Rush in driver’s seat in chase for first in NLL

Captain Ryan Keenan and the Rush sit first overall in the NLL.

For anyone who hasn’t heard, the good days are back for the Saskatchewan Rush.

Last season, the Rush finished second overall in the NLL posting a 13-5 record. That ended a reload stretch for the Rush where they just missed the post-season posting respective 8-10 records for three straight campaigns.

In the 2025 NLL Playoffs, the Rush advanced to the best of three NLL Championship Series where they fell 2-1 to the Buffalo Bandits, who claimed a third straight league title and their record seventh NLL championship in team history. In the series-deciding Game 3 on May 24, 2025 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., the Rush trailed 7-6 at halftime only to see everything go the Bandits way in the second half outscoring the Saskatchewan side 8-0 to roll to a 15-6 victory.

After returning to the NLL final in 2025 since last winning the league championship in 2018, the Rush entered the current campaign with the belief that it will be a special season. They jumped out to a 10-1 start thanks to a nine-game winning streak.

Their last two outings were heartbreakers. On February 27, they fell 11-10 in overtime to the three-time defending NLL champion Bandits in Buffalo, and one night later, the Rush came out on the wrong end of a 13-12 overtime decision to the Knighthawks in Rochester.

Still, the Rush still sit first overall in the NLL with their 10-3 record. They are holding off the Colorado Mammoth and Vancouver Warriors, who are both 9-4 and the Georgia Swarm, who are 8-4.

Going into the final stretch of the NLL regular season, the Rush are sitting in a good place when it comes to the race for top spot as they play four of their final five games in the friendly confines of their home venue in the SaskTel Centre. The Rush are 5-0 at home this season.

On Saturday, the Rush begin that final sprint when they host the San Diego Seals (6-6) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Seals are battling for their post-season lives sitting in a tie for seventh and eighth overall in the league with the Bandits. The top eight teams in the NLL’s overalls standings qualify for the post-season.

Robert Church has 67 points for the Rush so far this season.

The Rush last played at home on February 14, when they slipped past the Warriors 9-8 in overtime before a season-high crowd of 7,319 spectators at the SaskTel Centre. That should set the anticipation appetite for the upcoming clash with the Seals.

Leading the way for Saskatchewan are two of the team’s legends in Ryan Keenan and Robert Church. Keenan, who is the team’s captain, sits sixth in league scoring with 74 points coming off 31 goals and 43 assists. Church, who debuted with the Rush when the franchise was still in Edmonton back in the 2013-14 campaign, is ninth in league scoring with 67 points coming off 24 goals and 43 assists.

Veteran forwards Zach Manns and Austin Shanks are both having big years again for the Rush. Manns has 63 points coming off 29 goals and 34 assists, while Shanks has 57 points coming off 23 goals and 34 assists.

Long time transition player Mike Messenger and grizzled defender Matt Hossack have made their presence known. Messenger sits fifth in the NLL collecting 109 loose balls and third in blocked shots at 19. Hossack is tied for fourth in the NLL with caused turnovers at 20.

Young transition player Jake Naso continues to be a battler when it comes to faceoffs winning 203-of-301 faceoffs for a 67.4 per cent success rate.

In net, reliable star goalie Frank Scigliano leads the NLL with 10 victories posting a 10-2 record, a 9.08 goals against average and a 80.0 per cent save percentage.

Back on January 2, NLL icon Derek Keenan, who is the co-head coach and general manager of the Rush, became the first person in the history of the league to coach in his 300^th game. Along with co-head coach and associate general manager Jimmy Quinlan, the Rush have no worries when it comes to coaching.

The Rush have a real shot to win their fourth NLL title in team history and first championship since 2018. If anyone hasn’t been on the Rush bandwagon for some time, now is the time to get back on.

Title run for Huskies women’s hoopsters impressive

Gage Grassick and the Huskies are U Sports champs once again.

The U Sports women’s basketball championship trophy – The Bronze Baby – is finding a regular home on the University of Saskatchewan campus grounds.

On Sunday at the Amphitheatre Desjardins-Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, the fifth-seeded Huskies took the title game of the U Sports Championship Tournament 77-68 over the second seeded University of New Brunswick Reds. That marked the second straight year the Huskies have won the U Sports title.

The Huskies have now won four U Sports titles in their team history with the first championship coming in 2016.

In Sunday’s win over the Red, Huskies fourth-year star guard Logan Reider led all scorers with 19 points, which included making 4-of-9 shots from three-point range. Fifth-year forward Ella Murphy Wiebe recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Fourth-year guard Maya Flindall fired home 17 points, while superstar point guard Gage Grassick posted 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

The Huskies were up 52-50 after three quarters before pulling away for the win.

Murphy Wiebe was named the tournament MVP and a tournament all-star, while Grassick, who was named the Canada West Conference player of the year in each of the past two seasons, was also named to the tournament all-star team.

In 2025, the Huskies downed the Carleton University Ravens 85-66 in the U Sports title game in Vancouver. Those two squads met in the 2024 U Sports championship game in Edmonton, where the Ravens prevailed 70-67. That was the Ravens second straight U Sports title win.

The Huskies went through the 2025-26 U Sports regular season with a perfect 20-0 record to finish first in the Canada West Conference. Dating back to the 2024-25 campaign, the Huskies put together a program record 51-game overall winning streak.

Their winning streak came to an end on February 21, when they fell 61-58 in a Canada West semifinal to the University of Calgary Dinos on home court at the Physical Activity Complex on the U of S grounds. The Dinos went on to win the Canada West title.

The Huskies were awarded an at-large wildcard berth to the elite-eight U Sports Championship Tournament. In a quarter-final on March 5, they downed the fifth-seeded University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 71-55. In a semifinal on March 7, the Huskies grinded out a 55-43 victory over the eighth-seeded and tournament host Universite Laval Rouge et Or.

That set the stage for the title game victory over the Reds.

After that win, Grassick, Murphy Wiebe, forward Tea DeMong, guard Andrea Dodig and guard Anna Maelde all exhausted their respective U Sports eligibilities completing their fifth-years at that level. Going into the off-season Huskies iconic head coach Lisa Thomaidis will be faced with a reload.

With that said, the Huskies have set an impressive positive culture, so the reload might not take that long.

Last medal hurrah for Canada at Winter Olympics? Other notes

A Canadian flag.

For the sixth straight Winter Olympics, Canada won 20 or more medals, but one has to wonder if it will be the end of the line for that string of success.

At this past Winter Olympics that ran February 6 to 22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Canada collected a total of 21 medals including five gold, seven silver and nine bronze. First, I have to say I was proud of all the athletes who represented Canada, and I enjoyed watching those games.

With that said, I wonder if these most recent Winter Olympics will mark the last time Canada gets 20 or more medals at those games.

Back in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., Canada had the most gold medal wins at those games at 14 and the third most total medals at 26. The highlight, of course, was winning gold in both women’s and men’s hockey.

The performance at those games could be credited to the Own the Podium program running in strong form. While you can pick apart the horrible parts in the world of politics, I always felt like sports was a priority when Stephen Harper was the prime minister of Canada and the Conservatives ruled at the federal government level.

At this point in my life, the last prime minister I actually liked for Canada was Paul Martin and the Liberals under his watch, and they were last in power in early 2006. Actually, the last time core federal funding was increased for Canada’s 62 federally funded national sport organizations was in 2005 under that federal government.

When Harper was the prime minister, it did feel like there was an attitude from the federal government of wanting to win. Under the current federal government with the ruling Liberal party that is not like the Liberal party under Martin’s watch, it feels like the attitude is to just be in the mix and be a try hard nation when it comes to sports.

While I understand current Prime Minister Mark Carney has more than enough issues to occupy his time, it has felt like the Liberals have had the just be in the mix and try hard attitude for sports for some time.

Even after the Liberals became the ruling party at the federal level in 2015, Canada posted its highest metal total win at a Winter Olympics in 2018 at Pyeongchang, South Korea, with 29 medals including 11 gold, eight silver and 10 bronze. It seemed like those totals were a residual result from the push that happened in 2010 in Vancouver.

The total medal count has decreased in each of the next two Winter Olympics for Canada. For the Winter Olympics that just wrapped up, it seemed like a large number of athletes who won medals for Canada were in their 30s. While that is cool to see, you start wondering if those athletes will be part of the picture in four years time and wonder when the younger generation is going to come in.

As far as the Olympics go in either the Summer or Winter games in Canada, it seems the bulk of the country is on the bandwagon when Canada is winning medals. If Canada isn’t winning medals, there is apathy unless gold medal wins are not coming in women’s and men’s hockey.

I do believe there is a desire to get more young people into sports in Canada playing more of a recreation fashion, and I am all for that. Actually, I am all for getting people of all ages involved in all sorts of activities that gets them away from screen time on phones, computers and televisions. I believe the amount of time people spend on those devices is ridiculous.

If there is no new core federal funding for sports or no new avenues for funding for sports in Canada, I can’t see any want in the sports realm getting satisfied. At this point, I am expecting to see another drop in total medals won by Canada at the 2030 Winter Olympics to be held in the French Alps in France from February 1 to 17 of that year.

• The Prince Albert Raiders and the Medicine Hat Tigers are engaged in a sprint for first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. Both teams have 100 standings points with the Raiders sporting a 47-10-5-1 mark, while the Tigers have a 46-10-5-3 record. The Raiders have a game in hand on the Tigers and currently hold the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins.
• With teams having anywhere from four to six games remaining on their respective regular season schedules, the WHL’s four division winners have been determined. At the moment, they all sit in the top four of the circuit’s overall standings. The U.S. Division champion Everett Silvertips (52-7-2-1) are first, the East Division champion Prince Albert Raiders (47-10-5-1) are second, the Central Division champion Medicine Hat Tigers (46-10-5-3) are third and the U.S. Division champion in the first-year Penticton Vees (41-13-5-4) are fourth. If those squads remain in the top four, it will mark the first time the WHL’s division winners have occupied the top four spots in the overall standings at the end of a season since the 2021-22 campaign.
• Medicine Hat Tigers star twin forwards Markus and Liam Ruck could finish in the top two of the WHL scoring race. At the moment, Markus leads the WHL scoring race with 98 points coming off 19 goals and 79 assists. Liam is second with 97 points coming off 41 goals and 56 assists. Both turned 18-years-old on February 21 and are expected to be high-level picks in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
• A salute has to go to Saskatoon Blades manager Tanner Chubey for overseeing the great production his team puts on for their Victory Plus online home broadcasts. Chubey hosts a pre-game show as well as segments during both intermissions. He has done catch up interviews with a number of Blades alums on those broadcasts including alums that are coaches or managers with other WHL teams. The Blades home broadcasts I have seen have looked really good on Victory Plus. On top of doing that, Chubey coordinates all the post-game interviews and all the website and social media updates that the team needs done at game’s end too. A lot of that work ends up being really thankless, but the fans benefit the most when it is done.
• Naim Cardinal put together an outstanding piece on the Indigenous Rookie Cards site making the case that Prince Albert Raiders icon forward Dan Hodgson should be on the CHL’s Top 50 Players List for top 50 players in the last 50 years that was announced on February 10. The list attempts to weigh the impacts a player had in both his CHL days and professional days. Part of Cardinal’s case includes giving Hodgson’s professional accomplishments in Europe more weight. It is a great piece to check out, and it can be found right here.
• Due to battling illness over the last 10 days of February, I wasn’t able to get this teased earlier. On February 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a story on pitcher Garrett Hawkins heading to Spring Training as a member of the San Diego Padres MLB 40-man roster. Hawkins earned that opportunity after coming back from injury and having a great season in the minors in 2025 .The piece on Hawkins can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images of familiar local area football faces playing in the Saskatoon Adult Flag Football League. That post can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a post that saluted forever Saskatoon StarPhoenix sportswriter Darren Zary heading into retirement on the blog. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On March 9, I had my most recent new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on Nicole Ostertag making a triumphant return to track and field. In the piece, Ostertag talked about how she almost quit the sport after a rough couple years on the injury and illness front. The piece on Ostertag can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team doing off-season training at the Indoor Training Centre. That post can be found by clicking right here.
• On Friday, I am going to have another back to the future moment with the independent Prince Albert Daily Herald. I’ve been back in the pages of the Daily Herald for some time including writing a regular WHL column for the longtime outlet since 2021. I was the main sportswriter there from 2001 to 2004 before moving on to the Medicine Hat News. On Friday night, I will be doing my first Prince Albert Raiders game story for the outlet since an exhibition contest in September of 2004. The Raiders host the Moose Jaw Warriors at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Art Hauser Centre. With the Raiders busy schedule, the gamer is going to be just online from my understanding. I might bring back my “Stanks’ Three Stars” for that night from my days with the News, which I did for WHL game stories for that outlet. I just never thought of doing that in my run with the Daily Herald from 2001 to 2004. Anyways, feel free to check the Daily Herald site on Saturday morning for my Raiders gamer, which 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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Raiders are at their best when they are more than a hockey team

The Raiders salute the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre on Oct. 4.

The Prince Albert Raiders encompass the best of “Hockey Town North.”

They are the team of Mike Modano, Dave Manson and as seen by the Raiders faithful, the forever CHL MVP Dan Hodgson. They are the franchise where honour still matters.

The Raiders of today have gotten out to a 9-0-2 start in the current WHL regular season, and they sit in the top four overall in the WHL entering play on Tuesday. They are also rated eighth overall in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings that were released on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, 17-year-old star defenceman Daxon Rudolph was named to Team CHL for the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, which runs November 25 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary and November 26 at Lethbridge’s VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

Actually when you sit back and reflect, it is pretty cool Prince Albert has been home to the Raiders since they came into existence back in 1971.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Macias vaults to fan favourite in “Hockey Town North”

Krzysztof Macias has 12 points in his last six games with the Raiders.

The faithful in “Hockey Town North” will always take players to heart who give everything they have for the Prince Albert Raiders on a nightly basis.

That player could be a top scorer, a stellar goalie, a defensive-defenceman, a third line checking forward or an energy type player. No matter what role you take on with the Raiders, players that give an honest effort on a nightly basis will be remembered by Raiders fans forever.

Raiders rookie import forward Krzysztof Macias has become one of those players that will be remembered fondly by Raiders fans. He hasn’t put up crazy point totals like Dan Hodgson, Mike Modano or Leon Draisaitl, but Macias’s effort level is evident on a nightly basis.

The 19-year-old has improved as the season has gone along, and he has been rewarded recently on the scorer’s sheet for the work he has put in through the campaign. In his last six games with the Raiders, Macias has collected four goals, eight assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Hodgson night showed Raiders past cherished in P.A.

Dan Hodgson signs an autograph for a young fan on Saturday.

Some of the most fun sights of Dan Hodgson’s jersey retirement night occurred during his second intermission autograph session.

Last Saturday, the Raiders retired the #16 of their iconic centre during a pre-game ceremony before a 6-3 WHL regular season setback against the Moose Jaw Warriors before 2,504 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre. During the second intermission, Hodgson signed autographs for fans in the hallway that runs alongside the Ches Leach Lounge.

The lengthy line contained a number of children under the age of 10, who were super excited to get an autograph from the 58-year-old Raiders legend. At that moment, the thought that crosses the mind that these kids could be the children or possibly grandchildren of people who watched Hodgson play for the Raiders from 1982 to 1985.

Those children likely learned about Hodgson’s exploits from their parents or grandparents. If their parents or grandparents didn’t see Hodgson play, those children likely learned about Hodgson’s days with the Raiders from someone in Prince Albert.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Hodgson will always feel home sweet home in Prince Albert

Raiders retire #16 of iconic high-scoring centre

Dan Hodgson, right, holds up a wall mount he was presented with.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Dan Hodgson lives the mantra “Once a Raider always a Raider.”

On Saturday night before 2,504 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders retired Hodgson’s #16 in a pre-game ceremony before their WHL regular season clash with the Moose Jaw Warriors. The skilled centre played for the Raiders in their first three seasons in the WHL from 1982 to 1985, and he set numerous club records that still stand to this day including most career goals (188), assists (305) and points (493) that were collected playing 202 career regular season contests.

He was the WHL rookie of the year in 1982-83 and finished off as the CHL player of the year and MVP of the Memorial Cup tournament, when the Raiders won the CHL’s biggest prize in 1984-85. In 1984-85 with Hodgson as captain, the Raiders swept the Kamloops Blazers 4-0 in the best-of-seven WHL championship series.

Dan Hodgson’s #16 is raised to the roof of the Art Hauser Centre.

On May 18, 1985, the Raiders won the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions downing the host Shawinigan Cataracts 6-1 in the title game of the CHL championship tournament that was completed in Drummondville, Que.

When Hodgson spoke to the Raiders faithful at the Art Hauser Centre after his #16 was hoisted to the building’s rafters, he closed with a comment that drew huge roars from the crowd.

“I just want to leave you with one thing – I am a Raider, and I will always be a Raider,” said Hodgson.

Hodgson joined the Raiders after they left the junior A ranks closing out their time at that level of hockey winning the Centennial Cup in the 1981-82 campaign becoming national champions for a fourth time.

Dan Hodgson address the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre.

While Hodgson had personal success in 1982-83, the Raiders posting a record of 16 wins, 55 losses and one tie. They improved to 41-29-2 in 1983-84 and 58-11-2 in their WHL and CHL championship season in 1984-85.

Hodgson played on Canada’s world junior team in his final two seasons with the Raiders, and that included winning gold in 1984-85, when Raiders iconic head coach and general manager Terry Simpson was head coach of the Canadian squad. Hodgson credited Simpson for being a huge influence on him in hockey and life during his address to all who were present in the Raiders storied home rink on Saturday.

“When I first got here, little did I know that I would play for one of the greatest mentors that I would ever have in my life,” said Hodgson, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 179 pounds. “(Raiders assistant coach) Rick (Wilson) and Simpso (Simpson) would shape me on and off the ice into the man I am today with how they were and how they treated me with respect and dignity and a lot of positive energy.

The video scoreboard shows newspaper clipping of Dan Hodgson.

“But more specifically with Simpso, I can’t express enough Simpso what you meant to me those three years we spent together and all the memories and thoughts you left me with for many years. Right up to this day, words can’t express Simpso what you mean to me. I held you in my heart all these years.

“I held you as a father figure. Simpso, I just want to really thank you for everything that you gave me, and let you know that you still mean the world to me, and Simpso, I love you very much. Thank you for everything.”

Terry Simpson walks to the ice at the Art Hauser Centre.

During Hodgson’s number retirement ceremony, a number of video messages were played in the building from Hodgson’s family members, former teammates and coaches. Simpson, who was at ice level for the number retirement ceremony, gave one of the video messages.

While Simpson did joke about the shenanigans that Hodgson got into off the ice or that he sometimes needed to be reintroduced to the squad’s defenceman and goalies due to being a mainly offensive focused player, the bench boss listed a number of Hodgson’s major accomplishments in junior before closing with a crowd-pleasing comment.

Curtis Hunt address the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre.

“Hodgy had a tremendous career in Prince Albert, and in my opinion, he was one of the best players to ever play in the Western Hockey League,” said Simpson.

Current Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt was a rookie defenceman with the club during the Memorial Cup winning season. Hunt said Hodgson was an outstanding person along with being and outstanding player.

“You invested in the young players to make us better,” said Hunt. “When the stakes were highest, you performed at your best.

“Whether it was one week between when I saw you or a decade, every time we met it was, ‘Hello brother.’ There was the same infectious smile, and in an instant, we were laughing about the times that were.”

Dan Hodgson, centre, sets to drop the ceremonial faceoff puck.

Unfortunately, the current Raiders, who wore special Hodgson tribute jerseys during warm-ups, couldn’t cap the night’s festivities by pulling out a win on the ice. The Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first period and would go on to post a 6-3 victory.

The Raiders cut the Warriors lead to 3-2 early in the third and were down 4-3 with 9:48 remaining in the third before the visitors sealed the win.

Import left-winger Martin Rysavy netted a hat trick for Moose Jaw potting his third goal into an empty net with 45.8 seconds remaining in the third to round out the scoring in the contest. Rysavy had an assist to go along with his four goals, and he was a plus-four in the plus-minus department.

Ryder Ritchie wears a Dan Hodgson tribute jersey in warm-ups.

Ethan Semeniuk, Lynden Lakovic and Atley Calvert netted singles for the Warriors. Jacob Hoffrogge, Cole Peardon and Krzysztof Macias replied with singles for the Raiders.

Max Hildebrand turned away 25-of-30 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders (13-11-0-2). Jackson Unger stopped 52 shots to pick up the win in net for the Warriors (14-10-0-1).

The Raiders return to action on Sunday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (10-11-4-1) at 6 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Warriors return to action on Tuesday when they host the Swift Current Broncos (12-10-1) at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

While the current Raiders weren’t able to get the win on the ice, Saturday night still belonged to Hodgson. Following his time with the Raiders, Hodgson would play parts of four seasons in the NHL from 1985 to 1989 with the Toronto Maple Leafs for one campaign and the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons.

A look at the backside of the Dan Hodgson tribute jerseys.

In total, Hodgson suited up for 114 career regular season games collecting 29 goals and 45 assists including playing 40 regular season games as a rookie with the Maple Leafs in 1985-85 posting 13 goals and 12 assists. Following the 1988-89 season, Hodgson would go on to play 16 more seasons professionally in Europe with most of that time being spent in Switzerland.

In January, Hodgson was one of eight players featured on an Indigenous hockey card set put out by Upper Deck dubbed, “First Peoples Rookie Cards.”

The now 58-year-old, who is Cree, resides in Fort McMurray, Alta. His return to the Art Hauser Centre to have his number retired was a triumphant homecoming to “Hockey Town North.”

During the second intermission of Saturday’s game, Hodgson signed autographs in meeting a lengthy line of well wishers. That moment showed how junior hockey heroes can live forever and never be forgotten in junior hockey towns.

Martin Rysavy (#19) had a hat trick for the Warriors.

Hodgson is a larger than life figure in the history of the Raiders. When you take into account what players were able to accomplish in Prince Albert, Hodgson is the greatest Raiders player of all-time.

It just felt right to see his #16 hanging in the rafters of the Art Hauser Centre between the #4 of Dave Manson and the #9 of Mike Modano.

The Raiders organization did an outstanding job making a special night in honouring Hodgson on Saturday. When giving his address, Hodgson spoke about how great the support from the fans was during his years with the Raiders as the team grew into the WHL and Memorial Cup championship winner in 1984-85.

He said the team in 1984-85 was the epitome of what it was to be a Raider for him.

Dan Hodgson, left, poses for a picture with a young fan.

“We handled ourselves on the ice, and I believe off the ice the way Raiders should be,” said Hodgson. “We were respectful.

“We were proud, and we always were proud to walk the streets of Prince Albert and be known as Raiders.”

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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Shooting from the hip on Bell Let’s Talk day

A display featuring a Bell Let’s Talk toque.

Forget getting out of the starting block, I wasn’t even in the starting block waking up this morning when it came to writing my annual column for Bell Let’s Talk day.

Usually, I have column done ready to go live with pictures when Bell Let’s Talk day begins. After checking messages and taking care of some other work related tasks, I am getting down to work on a piece in earnest at 3 p.m. All of sudden, I am having trouble with my printer/scanner system, and I spend three hours dealing with that to delay things further.

As they say, better late than never.

As a result of those things, this is will be more kind of a “shoot from the hip” type piece.

On my own front, I have known I have battled with issues dealing with anxiety since 2012. I write about my experiences on the mental health front in hopes it will help others.

Since 2016, I’ve kept up with a tradition where I write a post regarding mental health on Bell Let’s Talk day.

There is still a stigma around mental health issues, and they are unfortunately still treated as the elephant in the room in too many circles.

On my own front, I am in a way better place than I was 10 years ago. I am in a way better spot than I was six years ago.

Abby Soyko heads down ice on a rush for the Pandas.

Actually in the current day, my day to day dealings on the mental health front are likely not that sexy or exciting. I am kind of in the place where I deal with the issues of the day as they come up.

Basically, it often comes from prioritizing what I believe needs to be done and just handling things one day at a time. If something expected comes up that is out of your control that you need to adjust to, you make adjustments.

My world since Thursday has been consumed with putting together hockey stories and columns that had deadlines that needed to be met. All of that work was fun, but I had to push back typing this column out.

I got to see a long time friend in Prince Albert product and University of Alberta Pandas Women’s Hockey Team right-winger in Abby Soyko on Saturday. Due to how the world has played dealing with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world in earnest in March of 2020, I hadn’t seen her since crossing paths at a Raiders WHL hockey game in Prince Albert in late December 2019.

We had a great visit after the Pandas downed the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-1 in a U Sports regular season contest at Merlis Belsher Place, and I put together a catch up feature story on her. That piece has been the most viewed post I’ve created on this blog for the last two years.

I also got to chat with Raiders all-time great Dan Hodgson for a story for the Prince Albert Daily Herald about him getting a licensed NHL hockey card. The chat with Hodgson was great, and it is always a highlight any time I can talk to members of the Raiders 1984-85 WHL and Memorial Cup championship team.

As I type this, I wonder what will await me when I tackle messages related to work on the non-hockey front I’ve checked minimally the last few days. I am hoping to get the remainder of the photos I took at the Pandas/Huskies hockey game edited and a small grouping of photos edited for another work-related project done.

I’ve been busy the last few days writing hockey stories and columns.

Those types of things provide what I would grade as standard anxiety for me, but I am confident I will get to them in due time.

One of the things I’m still bad with in day-to-day happenings is shutting out outside noise. If I have phones and social media lines turned off, it usually means I am focusing on work I feel I really need to get done but haven’t due to interruptions. Outside of that, I am likely working out.

As far as shooting from the hip goes, I didn’t really know what I was going to say for this column. A lot of years I have a focused theme as opposed to just going in random directions as I type.

I like today a lot, because I see it gives people freedom to come forward to share their own stories of challenges on the mental health front. I find that part to be extremely helpful and educational for me.

Having worked in the mainstream media, I know this isn’t a great day for a lot of people. In recent years, Bell Canada, which is the telecommunications company that run Bell Let’s Talk day, has had a habit of releasing employees in the months after the company’s mental health awareness and fundraising day.

Any time Bell Canada cuts jobs, the term “Bell Let’s Cut” is inevitably brought up.

I’ve had friends who have been axed by Bell Canada as part of the cuts that have come shortly after Bell Let’s Talk Day in recent years. I saw a post on Twitter from former TSN broadcaster Dan O’Toole asking people to not include him in anything regarding Bell Let’s Talk day due to that day being hard. Bell Canada runs TSN, and O’Toole was released following Bell Let’s Talk day in January of 2021.

Me stationed up in my work perch at the SaskTel Centre.

I met O’Toole along with Jay Onrait at a Saskatchewan Rush NLL home game in April of 2017. 

I had a long visit with them, and you wouldn’t have known we just met. They were outstanding with everyone they met that night.

I decided to keep writing posts on this day, because of the awareness it brings to mental health issues. I know this can be a painful time for friends that used to work for Bell Canada. 

Those cuts have caused people that used to support Bell Let’s Talk day to find other avenues to support charities that assist with mental health causes.

For me, it is fine if you choose to participate in some way on Bell Let’s Talk day, and if you chose not to participate, that is fine too. I am not going to judge anyone.

Since the earnest onset of the COVID-19 pandemic March of 2020, I found the overall toxicity and just plain meanness in the world to have been increased to the highest levels I’ve ever seen in my life. The Twitter social media platform is by far the worst when it comes to encountering people who are toxic.

I try to avoid that type of noise as much as possible, but it is only human to be dragged into it from time to time.

I just hope you are all trying your best to find your way. I am always open for talks about mental health, and I am willing to listen. I know that is not for everyone too.

A picture of myself after finishing a workout.

For myself, I just try to get a little better each day. I hope everyone out in the world can find positive ways to navigate their respective mental health journeys.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. My Bell Let’s Talk post from last year called “Riding hamster wheel is not always good for mental health – Excusing yourself even for a short time is good for soul” can be found by clicking right here. A piece from 2021 called “COVID-19 pandemic forces world to face mental health” can be found by clicking right here. A piece from 2020 called “A big mental health challenge is learning to take a break” can be found right here. A piece from 2019 called “Those facing mental health challenges can still be great in all parts of life” can be found right here. A piece from 2018 called “Being content can become a mental health challenge” can be round right here. A piece from 2017 called “Recognizing and respecting triggers is key for mental health” can be found right here. A piece from 2016 called “Feeling connected calms the mental health seas” can be found right here. A piece called “My Mental Health Story” can be found right here. Another post I like that I wrote in February of 2015 about my mental health journey call “Huskies hockey was good for me” can be found right here.

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Demise of traditional Raiders logo tough for P.A. faithful

A hat with the Prince Albert Raiders traditional logo on it.

It was a day the faithful of the Prince Albert Raiders franchise hoped would never come, but its arrival maybe did seem inevitable.

About a week ago on Friday, October 1, the Raiders unveiled new regular home and away jerseys along with a new alternate uniform. The alternate was styled after the regular jerseys the Raiders wore from 1982 to 1996 that included the team’s traditional Arab on skates logo.

One day later at 9:29 p.m. Saskatchewan time, the WHL issued a statement saying the league and the Raiders had agreed to discontinue the jersey and the brand immediately.

“On Friday night the Prince Albert Raiders unveiled an alternate third jersey, which was inspired by a highly successful era in club history,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robson in the statement. “We recognized the dated design is insensitive and offensive.

“After consultation with the Prince Albert Raiders, this uniform and brand will be discontinued effective immediately. On behalf of the WHL and the Prince Albert Raiders, we regret this uniform design was approved and sincerely apologize for any harm it may have caused.”

The release said there would be no further comment from the WHL or the Raiders.

All items that contained the traditional Raiders logo were removed from the team’s online store this past Monday.

It is safe to say in Prince Albert that statement was met with dismay. In Prince Albert, that Raiders logo was revered and loved. Originally designed during the 1973-74 campaign when the Raiders were still playing in the junior A ranks in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the sight of that logo flooded back memories of some of the franchise’s greatest days to the people in Prince Albert.

A Raiders pennant from the 1980s.

While the logo wasn’t on team’s jerseys at first, it was in use by the squad for four Centennial Cup championships for junior A national supremacy in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1982. During those junior A years, the front of the Raiders jersey had the team named spelled out on it often accompanied by the number the player wore.

The traditional Raiders logo became the front crest on the team’s jersey, when the Raiders moved up to the major junior ranks and began playing in the WHL in 1982-83.

The Raiders won the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1985 wearing that jersey, and the team usually sat in the top five in the overall WHL standings wearing that jersey.

That jersey was worn by Mike Modano and Dave Manson, who are the club’s two more famous NHL grads. The Raiders have retired both of their numbers.

Various team stars like Dan Hodgson, Dave Pasin, Emanuel Viveiros, Pat Elynuik, Dean McAmmond, Jeff Nelson and Chris Phillips all wore that jersey.

That logo and jersey were used pretty much for the whole duration when Terry Simpson was with the Raiders as head coach or held the dual role of head coach and general manager from 1972 to 1986 and in 1989-90. Simpson will forever be a legend in P.A.

The Raiders wore that logo developing their image as being both a skilled and tough team. They could play the run and gun style, get down in the trenches or take part in a flat out brawl, if the opponent wanted things to go that way.

The back of a Raiders jacket circa late 1980s early 1990s.

They developed the romantic image of being the franchise “where honour still matters.”

At the other end of the spectrum, there are circles outside of Prince Albert that greet the Arab on skates logo with dismay. In those circles, the Raiders traditional logo was seen to be depicting a violent Muslim man or that all people from the Middle East are violent terrorists.

When the WHL posted a link to the statement nixing the traditional Raiders logo on Twitter, there were lots of people who piled on voicing displeasure or being offended by the logo.

For people in Prince Albert, it felt like those who voiced their displeasure were from outside the northern Saskatchewan centre, which caused the nixing of the logo to be that much tougher to take.

On Oct. 2, it seemed the displeasure with the traditional Raiders logo first popped up on a blog-type site called the Queens Citizen. The WHL issued its statement discontinuing the Raiders alternate jersey and traditional logo brand about six hours later.

It is common that voiced opposition to something does get rolling from a blog-type site, where questions start to quickly come from mainstream media outlets and sponsors.

While this may sound strange to people in Prince Albert, a lot of people outside of Prince Albert have never seen the Raiders traditional logo and don’t associate that logo with the team, because it has been 25 years since the hockey club used the Arab on skates logo as its main emblem. That factor also helps fuel outrage with regards to the Raiders traditional logo.

It is likely this is what happened with regards to the Raiders alternate jersey and their traditional logo brand, and the WHL and the Raiders took a temperature read. From that temperature read, a decision was made to get ahead of the story, which saw the WHL issue the release that it did.

The Raiders 1985 Memorial Cup championship team.

Looking back over the last seven days, the move worked. Outside of the initial outrage on social media, the story over what was the cancellation of the Raiders alternate jersey and traditional logo quickly went away.

During these social media times, it does feel like people in general have shorter attention spans, and the social media outrage mob quickly moves on to the next thing to get outraged over.

The Raiders faithful and the people in Prince Albert were left to digest what happened and work through how they felt about what happened once the mob moved on.

With that noted, the Raiders did get into hot water over their traditional logo before. In late 2014, the Raiders unveiled a new mascot named “Boston Raider” which was patterned heavily after the old logo.

Due to a national uproar, the mascot was mothballed shortly after being unveiled.

That had to foreshadow that the day may indeed come where the Raiders traditional logo would be nixed for good.

Back in 2014, CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes arrived in Prince Albert when the “Boston Raider” mascot episode occurred. It is safe to say the CBC comedy show wasn’t going to put Prince Albert in a very good light.

Due to the fact the WHL and Raiders got ahead of the story, no TV programs like This Hour Has 22 Minutes ventured to Prince Albert to make the city look bad, and uproar had to be judged to be a lot less than it was in 2014.

Brayden Pachal wears a throwback Raiders uniform on Feb. 15, 2019.

It was smart for the WHL and the Raiders to not say anything further, because it was impossible to win no matter what you said. All that could be accomplished was an unsatisfying tie or going out and digging a deeper hole.

In the years since 2014, the Raiders quietly brought back the traditional logo on merchandise in the team’s gift store inside the club’s home rink, the Art Hauser Centre. Those items were always big sellers, because of the good memories it brought back for locals in Prince Albert.

The staff in the Raiders business office saw the logo made locals happy, so they kept bringing it back. The Raiders even wore jerseys that mirrored those worn from 1982 to 1996 for two games in their 2018-19 WHL Championship season.

Despite the fallout over the traditional logo, the Raiders have one of the best business offices in the league with Michael Scissons as business manager and Cliff Mapes as executive director of business operations leading the way.

The Raiders have one of the best hockey operations staffs in the WHL led by Curtis Hunt as general manager and Marc Habscheid as head coach.

Over the longer stretch of time, the Raiders have the people in place to keep the franchise in a good spot.

The fact that the traditional logo has gotten nixed doesn’t negate all the great things the Raiders franchise has done. 

The Raiders wear throwback uniforms on Feb. 15, 2019.

As time moves on, this episode might be a blessing in disguise helping the Raiders franchise move forward.

When it comes to the core of everything, the Prince Albert Raiders are still the franchise “where honour still matters,” and the faithful that follow the team are still good people. Those are things that are always good to remember.

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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.