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| Tim Leonard behind the Mintos bench. (Photo courtesy P.A. Mintos) |
As part of the announcement for being part of the 2026 class for the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame, Leonard, who is going into the Hall as a builder, and members of his class were introduced to a crowd of 2,463 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre before a Prince Albert Raiders home WHL regular season contest on February 6. The Raiders hosted the Lethbridge Hurricanes on that night, and it hit Leonard that he coached the head coaches of both teams.
“It is crazy,” said Leonard. “When they brought us out on the ice at the Raider game to introduce everybody that is going in this year, I get out on the ice, and look across at the benches, and there is Ryan McDonald.
“On the other bench where Lethbridge is Matty Anholt, and I coached them both. It was fitting, and it was a great feeling.”
Way back at the start of the 2002-03 campaign, Leonard joined the Prince Albert Mintos Under-18 AAA Team as an assistant coach. He was working on a staff led by head coach Ron Bonneau. One of their first decisions was to offer a roster spot to McDonald, who was an underage 14-year-old centre that came out to Mintos camp just to get some extra skating work.
This story of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.
