of the fitness tests.

With having to deal with all these adversities in the last 12 months, McKenna might be the most prepared prospect to ever play for the Leafs and the fishbowl that goes with playing in Toronto. He has also traveled a path no other first overall NHL Entry Draft selection has ever had to travel.

McKenna is also a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation citizen, and he became the second Indigenous player to go first overall in the NHL Entry Draft with centre Dale McCourt going to the Detroit Red Wings in 1977. If McKenna flourishes into NHL stardom with the Leafs, he could make a major societal impact in being a major positive influence in Indigenous communities.

Gavin McKenna (#72) celebrates scoring a goal in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

Due to the fact he is going to play in Toronto, it is not naïve to say more adversities are coming McKenna’s way. Those adversities would be hard pressed to be more challenging than the ones he has come across over the past 12 months.

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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