U Sports hockey a hidden gem in Canada’s sports scene

The U of S Huskies and Mount Royal University Cougars battle it out.

The Rodney Dangerfield leagues in hockey are those that exist in U Sports.

While it might not totally be accurate to say the men’s and women’s hockey leagues that make up U Sports get no respect, they don’t get the overall love they likely deserve. The coaching in U Sports hockey is as good as you will find anywhere in the sport, and the athletes train at an elite level, are highly skilled and some of the best you will find in the 18 to 26 age group.

It can be argued that the hockey played in U Sports might be the best hockey you will find played at the amateur level in Canada.

On the men’s side the bulk of the rosters for most teams are made up of former players from one of the three major junior leagues that play under the CHL umbrella in the OHL, QMJHL and WHL. Often, those players join their U Sports teams as 21-year-olds and are mature players.

A lot of the top scorers from the CHL don’t automatically move on to the professional level. They will often go the university route to obtain a degree in order to pursue a fallback career before trying to pursue a professional hockey playing career.

In the WHL, players get a year of tuition, compulsory fees and textbooks paid for at a post-secondary institution for every season they spend on that major junior circuit. Players who don’t get drafted by an NHL team or sign with an NHL club as a free agent often decide to go the post-secondary route.

Joelle Fiala in action for the Thunderbirds.

The level of play in U Sports is really high due to the experience of the players. New players find out everyone knows systems play really well, and when you start a rush up ice, everyone is where they are supposed to be and doing what they are supposed to be.

In the major junior ranks, there is constant learning going on with that aspect of the game.

The thing you won’t find in the U Sports ranks that you will in the major junior ranks are players who are first round NHL Entry Draft selections, or players that will become first round NHL Entry Draft selections. On other words, you won’t find Regina Pats phenom centre Connor Bedard or Moose Jaw Warriors star centre Brayden Yager on a U Sports roster.

You will find former CHL stars and standouts on U Sports rosters like WHL alums Riley Sawchuk, Riley Stotts, Jakin Smallwood, Matt Fonteyne, Connor Hobbs, Jared Dmytriw and Carl Tetachuk.

On the women’s side, the bulk of the rosters are made up of the top players that graduate from Canada’s female under-18 AAA ranks right out of high school. Unlike the men’s side, there is no major junior level in Canada for women’s hockey.

The women’s U Sports ranks are missing who would be the equivalent of the first round NHL Entry Draft selections in the female game. Those players usually flock to the NCAA Division I ranks in the United States.

You won’t see Saskatoon products Sophie Shirley or Emily Clark in the U Sports ranks. Shirley is playing through her final season with the University of Wisconsin Badgers having been part of two NCAA championship winning teams in 2019 and 2021.

Jared Dmytriw in action for the Huskies.

Clark also played her university level career with the Badgers and was a member of the NCAA championship team during her final campaign in 2018-19. Clark is best known as a veteran with Canada’s Senior National Women’s team being a part of gold medal winners at worlds in 2021 and 2022 and the Winter Olympics in 2022.

With that noted, players have come back from the NCAA Division I ranks to play in the U Sports women’s ranks. High scoring forward Amy Potomak decided she didn’t want to finish up her university eligibility with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

 The Aldergrove, B.C., product chose to be closer to home and is finishing her final campaign of college eligibility with the Trinity Western University Spartans in Langley, B.C.

Joelle Fiala, who is a forward that plays a gritty and high scoring game, played her first two seasons with the Robert Morris University Colonials. 

After Robert Morris University elected to suspend both its men’s and women’s hockey programs in May of 2021, Fiala, who is from Clavet, Sask., elected to return to Canada and play for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the U Sports ranks.

Many stars and standouts from Canada’s female under-18 AAA ranks remained in Canada and flourished in the U Sports ranks like Tatum Amy, Madison Willan, Hannah Koroll, Abby Soyko and Camryn Drever.

Men’s and women’s U Sports teams will play some of the best hockey seen in Canada often before very little fanfare. Among the 18 teams that make up the Canada West Conference in men’s and women’s play, only five squads averaged more than 300 spectators per game for the 2022-23 regular season that just wrapped up.

Camryn Drever in action for the Huskies.

Those teams include the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, the University of Alberta Golden Bears, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the University of Calgary Dinos on the men’s side along with the U of S Huskies Women’s Team.

The Huskies Men’s Team had the top attendance in Canada West averaging 1,290 spectators per game.

With playoffs set to begin this coming weekend, chances are those attendances should have a little bit of an increase.

With all that noted, those that haven’t seen a U Sports men’s or women’s hockey game are missing out. Those that have made those contests have gotten to witness something special on a nightly basis.

Towriss gets Kinsmen Sportsman of the Year nod, other notes

Brian Towriss keeps piling up accolades.

The accolades are still coming for Brian Towriss.

Back on February 3, the retired University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team head coach was officially recognized as the Kinsmen Sportsman of the Year for 2021. He was one of three Sportsmen of the Year who were honoured at the 61^st annual Saskatoon Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner that was held at TCU Place.

The dinner was held for the first time since February of 2020 after being cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Towriss, who was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017, guided the Huskies as head coach from 1984 to 2016. During that time, Towriss posted a 167-96-1 regular season record and a 29-22 post-season record for a 196-118-1 combined slate.

He guided the Huskies to 11 Canada West Conference titles and three Vanier Cup titles as U Sports champions coming in 1990, 1996 and 1998.

Towriss played defensive tackle for the Huskies from 1974 to 1977. He was an assistant coach with the Huskies from 1980 to 1983 before becoming the team’s head coach.

Dave Moore was named the Sportsman of the Year for 2020 for his lifetime work as a softball umpire and a curling volunteer. Derek Bloski took the honours as the Sportsman of the Year for 2022 for his lifetime work as a hockey official and coach and softball coach.

The U of S Huskies Football Team was named the Kinsmen Team of the Year for 2022. The Huskies topped the Canada West Conference regular season standings with a 7-1 mark, won the Canada West title for a second straight year and advanced to the Vanier Cup for a second straight year.

The Huskies fell in the 2022 Vanier Cup 30-24 to the University Laval Rouge et Or at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. In the 2021 Vanier Cup played at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, the Huskies dropped a 27-21 decision to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.

Emily Clark, who is a veteran forward with Canada’s Senior National Women’s Hockey Team, was named the Kinsmen Athlete of the Year for 2022. In 2022, Clark helped Canada win gold at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, in February.

An Emily Clark hockey card.

At the women’s worlds hosted in late August and early September in 2022 in Herning and Frederikshavn, Denmark, Clark helped Canada win gold at that tourney for a second straight year. This past January, Clark was named Sask Sport’s Female Athlete of the Year for 2022.

Also at the Kinsmen dinner, the Kinsmen Lloyd Saunders Athletic Scholarship Awards were given to soccer player Sophie Lavallee and football player Dawson Lennea.

The $2,000 scholarship is designated to further the recipient’s education at the post-secondary level. Outstanding high school athletic involvement, community involvement and community service are some of the key selection criteria.

Lavallee graduated from Holy Cross High School in June of 2022. In her Grade 12 year at Holy Cross, she was captain of the Crusaders senior girls’ soccer team and led them to city and provincial championships in an undefeated season. Lavallee is attending MacEwan University studying arts and science and is a member of the Griffiths Women’s Soccer Team.

Lennea graduated from Bishop James Mahoney High School in June of 2022. Besides playing football, Lennea also took part in hockey, curling, cross country running, track and field, gold and badminton. He was a member of the Saints Football Team at Bishop James Mahoney.

After his high school graduation, Lennea is continuing his education at the U of S studying in arts and science and is a member of the Huskies Football Team.

The annual Saskatoon Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Dinner brought in a trio of Toronto Blue Jays players as special guests in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alek Manoah and Jordan Romano. Beside the MLB players, Sportsnet broadcaster Jamie Campbell was brought in as a special guest as well.

Other special guests included Saskatchewan born and raised pitchers Andrew Albers and Dustin Molleken, who both pitched in the MLB, along with Brayden Lenius and Derrick Moncrief, who play with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

• On Monday, the WHL announced that former Brandon Wheat Kings head coach, general manager, governor and owner Kelly McCrimmon was named the recipient of the WHL Governors Award. McCrimmon joined the Wheat Kings as an assistant general manager in 1988-89. He became a part owner of the team in 1992-93 and the team’s sole owner in 2000-01. He sold the team following the 2019-20 campaign. McCrimmon is currently the general manager of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.
• Lukas Dragicevic has turned into the player to watch for the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. The 17-year-old defenceman leads the Americans in scoring with 59 points coming off 13 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department. Dragicevic, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 181 pounds, sits second in scoring among WHL defencemen. The Richmond, B.C., product is rated 12^th among North American Skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings.
• On February 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happening blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on baseball player and Saskatoon product Nolan Machibroda signing with the MLB’s Minnesota Twins. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also created a photo roundup that mainly highlighted the busy activity happening at the Clarence Downey Speed Skating Oval and the Indoor Training Centre. That piece can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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