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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Believe – It’s déjà vu to 2011 as Raiders enter post-season

Blades RW Egor Sidorov battles past Raiders LW Sloan Stanick.

When the Prince Albert Raiders were seemingly the biggest of underdogs, Bruce Vance and his team in the club’s business office might have done their most memorable work.

Back in March of 2011, the Raiders entered the WHL Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 31-36-2-3 record after having missed the post-season in the three previous campaigns. They would face their archrivals in the Saskatoon Blades in a best-of-seven first round series.

The Blades put up their best regular season in team history going 56-13-1-2 to finish first overall in the WHL standings. With all-world centre Brayden Schenn being the big trade deadline acquisition for Saskatoon, it was a foregone conclusion that the Blades were going to sweep the series.

Vance and the Raiders business office came up with the simple playoff slogan, “Believe.” The slogan was introduced with a clip of the United States 4-3 upset victory over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

The video went to a graphic showing the first round matchup between the Raiders and Blades and asked the question, “Do you believe?”

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

Olympic champion Clark soaks in hero’s homecoming

Emily Clark is pictured with a young Saskatoon Comets player.

Emily Clark is living a whirlwind reality that is turning out better than her gold medal winning Olympic dream.

In the early morning hours in Saskatchewan time on February 17, Clark helped Canada’s Senior National Women’s Hockey team down the United States 3-2 in the gold medal game held at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Growing up playing hockey in Saskatoon, Clark dreamed of winning a gold medal for Canada and realized her dream with that win over the U.S. at the Wukesong Arena.

Since the on ice celebrations of that victory, Clark keeps encountering happy surreal experiences.

Emily Clark arrives home at the airport in Saskatoon.

One of the biggest surprises came when the 26-year-old centre arrived home at the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport during the 10 p.m. hour on Tuesday. She was greeted by a healthy gathering of supporters that included family and friends, players from local area hockey teams and fans.

“There are so many emotions going through my mind,” said Clark, who stands 5-foot-7. “It is hard to put words to.

“Honestly, I think this is the first time it has felt real getting to be back in Saskatoon and see some friends and family and share it with them. It feels real now, and it is just super special.”

The alum of the Flyers minor hockey zone in Saskatoon and the Saskatoon Stars Female Under-18 AAA team first hugged her father, Del, and mother, Tracy, upon her arrival.

Emily Clark, left, hugs her father, Del Clark.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, Emily Clark and her teammates playing in a bubble environment at the Winter Olympics and have basically been living in a bubble environment for about the last eight months.

The challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Clark’s family members from making it to the Winter Olympics.

She had family and friends in attendance at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Canada took home the silver medal at those games falling 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout to the United States in the gold medal final.

A couple of young Comets players display signs for Emily Clark.

After family and friends were there to pick her up emotionally after the disappointment of falling in the gold medal game in PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018, Clark couldn’t wait to share a golden moment with her family and friends returning home with a gold medal from the 2022 Winter Olympics starting with her parents.

“I remember in 2018 I didn’t get to see them (Del and Tracy) until a little bit after the game at the Canada House,” said Clark. “As soon as I saw them, just getting to share it with them right away it was water works.

“It is super emotional. Everyone that is here still, my siblings, my sister-in-law, even my training partner and one of my best friends for a long time (University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey team defenceman) Evan Fiala is here. They’ve all had such a huge impact on getting me here.

Emily Clark gets up in a group hug with the Saskatoon Stars.

“To get to share it with them, that is why I think I said that is when it feels real, because they are the people I love the most. It feels good to share it with the people that got me here that is for sure.”

Clark received another surprise at her homecoming arrival in the fact the current Stars squad made it to the airport. The Stars had beaten the Prince Albert Northern Bears 5-4 in overtime earlier that night at Merlis Belsher Place.

Stars head coach Robin Ulrich had a bus waiting in front of Merlis for the team to board right after their game to make it to the airport for Clark’s arrival.

Emily Clark is pictured with another young Comets player.

Clark and the Stars had a big group hug. Following the hug, Clark took part in a team picture with the Stars and selfie photos with the individual players, coaches and support staffers.

Clark said she knew a number of the players since the last Olympic cycle and knows the families of Stars forwards Avery Bairos and Sage Babey well.

“It is so cool to watch them grow up and follow in my footsteps,” said Clark, who won an NCAA championship with the University of Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Hockey team in 2018-19. “Now, they are on the Stars.

Emily Clark has some fun with the Stars players.

“Now, they are hoping to get university scholarships. I know they are fans of me, but it is pretty cool to watch them grow up. To see the (Saskatoon) Comets jerseys, to see some young youth hockey boys as well be just as excited as the young girl athletes, it is so special.

“It means the world. I love home. I love being from here. To share those moments with them it does mean a lot to me.”

The Stars contingent included assistant coach Kori Herner, who played with Clark on the Stars during the 2011-12 campaign. Herner held up a sign that said, “Miss Team Canada! Welcome home!”

Emily Clark, left, is pictured with former Stars teammate Kori Herner.

During the 2011-12 season, Clark set the Stars record for most points in one regular season at 60 coming on 26 goals and 34 assists in 26 regular season contests. That record was equaled by Mackenna Parker in the 2017-18 campaign.

Clark said she used to be called “Miss Team Canada” by her Stars teammates. She was happy to see how much of an impact Herner, who played five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey team from 2013 to 2018, is having on the provincial coaching ranks.

“She (Herner) was a great teammate,” said Clark. “She was one of my best friends when I played for the Stars.

Emily Clark hugs Stars head coach Robin Ulrich.

“To see her still be involved with female hockey, Team Sask and the Stars, I do enjoy when I get to come home and see her and we get to reminisce.”

In the grand scheme things, Clark has had a busy hockey season. She helped Canada win gold at the 2021 women’s worlds played this past August in a bubble environment in Calgary, Alta.

Canada won the gold medal game 3-2 in overtime over United States in that event on August 31, 2021 at WinSport Arena.

Tracy Clark, in white, and Del Clark, on right, are proud parents.

On the day of the gold medal game for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Clark said she had a surreal feeling that something special was going to happen.

“The whole day was a dream honestly,” said Clark, who had two goals, one assist and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in seven games with Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics. “Waking up, I had a really good feeling.

“Obviously, there was a lot of belief on the team, but I’ve never felt that way on a championship game day. The whole day just felt like a dream. I just had to keep reminding myself it is breakfast time, it is warm up time just taking things one step at a time and not thinking about the result and definitely be in the moment.

Emily Clark visits with members of the Fiala family.

“I was still in the moment that when the game ended I realized that we won, but I don’t really think it hit me that we won an Olympic gold medal.”

After arriving home in Saskatoon, Clark visited various family and friends celebrating the gold medal victory from the Winter Olympics. Having basically trained for the most part in bubble conditions since March of 2020, Clark and a number of her Team Canada teammates departed for a vacation to Mexico on Saturday.

It was the type of change up Clark was looking forward to and admitted she hasn’t done a whole lot of in the past.

Emily Clark poses for a team picture with the Stars.

“I honestly haven’t been on too many vacations,” said Clark. “I think if there is a time to go on one it might be it.”

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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Clark’s Olympic gold a sweet Sask. feel good sports moment

Emily Clark, centre, pictured with some of her former Stars teammates.

The underage player from the Saskatoon Stars became gold medal winner at the Olympics.

Way back in September of 2009, Emily Clark joined the Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team as an underage forward at age 13. As the youngest player on the Stars, she had the last pick of jersey numbers and selected number 13 as a reminder of her age when she first started skating with the team.

On September 9, 2009, she scored a goal skating in her first game with the Stars in a 3-2 exhibition win at the Gemini Arena over the Prince Albert A & W Bears, who are now known as the Prince Albert Northern Bears.

Clark would turn 14-years-old in late November of 2009, and she played in all of the Stars 28 regular season games collecting two goals and two assists. Before joining the Stars, Clark played on boys teams in Saskatoon in the Flyers Zone.

Her father, Del, was a long time coach and executive with the Flyer program.

Actually, Emily Clark first began playing the game at age three at a University of Saskatchewan Huskies kids camp run by legendary Huskies men’s hockey head coach Dave Adolph.

An Olympic champion was born from that modest start.

An Emily Clark hockey card.

Fast forward to the early morning hours last Thursday in Saskatchewan time. Many in province were awake to watch Clark and her teammates on Canada’s Senior National Women’s Hockey team capture the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

Canada downed their forever rivals in the United States 3-2 in the gold medal final held at the Wukesong Arena.

At age 26, Clark has realized her ultimate hockey dream. The power forward picked up two goals and an assist appearing in six of Canada’s seven games.

Clark missed one preliminary round contest against the Russian Olympic Committee due to an inconclusive coronavirus (COVID-19) test. That goes down as a forever side note reminder that the 2022 Winter Olympics were played with the world still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between that first exhibition game victory with the Stars and the gold medal win with Canada, Clark, who stands 5-foot-7, has piled up many accolades in her hockey journey.

In the 2010-11 campaign, Clark helped the Stars win the female division of the prestigious Mac’s Tournament in Calgary.

In 2011-12, she set the Stars record for most points scored in one regular season at 60 coming off 26 goals and 34 assists in 26 regular season games. That team record would ultimately be matched by Mackenna Parker in the 2017-18 campaign.

Clark’s number 13 was retired by the Stars in December of 2019.

Clark put up big numbers playing for the Okanagan Hockey Academy under-18 prep female team collecting 34 goals and 35 assists in 57 games in two seasons from 2012 to 2014.

A second Emily Clark hockey card.

She proceeded to star for four seasons with the University of Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Hockey team in the NCAA Division I ranks from 2014 to 2019. She left the Badgers for one season in 2017-18 to play for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, where Canada took home the silver medal falling 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout to the United States in the gold medal final.

With the Badgers, Clark played in 147 career games posting 70 goals and 76 assists. During her final season with the Badgers in 2018-19, she helped them win an NCAA championship.

On the international scene, Clark helped Canada win gold at two under-18 women’s world championships, three silver medals, one bronze medal and one gold medal at women’s worlds to go with the silver at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The gold medal win at women’s worlds can in August of 2021, when the tournament was held in a bubble environment in Calgary.

Following her time with the Stars, Clark usually wore number 26, which is double the number 13.

No matter where Clark goes in hockey, she still keeps strong ties to her home city of Saskatoon and to Saskatchewan as a province. Some of her favourite teammates from her time in the sport include former Stars teammates like Marley Ervine, Lauren Zary, Sara Greschner and Brooke Mutch.

Clark made numerous friends on the men’s side of the game growing up including Rourke Chartier, who plays with the AHL’s Belleville Senators and Evan Fiala, who plays for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team in the U Sports ranks.

Everywhere Clark has gone to play hockey, she has been an enduring and favourite teammate. She is also taken to heart because her style of play mirrors that of Wendel Clark, who starred for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades and the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Emily and Wendel are not related.

Emily Clark signs autographs for youngster in November of 2018.

In the Saskatchewan hockey community and Saskatoon as a city, it seems there is just a one or two degrees of separation from knowing someone that knows Emily and her family.

That connection added to how awe inspiring it was to see Clark and her team to realize their golden moment at the Winter OIympics.

In today’s world that is engulfed in news events that can seem chaotic, it felt that much more special to see Clark realize her ultimate gold medal dream on the sports world’s biggest stage.

Memorial Cup gets new dates, WHL schedule adjusted

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan celebrate their Memorial Cup win in 2018.

Last Wednesday, the CHL announced its Memorial Cup championship tournament was being pushed back.

The CHL announced the change with its three member leagues in the OHL, QMJHL and WHL have to extend regular season schedules to play games that were postponed due to challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHL has also dealt with postponements due to bad weather.

The upcoming Memorial Cup is being hosted by the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs in Saint John, New Brunswick. The event was originally scheduled to be held from June 4 to 13, but it will now be held from June 20 to 29.

The changes to the Memorial Cup’s schedule were expected.

In late January, the QMJHL said it intended to play its full 68-game regular season that will conclude on May 1. The QMJHL plays are slated to be held from May 5 to June 15.

Last Thursday, the WHL announced its regular season that was originally slated to end on April 3 will now end on April 17. The adjustment was made to allow the circuit’s member teams to get in their postponed contests in order for each club to play a 68-game regular season.

If any standing tiebreaking games need to be played, they will be held on April 19.

The WHL playoffs are schedule to begin April 22 and could potentially run to June 14, if a series deciding Game 7 is needed for the WHL Championship series.

The WHL is also adjusting its playoff format. Instead of using the division format that was used from 2015 to 2020, the circuit is going back to a conference playoff format that was last used in 2014.

That means, the two division winners in each conference will be seeded one and two in their respective conference brackets. After the division winners, the next six teams in each conference with the most standings points will also make the post-season.

Clubs advancing in each round of the playoffs will be reseeded based on regular season points. Each round of the WHL playoffs will be contested in best-of-seven series.

Controversies plentiful for 2022 Winter Olympics

Controversies seemed to come out of the woodworks to plague the 2022 Winter Olympics that were held in Beijing, China.

They seemly took flight on February 2, which was two days before the games themselves began. That initial one came with Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans asked over Instagram for the International Olympic Committee to free her from one of Beijing’s COVID-19 isolation facilities.

She was placed there instead of the Athletes’ Village isolation centre.

Meylemans tested positive for COVID-19 upon arriving in China. The Belgian delegation stepped in quickly, and Meylemans was moved to the Village one day later.

Some of the controversies will continue to play out after the games came to a conclusion on Sunday.

In Canada, the games will be remembered for the country taking home a total of 26 medals including four gold medals, eight silver medals and 14 bronze medals.

Overall, the 2022 Winter Olympics might be best remembered on the world stage for the controversy swirling around 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who was favoured to win gold in the women’s singles competition.

Before the women’s singles event took place, news surfaced Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, which is a heart drug used to prevent angina and also acts as an oxygen booster. The drug is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Due to Valieva being a minor, it was decided that she would be allowed to compete as the investigation around the positive test continued.

She collapsed in the free skate and finished fourth in the women’s singles event. Russian 17-year-old teammates Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova finished first and second respectively, but the medal wins were far from a dream finish for either athlete.

As for other controversies, we had Russian president Vladimir Putin looking like he was going to fall asleep when Ukraine was introduced during the opening ceremonies.

There were a couple of questionable video reviews that gave China gold medals in speed skating and China trying to censor an athlete from Finland for showing flooding in her part of the Athletes Village on social media.

On Sunday, Yahoo Sports posted a list of the various controversies, and that post can be found by clicking right here.

Blades’ Crnkovic retakes WHL scoring lead

Kyle Crnkovic retook the WHL scoring lead.

Saskatoon Blades star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic retook the lead in the WHL scoring race with a three-point night on Sunday.

Entering play on Sunday, Crnkovic trailed Red Deer Rebels overage left-winger Arshdeep Bains by one point for top spot in the scoring race.

Playing before 5,737 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledown in Calgary against the host Hitmen on Sunday, Crnkovic potted two goals and an assist to power the Blades to a 4-1 regular season victory.

Thanks to that offensive outburst, the Chestermere, Alta., product leads the WHL in scoring with 73 points coming off 32 goals and 41 assists. Crnkovic’s goal and point totals are career highs.

Bains sits second in the scoring race with 71 points coming off 25 goals and 46 assists.

The Blades also received goals from centres Trevor Wong and Trevor Robins, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks.

Zac Funk had the lone reply for the Hitmen.

Rookie Ethan Chadwick made 23 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (27-18-1-1). Ethan Buenaventura turned away 31 shots to take the setback in net for the Hitmen (18-22-5-2).

Blades sophomore left-winger Vaughn Watterodt and Hitmen 20-year-old centre Blake Allan engaged in a first period fight.

The Blades return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Brandon to take on the 25-15-3-2 Wheat Kings (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, 600 CJWW).

Vitelli nets pair in Raiders 4-1 win over Tigers, other notes

Reece Vitelli scored twice for the Raiders on Monday.

Captain Reece Vitelli got his Prince Albert Raiders back in the win column.

On Monday, Vitelli scored twice in the third period to lift the Raiders to a 4-1 regular season victory over the host Medicine Hat Tigers playing before 2,390 spectators at Co-Op Place.

The Tigers went ahead 1-0 on a goal from Owen MacNeil at the 7:08 mark of the first period.

Before the opening frame ended, Sloan Stanick tallied for the Raiders to even the game’s score at 1-1.

After a scoreless second period, Vitelli scored twice in the third to put the Raiders up 3-1. Veteran centre Keaton Sorensen rounded out the contest’s scoring an empty-net goal for the visitors with three minutes remaining in the third.

Tikhon Chaika stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (18-26-2-1). Garin Bjorklund turned away 19-of-22 shots to take the setback in net for the Tigers (9-33-3-1).

Raiders star centre Ozzy Wiesblatt and Tigers left-winger Brayden Boehm engaged in a second period fight.

Inside the final 31 seconds of the third, Raiders defenceman Trevor Thurston received a major for cross-checking, a major for charging and a 10-minute misconduct. The two major penalties will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Raiders win on Monday unofficially marked the 572^nd career regular season head coaching victory for Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. The win total includes Habscheid’s time with the Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets, and the Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals franchise. Habscheid’s first season holding a WHL team’s head coaching duties came in the 1997/98 campaign with the Blazers.

If that total gets verified as official, Habscheid would equal Mike Williamson for the fifth most career regular season head coaching victories in the history of the WHL. Williamson collected his head coaching victories working behind the bench of the Portland Winterhawks, Calgary Hitmen and Tri-City Americans from the 1999-2000 campaign to the 2017-18 campaign.

The Raiders return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Calgary to take on the 18-22-5-2 Hitmen (6 p.m. Saskatchewan time, 900 CKBI).

• Prince Albert product and 16-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe is having a strong season with the WHL’s Regina Pats. In 40 regular season games, Howe has 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points.
• A spectacular season has vaulted Regina Rebels forward Alexis Petford into a tie for 10^th place on the all-time career regular season scoring list for the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League. In 28 regular season games in the current campaign, Petford has 75 points on 37 goals and 38 assists. All of those totals are career highs for Petford, who is in her final season of under-18 AAA eligibility. In 90 career SFU18AAAHL regular season games, Petford has 126 points coming on 62 goals and 64 assists and is the Rebels all-time career regular season scoring leader. She has equalled Lauren Zary for 10^th on the SFU18AAAHL career regular season scoring list. Zary collected her 126 points on 44 goals and 82 assists playing 103 career regular season games for the Saskatoon Stars from 2008 to 2012. The Rebels have one game remaining on their regular season schedule when they travel to Wilcox on Wednesday to face the Notre Dame Hounds.
• The B.C. Division leading Kamloops Blazers clinched a berth in the WHL playoffs, when they downed the U.S. Division leading Everett Silvertips 4-3 after a tiebreaking shootout on Monday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. The Blazers took the tiebreaking shootout 2-1. The Blazers improved to 35-13-2 with the win, while the Silvertips record moved to 35-7-2-5. The Silvertips came into the contest with a WHL playoff berth already locked up.

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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“Crank” overlooked in NHL Entry Draft due to size

Blades star left-winger has skill to play at next level

Kyle Crnkovic (#16) does his best to make the fans happy.

If Kyle Crnkovic stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 200 pounds, he would be an NHL Entry Draft selection.

The star left-winger of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades has great skill, but you can bet he went unselected in this past NHL Entry Draft because he stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 161 pounds.

The only member of the Blades who was selected in the NHL Entry Draft that was held this past Tuesday and Wednesday via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, was centre Tristen Robins. Robins went in the second round and 56^th overall to the San Jose Sharks.

Due to the fact Robins stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 179 pounds, NHL teams were a little less concerned on the size front. Still, players that have heights and weights similar to Robins are some of the smaller sized players in the league.

Kyle Crnkovic drives a shot on goal for the Blades.

Very few players skate in the NHL who have been similar in size to Crnkovic. The notable exception is Theoren Fleury, who stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 182 pounds.

Back in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, size didn’t matter to the Blades and skill did when they selected Crnkovic in the first round and 10^th overall. Since joining the Blades, the Chestermere, Alta., product has lived up to the expectations of being a first round WHL Bantam Draft pick.

In his first full season with the Blades in 2018-19, Crnkovic had a solid campaign as a 16-year-old rookie posting 11 goals, 20 assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus category in 52 regular season games.

As that campaign went on, Crnkovic saw increased ice time as the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record.

Kyle Crnkovic celebrates an OT winner on March 6.

It was also becoming apparent that Crnkovic was becoming a fan favourite too. He interacted easily with the young fans he met at Blades community appearances.

Crnkovic has a bit of a baby face to him too, and he could likely pass for a fan, if he wasn’t dressed in his Blades jersey.

He was popular enough that he was one of the players the team included in the novelty cartoon character type T-shirts they rolled out.

The shifty forward played some of his best hockey that season with the Blades in the 2019 playoffs. Helping the Blades advance to the second round of the playoffs, Crnkovic netted two goals, two assists and an even rating in the Blades 10 post-season games.

Kyle Crnkovic had 64 points last season for the Blades.

Crnkovic played fearlessly and battled in the tough areas of the ice. He played smart and was able to avoid the huge hit with his skill.

This past season, Crnkovic appeared in all of the Blades 63 regular season games finishing second in team scoring piling up 21 goals, 43 assists and a plus-nine rating. He helped the Blades post a 34-24-2-3 record to lock up a playoff berth for a second straight year before the campaign was prematurely ended due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Crnkovic never cracked the midterm rankings put out by NHL Central Scouting. He made the final NHL Central Scouting ranking being listed 208^th among North American skaters.

Kyle Crnkovic was a first round WHL Bantam Draft selection.

The appearance on the rankings didn’t translate into an NHL Entry Draft selection.

The story of Crnkovic not getting drafted due to his lack of size isn’t a new one in the sport of hockey.

In the history of the Blades, he might go down as the Ryan Fujita in the team’s current generation.

Fujita, who is also known as Kiyoshi Fujita, was a dynamic centre who played for the Blades and led them in scoring for two seasons from 1991 to 1993. The Lethbridge, Alta., product was one of the smaller players on the ice standing 5-foot-7 and weighing in at 163 pounds.

In 1991-92, Fujita topped the Blades in scoring with 38 goals and 44 assists for 82 points appearing in all of the team’s 72 regular season games.

Kyle Crnkovic quickly became a fan favourite player.

In the playoffs, helped the Blades advance to the WHL Championship series, where they fell in a series decide Game 7 to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers. Fujita appeared in all of the Blades 22 games in that post-season posting a league leading 13 goals and nine assists.

He followed up that campaign by again leading the Blades in scoring as an overager in the 1992-93 season appearing in all 72 regular season games piling up 56 goals and 54 assists for 110 points. Fujita suited up in seven of the Blades nine games in the 1993 playoffs recording two goals and three assists.

Having never been selected in the NHL Entry Draft and never suiting up in a meaningful NHL game, Fujita had a lengthy career playing professionally in Japan and was a member of host Japan’s national team that played in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

Kyle Crnkovic, centre, celebrates a goal this past season.

Crnkovic might one day be able to experience what Fujita did with the Blades. If Crnkovic does do that, he would go down as one of the best players to ever suit up with the Blades.

Even if Crnkovic achieves that level of success, he still might not get a chance in the NHL due to his lack of size.

Whenever the WHL is able to resume action in these pandemic times, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Crnkovic was constantly listed among the league’s best over the next three campaigns.

He deserves to get some attention from the NHL even now. If the NHL brass ultimately says Crnkovic can’t play based on his lack of side, it will ultimately be their loss too.

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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Surreal night for Clark as Stars retire her #13

Emily Clark waves to the crowd at Merlis Belsher Place.

    It seemed like fate played a hand when it came to Emily Clark wearing #13 for the Saskatoon Stars.

    When the skilled forward joined the female midget AAA team before the start of the 2009-10 campaign, she was still 13-years-old due to having a birthday in late November. As an underage rookie player, Clark remembers she didn’t have many options when it came to picking a number.

    “I ended up wearing it (#13) because when I played on the Stars I was 13-years-old, and I was the youngest,” said Clark. “I had last pick of jerseys and #13 and #21 were up for grabs.

    “I think #13 might have been a smaller jersey, so I ended up in #13. I made it my own, and it ended up being one of my favourite numbers.”

    Wearing #13, Clark became one of the Stars all-time greats. 

Emily Clark, left, is greeted by her father, Del.

    After graduating from the team, she played four seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks winning an NCAA championship last season in her final campaign with the squad.

    The 24-year-old has been a fixture in Canada’s national team system first playing with the under-18 women’s team for two seasons before joining the senior national women’s team. Clark skated with the national women’s development team too.

    Last year, Clark played for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She had a goal in Canada’s 5-0 semifinal win over the Olympic Athletes from Russia.

    Canada fell 3-2 to the United States in the gold medal game after a tiebreaking shootout.

    Due to all her accomplishments, the Stars honoured Clark on Friday night by retiring her #13 before their SFMAAAHL regular season encounter at Merlis Belsher Place with the league leading Regina Rebels. The Stars led 3-1 in the third period before the Rebels rallied for a 4-3 victory.

Emily Clark, second from left, receives gifts from two Stars players.

    Clark found it hard to describe what it was like to see her old number with the Stars raised up at Merlis Belsher Place standing next to her parents in father, Del, and mother, Tracy.

    “It is hard to put into words,” said Clark. “I think surreal is definitely what comes to mind.

    “I was told about it about a month ago. I’m super humbled and super honoured. They made the night special.

    “It was super fun to see a lot of old teammates and old coaches. Some of my favourite moments were with the Stars. To be able to celebrate with them again was pretty special.”

    Last season, Clark was on hand when the University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team retired the #10 of Mark Johnson, who was one of their all-time player greats.

    She never imagined that her number with the Stars would be retired less than a year after attending the ceremony to retire Johnson’s number.

Emily Clark watches her number get raised up Merlis Belsher Place.

    In a crazy twist on the Stars front, Clark was actually the last player to wear #13 for her hometown female midget AAA squad. No one from the Stars has worn #13 since Clark last played for the club in the 2011-12 campaign.

    “To think that no one has worn it I guess is pretty special,” said Clark. “With some of the national team players, it is just like a respect thing that you don’t take certain people’s numbers.

    “To know that girls had that kind of respect to hold me in that regard is pretty special.”

    Clark played three seasons for the Stars from 2009 to 2012 appearing in 82 regular season games collecting 45 goals and 46 assists for 91 points.

Emily Clark’s number is raised up at Merlis Belshler Place.

    Her best season came in her final campaign in 2011-12. During that season with the Stars, Clark appeared in 26 regular season game collecting 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points.

    Clark’s 34 helpers are still a Stars record for most assists in one regular season. Her 60 points is still a team record for most points in one regular season, but it was matched in the 2017-18 campaign by Mackenna Parker, who tallied a club record 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games.

    Clark said one of the things she loved the most about being part of the Stars was getting to experience the social aspect of the dressing room. Before joining the Stars, Clark played boys hockey in Saskatoon in the Flyers zone.

    When she played boys hockey, Clark, of course, suited up for games on her own in a separate dressing room.

Emily Clark, centre, drops the puck for a ceremonial faceoff.

    “I always loved hockey, but I was missing that part of being a part of the team was that locker room stuff,” said Clark. “When I started to play with the Stars, I fell in love with hockey that much more just because of all the fun I was having with the girls.”

    Clark said the veterans nicknamed her “recess” during her rookie campaign, because she was still in elementary school, while most of the veterans were in high school. During her time with the Stars, Clark skated with a number of teammates who were characters that had character, which helped provide many fun times.

Emily Clark, centre, greets the captains of the Stars and Rebels.

    “I got to play with some amazing people like Marley Ervine, Lauren Zary, Sara Greschner and Brooke Mutch,” said Clark, who helped the Stars advance to the SFMAAAHL championship series in 2010, 2011 and 2012. “For me, I looked up to them, because they were so much older than me.

    “They took me under their wing and took care of me. They shaped a lot of who I was in high school, so I am really grateful for all the girls I got to play with.”

    Following the 2011-12 campaign, Clark left the Stars to join the Okanagan Hockey Academy female prep junior team in Penticton, B.C., for two seasons from 2012 to 2014. In those two campaigns, Clark appeared in 57 games collecting 34 goals and 35 assists for 69 points.

    Clark then joined the storied Badgers women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks and played four seasons for them spread out from 2014 to 2019.

Emily Clark is pictured with some young fans at Friday’s game.

    She appeared in 147 overall games with the Badgers posting 70 goals and 76 assists for 146 points. Clark helped the Badgers win their fifth NCAA title in team history last season.

    The Badgers blanked the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-0 in the NCAA title game last March.

    On the international stage, Clark helped Canada win goal at two straight under-18 women’s championships in 2012 and 2013.

    She suited up for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team for four women’s world champions winning silver medals in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and a bronze medal this past April in Finland to go with her silver medal from the Winter Olympics.

Arden Kliewer makes one of her 55 saves in goal for the Stars.

    Looking back on her career so far, Clark said there weren’t that any female players from Saskatchewan joining the NCAA ranks, when she joined the Badgers.

    “Playing for Wisconsin was kind of like a dream that I didn’t even know I had once I got down there and got treated the way I did there,” said Clark. “There is nothing like university hockey whether it is (U Sports) or NCAA.

    “Playing on the national team and being able to get in at such a young age is something that is really special to me. Obviously, I am lucky to still be around and still be playing and living my dream.”

    With that said, Clark still plans to be in the game for some time to come.

Lauren Focht netted the equalizer and winner for the Rebels.

    “I still have a lot of story left to be written,” said Clark. “As much as I have been excited about the career I have been able to have, I am excited for the future too.”

    As for Friday’s game itself, Hanna Bailey gave the Rebels 1-0 lead early in the first period, but the Stars exited the opening frame with a 2-1 advantage with goals coming from captain Makena Kushniruk and Anica Gauthier.

    The Stars extended their lead to 3-1, when Kushniruk netted her second of the contest early in the third.

    The Rebels closed the third with three straight goals to post the come-from-behind 4-3 victory. Bailey netted her second of the contest, while Lauren Focht scored the equalizer and winner for the visitors.

Emily Clark, centre, is pictured with some of her old Stars teammates.

    Arden Kliewer turned away 55 shots to take the setback in goal for the Stars (5-10-2). Payton Schlamp stopped 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels (12-0-1).

    The Stars and Rebels go at it again on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    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.