Wednesday 16 October 2019

Klassen talks and walks a good game for Huskies

Colton Klassen (#7) breaks away from U of Calgary defenders.
    Colton Klassen is the sparkplug that fires the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team into action.
    The fourth-year star utility player has seemingly done everything that has been asked of him since he joined the Dogs. On offence, he can run the ball as a running back, block as a fullback and be a threat at any receiver in the passing game. The graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team returns kickoffs and punts too.
    The 23-year-old sets the tone and energy level for the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, and is seemingly always on the go. He will be trying to do that again on Saturday, when the Huskies (4-2) travel to Vancouver, B.C., to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (1-5) for a U Sports regular season clash.
    Klassen enjoys engaging the opposition verbally, which is a characteristic fans often notice.
    “I’ve always been a chatty kind of guy,” said Klassen. “I find when I am playing and I am chatty and I am getting vocal I am playing better.
Colton Klassen breaks downfield after making a catch.
    “I know (Huskies head coach Scott) Flory doesn’t love it, but I know when I am chatty I usually have a decent game.”
    Klassen loves to be one of the vocal types that pumps his team up. He believes he brings an aspect that is needed on a team.
    The sure handed pass catcher said a football team needs all sorts of different personality types to be able to succeed.
    “Not everyone can be chatty, but you got to have a couple of guys or a few guys that are,” said Klassen, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 200 pounds. “It is good to have those silent types too that show with their play, but I think that it is good to have guys that are vocal too.
    “I’m definitely one of the vocal guys on this team.”
    Klassen genuinely loves the sport of football too. He began playing at age 10 in Saskatoon’s Kinsmen Football League with the Raiders playing on defence.
    After his time in Saskatoon’s minor football ranks, Klassen starred for four seasons from 2010 to 2013 with the Crusaders. From, he played two campaigns in 2014 and 2015 with the CJFL’s Regina Thunder.
Colton Klassen led the Huskies in receiving last season.
    In 2015, Klassen was named the offensive player of the year for the Prairie Football Conference leading the conference with 911 yards rushing coming on 117 carries and scoring five touchdowns.
    Klassen said there are a lot of aspects to football that draws him to the game.
    “I think it is physicality and just the different positions,” said Klassen, who coaches six-on-six inner city youth football in Saskatoon. “You can’t just be one dimensional.
    “You have you O-line and your D-line your big, strong, physical guys. Then you have your receivers and your running backs who are quick and twitchy little guys. There is just so much going on when I think of the game.
    “I love the physicality of it is the biggest thing that caught my attention, when I was younger. That is why I am still playing it I think.”
    He was a big fan of the Huskies football team growing up, so jumped at the opportunity to join the team when legendary now retired head coach Brian Towriss came calling.
Colton Klassen leads the Huskies in receiving this season.
    “I always wanted to play Huskies since I was little,” said Klassen. “The Regina Thunder gave me a great opportunity to develop and grow as an athlete and just get bigger, stronger and faster.
    “As soon as our second season ended, I got the opportunity from Brian Towriss and (then special team coordinator) Brian Guebert at the time to come play Huskies. It was always a childhood dream, so when they gave me the opportunity I really couldn’t say no.”
    Klassen came to the Huskies as a running back in 2016 and led the team in rushing in 2017 carrying the ball 76 times for 395 yards and three touchdowns.
    Due to the fact the Huskies had a logjam at running back in 2018 with Tyler Chow suiting up for his fifth and final season and Adam Machart coming into his first campaign, Klassen was moved out to receiver.
Colton Klassen will play wherever he is asked to play.
    He led the Huskies with 676 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches coming on 38 receptions. For his efforts, Klassen was named a Canada West Conference all-star.
    Klassen played a key role in helping the Huskies winning the Hardy Cup last season as Canada West Conference champions breaking a drought that spanned back to 2006. They downed the University of Calgary Dinos 43-18 in the Hardy Cup title game.
    Going into the playoffs last season, the Huskies were trying to end a streak of losing eighth straight post-season games.
    “When I was younger, I remember coming to games with my grandpa or my parents,” said Klassen. “Looking back on it, winning the Hardy Cup last year was huge, because it has been so long since we’ve even won a playoff game let alone the Hardy Cup.
    “It is kind of surreal to think about it sometimes that I ended up here, and I am still playing and healthy. I’m just pretty blessed.”
    Flory, who is both the Huskies head coach and offensive coordinator, came up with the idea of moving Klassen to receiver in order to get Klassen’s talents on the field.
Colton Klassen holds on to a catch after taking a hit.
    “He (Klassen) is a running back by nature,” said Flory. “We have him at the slot.
    “We use him in different formations, and we can put him into the backfield. You can do a lot of things with a guy like that, and he is physical and he is fast.”
    Back on May 11 in Ottawa, Ont., Klassen helped Team West post a 35-17 victory in the East-West Bowl, which is an all-star game for top U Sports football prospects. He had five catches for 100 yards and ran back three kickoffs for 55 yards.
    So far this season, Klassen is again leading the Huskies in receiving catching 33 passes for 398 yards and two touchdowns. He has run the ball seven times for 60 yards.
Colton Klassen returns a kick for the Huskies.
    On special teams, Klassen tops the Huskies with 208 yards in punt returns coming on 17 opportunities. He has returned three kickoffs for 46 yards.
    He is happy he has been able to have a big impact in contests especially in the passing game.
    “It has worked out,” said Klassen. “I went out to East/West and played there and did well.
    “Flory is a guy you have to trust, because he knows best for what is best for the team. I’m really thankful that he moved me there, because I’ve definitely grown as a player. It has definitely made me a lot more versatile.”
    With the Huskies having two regular season games remaining before the start of playoffs, Klassen wants to be part of another long post-season run. 
Colton Klassen (#7) aims to celebrate more big plays with the Huskies.
    He wants the Huskies to break thru and win the Vanier Cup as U Sports national champions for the first time since 1998. U of S claimed the Vanier Cup in 1990 and 1996 as well.
    Since that last Huskies victory in the Vanier Cup, the Canada West Conference champ has only won the U Sports national title on two occasions coming with the University of Manitoba Bisons in 2007 and the Thunderbirds in 2015.
    Klassen believes the Huskies can pull off that feat this season.
    “You know what, we’re not satisfied with last year,” said Klassen. “It is awesome to look at after losing the Mitchell Bowl.
    “We want to host a home playoff game this year, and we want to bring home a Vanier Cup. I know right now that is my goal and that is the whole team’s goal as well.”

Shirley’s sick snipe highlight of the past week

Abby Shirley had a beauty winning snipe for the Huskies.
    Abby Shirley had a sick winning snipe that was worthy of the highlight of the night and week reels for most sports shows.
    Last Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, the third-year forward netted the winning goal for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in a 2-1 victory over the University of Alberta Pandas from what seemed like an impossible angle in a U Sports regular season contest.
    With the teams locked in a 1-1 tie in the third period, Shirley had the puck just below and to the left of the dot of the left faceoff circle in the Pandas zone.  The 20-year-old roofed home the winning goal to the top left corner of the Pandas’ net popping the water bottle with 10:36 remaining to play in the frame.
    Shirley has shown she has the accuracy to make those types of snipes. She does needs to find opportunities to use her shot a little more.
    Shirley has eight goals in 55 career regular season games with the Huskies and two of her tallies have come in four appearances this season.
    Hopefully, Shirley will be encouraged to shoot more after her goal against the Pandas.
    During her final season in the female midget AAA ranks with the Saskatoon Stars in 2016-17, Shirley piled up 14 goals and 18 assists in 25 regular season games.
    She still has the offensive potential to make a difference for the Huskies. The Huskies (2-1-1) return to action on Friday, when they travel to Lethbridge, Alta., to take on the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (3-1).

Expect Huskies men’s hockey to rebound from 0-3-1 start

Expect Collin Shirley (#11) and the Huskies to rebound from a slow start.
    It is still early, but it is weird to see the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team sitting second last in the Canada West Conference.
    After four games, the Huskies have an 0-3-1 record to sit seventh in the eight-team conference. If the post-season started today, the Huskies would be on the outside looking in.
    With all that noted, it would be unwise to expect the Huskies to miss the post-season. They have made the playoffs for 23 straight campaigns and have usually battled for first or second place in the conference over most of that stretch.
    They have battled injuries on defence, which has caused them to struggle for numbers during their first two games on the back end.
    Last weekend, the Huskies were swept by their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton.
    In the second of those two contests played last Saturday, the Huskies battled hard before falling 3-2 in double overtime.
    U of S is starting to get players back on the back end and dressed a full complement of six defencemen in the setback last Saturday to the Golden Bears.
    Still, the Huskies were without Sam Ruopp and Colby Harmsworth on defence due to injury. Both log a lot of ice time, and the Huskies will be a lot better, when they return.
    Overall, the Huskies have too many veterans to fold up and fade away. Guys like captain Tanner Lishchynsky, Levi Cable, Logan McVeigh, Kohl Bauml, Andrew Johnson, Jordan Tkatch, Carson Stadnyk, Wyatt Johnson and Collin Shirley have been through way to many U Sports battles to be counted out.
    The Dogs are still backed by a star netminder in Taran Kozun and sound backup in Travis Child.
    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday, when they host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (3-1) at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Chances are high this will be the start of the turnaround for the Huskies.

Off the Leash Luncheon featuring Chelios set for Nov. 7


    A defenceman that seemed destined to play in the NHL forever will be the guest speaker for the 11th annual Off the Leash Luncheon .
    Former star NHL defenceman Chris Chelios will be speaker at the annual fundraiser for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team, which is set for Thursday, Nov. 7 at 11:30 a.m. at Prairieland Park.
    Chelios played 26 seasons beginning in 1983-84 to 2009-10 in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Atlanta Thrashers.
    He appeared in 1,651 regular season games collecting 185 goals and 763 assists for 948 points. Chelios was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 and helped his teams win the Stanley Cup on three occasions.
    Before his days in the professional ranks started, Chelios played two seasons in the junior A ranks for the new defunct Moose Jaw Canucks from 1979 to 1981. He skated in 108 regular season games posting 35 goals and 96 assists for 131 points.
    Comedian Kelly Taylor is back to be the master of ceremonies for the Off the Leash Luncheon for the ninth time.
    Anyone looking for tickets for the Off Leash Luncheon can purchase them 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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