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| Luke Prokop controls the puck at the point for the Oil Kings. |
That was a quote said by Edmonton Oil Kings star defenceman Luke Prokop during a conversational interview conducted by sports broadcaster and pro-wrestling celebrity Renee Paquette that also featured Ethan Bear, Saroya Tinker and Natalie Spooner. The interview was broadcast on the social media and web platforms overseen by the company Uninterrupted, which is an athlete empowerment brand founded by Lebron James and Maverick Carter that features videos from the perspective of athletes.
The conversation interview conducted by Paquette with the four hockey players focused on their journeys in the sport and inclusivity in the game. The conversation segment closed with Prokop saying that quote with the hopes it would be something positive the others could take with them.
On July 19, 2021, Prokop, who was still with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen and 19-years-old at the time, became with first WHL and CHL player to come out as gay. His announcement gained much greater attention due to the fact he was selected by the Nashville Predators in the third round and 73rd overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft held on October 6 and 7 of that year.
The Predators proceeded to sign Prokop to a three-year NHL entry-level contract on December 9, 2020.
When Prokop came out that he was gay, he became the first active player with an NHL contract to do so.
Since his announcement on July 19, 2021, Prokop has become an advocate and spokesperson for more inclusivity in the game. He has done all sorts of thoughtful interviews regarding his coming out announcement in various media outlets.
On Monday, Prokop, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 220 pounds, became a WHL champion. He helped his hometown Oil Kings blank the Seattle Thunderbirds 2-0 in Game 6 of the WHL Final before 7,185 spectators at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
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| Luke Prokop fires a shot on goal for the Oil Kings. |
Away from the ice, Prokop, who turned 20-years-old in early May, has received massive praise and great support for his coming out announcement. He said in interviews the reaction has been better than he imagined.
On the ice after he made his coming out announcement, Prokop had a career campaign in the WHL and a season that was better than anyone imagined. While he can play a heavy game in the physicality department, it was obvious Prokop was more comfortable in his own skin as his offensive game really came around at the major junior level.
He started the 2021-22 campaign with the Hitmen, who had selected Prokop in the first round and seventh overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. Prokop was an assistant captain with the Hitmen and opened the season posting one goal, one assist and a minus-three rating in the plus-minus department in three games with Calgary side that was in a reload phase.
While it was evident early on the 2021-22 campaign was going to be one of building for the future for the Hitmen, it was also evident it would be an “all in” campaign for the Oil Kings when it came to winning a WHL title and possibly the Memorial Cup as CHL champions.
The Memorial Cup tournament to determine a CHL champion will be held in Saint John, N.B., and it begins this coming Monday with a clash between the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs and the host Saint John Sea Dogs. The Oil Kings begin play at the tournament this coming Tuesday taking on the QMJHL champion Shawinigan Cataractes.
The Oil Kings targeted Prokop as someone they wanted to acquire to bolster their roster. On October 13, 2021, they acquired him in a trade with the Hitmen sending 18-year-old defencemen Keagan Slaney and Blake Heward with a second round selection in the 2022 WHL Prospect Draft and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft to Calgary.
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| Luke Prokop is on the Oil Kings top defensive pairing. |
In 55 regular season games with the Oil Kings, Prokop recorded 10 goals 23 assists and a plus-38 rating. Combined with his totals from his three games with the Hitmen, Prokop had a career season in all statistical categories.
He helped the Oil Kings finish second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 50-14-3-1 record and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 rankings release on April 20.
Prokop helped the Oil Kings roll through the WHL Playoffs with a 16-3 record with the Thunderbirds providing the biggest challenge in the WHL Final. In the Oil Kings 19 playoff games, Prokop posted four goals, 12 assists and a plus-23 rating.
His most memorable outing came in Game 2 of the WHL Championship Series. With the Thunderbirds having claimed Game 1 of the set 2-1, Prokop had two goals and two assists to push the Oil Kings past the Thunderbirds 5-4 in Game 2 before 10,290 spectators at Rogers Place.
With the two sides locked in a 4-4 tie with 11:14 remaining in the third period, Prokop let loose with an off-speed point shot that was deflected home by Oil Kings right-winger Brendan Kuny for the winning tally. The win allowed the Oil Kings to tie the series up at 1-1 before eventually taking the series in six games.
Following Game 6 last Monday, Prokop got to skate around the Rogers Place ice surface with the Ed Chynoweth Cup as a WHL champion.
Before the WHL Championship Series rolled around, Prokop was named the winner of the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year for his community work with the LGBTQ2S+ community and playing a vital role in the development of the Oil Kings first Pride Day Game help on April 9 at Rogers Place.
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| Luke Prokop (#6) celebrates a goal with the Oil Kings. |
You can expect he will continue to be a stellar ambassador for inclusivity.
On the ice, it would not be a surprise to see Prokop come through in a key moment to help the Oil Kings win the Memorial Cup.
For Prokop, it seems like more moments that are better than anyone can imagine are possible.
Allan, Molendyk off to Hockey Canada camps
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| Nolan Allan will attend Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Camp. |
Allan, who is entering his 19-year-old season with the Raiders, will take part in Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Camp that runs July 23-27 in Calgary, Alta. The Davidson, Sask., product will trying to better his case to make the roster for Canada’s entry that will play at the world juniors that are held December 26, 2022 to January 5, 2023 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.
Last season, Allan appeared in 65 regular season games with the Raiders posting seven goals, 34 assists and a minus-four rating in the plus-minus department. Allan helped Canada win gold at the world under-18 championships in 2021.
Former Blades centre Colton Dach, who is entering his 19-year-old season with the Kelowna Rockets, and Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman and Saskatoon product Kevin Korchinski, who will be entering his 18-year-old campaign this coming season, were also invited to Canada’s National Junior Team Summer Camp.
A trio of WHL head coaches will help run the junior team summer camp including Shaun Clouston of the Kamloops Blazers, Brent Kisio of the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Brad Lauer of the Edmonton Oil Kings.
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| Tanner Molendyk is going to Canada’s under-18 selection camp. |
Last season as a 16-year-old rookie, Molendyk appeared in 55 regular season games for the Blades posting three goals, 15 assists and a minus-six rating.
The under-18 camp invites also includes Saskatoon area forwards Riley Heidt, who plays for the Prince George Cougars, and Brayden Yager, who plays for the Moose Jaw Warriors along with Tanner Howe, who is a forward from Prince Albert who plays for the Regina Pats. Saskatoon product and defenceman Caden Price, who plays for the Kelowna Rockets, also received an under-18 camp invite.
Rockets head coach Kris Mallette is an assistant coach for Canada’s under-18 team, while Raiders goaltending coach Kelly Guard is a goaltending consultant for the under-18 team. Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt is part of the management group for the under-18 squad.
Valkyries WWCFL semi will be team’s Teal
Game, other notes
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| The Valkyries will host a WWCFL semifinal on Sunday. |
On Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Valkyries (5-0) will host the Edmonton Storm (3-1) in a WWCFL semifinal. That contest will be the Valkyries Teal Game in support of Ovarian Cancer Canada.
The Valkyries are partnering with the Ovarian Cancer Walk of Hope committee in Saskatoon to raise awareness for this disease. Information about Ovarian Cancer will be available at the game.
The winner of the clash between the Valkyries and Storm advances to the WWCFL Championship game to be held on Saturday, June 25 at 7 p.m. at SMF Field.
- On Tuesday, the Regina Pats signed 15-year-old forward Cole Temple to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Pats selected Temple in the first round and fifth overall in the WHL Prospects Draft held this past May. This past season, Temple had 58 goals and 50 assists in 28 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings under-15 AAA team. His 108 points led the Under-15 Winnipeg AAA Hockey League in scoring.
- On Wednesday, the Pats signed forward Corban Almen, who will turn 15-years-old in late August, to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Pats selected Almen in the second round and 31st overall in the WHL Prospects Draft that was held this past May. This past season, Almen, who is from Saskatoon, collected 55 goals and 37 assists in 31 games with his hometown Saskatoon Outlaws under-15 AA team. He also appeared in six games with the Saskatoon Blazers under-18 AAA team as an associate player call up picking up a pair of goals and one assist.
- On Thursday, the Saskatoon Blades signed 15-year-old defenceman Jordan Martin to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Blades selected Martin in the second round and 41st overall in the WHL Prospects Draft held this past May. This past season, Martin had seven goals and 21 assists playing in 24 games with the Yale Hockey Academy under-15 prep team in Abbotsford, B.C.
- Going into this year’s Memorial Cup tournament that starts on Monday, the WHL championship team at that event has lost 13 straight games. The last time a WHL champion posted a win at the Memorial Cup came back on May 29, 2015, when the Kelowna Rockets hammered the host Remparts 9-3 in Quebec City, Quebec, in a semifinal contest. The Edmonton Oil Kings will try to end that streak and their first chance comes up on Tuesday, when they face the QMJHL champion Shawinigan Cataractes. The Red Deer Rebels won two games as the Memorial Cup host team in 2016 and the Pats won three games as the Memorial Cup host club in 2018.
- Did you know the NHL Gaming World Championship has a US$100,000 prize pool? The competition features the top EA Sports NHL 22 players in North American and Europe. Players can play the game on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Playstation 4 and Playstation 5.
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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