Kyle’s competitive spirit could be seen early on

Soccer star named to Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame

Kaylyn Kyle, left, at an autograph session in June of 2017.

Even as she neared her 16^th birthday, Kaylyn Kyle was the player to watch.

Way before she suited up for Canada’s senior national women’s soccer team as a midfielder helping them win a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London, England, Kyle was in Prince Albert, Sask., in the summer of 2004.

Prince Albert was hosting Soccer Canada’s all-star nationals in the girls’ under-14 and under-16 age categories. Each of Canada’s 10 provinces fielded an all-star team in each of those age categories at that tournament, and a national title was up for grabs in each age category.

Kyle was playing midfield for Saskatchewan’s under-16 team, and a large number of officials from Canada Soccer were at this event to scout players. To be accurate, pretty much all of them were in Prince Albert to see Kyle play.

I covered that competition for the Prince Albert Daily Herald and for a weekly segment I did for Prince Albert’s CTV station.

I went into this event thinking that Prince Albert product Elizabeth Hudon was going to get to turn heads on a national stage in her hometown. She was an elite goal scorer and was the ace striker at age 15 for Saskatchewan’s under-16 team.

Kaylyn Kyle demonstrates a drill at her soccer camp in 2015.

When I started talking to Canada Soccer officials, they all said the player to watch was Kyle.

The Saskatoon product didn’t disappoint, when games hit the pitch. Kyle was by far the best player at that event.

Watching her play in that competition had to be what it was like to watch Sidney Crosby play midget AAA hockey or Connor Bedard play and star for the Regina Pats at age 15 this past season in the WHL.

In the final preliminary round game for Saskatchewan’s under-16 team, they needed to beat Alberta to finish first in their pool and advance to a semifinal contest. Saskatchewan hadn’t experienced a whole lot of success at this event, so this contest against Alberta was a big thing.

While soccer is a team game, confidence was high that the Saskatchewan side could win that contest and advance due to the fact Kyle was playing on the squad.

Just five minutes into that clash with Alberta, Kyle was given a red card for a slide tackle against an Alberta player. A couple of Canada Soccer officials did a visible freak out, because they came to see Kyle and now she was getting kicked out of this contest.

That marked the only time Kyle ever got red carded out of a soccer game. From what I remember of that play, Kyle got the ball first on the tackle and shouldn’t have been carded. It was a bad referee’s call.

Kaylyn Kyle smiles during a break at her soccer camp in 2015.

All these years later, I am going to stick with that story about how I remember that game.

Saskatchewan played the final 85 minutes of that contest a player short and lost by a slim 1-0 margin. Had Kyle not been given a red card, the thought of what might have been had to have been on the minds of anyone associated with the Saskatchewan side.

Saskatchewan’s under-16 concluded the tournament playing a consolation game.

I interviewed Kyle for a tournament wrap up story on the Saskatchewan teams. I asked a question that got jumbled in its presentation.

I asked about the loss to Alberta in the final preliminary round contest, but the question came out in a way that placed blame on Kyle for getting red carded early in that contest. I didn’t want the question to come out that way, but I really did sound like the mean sports reporter in how the question was asked.

Kyle, who was still 15-years-old at that time, didn’t look impressed. It looked like she was getting ready to make a fist to punch me.

She did answer the question. I don’t even remember what the answer to that question was, because that whole exchange was awkward.

In that moment, you saw Kyle’s competitive spirit and her passion even at the young age she was.

Kaylyn Kyle encourages a player at her soccer camp in 2015.

I didn’t have any interactions again with Kyle until six years later in 2010. New interactions came when I first got on Twitter, when that social media platform was still in its relative infancy.

Kyle, who stands 5-foot-8, had become a member of Canada’s senior national women’s soccer team by that time. She was one of the first I ever saw to make real connections with fans via Twitter.

I ended up emailing her through Facebook recalling the story from that time in Prince Albert. She got back to me, and that whole situation became a something we both took with humour now.

I would keep in touch with her via various electronic lines and cross paths with her on three or four occasions.

Thanks to those interactions, my TV at home would be tuned into games involving Canada’s senior national women’s soccer team, because Kyle was on the team. She became a celebrity in the truest sense, and I marveled at how well she carried herself in the spotlight.

I got to spend an afternoon shooting pictures of her hosting a skills camp in Saskatoon at the SaskTel Sports Centre in October of 2015, and that was a pretty fun afternoon.

I enjoyed watching her interact with the youngsters, and she truly wanted to see the players get a little bit better during the short time they were at that camp. Some of the participants had even traveled into town from Winnipeg and Vancouver to be at that camp.

Kaylyn Kyle goes through a drill at her soccer camp in 2015.

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed interacting with Kyle’s parents in father, Doug, and mother, Pat. It was really enjoyable meeting Kaylyn’s older sister, Courtnee, too. At different times over the years, Courtnee helped Kaylyn manage life and the opportunities that came her way away from the game.

On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame announced its class for 2021. Kaylyn Kyle was named to the class in the athlete category along with Moose Jaw’s Justin Abdou in wrestling, Fillmore’s Rod Boll in trapshooting, Porcupine Plain’s Colette Bourgonje in track and cross-country skiing and Humboldt’s Lyndon Rush in bobsleigh.

Former Canadian senior national women’s hockey team head coach Shannon Miller, who was born in Tisdale and raised in Melfort, enters the Hall in the builders’ category. Miller played hockey for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the early 1980s.

The team inductees included the 2000-01 University of Regina Cougars Women’s Basketball team, who won a U Sports national title, and 2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders, who won the Grey Cup at their iconic home park of Taylor Field.

This class was selected in 2020, but the class announcement and induction was postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world. 

Kaylyn Kyle gives feedback to a player at her soccer camp in 2015.

While the 2021 class was named, there won’t be an official induction this year.

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame will do the official enshrinement at an appropriate time that allows for safe communal gatherings while following all provincial health guidelines.

Kyle played one season in 2006 in the U Sports ranks for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Soccer team before opportunities in Canada Soccer’s women’s national team system and the professional ranks came calling.

She retired from playing in 2017.

These days, Kyle is a television soccer host and analyst based out of Miami, Florida, and she is one of the best in those roles.

She is married to English professional soccer player Harrison Heath, who is also a midfielder. The couple has two sons aged three and six-months.

Throughout her career, Kyle has represented her teams and herself with passion, grace and class. She seemed comfortable being in the spotlight.

Due to the fact how often she had to play in the United Kingdom and Europe, that spotlight included being photographed by tabloid publications in those places. 

Kaylyn Kyle, left, takes questions at her soccer camp in Oct. 2015.

The tabloids in the United Kingdom and Europe love to play up attractive female athletes in a tabloid style way, and it is safe to say those publications will never change.

Kyle handled that attention with an amazing amount of grace and class.

It was spectacular for me to see her become an outstanding ambassador representing soccer in Canada, and she still represents the game well as a broadcaster.

I’m happy that old awkward 2004 interview in Prince Albert is just a humourous story to tell now.

P.A. gets third crack as Esso Cup hosts, other notes

The Bears celebrate an OT home win in November of 2020.

Fingers crossed the third time will be a charm for the Prince Albert Northern Bears when it comes to hosting the Esso Cup.

The Bears were supposed to host the national female under-18 AAA hockey championship tournament in 2020 and this past April. Both times, the Esso Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world.

This past Tuesday, Hockey Canada announced the Bears will host the 2022 Esso Cup, which is slated to run April 17-23 that year at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, which can hold 3,289 spectators.

Hockey Canada also announced that same day the Estevan Bruins will host the junior A hockey national championship tournament – the Centennial Cup – in 2022. The 2022 Centennial Cup is slated to run May 20 to 29 of that year at Affinity Place.

On the Esso Cup front, the Bears deserve to host nationals as they have been one of the strongest female under-18 programs in Saskatchewan dating back to the inaugural season of the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League in 2006-07.

The Bears won league titles in 2009 and 2017 and appeared in the 2017 Esso Cup. They have a loyal following in “Hockey Town North.”

After Hockey Canada cancelled all its nationals for a second straight year, there had to be some uneasiness about Prince Albert getting awarded the Esso Cup for a third straight year.

Lloydminster, which sits on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, was originally slated to host the Esso Cup in 2022.

Brooklin Fry in action for the Bears in November of 2020.

Hockey Canada could have decided to go with host centres that were already decided for 2022 before coming back to centres like Prince Albert, which had lost out on hosting nationals twice due to factors beyond anyone’s control.

Hockey Canada gets kudos for ensuring Prince Albert would still get its turn to host the Esso Cup.

With the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts that are happening across Canada, it is reasonable to believe the 2022 Esso Cup will run when it is scheduled to run. When Hockey Canada made its announcement for host centres for its 2021 nationals, actually dates for those events were never announced.

When time for Hockey Canada’s 2022 national championship tournaments roll around, public health orders and travel restrictions have a good chance of being a thing of the past.

In 2020-21, the Bears themselves only got to play four regular season games posting a 3-1 record before new public health orders to combat COVID-19 put that campaign on ice permanently.

The Bears will get to celebrate a return to hockey. The Esso Cup will likely be one of the things Prince Albert as a community gets to rally around in a return to more normal times.

• On Tuesday, Major Series Lacrosse in Ontario and the Western Lacrosse Association in British Columbia in consultation with Lacrosse Canada cancelled their 2021 seasons and the Mann Cup national men’s senior box lacrosse championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the second straight year those lacrosse campaigns were cancelled due to the pandemic.
• Tickets are on sale for the May jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. The draw date will be May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Thursday, the WHL’s Everett Silvertips announced they won’t be extending the contract for the team’s standout general manager in Garry Davidson and said the 70-year-old is departing the organization effective immediately. Davidson became the Silvertips general manager in February of 2012. Since that time, the Silvertips have finished first in the U.S. Division on five occasions. They reached the WHL Championship series in 2018 falling in six games to the Swift Current Broncos. In the WHL’s 2020-21 developmental season, the Silvertips topped the U.S. Division with a 19-4 record. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc on the last two WHL campaigns preventing any post-season action from taking place. The Silvertips release stated, “The past two seasons have necessitated the restructuring of Silvertips hockey operations, and this process is ongoing. The Silvertips remain focused on the long-term on-ice and business success for our players, fans, partners, sponsors and our ownership.”
• Back on May 13, the OHL announced it planned to open its upcoming 2021-22 regular season on October 7. The OHL is slated to host the 2022 CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. In that May 13 release, the OHL said the 2022 Memorial Cup is slated to be held June 2 to 12 of that year. The OHL wasn’t able to play at all in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This past week, I learned I came in third for the Best Sports Story award given out by the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association. The awards were announced May 17. The story that I wrote that came in third appeared in the Davidson Leader, and it was entitled “Hockey Day in Hanley.” Two of my buds took the second and first place spots. Brad Brown came in second with his “Gray’s diamonds are forever” story published in his Quad Town Forum. Lucas Punkari came in first with his “The end of an era” story that appeared in Prince Albert Rural Roots, which was about the Beardy’s Blackhawks final game in the Saskatchewan Male under-18 AAA Hockey League.
• On Friday, the WWE announced it will return to live event touring with a 25-city schedule. The tour begins on July 16 with a taping of Smackdown at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The second event is on July 18 and it will be the Money In the Bank pay per view to be hosted at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. On July 19, there will be a taping of RAW at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The other tour stops are still to be announced. The WWE hasn’t toured since early March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the fact the WWE’s weekly RAW, NXT and Smackdown television programs are the main thing that drives its business machine, it is interesting to see when that sports entertainment company hits the road. The RAW and Smackdown shows have been filmed before a virtual video screen audience since about the start of August 2020 in Tampa, Florida. NXT shows have been taped with a limited crowd of about 200 in Orlando, Florida.
• There are times Twitter can suspend an account, where it falls into the department of being an overreaction. This past Tuesday, the Era_of_Bliss account, which is a fan account of WWE superstar Alexa Bliss, was suspended by Twitter for violating Twitter rules. The account was suspended regarding copyright of music usage for a tweet that was posted in June of 2018 regarding UFC 225 that wished luck to fighter CM Punk. The Era_of_Bliss account, which had over 24,000 followers, was very active, so it is crazy to thing someone mined for that tweet from about three years ago. The person who runs the Era_of_Bliss account is a 20-year-old university student, who opened the account while still in high school in February of 2018. The account owner has followed Bliss since her first appearances as a performer on NXT in a glitter fairy gimmick in 2014. Bliss herself even followed the Era_of_Bliss account. The Era_of_Bliss account was fun, and it was not malicious. No money was made operating the Era_of_Bliss account. I hope the owner is able to get that account back.

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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