Raiders’ Protas picks up WHL Eastern Conference sportsmanship award

Aliaksei Protas won a WHL Eastern Conference award.

    Aliaksei Protas has continued to rise during his two seasons in the WHL, and it has resulted in a conference award nod.

    On Wednesday, the Belarusian import centre with the Prince Albert Raiders was named the most sportsmanlike player from the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Western Conference’s most sportsmanlike player honour went to Seth Jarvis, who is a centre for the Portland Winterhawks.

    Protas had a stellar sophomore season with the Raiders leading in the team in scoring with 31 goals and 59 assists for 80 points in 58 regular season games. Out of his 31 goals, seven were game winners.
    He posted a plus-37 rating in the plus-minus department and just eight minutes in penalties.

    A signed NHL Entry Draft selection of the Washington Capitals, Protas is eligible to return to the WHL for a 19-year-old campaign next season.

    Protas joined to the Raiders after being selected in the first round and 26^th overall in the 2018 CHL Import Draft.
    Standing 6-foot-6 and weigh 210 pounds, Protas came to the Raiders with impressive physical tools and soft hands in the offensive zone.

Aliaksei Protas (#21) picked up 59 assists this season.

    As he got used to a new culture in Canada, Protas had a sound rookie regular season in 2018-19 posting 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-24 rating in 61 regular season games. The Raiders finished first overall in the regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2.

    The product of Vitebsk, Belarus, became a fan favourite as rookie campaign went on, and he picked up the nickname “The Viper of Vitebsk.”

    The 2018-19 regular season was just a small precursor of what was in store for Protas in the post-season.

    In the 2019 WHL playoffs, Protas turned a lot of heads with a number of big performances playing left wing on a line centred by overager Sean Montgomery and Brett Leason staring on right wing.
    Protas appeared in all 23 of the games the Raiders played in the WHL playoffs piling up 12 goals, 10 assists and a plus-12 rating.

Aliaksei Protas topped the Raiders in scoring with 80 points.

    He played a sizable role in helping the Raiders win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions for the second time in team history and appearing in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

    In the NHL Entry Draft in June of 2019, the Capitals selected Protas in the third round and 91^st overall. The Capitals has selected Leason in the second round and 56^th overall in that same draft.

    Leason was signed by the Capitals and played this past season with their AHL affiliate the Hersey Bears.

    After all those experiences as a rookie, Protas came back to the Raiders with added jump and confidence.

    Having helped the Raiders finish first in the East Division with a 36-18-6-4 record, Protas was named a WHL Eastern Conference first team all-star last week. His season allowed him to have his name inscribed on the Raiders’ Dave Balon Leading Scorer Award, which was officially presented online on Tuesday.

    Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Raiders weren’t able to finish their regular season schedule and the CHL cancelled all its post-season action for all three of its member leagues including the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.

Aliaksei Protas (#21) celebrated lots of goals with his Raiders teammates.

    The Raiders have handed out three more of their team awards so far this week. Sophomore centre Ozzy Wiesblatt took home the Three Stars Award on Tuesday.

    On Wednesday, the Raiders named rookie defencemen Nolan Allan and Landon Kosior as the co-winners of the Belle Merrell and Calla Grasley Award as the team’s scholastic player of the year.

    Also on Wednesday, overage defenceman Jeremy Masella captured the Travis Laycock Award as the team’s humanitarian of the year.

    For Protas, he cemented himself as one of the WHL’s top players in 2019-20. He has the potential to have even better days in the sport of hockey in the years to come.

Hurricanes get two conference front office awards, other notes

Hurricanes GM Peter Anholt, left, was named a top executive.

    As the WHL has continued to roll out its major conference awards online, the Lethbridge Hurricanes took a couple of big honours as far as front office work goes.

    On Tuesday, Hurricanes general manager and alternate governor Peter Anholt was named the executive of the year for the Eastern Conference. Anholt has been with the Hurricanes since the start of the 2014-15 campaign and played a major role in turning the Hurricanes around from being one of the WHL worst franchises into a club that now enjoys elite status.

    This season, the Hurricanes posted a 37-19-2-5 record to finish third in the WHL’s Central Division and eighth overall in the entire league standings. The Hurricanes had locked up a playoff berth for a fifth straight year before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the final part of the regular season and the entire post-season for all CHL leagues.

    Anholt selected Slovakian left-winger Oliver Okuliar in the first round and 49^th overall in the 2019 CHL Import Draft. The 19-year-old finished second in Hurricanes team scoring with 33 goals and 35 assists for 68 points in 55 regular season games to go with a plus-25 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Anholt acquired overage centre Brett Davis in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels to help boost the Hurricanes scoring. In 57 regular season games played between the Rebels and Hurricanes, Davis had 25 goals and 24 assists.

    Anholt brought in depth right-winger Dino Kambeitz to further solidify the Hurricanes offence. The veteran GM added local Lethbridge products in left-winger Zack Stringer and netminder Erick Roest via separate WHL Bantam Drafts.

Zack Stringer was a big local WHL Bantam Draft pick by the Hurricanes.

    Stringer had a solid campaign as a 16-year-old rookie netting 11 goals, 23 assists and a plus-13 rating in 48 regular season games. Roest will attempt to crack the team’s roster next season as a 16-year-old rookie in goal.

    On Friday, the Hurricanes claimed the Eastern Conference business award. The Hurricanes have tried out new things like having intermission segments with skaters dressed in dinosaur costumes and providing more features on their website.

    They strive to give back to the community contributing over $163,000 to communities and organizations in Lethbridge and surrounding area.

    Matt Bardsley, who is the vice-president and general manager of the Kamloops Blazers, was named the Western Conference executive of the year on Friday. Bardsley helped build the Blazers roster and revamp the coaching staff by bringing in Shaun Clouston as head coach to allow the Kamloops club to top the B.C. Division with a 41-18-3-1 mark.

    The Seattle Thunderbirds claimed the Western Conference business award on Friday.

    On Monday, Edmonton Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer was named the coach of the year for the Eastern Conference. Lauer guided the Oil Kings to the best record in the Eastern Conference and third best overall mark in the league at 42-12-6-4.

    Everett Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams was named the Western Conference’s coach of the year on Monday. Williams guided the Silvertips to the second best record in the WHL at 46-13-3-1.

• On Monday, the XFL filed for bankruptcy citing in a release the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The XFL suspended operations on March 12 and laid off most of its employees on Friday. The 2020 campaign was the first of a rebooted XFL and drew a high amount of positive reviews. A rowdy version of the league ran for one season in 2001. The XFL was owned by WWE chairman/president Vince McMahon and Alpha Entertainment. On Wednesday, the WWE laid off a significant number of its performers.
• The 2020 Saskatoon Fringe Festival became a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday, when it was cancelled. The Fringe Festival was slated to run July 30 to August 8.
• Canada Basketball announced on Tuesday its under-15 and under-17 men’s and women’s national championships set for Aug. 2-9 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kingston, Ont., was slated to host the men’s under-15 and under-17 tournaments. Charlottetown, P.E.I., was set to host the women’s under-15 and under-17 tournaments.
• The Canadian Elite Basketball League announced on Wednesday its original regular season start in May had been pushed back to June due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A league release cited government regulations currently limiting the size of public gatherings and causing the closures of team practice facilities as the reasons for the schedule change. The regular season was originally slated to start on May 7 with the Niagara River Lions hosting the Ottawa Blackjacks. The Saskatchewan Rattlers won last year’s inaugural CEBL championship.
• The Thursday edition of the weekly Quad Town Forum is online, and the Vibank, Sask., publication is well worth the read. Brad Brown, who is the publisher and owner of the Forum, has a great tribute piece on late Edmonton Oilers system forward Colby Cave. As a staffer for the Prairie Post in Swift Current, Brown covered Cave during part of the two-way player’s time with the WHL’s Broncos from 2012 to 2014. Brown typed out a good piece on Prince Albert Raiders 17-year-old rookie defenceman Landon Kosior. I contributed a piece on Saskatchewan Roughriders star left guard Brendon LaBatte. The online version of the Quad Town Forum can be found by clicking right here.
• The feel good tweet of the week so far comes from University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team head coach Lisa Thomaidis. She shared a short video put together by team video coach Connor Jay of the squad’s U Sports national title win on March 8. The Huskies downed the Brock University Badgers 82-64 in the national final held in Ottawa, Ont.

It's been 5 weeks since our @USPORTSca National Championship. So grateful to @CJ7Ten for capturing our @HuskieWBB "One Shining Moment" in such a beautiful way. @HuskieAthletics ` pic.twitter.com/GmPVRVrCz1

— Lisa Thomaidis (@LisaThomaidis) April 14, 2020

    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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Raiders hammer Hitmen 8-3

The Raiders celebrate one of their eight goals on Tuesday.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - The Prince Albert Raiders delivered a technical knockout to the Calgary Hitmen.

    On Tuesday before 2,481 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raider stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and romped to an 8-3 victory in a WHL regular season clash between the two sides. The win was a third straight for the defending WHL champions who improved to 35-17-5-4 to sit five points up on the Brandon Wheat Kings (34-21-4-2) for first in the East Division.

    “I liked our energy,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, whose team was playing their fourth game in five days. “Their goalie had a tough night to be fair.

    “I thought we were on the puck. Our ability to get the puck back when we lost it in our end I thought was key. I like the jump.

    “I like the resiliency. They (his players) had built in excuses, but they didn’t take them.”

Brayden Watts (#27) had two goals and an assist for the Raiders.

    The Raiders came out on fire and drew first blood at the 9:01 mark of the opening frame when a mid-range shot from left-winger Brayden Watts snuck between the legs of Hitmen netminder Jack McNaughton and trickled into the Calgary goal.

    Just 1:41 after that tally, Raiders captain Zack Hayes fired home a point shot through a screen to give the host side a 2-0 edge.

    The onslaught continues with 6:02 remaining in the opening frame when 18-year-old centre Reece Vitelli tipped home a shot from the left boards taken from right-winger Spencer Moe to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.

    Things continued to get worse for the Hitmen as Watts tallied on the power play with 2:43 remaining in the first to put the Raiders up 4-0.

Prince Albert had a 19-7 edge in shots on goal over the first 20 minutes.

Reece Vitelli had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

    “We just had a hot start,” said Watts, who had an assist to go with his two goals. “I think that kind of got us going.

    “We had some moments there where they kind of took over the game. Luckily, our goaltending was really good tonight as usual, and we were able to notch a couple more in the second and third.”

    The Hitmen attempted to battle back scoring two goals 12 seconds apart shortly after the five-minute mark of the second coming from the sticks of Cael Zimmerman and captain Mark Kastelic. Those tallies cut the Raiders lead to 4-2.

    The Raiders called a timeout after Kastelic’s tally to regroup.

    The host side went back up 5-2 at the 12:10 mark of the second, when Belarusian import centre Aliaksei Protas tucked home a shot from the front of the Calgary. 

Aliaksei Protas scored his 30th goal on Tuesday.

    The tally was the 30^th of the season for Protas.

    Vitelli added his second of the night about 2:40 later to give the Raider a 6-2 advantage.

    “Habby (Habscheid) made a great choice calling a timeout there to settle us down,” said Vitelli, who was a plus-two in the plus-minus department. “We don’t want to give up two at the start of the second period there and get them back in the game.

    “We responded well in the second half of the second period and just continued there for the rest of the game.”

    Early in the third, 18-year-old left-winger Ilya Usau tallied on the power-play early to give the host side a 7-2 advantage.

    Moe scored on a breakaway tucking the puck five-hole on McNaughton to give the Raiders an 8-2 lead.

    Zimmerman rounded out the game’s scoring tallying his second of the night for the Hitmen.
    Max Paddock made 24 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Jack McNaughton turned away 36 shots to take the setback in net for the Hitmen (34-22-4-1).

Spencer Moe had a goal and two assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    The Raiders top line of Protas centring Watts and Moe had a big night. While Watts collected three points, Protas and Moe both had a pair of assists to go with their goals to post respective three-point outings.

    “They are our top line,” said Habscheid. “They have to produce.

    “They have to score. We need them to score. It is nice when your depth chips in.

    “Singers sing, dancers dance and goal scorers score goals, and they have to score goals. That is just the way it is.”

    Usau had a pair of assists to go with his goal for a three-point night, while Raiders sophomore star defenceman Kaiden Guhle had a pair of assists.

The Raiders salute the Art Hauser Centre faithful after their win on Tuesday.

    The only down part about for the Raiders was the fact that 19-year-old right-winger Justin Nachbaur left the game late in the third period. Habscheid said Nachbaur was day-to-day, and the extent of his injury was still being determined.

    Besides the work of his top line, Habscheid liked how Vitelli played on Tuesday.

    “Reece (Vitelli) has carved out a little bit of a niche,” said Habscheid. “He is a faceoff guy.

    “He blocks shots. He plays the right way. He is good teammate.

    “He fits in well to our room.”

    The Hitmen return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the 31-23-2-3 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

    The Raiders get back at it on Friday hosting the Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Huskies’ Willoughby, Vance star on “This Girl Can” night

Morgan Willoughby sets to drop the ceremonial faceoff puck.

    Morgan Willoughby and Jessica Vance, who are both veterans of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, were treated to star status leading up to the Prince Albert Raiders game on Tuesday.

    The two are from Prince Albert and are both alums of the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA hockey team. Willoughby and Vance took centre stage for the “This Girl Can” night that was put on by the Raiders.

    The promotion was held in conjunction with the Bears and the 2020 Esso Cup committee. Prince Albert will host the Esso Cup, which is the female midget AAA national championship tournament, from April 19-25.

    “This Girl Can” night was held to celebrate young girls and women in sport, business and in community groups.

Jessica Vance (#30) shakes hands with Raiders captain Zack Hayes.

    Willoughby and Vance took part in an on-ice session with young female players from Prince Albert and area on Tuesday afternoon. Following the on-ice session, they were the main speakers for a speaking engagement at the Ches Leach Lounge.

    During a pre-game ceremony before the Raiders thumped the visiting Calgary Hitmen 8-3, Willoughby and Vance took part in a ceremonial faceoff.
    Willoughby just finished her fifth and final season as a tough defensive defender with the Huskies. She skated in 117 career U Sports regular season games posting six goals, eight assists and a minus four-rating in the plus-minus department often playing against the top lines of opposing teams.

    This past season, Willoughby appeared in 26 regular season games with the Huskies posting one goal, two assists and a plus-five rating.

Jessica Vance and Morgan Willoughby wave to the Art Hauser Centre crowd.

    Vance has been a star goalie for the past three seasons for the Huskies. She has appeared in 59 career U Sports regular season games posting a 38-14-6 record, a 1.17 goals against average, a .947 save percentage and 20 shutouts.

    This past season, Vance saw action in 19 regular season games posting a 12-4-3 record, 1.44 goals against average, a .930 save percentage and five shutouts. She has one season of U Sports eligibility remaining after starting her university career with the University of Manitoba Bisons.

    The Huskies finished third in the Canada West Conference with a 17-7-2-2 record this past season. They lost two overtime games in the post-season falling in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series 2-0 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    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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Blades’ Maier, McKay up villain status in Prince Albert

Saskatoon gets fourth win in five tries versus Raiders

Riley McKay (#39) celebrates his game-winning goal for the Blades.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Like treatment reserved for WWE villains, boos rained down for Nolan Maier and Riley McKay from the fans in Prince Albert.
    On Friday, Maier made 32 saves and McKay scored two goals including the winner to deliver the Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 victory in a regular season contest over the defending WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders. The result came to the dismay of a standing room crowd of 2,900 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.
    The encounter was the first game for both sides since returning from their respective Christmas breaks.

    The win marked the fourth win the Blades have recorded in five head-to-head meetings with the Raiders this season. Saskatoon has won all three head-to-head to games in Prince Albert.

Riley McKay (#39) had two goals for the Blades on Friday.

    Following the Blades latest win on Friday night, Maier and McKay were roundly booed by the faithful in “Hockey Town North” when they were named the respective first and second stars in the building. McKay, who has a huge reputation of being an agitator, received the overwhelming loudest boos, and he just smiled and gave applause to the crowd.

    “I find it is a fun barn to play in,” said McKay, who was also a plus-two in the plus-minus department in Friday’s win. “I love how loud it is in this barn, and I love when fans are giving it to me.

Aliaksei Protas had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

    “It fuels me to play harder, so it is fun.”

    Maier has really haunted the Raiders this season. He has played in all five head-to-head meetings between the two sides turning away 135-of-142 shots sent his way in those contests.

    The Yorkton, Sask., admits he enjoys seeing how the fans in Prince Albert get into games.

    “I think they are a really passionate fanbase,” said Maier. “Obviously, it is really special to kind of be a part of this kind of rivalry.

    “I like it, especially with playoffs last year. I’m kind of used to it. It hasn’t been as much as I am kind of used to from last year.

    “It is always fun kind of playing in really high intensity games like tonight.”

    Maier played a key role in allowing the Blades to exit the opening frame locked in a 0-0 tie as his club was outshot 13-3. 

Colton Dach had a goal for the Blades on Friday.

    He came up with a big glove stop on Raiders star left-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt and robbed right-winger Spencer Moe on a backdoor chance.

    At the 7:51 mark of the second, the Raiders pressure finally resulted in a goal, when Moe deflected home a shot from import centre Aliaksei Protas to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    The Blades evened the score just 14 seconds later at 1-1, when captain Chase Wouters won a draw to McKay, who wired home the equalizer on a set play.

    Just 44 seconds after that tally, the Raiders jumped ahead 2-1, when Protas tapped home the rebound of his own shot.

    The Raiders weren’t able to cash on a number of chances to extend their advantage from that point for the rest of the second frame.

    With 8.6 seconds remaining in the second, Blades 16-year-old rookie left-winger Colton Dach wired home an accurate bad angle shot to even things up at 2-2.

Spencer Moe had a goal for the Raiders on Friday.

    “I think that goal was huge,” said Maier, whose team improved to 16-15-1-2. “It kind of set us up for a really nice third.

    “I think we got more confidence as the game went on, especially in the third.”

    The Blades did a better job of limiting the Raiders chances in the third, as the host side held an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal for the frame.

    With 5:13 remaining in the third, McKay took a set up from Wouters and lifted home the winning goal to the top left corner of the Prince Albert net to put the Blades up for good 3-2.

    Boston Bilous turned away 12 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.

    “We were better team,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, whose club fell to 20-10-3-1. “We just didn’t win the game.

Chase Wouters, left, had a pair of assists for the Blades on Friday.

    “Sometimes that happens. I thought their goaltender played well. I didn’t like any of our three goals (against) to be quite honest.

    “That’s what happens sometimes, and so it is.”

    Habscheid gave credit to Maier for coming up big for the Blades.

    “He (Maier) played well,” said Habscheid. “He was the difference for sure.

    “He made the saves when he had to, and he was key.”

    McKay, who is in his overage season, now has a career high 13 goals on the campaign breaking his previous high of 12 tallies set last season. The Swan River, Man., product likes the fact his Blades have won four out of five encounters with the Raiders.

Tristen Robins circles in the offensive zone for the Blades.

    “We know we can beat any team, and it is even nicer to beat our division rivals, especially P.A.,” said McKay. “It is always usually a rough, fun game to play, so it is nice that we are beating them.”

    Blades associate coach Ryan Marsh was pleased his side found a way to grind out a victory.

    “It wasn’t pretty early,” said Marsh. “I thought we were a step behind kind of early on in the game.

    “We stayed with it, and our third period was by far and away our best period. We’re fortunate we had some key saves and some key plays earlier on to allow us to have a chance to win the game in the third period.”

    Friday’s game included one scary moment with 2:19 remaining in the third after a scoring chance from Wiesblatt. Wiesblatt toe dragged around a Raiders defenceman and wired a shot on goal that was stopped by Maier.

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

    After shooting the puck, Wiesblatt was drilled with a high hit from Blades right-winger Zach Huber. Huber received a checking to the head minor penalty, but the Raiders weren’t able to net the equalizer with Wiesblatt playing on the power play.
    While Wiesblatt wasn’t injured, Habscheid didn’t like the hit his young 17-year-old forward took.

    “We’ll let the league deal with that, but that was a dangerous hit,” said Habscheid. “We’re trying to protect the players.

    “The head was targeted, and we will see what the league says about it.”

    The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. Marsh hopes Friday’s win will help spark an inspired performance on Saturday.

    “Tomorrow, we need to generate more shots at the net,” said Marsh. “In order to do that, you have to play good without the puck to get it, and obviously, get your opportunities when you have it.

    “We’ll take a look at some things. Hopefully, we can knock off that rust, and we carry forward the traction that we got in the third period (on Friday night) into tomorrow’s game.”

Raiders, Broncos swap 18-year-old forwards

Cole Nagy in action for the Raiders last April.

    The Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos exchanged 18-year-old depth forwards on Friday.

    The Raiders sent Cole Nagy, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 199 pounds, to the Broncos in exchange for Matthew Culling, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 170 pounds.

Nagy, who is from Saskatoon, is in his first full season in the WHL and had two goals and two assists in 25 games this season for the Raiders.

    Culling, who is from Regina, is in his second full season in the WHL. This season, he appeared in 31 games with the Broncos collecting three goals and one assist.

    During WHL career, Culling appeared in 104 regular season games netting 14 goals and 11 assists.      He played five games as a 16-year-old in the 2017-18 campaign with the Edmonton Oil Kings before being dealt to the Broncos.

    Both players were proficient scorers coming up through minor hockey, and a change of scenery might help ignite each player.

    Culling was a member of the Regina Pat Canadians club that won the prestigious Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament in the 2017-18 campaign.

    “We know Matthew (Culling) very well,” said Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt in a release. “He provides speed and tenacity in our lineup and can support our secondary scoring.”

    The WHL trade deadline is set for Jan. 10 in the new year at 4 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

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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Hughes rains on Raiders party in Blades season opening OT win

The Blades celebrate an OT winner from Ryan Hughes, centre.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Ryan Hughes spoiled the championship banner raising party for the Prince Albert Raiders.

    On Friday night before a standing room crowd of 3,108 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, the speedy overage right-winger scored 17 seconds into overtime to lift the Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 victory over their archrivals in the WHL regular season opening game for both sides.

    Hughes took a drop pass from overage defenceman Scott Walford in his own zone, zipped through the centre ice zone down the left wing, and roofed a shot to the top right corner of the Raiders goal past netminder Boston Bilous.

    Before Friday’s contest, the Raiders raised four banners for finishing first in the East Division, first in the WHL regular season standings, winning the WHL Eastern Conference title and the WHL championship last season.

Ryan Hughes starts his winning goal offensive rush.

    “Walford and I talked about that play there to go underneath and drop it,” said Hughes about his goal in the three-versus-three session. “I just saw that there was a forward skating backwards, and I kind of beat him wide.

    “I took a shot and it went in. It was nice.”

    Hughes said he was checking out his options as he came up the ice before deciding the situation was right to go coast-to-coast.

    “I kind of have to evaluate the puck on three on three,” said Hughes, who picked up assists on the Blades two regulation goals. “Once I got it and I saw I was skating against a forward, I just tried to get him wide.

    “I got a step on him and just took a shot.  Usually, I wouldn’t take that shot, but I’m lucky it went in.”

    Between the regular season and playoffs, the Blades fell in all seven of their visits to P.A. in the 2018-19 campaign. Saskatoon’s last win in “Hockey Town North” was by a 2-1 decision on March 16, 2018.

    Hughes was pleased his team could get that monkey off their collective backs.

    “It is a tough place to play for sure,” said Hughes. “It was tough tonight, and it was tough all year last year.

Scott Walford had the assist on the Blades OT winner.

    “It is nice for me to get my first win in this rink with the Blades.”

    The teams played through a feeling out type first period where the Raiders held a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.

    The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:25 mark of the second period when import centre Aliaksei Protas blew home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    The Blades evened things up a 1-1 just over two minutes later when right-winger Tristen Robins converted a backdoor feed on the power play from overage defenceman Nolan Kneen. The assist was Kneen’s 100th career regular season point in the WHL coming in his 250^th career game.

Aliaksei Protas had a goal for the Raiders on Friday.

    Shortly after Robins goal, Blades star netminder Nolan Maier robbed Raiders import centre Ilya Usau with a sprawling save. The scoring chance came after the Blades turned the puck over in their own zone.

    Blades head coach Mitch Love expected his team would experience some bumps in Friday’s opener.

    “It wasn’t pretty at times for probably both teams,” said Love, whose team is rated third in the CHL’s pre-season Top 10 rankings. “I’ve often said this weekend is a bit of an unpredictable event. You have a lot of kids playing in front of big crowds for the first time.

    “It is opening weekend and lots of family is in town. There are a lot of nerves. Obviously, (there was) the presentation here tonight for the defending champions.”
    Just past the midway point of the second, the Raiders went ahead 2-1 on a nifty play from rookie 17-year-old defenceman Landon Kosior. Kosior got the puck, pinched into the slot and sniped a shot past Maier.
    The tally was Kosior’s first career WHL goal.

Landon Kosior scored his first career WHL goal on Friday.

    The rivalry came to the forefront in a pronounced way in the third period. At the 2:37 mark of the third, Blades left-winger Randen Schmidt took on Raiders rookie defenceman Braydon Clark in a spirited fight.

    At the 7:28 mark of the third, two unexpected combatants went at it as Blades left-winger Kjell Kjemhus took on Raiders rookie defenceman Nolan Allan.

    After those two bouts, the Blades evened things up at 2-2 at the 10:11 mark of the third, when Walford fired home a floater through a screen from the point. That set the stage for Hughes’s heroics in the extra session.

    Bilous made 15 saves in goal for the Raiders. Maier turned away 18 shots in goal for the Blades.

    “It has been a long time since we found a win in this building,” said Love. “It is something our guys are pretty happy about tonight.”

    The only down part for the Blades was veteran centre Eric Florchuk left the game in the first period with an injury. Love said Florchuk will be re-evaluated when his club returns home to Saskatoon.

The Blade celebrate their OT win on Friday night.

    “I haven’t heard anything,” said Love. “He (Florchuk) seemed to be in good spirits after the game with his teammates, which is a good sign, but we will find out more in the morning.”

    The Blades and Raiders go at it again in Saskatoon on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. That contest will be the home opener for the Blades.

    Hughes would like to see his team get after the Raiders right out of the gate.

    “Obviously, we need a faster start,” said Hughes. “I think that will be a big easier with our crowd behind us.

    “That is what we are going to look to do and see how it goes.”

Raiders captain Pachal inks NHL deal with Vegas

Brayden Pachal, left, signed an NHL contract on Friday.

    Prince Albert Raiders overage captain Brayden Pachal signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

    Last season, Pachal appeared in 66 regular season games for the Raiders posting 15 goals, 36 assists and a plus-76 rating in the plus-minus department. In the WHL post-season, Pachal suited up in all 23 games the Raiders played recording one goal, seven assists and a plus-12 rating.

    With Pachal as the Raiders leader, Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL last season with a 54-10-2-2 mark and captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup in the WHL playoffs to become league champions. That marked the first time the Raiders accomplished both those feats since the 1984-85 campaign.

    The Raiders won the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1984-85. At last year’s Memorial Cup in Halifax, N.S., the Raiders posted an 0-3 record against a tough field. Pachal had a goal and two assists in that event.

    Pachal began his WHL career in the 2015-16 campaign with the Victoria Royals, and he came to the Raiders in a trade on Jan. 9, 2017 in his second campaign.

    In 239 career regular season games split with the Royals and Raiders, Pachal had 26 goals, 72 assists and a plus-67 rating.

    He was in Prince Albert on Friday night to take part in the Raiders pre-game banner raising festivities. He will be heading to camp with the Knights AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves.

    Pachal could still be eventually assigned to the Raiders for his overage campaign.

Love, Habscheid hit frenemies territory

Blades HC Mitch Love will be the HC of Team WHL.

    Mitch Love and Marc Habscheid are going to be frenemies.

    On Friday, the WHL and Hockey Canada announced that the 35-year-old Love, who is the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, and the 56-year-old Habscheid, who is the head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders, will be working on the same staff together guiding the WHL team that will play in the annual Canada versus Russia series.

    Love will be the head coach of the WHL squad, while Habscheid will be an assistant coach along with Regina Pats head coach Dave Struch. Struch was a former Blades star forward, assistant coach and head coach.

    The WHL squad hosts Team Russia on Nov. 13 in Saskatoon and Nov. 14 in Prince Albert.

    Last season, the Raiders eliminated their archrivals in the Blades taking a best-of-seven second round series 4-2. During that series, Love and Habscheid fired verbal barbs at each other.

    Habscheid said the Blades players like to dive, while Love countered saying the Raiders like to go head hunting.

Raiders HC Marc Habscheid will be an AC for Team WHL.

    After that series, the Raiders moved on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

Love chuckles about what happened in the post-season now.

    “Of course, we had some fun with each other last year through the media in that playoff series,” said Love during a media conference on Friday morning at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. “The one thing that people maybe don’t understand is how much respect I have for Marc (Habscheid) and obviously Dave (Struch) himself.

    “Those are guys that have done a lot of things at this level along with international hockey, and I look up to (them). I’m real excited to get a chance to work with those guys, and I’m sure a lot of people are going to wonder about that relationship on that bench.”

    Love said he is looking forward to being the head coach of the WHL side, and believe it or not, he is pumped out the chance to work with Habscheid and Struch.

    “It is an extreme honour,” said Love. “I take a lot of pride in being a western Canadian boy working in the Western Hockey League whether as a player or now as a coach.

    “To get an opportunity from (WHL commissioner) Ron (Robison) along with Hockey Canada to be the head coach of this team is real exciting. I’m looking forward to working with the players that will be involved and obviously our staff her throughout the league.”

    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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Can the regular person identify with today’s elite athlete?

Most regular people can’t comprehend the work Tyler Chow (#5) put in.

    Can the regular person identify with today’s elite athlete?

    That is a question I have been struggling with for the past two years, especially looking at the sports scene in Canada. I don’t think the regular person realizes how hard today’s athlete has to work at their craft to be good at the elite levels of sport, unless the regular person worked in elite athletes in recent time in some capacity.

    I feel like there is a perception out there that lives of elite level athletes are like what had been before the late 1990s when year round training came into vogue.

    Before the late 1990s came around, there was a period of a good 80 to 90 years where the commonly viewed approach to elite athletics was the same.

    You basically showed up at training camp to get into shape and take part in practices and games. When you were not participating in a practice or a game, you likely weren’t doing something specific to your sport.

    You were doing normal real life things like tending to family matters, participating in social activities or even working a regular job in the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours.
    Actually, the elite athlete in the old days was viewed as a regular person who happened to be good at sports.

Most regular persons wouldn’t understand Libby Epoch’s joy for basketball.

    When the off-season came around, the time you spent on your sport likely got spent lying on a beach, golfing or partying. Often when one sports season ended, you might even follow another sport pursuit.

    For example, if you played hockey in the winter you might play baseball in the summer.

    If you worked out or lifted weights during a season, you likely got teased by your teammates.

    In the late 60s and early 70s, it was common for players in a sport like in professional tackle football to sit back, drink a coffee or smoke a cigarette at halftime.

    If you are an elite athlete in the current day in Canada, your sport is your full-time job, and it seems like you are doing something sports specific year round.

    There are very few athletes that participate in two sports at an elite level like Saskatoon’s Kaitlin Jockims, who is gifted in both hockey and basketball.

    The off-season conditioning programs of the current day are far more advanced and evolved than those offered in the early 1990s. If you visit a training facility like Ignite Athletics in Saskatoon, you will end up getting an education in core conditioning and be surprised how much goes into getting physically prepared for sport at the elite level.

    Most regular persons have never stepped into a facility like Ignite Athletics and would be shocked at what all happens there under the guidance of the facility’s outstanding staff.

Kaitlin Jockims is the rare star in two sports at the elite level.

    When the sports season begins right from training camp, elite athletes will also be immersed in classroom video sessions in their sport.

    In hockey, you are already starting to execute the systems a team wants to use during the regular season and playoffs. When the regular season starts, you hit the ice going at full pace.

    Regular persons would be shocked at how much time goes into video preparation.

    Even eating is different. Elite athletes are very aware about eating healthy. Even if they are out at a social function where alcohol is present, elite athletes will be aware about even having one alcoholic drink and might not even have an alcoholic drink at all.

    In athletics at the university level and even in major junior hockey just 10 years ago, athletes often looked forward to the Saturday game, because afterwards you were usually allowed to go out and party on a non-curfew night.

    That was usually time elite athletes in those sports were able to let loose and have fun, because in university you didn’t play a game again until the upcoming Friday.

Jaime Bourbonnais - a highly talented athlete who works hard.

    In major junior hockey, you usually went out and socialized on the Saturday if you next game wasn’t until Wednesday.
    Now, university athletes and major junior hockey players are worried about rest and recovery after the Saturday game even if a long break follows. In those situations, you often find players holding a protein shake and finishing off a cool down after visiting family.

    If teams go out on average twice every four months on a social outing these days, that is a lot.

    Even in curling which has always been viewed as the most social of sports, the athletes in that sport are now perfectly conditioned. The elite curlers aren’t stopping at the curling club lounge to have an alcoholic drink after their games, which was commonplace in the past.

    Most regular persons wouldn’t image putting all of that attention in to be able to do a sport. Also with the way the world has changed, most regular persons in Canada are often focused on the hustle and bustle of their own lives trying to get by.

    The goal is often to go on a vacation to a tropical spot like Hawaii. In most cases, the regular person worries about themselves and finds anything outside of their worlds as being irrelevant.

    Most of today’s elite athletes put full-time job efforts into their sport for very little financial reward.

Rylan Kleiter excels at football and curling.

    The number of athletes that reaches the level to make millions at the professional level is a very small fraction of the elite athletes who have tried to get to that spot.
    For most regular persons, it is all about the financial reward. They are better off financially working a full-time job than most elite athletes and will view those elite athletes as being stupid.

    The regular person can’t see positive traits elite athletes establish in pursuing their sport. Some of those traits and skills are better social skills, strong work ethic, teamwork and leadership skills.

    Due to the fact today’s elite athletes focus on their sports more than ever before, they don’t interact as much with persons in the regular work world. As a result, regular persons have no emotional investment in elite athletes.

    So yes, I believe there is a disconnection between regular persons and elite athletes in Canada in today’s world.

    The regular person just can’t get why elite athletes do what they do.

Dach watch intensifies for Blades fans

Kirby Dach has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.

    The watch by Saskatoon Blades fans to see if star centre Kirby Dach will return to the team next season got a surge in intensity.

    On Monday, the 18-year-old product of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., signed a three year NHL entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks selected Dach in the first round and third overall in the NHL Entry Draft held in June.

    Due to Dach’s early draft selection and now that he has a signed NHL contract, the odds have increased that he could play in the NHL next season.

    As Dach hasn’t entered his overage season of junior eligibility, the Blackhawks have to return him to the major junior ranks if they don’t elect to have him play in the NHL.

    Last season, Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, appeared in 62 regular season games with the Blades last season posting 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department.

    He helped the Blades finish fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings at 45-15-8 and advance to the second round of the playoffs. The Blades fell in six games in the second round to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    If Dach makes the NHL this season, most would be happy for his success. The Blades would take that development as a good thing and move on as best they can.

“Texan Sniper” takes his talents to Switzerland

Max Gerlach is going to be sniping in pros in Switzerland.

    Sharpshooting right-winger Max Gerlach is on his way to Switzerland.

    On Wednesday, the former Saskatoon Blades standout, who is nicknamed the “Texan Sniper,” signed a one-year contract with HC Ambri-Piotta in Quinto, Switzerland. He will be loaned to the HCB Ticino Rockets in Biasca, Switzerland.

    Last season, Gerlach played out his overage major junior campaign with the Blades appearing in all of the team’s 68 regular season games posting 42 goals, 32 assists and a plus-seven rating in the plus-minus department.

    He played four seasons in the WHL split between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Blades recording 141 goals and 110 assists in 278 career regular season games.

    The product of Flower Mound, Texas, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds, was a fan favourite in both of his WHL stops.

Nickolet departs Blades for NHL’s Hurricanes

    No matter Cody Nickolet will no longer be a fixture around Saskatoon Blades games.

    On Thursday, Nickolet joined the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes as an amateur scout. Last season, Nickolet was the Blades director of analytics for the WHL and one of their scouts in Saskatchewan.

    He first joined the Blades way back in 2011-12 as the team’s communications manager. Nickolet was on the Blades scouting staff for the past four seasons.

    His time with the Blades was broken up being a prospect analyst for one season with the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

    It will be a change for SaskTel Centre building staff and team supporters to no longer see Nickolet around the rink on a regular basis. He got along well with everyone, and you can bet those that know him are happy to see this opportunity come his way.

Raiders’ Leason signs NHL deal with Capitals

Brett Leason has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

    Prince Albert Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason further cemented his path to the professional game.

    On Thursday, Leason signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals selected Leason in the second round and 56^th overall in the NHL Entry Draft held this past June.

    Last season, Leason, who stand 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds, had a breakout year with the Raiders posting 36 goals, 53 assists and a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department in 55 regular season games.

    He helped the Raiders finish first overall in the WHL regular season with a 54-10-2-2 record and win their second WHL title and appear in the Memorial Cup tournament. In the WHL playoffs, Leason posted 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points and a plus-six rating in 22 games.

    The Calgary, Alta., product also earned a spot on Canada’s team at the last world junior tournament played in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C.

    Leason is eligible to return to the Raiders for an overage campaign, but he will likely play somewhere in the Capitals system next season.

Raiders’ Protas also signs with Capitals

Aliaksei Protas, left, has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

    Prince Albert Raiders import left-winger Aliaksei Protas professional hockey path has moved more towards the capital city of the United States.

    On Wednesday, Protas, who is from Vitebsk, Belarus, signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals selected Protas in the third round in and 91^st overall in the NHL Entry Draft that was held this past June.

    Protas, who is 18-years-old, signed a day before his linemate in right-winger Brett Leason inked a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Capitals.

    Protas, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 205 pounds, was a WHL rookie in the 2018-19 campaign, and he steadily improved posting 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-24 rating in 61 regular season games. He had a head turning WHL playoffs posting 12 goals, 10 assists and a plus-12 rating in 23 games helping the Raiders win a league title.

    Protas will likely rejoin the Raiders next season for a sophomore campaign unless he makes the Capitals NHL team.

Football Canada Cup Hail Mary something to see

    If a television-type broadcast camera had been present, the Football Canada Cup would have had a highlight that could have potentially on viral across North America.

    This year’s Football Canada Cup is going on right now in Kingston, Ont., the first of two semifinal games held on Wednesday provided a crazy highlight.

    In the first semifinal, Team Quebec led Team Alberta 23-16 with one snap to go in the fourth quarter and Alberta had the ball around midfield. Alberta quarterback Eli Hetlinger fired a Hail Mary pass down the right sideline that deflected off the hands of two Quebec defensive backs to Alberta receiver Dawson Gladue.

    Gladue secured the catch at the Quebec 16 yard-line and raced the rest of the way for a touchdown that forced a 23-23 tie score and overtime.

    Quebec prevailed 29-27 after a fourth set of overtime possessions.

    Gladue’s touchdown catch was shown on TSN, but the cameras used for the Internet telecast of the game weren’t the best quality. The score still looked good on the overhead shot, but it could have been better.

    Had there been a television broadcast quality camera present, you would have had a crazy highlight that could have been shown anywhere.

    There are NCAA athletic programs in the United States that have Internet broadcast quality cameras that are almost as good as television broadcast cameras.

    Unfortunately, sports bodies in Canada don’t have that type of money to purchase technology that is used by the top end NCAA athletic programs.

    Gladue will always have that lasting memory of his catch. Still, it could have been bigger moment for amateur sports in Canada.

Final Play: @FootballAlberta sends it to overtime in the Canada Cup semifinals. #TryFootball @FootballCanada pic.twitter.com/pI9knpuuzH

— CFL (@CFL) July 12, 2019

    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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