Kyle’s competitive spirit could be seen early on

Soccer star named to Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame

Kaylyn Kyle, left, at an autograph session in June of 2017.

Even as she neared her 16^th birthday, Kaylyn Kyle was the player to watch.

Way before she suited up for Canada’s senior national women’s soccer team as a midfielder helping them win a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London, England, Kyle was in Prince Albert, Sask., in the summer of 2004.

Prince Albert was hosting Soccer Canada’s all-star nationals in the girls’ under-14 and under-16 age categories. Each of Canada’s 10 provinces fielded an all-star team in each of those age categories at that tournament, and a national title was up for grabs in each age category.

Kyle was playing midfield for Saskatchewan’s under-16 team, and a large number of officials from Canada Soccer were at this event to scout players. To be accurate, pretty much all of them were in Prince Albert to see Kyle play.

I covered that competition for the Prince Albert Daily Herald and for a weekly segment I did for Prince Albert’s CTV station.

I went into this event thinking that Prince Albert product Elizabeth Hudon was going to get to turn heads on a national stage in her hometown. She was an elite goal scorer and was the ace striker at age 15 for Saskatchewan’s under-16 team.

Kaylyn Kyle demonstrates a drill at her soccer camp in 2015.

When I started talking to Canada Soccer officials, they all said the player to watch was Kyle.

The Saskatoon product didn’t disappoint, when games hit the pitch. Kyle was by far the best player at that event.

Watching her play in that competition had to be what it was like to watch Sidney Crosby play midget AAA hockey or Connor Bedard play and star for the Regina Pats at age 15 this past season in the WHL.

In the final preliminary round game for Saskatchewan’s under-16 team, they needed to beat Alberta to finish first in their pool and advance to a semifinal contest. Saskatchewan hadn’t experienced a whole lot of success at this event, so this contest against Alberta was a big thing.

While soccer is a team game, confidence was high that the Saskatchewan side could win that contest and advance due to the fact Kyle was playing on the squad.

Just five minutes into that clash with Alberta, Kyle was given a red card for a slide tackle against an Alberta player. A couple of Canada Soccer officials did a visible freak out, because they came to see Kyle and now she was getting kicked out of this contest.

That marked the only time Kyle ever got red carded out of a soccer game. From what I remember of that play, Kyle got the ball first on the tackle and shouldn’t have been carded. It was a bad referee’s call.

Kaylyn Kyle smiles during a break at her soccer camp in 2015.

All these years later, I am going to stick with that story about how I remember that game.

Saskatchewan played the final 85 minutes of that contest a player short and lost by a slim 1-0 margin. Had Kyle not been given a red card, the thought of what might have been had to have been on the minds of anyone associated with the Saskatchewan side.

Saskatchewan’s under-16 concluded the tournament playing a consolation game.

I interviewed Kyle for a tournament wrap up story on the Saskatchewan teams. I asked a question that got jumbled in its presentation.

I asked about the loss to Alberta in the final preliminary round contest, but the question came out in a way that placed blame on Kyle for getting red carded early in that contest. I didn’t want the question to come out that way, but I really did sound like the mean sports reporter in how the question was asked.

Kyle, who was still 15-years-old at that time, didn’t look impressed. It looked like she was getting ready to make a fist to punch me.

She did answer the question. I don’t even remember what the answer to that question was, because that whole exchange was awkward.

In that moment, you saw Kyle’s competitive spirit and her passion even at the young age she was.

Kaylyn Kyle encourages a player at her soccer camp in 2015.

I didn’t have any interactions again with Kyle until six years later in 2010. New interactions came when I first got on Twitter, when that social media platform was still in its relative infancy.

Kyle, who stands 5-foot-8, had become a member of Canada’s senior national women’s soccer team by that time. She was one of the first I ever saw to make real connections with fans via Twitter.

I ended up emailing her through Facebook recalling the story from that time in Prince Albert. She got back to me, and that whole situation became a something we both took with humour now.

I would keep in touch with her via various electronic lines and cross paths with her on three or four occasions.

Thanks to those interactions, my TV at home would be tuned into games involving Canada’s senior national women’s soccer team, because Kyle was on the team. She became a celebrity in the truest sense, and I marveled at how well she carried herself in the spotlight.

I got to spend an afternoon shooting pictures of her hosting a skills camp in Saskatoon at the SaskTel Sports Centre in October of 2015, and that was a pretty fun afternoon.

I enjoyed watching her interact with the youngsters, and she truly wanted to see the players get a little bit better during the short time they were at that camp. Some of the participants had even traveled into town from Winnipeg and Vancouver to be at that camp.

Kaylyn Kyle goes through a drill at her soccer camp in 2015.

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed interacting with Kyle’s parents in father, Doug, and mother, Pat. It was really enjoyable meeting Kaylyn’s older sister, Courtnee, too. At different times over the years, Courtnee helped Kaylyn manage life and the opportunities that came her way away from the game.

On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame announced its class for 2021. Kaylyn Kyle was named to the class in the athlete category along with Moose Jaw’s Justin Abdou in wrestling, Fillmore’s Rod Boll in trapshooting, Porcupine Plain’s Colette Bourgonje in track and cross-country skiing and Humboldt’s Lyndon Rush in bobsleigh.

Former Canadian senior national women’s hockey team head coach Shannon Miller, who was born in Tisdale and raised in Melfort, enters the Hall in the builders’ category. Miller played hockey for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the early 1980s.

The team inductees included the 2000-01 University of Regina Cougars Women’s Basketball team, who won a U Sports national title, and 2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders, who won the Grey Cup at their iconic home park of Taylor Field.

This class was selected in 2020, but the class announcement and induction was postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world. 

Kaylyn Kyle gives feedback to a player at her soccer camp in 2015.

While the 2021 class was named, there won’t be an official induction this year.

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame will do the official enshrinement at an appropriate time that allows for safe communal gatherings while following all provincial health guidelines.

Kyle played one season in 2006 in the U Sports ranks for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Soccer team before opportunities in Canada Soccer’s women’s national team system and the professional ranks came calling.

She retired from playing in 2017.

These days, Kyle is a television soccer host and analyst based out of Miami, Florida, and she is one of the best in those roles.

She is married to English professional soccer player Harrison Heath, who is also a midfielder. The couple has two sons aged three and six-months.

Throughout her career, Kyle has represented her teams and herself with passion, grace and class. She seemed comfortable being in the spotlight.

Due to the fact how often she had to play in the United Kingdom and Europe, that spotlight included being photographed by tabloid publications in those places. 

Kaylyn Kyle, left, takes questions at her soccer camp in Oct. 2015.

The tabloids in the United Kingdom and Europe love to play up attractive female athletes in a tabloid style way, and it is safe to say those publications will never change.

Kyle handled that attention with an amazing amount of grace and class.

It was spectacular for me to see her become an outstanding ambassador representing soccer in Canada, and she still represents the game well as a broadcaster.

I’m happy that old awkward 2004 interview in Prince Albert is just a humourous story to tell now.

P.A. gets third crack as Esso Cup hosts, other notes

The Bears celebrate an OT home win in November of 2020.

Fingers crossed the third time will be a charm for the Prince Albert Northern Bears when it comes to hosting the Esso Cup.

The Bears were supposed to host the national female under-18 AAA hockey championship tournament in 2020 and this past April. Both times, the Esso Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world.

This past Tuesday, Hockey Canada announced the Bears will host the 2022 Esso Cup, which is slated to run April 17-23 that year at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, which can hold 3,289 spectators.

Hockey Canada also announced that same day the Estevan Bruins will host the junior A hockey national championship tournament – the Centennial Cup – in 2022. The 2022 Centennial Cup is slated to run May 20 to 29 of that year at Affinity Place.

On the Esso Cup front, the Bears deserve to host nationals as they have been one of the strongest female under-18 programs in Saskatchewan dating back to the inaugural season of the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League in 2006-07.

The Bears won league titles in 2009 and 2017 and appeared in the 2017 Esso Cup. They have a loyal following in “Hockey Town North.”

After Hockey Canada cancelled all its nationals for a second straight year, there had to be some uneasiness about Prince Albert getting awarded the Esso Cup for a third straight year.

Lloydminster, which sits on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, was originally slated to host the Esso Cup in 2022.

Brooklin Fry in action for the Bears in November of 2020.

Hockey Canada could have decided to go with host centres that were already decided for 2022 before coming back to centres like Prince Albert, which had lost out on hosting nationals twice due to factors beyond anyone’s control.

Hockey Canada gets kudos for ensuring Prince Albert would still get its turn to host the Esso Cup.

With the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts that are happening across Canada, it is reasonable to believe the 2022 Esso Cup will run when it is scheduled to run. When Hockey Canada made its announcement for host centres for its 2021 nationals, actually dates for those events were never announced.

When time for Hockey Canada’s 2022 national championship tournaments roll around, public health orders and travel restrictions have a good chance of being a thing of the past.

In 2020-21, the Bears themselves only got to play four regular season games posting a 3-1 record before new public health orders to combat COVID-19 put that campaign on ice permanently.

The Bears will get to celebrate a return to hockey. The Esso Cup will likely be one of the things Prince Albert as a community gets to rally around in a return to more normal times.

• On Tuesday, Major Series Lacrosse in Ontario and the Western Lacrosse Association in British Columbia in consultation with Lacrosse Canada cancelled their 2021 seasons and the Mann Cup national men’s senior box lacrosse championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the second straight year those lacrosse campaigns were cancelled due to the pandemic.
• Tickets are on sale for the May jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. The draw date will be May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Thursday, the WHL’s Everett Silvertips announced they won’t be extending the contract for the team’s standout general manager in Garry Davidson and said the 70-year-old is departing the organization effective immediately. Davidson became the Silvertips general manager in February of 2012. Since that time, the Silvertips have finished first in the U.S. Division on five occasions. They reached the WHL Championship series in 2018 falling in six games to the Swift Current Broncos. In the WHL’s 2020-21 developmental season, the Silvertips topped the U.S. Division with a 19-4 record. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has played havoc on the last two WHL campaigns preventing any post-season action from taking place. The Silvertips release stated, “The past two seasons have necessitated the restructuring of Silvertips hockey operations, and this process is ongoing. The Silvertips remain focused on the long-term on-ice and business success for our players, fans, partners, sponsors and our ownership.”
• Back on May 13, the OHL announced it planned to open its upcoming 2021-22 regular season on October 7. The OHL is slated to host the 2022 CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. In that May 13 release, the OHL said the 2022 Memorial Cup is slated to be held June 2 to 12 of that year. The OHL wasn’t able to play at all in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This past week, I learned I came in third for the Best Sports Story award given out by the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association. The awards were announced May 17. The story that I wrote that came in third appeared in the Davidson Leader, and it was entitled “Hockey Day in Hanley.” Two of my buds took the second and first place spots. Brad Brown came in second with his “Gray’s diamonds are forever” story published in his Quad Town Forum. Lucas Punkari came in first with his “The end of an era” story that appeared in Prince Albert Rural Roots, which was about the Beardy’s Blackhawks final game in the Saskatchewan Male under-18 AAA Hockey League.
• On Friday, the WWE announced it will return to live event touring with a 25-city schedule. The tour begins on July 16 with a taping of Smackdown at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The second event is on July 18 and it will be the Money In the Bank pay per view to be hosted at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. On July 19, there will be a taping of RAW at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The other tour stops are still to be announced. The WWE hasn’t toured since early March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the fact the WWE’s weekly RAW, NXT and Smackdown television programs are the main thing that drives its business machine, it is interesting to see when that sports entertainment company hits the road. The RAW and Smackdown shows have been filmed before a virtual video screen audience since about the start of August 2020 in Tampa, Florida. NXT shows have been taped with a limited crowd of about 200 in Orlando, Florida.
• There are times Twitter can suspend an account, where it falls into the department of being an overreaction. This past Tuesday, the Era_of_Bliss account, which is a fan account of WWE superstar Alexa Bliss, was suspended by Twitter for violating Twitter rules. The account was suspended regarding copyright of music usage for a tweet that was posted in June of 2018 regarding UFC 225 that wished luck to fighter CM Punk. The Era_of_Bliss account, which had over 24,000 followers, was very active, so it is crazy to thing someone mined for that tweet from about three years ago. The person who runs the Era_of_Bliss account is a 20-year-old university student, who opened the account while still in high school in February of 2018. The account owner has followed Bliss since her first appearances as a performer on NXT in a glitter fairy gimmick in 2014. Bliss herself even followed the Era_of_Bliss account. The Era_of_Bliss account was fun, and it was not malicious. No money was made operating the Era_of_Bliss account. I hope the owner is able to get that account back.

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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2000-01 Cougars get call to Sask. Sports Hall of Fame

Women’s basketball team still revered in Regina

Crystal (Heisler) McGregor leads a post-game cheer after a CIAU title win.

The 2000-01 University of Regina Cougars Women’s Basketball team holds mythic status in Saskatchewan’s capital city.

That season the Cougars posted a 30-5 overall record, captured a third straight Great Plains Athletic Conference title and won the first Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union national champion for women’s basketball in the history of the U of R athletics program. The CIAU is now known as U Sports these days.

The Cougars team picture after winning the 2001 CIAU title.

When the subject of basketball comes up among Regina residents, it is common for someone to say, “You should have seen the 2000-01 national champion Cougars Women’s Basketball team play. They were great.”

Sometimes the exploits of forward Corrin Wersta, who was the U Sports player of the year in 1998-99, or guard Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer, who was the U Sports player of the year in 2003-04, can reach tall tale status.

On Thursday, it was announced the 2000-01 Cougars will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. It is an honour the team very much deserves.

Corrin Wersta goes up for a score in 2001.

The Cougars will enter the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame with a pretty cool 2021 class. The 2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders, who won the Grey Cup that year at their iconic home park of Taylor Field, are being inducted in the team category as well.

Individual athletes who will be entering the Hall include Saskatoon soccer star Kaylyn Kyle, Moose Jaw’s Justin Abdou in wrestling, Fillmore’s Rod Boll in trapshooting, Porcupine Plain’s Colette Bourgonje in track and cross-country skiing and Humboldt’s Lyndon Rush in bobsleigh.

Former Canadian senior national women’s hockey team head coach Shannon Miller, who was born in Tisdale and raised in Melfort, enters the Hall in the builders’ category. Miller played hockey for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the early 1980s.

This class was selected in 2020, but the class announcement and induction was postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world. While the 2021 class was named, there won’t be an official induction this year.

Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer sets for a free throw in 2001.

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame will do the official enshrinement at an appropriate time that allows for safe communal gatherings while following all provincial health guidelines.

Going into the 2000-01 season, the Cougars were well established as having one of the top women’s basketball programs in Canada. They had a huge following in Regina, and fans were constantly crammed into the small main gym at the Physical Activity Centre on the U of R campus to watch their games.

Hoops went up on driveways outside of houses in Regina as little girls started to take up the sport to be like the Cougars. It was common after home games for the Cougars players to be swamped outside of their dressing room by little girls looking for autographs.

Phoebe (De Ciman) Haugen sets on defence in 2001.

The Cougars obtained celebrity status in “The Queen City.”

The only thing that eluded the Cougars was a gold medal finish at the CIAU elite-eight women’s basketball championship tournament. The Cougars finished fourth in 1998, fifth in 1999 and third in 2000 at that event.

The key element that allowed the Cougars to ultimately win the CIAU title game in the main gym at the Van Vliet Complex at the University of Alberta in Edmonton on March 11, 2001 was the fact they enjoyed and focused on the daily journey it took to get there. No matter where the team was during the course of the season, the Cougars always stayed present in that moment.

Crystal (Heisler) McGregor drives the ball in 2001.

Still, there was a sign early on that the 2000-01 campaign could be special. The Cougars opened their regular season schedule hosting the defending CIAU champion University of Victoria Vikes on Oct. 27 and 28, 2000.

U of R swept the series with an 83-75 victory on night one and an 82-69 win on night two. Following the second win, I found myself visiting with legendary Vikes head coach Kathy Shields.

I remember Shields telling me she thought this was the campaign where the Cougars were going to win it all. I took the comment as a complement for the U of R side, because the regular season was only two games old at that point.

Heather (Dedman) McMurray had epic moments in 2000-01.

It also stuck with me that someone like Shields that early in a season would say an opposing team was going to win the CIAU national title at campaign’s end.

With that noted, the Cougars played with great consistency and the wins piled up. In games that were tight, playmakers always seemed to step up on the Cougars side to make the difference in the final two minutes.

The biggest adversity for the team might have occurred away from the court.

While driving to a team practice in December of 2000, Wersta hit a patch of black ice on Ring Road causing her car to slide off the street and roll over. The fifth-year veteran captain had never missed a practice during her time with the team, so the fact Wersta missed her first practice due to a car accident kind of shook up the squad for a short time.

Bree Burgess could drop the threes for the Cougars.

Wersta came away from that accident having suffered a concussion, and it didn’t keep her out of the line up for long.

The injury did prevent her from playing in a tournament in Calgary that was held after Christmas Day and wrapped up before New Year’s Day. The Cougars weren’t at their best in the Calgary tournament winning one of their three games.

At that point in time, head coach Christine Stapleton and assistant coaches Dave Taylor and Diane Hilko did a terrific job of guiding the team through that rough patch. They allowed the players to work through the fact they got spooked emotionally.

Becky (Poley) Schutz was key player for the Cougars inside game.

The Cougars players ended up bonding more closely together, and from the start of January of 2001, they took off posting a 20-1 overall record including a 14-game winning streak to finish off the campaign.

Three of the team’s most memorable wins came in the post-season. In Game 2 of the best-of-three GPAC Championship series, fifth-year guard Heather (Dedman) McMurray hit a body twisting transition layup at the buzzer to give the Cougars a 61-60 victory over the University of Manitoba Bisons and a 2-0 sweep of the series.

Dedman’s score provided one of the most memorable moments ever for the Cougars at the Physical Activity Centre.

The Cougars celebrate Heather (Dedman) McMurray’s buzzer beater.

In a CIAU semifinal contest against the University of Calgary Dinos, the Cougars were holding on to a slim 69-67 lead in the game’s dying seconds. Dinos star forward Leighann Doan was driving to the hoop for a potential game-tying score only for Bernauer to come up with a clutch steal for the Cougars.

A pair of free-throws iced a 71-67 victory.

In the CIAU title game on March 11, 2001, the Cougars faced the host University of Alberta Pandas. The Pandas took a 4-0 edge moments into the contest.

The Cougars GPAC title winning team picture from 2001.

The Cougars responded with an 11-0 run to go ahead 11-4 and never looked back from that point. U of R’s advantage grew to 50-39 at halftime before settling out to a 94-85 final.

The 94 points the Cougars scored to capture the Bronze Baby trophy is still a record for most points scored in a CIAU/U Sports women’s basketball final.

In the 2001 national championship game win, seven members of the Cougars hit double digits in scoring.

Fifth-year guard McMurray led the way with 24 points being named the game’s MVP and earning a tournament all-star nod. 

Cougars HC Christine Stapleton calls out directions from the bench.

She kept making free throws inside the final two minutes of the game, when the Pandas were forced to foul to stop the clock.

Fifth-year forward Becky (Poley) Schutz finished her final game with the Cougars with 14 points. Forwards Phoebe (De Ciman) Haugen and Wersta had 13 and 12 points respectively.

Shooting guard Bree Burgess had 11 points. Bernauer and guard Crystal (Heisler) McGregor each netted 10 points.

Bernauer was named the most valuable player of the tournament and a tournament all-star.

Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer drives the ball up court for the Cougars.

McGregor, who was one of the Cougars most popular players, would later pass away on May 15, 2014 after an inspiring battle against cervical cancer lasting over two years in length.

She was only 35-years-old – a proud wife (of Paul McGregor) and mother (of Aija and Zayden).

During the campaign, the Cougars received key contributions at different times from Rumali Werapitiya, Jana (Schweitzer) Linner, Leah (Anderson) Levy, Tara-Lee Crosson, Kaela McKaig and Sheena Aitken.

The celebration is on as the Cougars win the 2001 CIAU title.

Trainers Erin Walton and Kate Stefan ensure any time missed due to minor injuries was minimal.

Now 20 years after that campaign was completed, the players from that Cougars team have become successful mothers, lawyers, businesswomen, coaches, trainers and community leaders.

Stapleton coached the Cougars for one more season and is now the director of sports and recreation at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. Taylor became the head coach of the Cougars women’s team in 2006.

After Crystal (Heisler) McGregor passed in May of 2014, that generation of the Cougars had a reunion for her celebration of life. They have had a few other reunions since that time.

The Cougars raise the CIAU championship banner in 2001.

When the 2000-01 Cougars come together again for their Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, they will again remember McGregor and celebrate all that happened in 2000-01.

They provide the ultimate example of what it is like when a sports team truly does become a family. Their family bonds are ones that last forever.

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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In a world juniors like no other, Canada had a good run

It can be easy to cannibalize of over-dissect a loss in the world of sports, especially if it happens with a program that has constant success.

On Tuesday, Canada entered the gold medal game at world junior men’s hockey championships, which were being held in a bubble environment at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta., in impressive fashion.

Though the preliminary, quarter-final and semifinal rounds, Canada had a 6-0 record outscoring its opponents 41-4. The record grows to 7-0, if you add in Canada’s 1-0 victory in exhibition play over Russia.

Canada, which topped Group A in the preliminary round, hadn’t trailed in any of its game at world juniors until hitting the gold medal game.

Throughout the day on Tuesday on various Canadian sports talk stations and media outlets, there was discussion that this was the best team Canada had ever sent to world juniors including the gold medal winning team featuring Sidney Crosby in the 2004-05 campaign.

The excitement all came down to a crashing thud with Canada falling 2-0 to the U.S.A. in a contest that had a huge following on Canadian television over the TSN airwaves.

Due to the fact there were no fans in the stands and no other hockey was taking place in Canada due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that had gripped the world, the Canadian side that took the ice at this edition of the world juniors had arguably way more attention paid to it than any other Canadian team in the history of that tourney.

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Opinions seemed to fly around everywhere about why Canada wasn’t able to win.

In all reality, the result of Tuesday’s gold medal game likely came from the fact Canada was playing in a one-game showdown. The United States did what it needed to do to win on that day.

During the first half of the game, the players on the United States side showed they weren’t afraid of the pedigree on the Canadian side and came out and played the game tenaciously. You could tell it truly meant a lot to the players on the United States side to win that contest.

In a one-game showdown, I think that whole aspect caught the Canadian side off guard. After the U.S. got ahead 2-0 early in the second, Canada had a lot of good chances in the final 10 minutes of the second to get back in the game.

The images of Canadian offensive-defenceman Bowen Byram hitting the post on a short-handed rush shortly after the midway point of the second likely won’t escape the minds of most of Canada’s supporters.

Canada could never get that traction goal to trigger a comeback. While Canada held a 15-1 edge in shots on goal in the third, the U.S. played a textbook defensive game in that frame and kept most of those chances on the outside.

Had both teams played another game 24 hours later, it can be argued that Canada might have won. If the battle for the gold medal was a best-of-three, best-of-five or best-of-seven series, Canada’s odds of gaining victory would be very good.

Still, star forward Trevor Zegras, netminder Spencer Knight and the rest of the U.S.A. side took the one-game showdown with Canada fair and square. The United States gets full marks for playing a great 60-minute game to claim victory.

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On a side note, the officiating in the tournament had to grade out as being great in the tournament, so huge kudos to the crew there.

Canadian netminder Devon Levi couldn’t be faulted on any of the two goals the United States scored, and he was more than worthy of being a tournament all-star.

Canadian forward Dylan Cozens, who stars with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, topped Canada in scoring with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in seven games. He had a sensational tournament being named a tournament all-star.

Byram, who is a star of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, was stellar at both ends of the ice and was also more than worthy of being named a tournament all-star.

On a Saskatchewan front, Kaiden Guhle, who is a defenceman for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, had a solid tournament. Saskatchewan products in Prince Albert’s Braden Schneider, who plays defence for the WHL Brandon Wheat Kings, Yorkton’s Kaedan Korczak, who plays defence for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, and Saskatoon’s Connor Zary, who plays centre for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, all had strong tournaments.

Going back to the selection camp held in Red Deer, Alta., the Canadian side spent about 52 days together in a bubble environment. That included the fact the team had to go through a 14-day quarantine period in hotel rooms early in the selection camp due to positive COVID-19 tests.

In the exhibition game win over Russia, Canada lost captain and centre Kirby Dach with a fractured right wrist. Dach is a member the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and an alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.

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Canada’s coaching staff led by head coach Andre Tourigny, who is the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, did a remarkable job that included dealing with pandemic induced factors no other Canadian world junior coaches had to deal with.

The assistant coaches should get big credit for ensuring thing kept going forward.

The assistant coaches included Mitch Love, who is the head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, Tyler Dietrich, who is an assistant coach with the Blades, Michael Dyck, who is the head coach of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, and goaltender coach Jason LaBarbera.

LaBarbera was the goaltending coach of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, but he moved over to become a full-time goalie coach for the NHL’s Calgary Flames before world juniors started. The Flames own the Hitmen.

Over a period of 14 days beginning on Dec. 23, 2020 with the exhibition game against Russia, Canada’s entry at the world juniors provided numerous thrills for a host country with most regions experiencing lockdown conditions to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Team Canada provided a welcomed breath of fresh air. It was just a winning result in the event’s gold medal game was not to be.

Canadian pride 🍁@mlovehockey | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/OsUBj6x4e6

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) January 8, 2021

Original Hardy Trophy sits in Sask. Sports Hall of Fame

Thank you to @EvanDaum for bringing the Hardy Trophy to the SSHF for us to display. The Trophy was retired in 1996 after going through a lot in its 75 years of use. After being rediscovered at the @USask, the trophy has been repaired and we are looking forward to displaying it. pic.twitter.com/gzbSTr9PWT

— SaskSports H of F (@SaskSportsHF) January 8, 2021

The original Hardy Trophy has a new home.

On Friday, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame showed pictures of the Hardy Trophy being dropped off on their grounds by Evan Daum, who had been the associate director of communications and marketing for the Canada West Conference.

The original Hardy Trophy was presented from 1922 to 1996 to the conference’s championship team in football. It pre-dates the U Sports national championship trophy for football – the Vanier Cup.

U Sports, which is the national umbrella the Canada West Conference plays under, first awarded the Vanier Cup in 1965 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

The original Hardy Trophy was named in honour of Evan Hardy, who was the former head of the agricultural engineering department at the University of Saskatchewan. The trophy was first presented to the University of Alberta Golden Bears in 1922.

It was last presented on November 9, 1996 at Griffiths Stadium to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies after they downed the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 37-16 in the Canada West title game.

The Huskies would move on to win that year’s Vanier Cup 31-12 over the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men.

The Huskies had a dynasty in the 1930s winning the original Hardy Trophy on five occasions in 1930, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1938. The 1930 championship marked the Huskies first Canada West title win.

When the Huskies won the Canada West title in 1996, the original Hardy Trophy fell apart during the on field celebrations. It was replaced by the current trophy in 1997.

The original Hardy Trophy was forgotten at the U of Saskatchewan until finally being unearthed under a pile of storage boxes in 2008. Daum, who became the director of brand marketing and communications with the WHL’s Regina Pats this past November, had been the keeper of the original Hardy Trophy for the last four years after it was reassembled.

It is a sweet piece of Canadian sports history that the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame now has.

Funds raised to help “Woodsy” on COVID-19 recovery trail

Long time friend & past co-cost of @GlobalTV Sportsline needs big time help. Battling Covid-19 since end of November and a mountain to climb. You got this @WoodsyCJME ❤️🙏 https://t.co/u6afa2X54c

— Craig Adam (@craigadam_) January 7, 2021

Warren Woods is best known as a warm feeling sports broadcaster in Regina, but he is now riding a lengthy comeback trail recovering from COVID-19.

“Woodsy,” who is 66-years-old, contracted COVID-19 in early this past December and has been fighting the virus and its effects at Regina General Hospital ever since.

Woods is in the recovery process and a GoFundMe campaign was started by 10 of his friends four days ago to help him with his medical needs. It is expected Woods will be needing physical therapy for the next year.

The campaign has a goal of $50,000 and has raised $52,513 at the time this post went live. Anyone who wants to donate to the campaign can do so by clicking right here.

Woods was an original member of the sports department with STV Regina when it first went on the air in 1987 and later became Global Regina. He became one of the hosts of Regina’s first half-hour nightly sportscast when Sportsline went on the air.

Woods is best remembered for hosting the show with the show’s other original host in Ron Rimer and later with Craig Adam.

In 2013, Woods moved to radio working in several roles for CJME.

Woods has covered sports of all sports and is best known for being around the football and curling circles or enjoying himself hitting numerous rounds of golf during the summer months. He is also a lifelong fan of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

Woods has always been a guy everyone enjoys socializing with, and it is safe to say all who know him wish him well on the recovery trail.

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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’Riders must win to host 2020 Grey Cup, get big game in 2022

CFL eyes shortened season with September start

William Powell jets downfield for the Roughriders.

    The Saskatchewan Roughriders could still host the 2020 Grey Cup, but it will come down to how they do in a shortened regular season.
    On Wednesday, the CFL presented an update regarding its 2020 season in the face the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that is gripping the world. Had there been no pandemic, CFL main training camps had originally been slated to open on Sunday around the country.

    As for the first announcement on Wednesday, the CFL said it is expecting to start the 2020 regular season on Sept. 1 at the earliest. Teams will play a shortened regular season with the number of games to be determined.

    The circuit announced that barring the creation of a vaccine for COVID-19 there won’t be any regular season games held during the summer months.

    As a result, the CFL has cancelled Touchdown Atlantic slated for July 25 in Halifax, N.S. That regular season contest would have seen the Roughriders face the Toronto Argonauts at Huskies Stadium on the grounds of Saint Mary’s University.

    Due to playing a shortened regular season, the CFL announced the 2020 Grey Cup won’t be played on Nov. 22 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, which is the home of the Roughriders. The CFL has decided give the hosting rights of the 2022 Grey Cup to Regina.

Roughrider DT Makana Henry (#74) rushes a quarterback. 

    The 2020 Grey Cup host will be determined by a “win and host” model. That means once the two teams that will meet in the Grey Cup have been determined, the finalist that has the best record in the regular season will host the CFL’s title game.

    The circuit said the 2020 Grey Cup could potentially be played in December.

    The 2021 Grey Cup is still slated to be held in Hamilton.

    With the COVID-19 pandemic having wrecked havoc on travel, tourism and the economy, the CFL noted the traditional week long Grey Cup Festival leading up to the CFL’s championship game would not have the size and scope it would normally have.

    The CFL noted that continuing government imposed restrictions on assemblies, travel and border crossings all played into the decisions that were made on Wednesday.

    The circuit’s announcement noted a number of provinces and municipalities have decided to prohibit all sporting events featuring large gatherings until Sept. 1.

    The CFL said the September start is one scenario the league is looking at and noted a cancelled season is still possible. A determination on possibly cancelling the 2020 football season has not yet been made.

The Roughriders hope to have celebrations on the field in 2020.

    The CFL announcement added the league is focused on safety, and a final decision on a return to play on what governments tell the circuit is safe for players, fans and all involved with the game.

    Following the release of that announcement, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie held an online town hall with season ticket holders.

    “I think we’ve learned three things trying to run a pro sports league during a pandemic,” said Ambrosie during the online town hall. “The first is that certainty is really hard to come by.

    “There are lot of scenarios to consider, but in the end, public safety and the safety of our players is the most important consideration. All of that has gone into the announcements that we’ve made today.”

Phase two Sask. reopening offers some relief, other notes

There were lines to get into some stores at Midtown Plaza on Wednesday.

    Going to a mall near you turned out to be an exciting even this week in Saskatchewan.

    On Tuesday, phase two of the Government of Saskatchewan’s reopen plan for the province took hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that grips the world. With that move, retail stores, hair salons and malls were allowed to reopen, but they have to follow strict health protocols laid out by the provincial government.

    After living through major lockdown restrictions for about the last nine weeks, life at least in Saskatoon seemed a little more regular.

    Traffic as you drove through the city seemed a lot more normal, which brought out the good and the bad. I am sure a number of people experienced their share of frustrations with driving.

    Parking in downtown was a challenge, and the City of Saskatoon announced recently all paid parking zones would be enforced starting this coming Monday.

    Confederation Mall is in my neighbourhood. Going in for a bank trip on Tuesday, it felt like a relief to see Warehouse One, Winner’s and Tim Hortons inside the mall were all open along with the $1. Store Plus.

    I went and bought a lottery ticket at the $1. Store Plus, and the clerk, who I often talk to there, said that was the first lottery ticket he had sold in two months. Due to the fact no one else was in the store at the moment, we proceeded to have a quick five minute chat to catch up.

    I proceeded to check out Lawson Heights Mall on Tuesday and Midtown Plaza on Wednesday. When I went into both places, I would say about 65 per cent of the stores were open.
    There were staff working in some of the stores that were closed, and they appeared to getting things ready for a reopening.

    While the stores were open, it was obvious that life wasn’t normal. Most stores had arrows spelling out which way people should walk.

A video game store at Midtown Plaza was popular on Wednesday.

    Staffers wore gloves and the majority wore masks. I looked in a couple of hair salons and the stylists looked like they were ready to perform open heart surgery.

    At Midtown Plaza, it was easy to see which stores were popular. About four of five stories had customers lined up waiting to get in. Most of the other stores appeared to be quiet.

    Most of the business in Midtown’s food court weren’t open. I walked past where the new Saskatchewan Roughriders retail store was and wondered if it will ever open.

    Still, it seemed like seeing the stores opened gave a glimmer of optimism, and any type of optimism in the current day is a good thing.

• On Monday, the iPolitics site reported the CHL, which is the umbrella that the WHL, OHL and QMJHL all operate under, is lobbying the Canadian federal government for financial aid for its 52 teams located in Canada. Susan Smith, Raphael Brass and Tim Barber of Bluesky Strategy are registered to lobby on the CHL’s behalf.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan reported the WHL has contracted two lobbyists from the Vancouver-based Bluestone Consulting Group to lobby the Government of British Columbia with regards to returning to play. Mark Jiles, who is the principal owner of Bluestone, and Rob Nagai, who is Bluestone’s vice-president, will be lobbying on the WHL’s behalf.
• The WHL continued to roll out its league awards via an online format this week. On Tuesday, Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips claimed the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the goaltender of the year. On Wednesday, Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs took home the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the defenceman of the year.
• On Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame cancelled its 2020 induction dinner and ceremony slated for Sept. 26 in Regina due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 induction class, which has yet to be announced, will be carried forward as the class of 2021. The organization wanted to all the inductees to be able to gather together with family and friends in person, which is extremely difficult to do with the various travel restrictions around the world.
• On Tuesday, Softball Canada cancelled all its fast pitch and slo-pitch national championship tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 10 Canadian championships were scheduled to be held in six different provinces between late July and early September.

    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.