Fun was had in 2024 but chase element specter loomed

Carter Beck hits a triple for the cycle on August 10, 2024.

I had unique plans for my first idea for a look back post on 2024.

Originally, I wanted to put together a “the year in pictures” post taking inspiration from finding some old “the year in pictures” issues from Sports Illustrated. In what seems like the days of long ago, Sports Illustrated, when it was in its prime, used to put together magazines at the end of the year that contained picture highlights the publication’s photographers captured throughout the year.

Unfortunately or fortunately in some cases, my life calendar kept getting filled up, and that idea got pushed back until it never happened. As a result, this column is being typed out in instead on January 20, 2025.

Just to time stamp on what is happening in the world as I write this, it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. If you have been in Platform X on this day, you realize for some it is the day of anxiety fearing it is the rise of “The Galactic Empire” with Donald Trump being inaugurated as the President of the United States of America once again. Some others are celebrating this as one of the greatest moments in the history of the human race.

For myself, I am trying to determine if Elon Musk might actually be the de facto President of the United States of America and how his political influence might shape the world. He seems to want to have political influence in a few countries. Musk might ultimately for some end up being Emperor Palpatine and Trump might just be an apprentice.

The 1995 Sports Illustrated “The Year In Pictures.”

For now, that might end up being a discussion for another day.

Outside of doing posts for the Gordie Howe Sports Complex social media lines, I have stayed off social media today. That has become more of a welcome habit for me in 2024 and one I hope to continue in 2025.

Social media breaks have allowed me to accomplish more in my day. Throughout 2024, I’ve constantly needed more hours in my day.

This hasn’t been just a 2024 thing. Since the 2023 edition of the WHL Playoffs came to an end, I feel like I have been in chase mode with my schedule. I handle whatever priority comes up in that day, and I am playing catch up on various fronts.

Due to the fact the Saskatoon Blades played and won two straight seven-game series coming out of the gates in the 2023 WHL Playoffs, I was often catching up archiving photos from all the WHL post-season games I worked. I actually finished my catch up on that front days before the 2023-24 WHL campaign started.

In 2024, I was determined to not get far behind on that front. I felt I was constantly pushing things off as I caught up on photos, but I estimate the most I ever got behind was two weeks. I spent a lot of energy staying on top of things on that front.

On top of that, I felt like I was going from busy thing to busy thing. I went from covering WHL Playoffs to covering the end of Saskatoon Valkyries season as they won a fourth consecutive WWCFL title and a ninth league crown overall.

The Berries salute their faithful on August 13, 2024.

From there, the summer came around, and I found myself around the WCBL’s Saskatoon Berries more than I expected as they played their inaugural campaign. That bled right into the Saskatoon Hilltops CJFL season and the beginning of the 2024-25 WHL campaign.

Also on the football front, I think the high school football season is the most followed season on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex’s social media lines, so that kept my calendar occupied, because you knew eyes were looking for that content. I believe at least two or three independents were covering high school football with social media content, and everything that was put out on that front was viewed, which was great for high school football.

With the sports commitments, projects around the house I wanted to get to didn’t happen. I don’t have a load of lumber that has been sitting in the basement for three or four years waiting to be used for a home renovation like I know has happened to a lot of sports coaches and administrators.

I have more things I want to display and potentially sell on the collectables front. I also have things I just want to get out of the house like an old exercise bike that has had it and has been replaced. It is still sitting in the basement taking up space.

The Warriors celebrate winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup on May 15, 2024.

Even now, I am still chasing. I am hoping tonight I can finish editing and archiving photos from a WHL game between the Portland Winterhawks and Blades as I watch the NCAA football championship game between the Ohio State University Buckeyes and the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. While I am chasing, I still think my catch up is getting done in a timely fashion, but there always seems to be more catch up to do.

Away from that chase, 2024 had lots of highlights.

One of my favourite moments of 2024 came on August 10 in Game 1 of the WCBL’s East Division final between the Saskatoon Berries and Moose Jaw Miller Express, which the Berries took 14-1. Berries centre-fielder Carter Beck went 4-for 5 at the plate with three runs batted in hitting for the cycle at Cairns Field.

For those not familiar with baseball terms, hitting for the cycle means a hitter collected a single, a double, a triple and a home run in one game. It is one of the most difficult statistical feats to accomplish in baseball.

Warriors fans celebrate their team’s WHL title win on May 15, 2024.

In that clash with the Express, Beck needed to hit the triple to complete the cycle. I went down the third base line hoping to get Beck pictured making a milestone hit.

I was pumped to get the shot of him connecting on the triple that allowed him to complete the cycle. It was the type of moment I might never shoot again in sports, so I will always remember getting that photo.

It also might sound strange, but I was more pumped for Berries team photographer Steve Hiscock for getting Beck’s celebration reaction after sliding into third base to get the triple to complete the cycle. 

Hiscock was positioned down the first base line, which meant between the two of us we had this moment locked down in the photo department. Beck turned towards the infield after his slide into third, which meant his back was to me during the celebration, but Hiscock perfectly had the whole front view of that moment.

The Express ultimately won the best-of-three series in three games.

The Valkyries celebrate a WWCFL title win on June 23, 2024.

Another big highlight was being in the Moose Jaw Events Centre, which is also known as “The Hangar,” on the night the Moose Jaw Warriors won their first WHL title on May 15. I always had a soft spot in my heart for Warriors fans, and it was cool to see them enjoy watching their Warriors win the WHL title and raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup at home.

I also lost my hearing temporarily for a short time at the end of the game because the 4,732 spectators in attendance made that much noise. The Warriors swept the best-of-seven final 4-0 against the Winterhawks and claimed Game 4 by a 4-2 final score, which meant the Warriors faithful got to relish the championship end result that was coming as the final seconds of the clock ticked away.

An even bigger highlight came after the contest. I was staying with long time friends Bill and Carole Harris, and Bill had an involvement with the Warriors dating back to their start in Moose Jaw in 1984. He also served as the team’s president for a time.

I wrote my game stories from their home after I returned from the rink. I was on the ice for two-and-a-half hours after the time expired on the clock doing interviews and getting photos of the celebration. When I got back to the Harris’s home, a celebration was going on there too.

Danielle Girolami makes a tackle for the Valkyries on June 23, 2024.

Whitney Harris, who was one of Bill and Carole’s sons, made it home to Moose Jaw from Calgary to watch the Warriors win the WHL title in person. Whitney was there along with a gathering of friends.

Before crafting my story, I visited for an hour and drank a couple of glasses of champagne to commemorate the moment. During that visit, it was so cool to see how happy Bill was.

He put a lot of time into that team, and it was special that he got to see them win the WHL title. That is a highlight I will always remember for the rest of my life.

The champagne corks were popped in Regina on June 23, 2024 when the Valkyries downed the host Riot 36-21 in the WWCFL Championship game. Sisters in receiver Haley and defensive back Danielle Girolami had big nights in that win.

With covering the WHL and work responsibilities at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, I didn’t get to see as much of the Valkyries season as I wanted. My focused coverage came when they started their playoff run.

Zane Litzenberger reacts to his winning TD catch on June 23, 2019.

When I made it to the field for practices and games, the Valkyries were happy I was there. I’ve covered them since 2015, and I have so many long lasting ties to that group. For me, they are family, and these championship moments never get old.

The fourth big sports moment for me I will never forget in 2024 came on November 9 of that year at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. On that day, the Prince Albert Carlton Comprehensive High School Crusaders won their first ever provincial title. In an all-time classic, the Crusaders got past Saskatoon’s Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints 35-34 to take the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association’s 5A championship.

With 72 seconds remaining in the contest, Crusaders star quarterback Sullivan Smith-Windsor hit standout receiver Zane Litzenberger on a five-yard slant pass for a touchdown that put the Prince Albert side up by the 35-34 final score. I lived in Prince Albert from 2001 to 2004 working as a sports writer for the Prince Albert Daily Herald, and it was amazing to see an iconic sports moment for that city play out.

There were tough times in 2024 too with the passing of my uncle Wally Chomitzky in March and the passing of long time friend, former Raiders business executive and Prince Albert community icon Bruce Vance. Those passings make me cherish the memories made with both that much more.

As I go forward in life, I don’t try and put expectations on things. As long time late Raiders head coach and hockey executive Donn Clark told me you have to play the cards that are dealt your way the best you can in life and do the best with what you can control.

The Crusaders raise the provincial championship trophy on Nov. 9, 2024.

With that said, more of a focus turns to seeing what 2025 brings.

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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Priestner made all the right trade deadline moves for Blades

Hayden Harsanyi is a big pick up for the Blades.

In the 2024-25 campaign, Colin Priestner has dealt with problems you like to have, when it comes to a WHL roster.

Last season, Priestner, who is the general manager and president of the Saskatoon Blades, oversaw a load up that allowed his squad to top the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark. In the post-season, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series and fell in an epic seven-game set that saw six contests go to overtime to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

While the Blades graduated a large number of key players like Trevor Wong, Egor Sidorov, Charlie Wright, Easton Armstrong, Fraser Minten and Alexander Suzdalev, they came into the current campaign returning a pretty good group of players that include long time star veterans Brandon Lisowsky and Tanner Molendyk along with sophomore 18-year-old netminder Evan Gardner. Plus, a number of returning veterans like captain Ben Saunderson, Tyler Parr, Rowan Calvert and Grayden Siepmann made big strides forward in their respective games.

Newcomers like Ben Riche and rookies Cooper Williams and import David Lewandowski gave the Blades more of a contribution than expected. All of those factors saw the Blades sit in a position where they were leading the WHL’s East Division and often the Eastern Conference for most of the first half of the season. They still top the East Division with a 22-14-2-3 mark.

Priestner was faced with a tough decision as the WHL’s trade deadline of this past January 9 at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time approached. He could run with the roster he had and see if the Blades could go on another long run in the WHL Playoffs.

He was also faced with the fact he had traded a lot of the Blades first, second and third round selections in WHL Prospects Drafts in upcoming years. He was looking to replenish some of those assets, so the team doesn’t take a longer term drop in the standings.

Hunter Laing was a recent addition by the Blades via the trade route.

Also in the WHL, there is the adage that anyone can be traded for as long as one trading partner really wants a player and wants to pay a price for that player. Priestner got some trade offers he couldn’t refuse, especially when it came to three of his best veterans. He also made some deals that worked well for his club and the respective trading partner.

On January 2, the Blades completed a major trade with the Victoria Royals. In that deal, they sent Lisowsky, who is a 20-year-old left-winger and one of their all-time greats, and a fifth round selection in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft to the Royals for 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott, a second round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a second round pick in the 2026 Prospects Draft.

The next big deal was made on January 6. The Blades dealt Molendyk, who is a 19-year-old defenceman, and 19-year-old centre Misha Volotovskii to the Medicine Hat Tigers for centre Hayden Harsanyi, defenceman Jack Kachkowski, first and second round selections in the 2025 Prospects Draft, third and fourth round picks in the 2026 Prospects Draft and a fifth round selection in the 2028 Prospects Draft. Harsanyi and Kachkowski both recently turned 18-years-old.

On January 8, Blades sent Riche, who is a 19-year-old centre, to the Prince George Cougars in exchange for 18-year-old centre Hunter Laing, 15-year-old prospect defenceman Luke Dumas, a first round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft and fifth round pick in the 2028 Prospects Draft.

Back on June 6, 2024, the Blades acquired Riche from the Victoria Royals in exchange for gritty 20-year-old left-winger Vaughn Watterodt. Watterodt is no longer with the Royals and now plays for the Mount Royal University Cougars Men’s Hockey Team in the U Sports ranks. In 37 regular season games with the Blades, Riche had been the team’s leading scorer recording 23 goals and 31 assists for 54 points to go with a plus-18 rating. His totals in goals, assists and points are all career highs.

When Riche was acquired in exchange for Watterodt, no one thought Priestner would ultimately be able to trade the breakout forward for the assets the Blades received.

The Blades acquired Tanner Scott in a trade on January 2.

With the deals Priestner made, he was able recover draft capital for the Blades. Also, Harsanyi, Kachkowski and Laing will help the Blades in the current day and future seasons. Harsanyi has two goals and two assists in three games so far with the Blades, and he looks like he has the potential to be a big time player.

On the trade front, Priestner did a job that was worthy of the work done by Kelly McCrimmon, who is the current general manager of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. During a lengthy stretch as owner, general manager and head coach of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, McCrimmon built a legendary reputation for making masterful moves.

Priestner has ensured the Blades will be in the mix in continuing to be a strong team this year and for the upcoming seasons that are yet to come.

Rush 4-1 for first time since 2018, other notes

Ryan Keenan scored four goals for the Rush last Saturday.

The reload or reset appears to be paying off for the Saskatchewan Rush.

Last Saturday at the SaskTel Centre, the host Rush downed the Las Vegas Desert Dogs 15-9 in an NLL regular season clash. The victory allowed the Rush to improve to 4-1 for the first time since 2018, when the last won the NLL championship. The Desert Dogs fell to 1-5 with the setback.

Captain Ryan Keenan led the Rush with four goals. He also had a pair of assists for a six-point night.

Zach Manns continued his impressive campaign recording eight points off three goals and five assists. Austin Shanks had six points coming off three goals and three assists, while Robert Church had five points on a pair of goals and three assists. Clark Walter added a pair of goals, while Ryan Barnable had a single for the Saskatchewan side.

Frank Scigliano made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Rush.

Since the NLL returned to action in 2022 following stoppages due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Rush have posted 8-10 records for three straight seasons and missed the post-season in each of those campaigns. They last made the playoffs in 2019, which was the final campaign the NLL completed before not being able to host post-season action in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The Rush return to action this coming Saturday when they travel to Mississauga, Ont., to face the 0-5 Toronto Rock at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

• Kamloops Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston sits sixth on the WHL’s all-time list for career head coaching victories with 579 wins. He needs three more wins to equal Marc Habscheid for fifth on the all-time list with 582 victories. Habscheid piled up his victory total working behind the bench of the Blazers, the Kelowna Rockets, the Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals franchise and the Prince Albert Raiders.
• Spokane Chiefs star right-winger Andrew Cristall leads with WHL scoring race with 72 points coming off 31 goals and 41 assists to go with a plus-28 rating in the plus-minus department. Cristall was acquired by the Chiefs in a blockbuster trade with the Rockets on January 8. In 28 games with the Rockets this season, Cristall recorded 60 points on 26 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-22 rating. In his first three games with the Chiefs, Cristall has 12 points coming off five goals and seven assists to go with a plus-six rating.
• The Everett Silvertips continue to lead the WHL’s overall standings with a 30-5-3-3 mark.
• On January 6, star defenceman Caden Price was traded by the Rockets to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in a blockbuster trade. Price wrote a heartfelt letter to salute to the folks in Kelowna. That can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, January 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on the Saskatoon Ultimate Disc-Sport Society. A great upbeat atmosphere is present when Saskatoon Ultimate Disc-Sport Society events happen at the Complex. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by pictures from the CRIIIO Women’s Cricket Festival, which was a first for Saskatchewan as a province. It also includes photos from baseball, football, softball, skating, speed skating and skiing. That post 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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Winterhawks overcome stellar night by Blades’ Gardner

Portland rallies to 4-3 victory after tiebreaking shootout

The Winterhawks celebrate their win on Wednesday night.

Evan Gardner almost made off with highway robbery against the Portland Winterhawks.

On Wednesday night playing before 3,797 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Gardner’s Saskatoon Blades took a 3-1 lead on the Portland Winterhawks at the 4:06 mark of the second period in a WHL regular season clash. With 15:21 remaining in the frame, the shots on goal between the two teams was even at 17-17.

At that point, the Winterhawks hit another gear, but Gardner, who is the Blades star 18-year-old sophomore netminder, still almost stole a victory for his club against the traditionally talented foe from the U.S. Division. The visitors outshot the host side 12-4 for the rest of that frame only to see the Blades head into the second intermission holding their 3-1 advantage due to the stellar play of Gardner.

Evan Gardner stopped 42 shots in regulation and overtime.

The Winterhawks continued their pressure in the third holding a 14-2 edge in shots on goal. They finally scored twice inside the final five minutes of the frame to force a 3-3 tie and overtime.

After the scoreless three-versus-three extra time session, the first two shooters Portland sent out in the tiebreaking shootout scored. That allowed the Winterhawks to claim the tiebreaking shootout 2-0 and the overall game itself 4-3.

Gardner turned away 42 shots through regulation and overtime to give the Blades a chance to win. He was unable to foil Winterhawks star offensive-defenceman Tyson Jugnauth and star captain Kyle Chyzowski in the shootout.

Josh Zakreski scored the Winterhawks first goal on Wednesday.

The Winterhawks improved to 24-15-2-1 with the win to remain third in the U.S. Division.

The Blades saw their record move to 22-14-2-3 to remain first in the East Division sitting four standings points ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders (21-15-3) and the Brandon Wheat Kings (20-13-3-2). The Raiders have two games in hand on the Blades, and the Wheat Kings and three games in hand on the Saskatoon side.

Wednesday’s game marked the first time the Blades played at home since the WHL trade deadline this past Thursday at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time. Leading up to the deadline, the Blades were active making deals that saw them trade long time veteran stars in Brandon Lisowsky and Tanner Molendyk.

Cooper Williams had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

The Blades worked on replenishing WHL Prospects Draft capital that was given up during a load up last season. In that 2023-24 campaign, the Blades finished with a 50-13-2-3 mark to top the WHL’s overall standings. In the post-season, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series and fell in an epic seven-game set that saw six contests go to overtime to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

Along with acquiring draft selections, the Blades also picked up some younger players who have skill and some great potential to reach in future campaigns. Wednesday’s clash with the Winterhawks marked the first time Blades played at home with a fairly new looking lineup.

Hayden Harsanyi had a power-play goal for the Blades.

The Winterhawks would proceed to get the jump on the Blades scoring just 43 seconds into the contest. Winterhawks 18-year-old standout right-winger and Saskatoon product Josh Zakreski got the puck at the top of the left faceoff circle and wired a shot past Gardner for the game’s opening marker.

Just 58 seconds later, the Blades evened the score at 1-1, when 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams banged home a puck from the front of Portland net that came from a shot taken by linemate Hunter Laing. Laing is one of the Blades recent trade acquisitions.

Rowan Calvert scored a power-play goal for the Blades.

The Blades proceeded to jump ahead 2-1 just under five minutes later scoring on their first power-play chance of the night. A shot taken by Blades standout 19-year-old right-winger Tyler Parr rebounded out to centre Hayden Harsanyi, who recently turned 18-years-old, in the left slot. Harsanyi potted the puck into an empty cage to give the Blades the lead.

Another recent trade acquisition by the Blades, Harsanyi had two goals and two assists in three games he suited for with the Saskatoon side.

At the 4:06 mark of the second, the Blades pushed their advantage out to 3-1 scoring a beauty for their second power-play mark of the contest. On a break into the Portland zone, Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann got the puck down the right wing to 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott, who is a veteran recent trade acquisition.

Frantisek Dej (#32) had a fight for the Blades.

Scott passed the puck across the face of the Portland net to Blades standout 19-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert. Calvert tapped home his 16^th goal of the campaign to give the host side their two-goal edge. Siepmann picked up his second assist of the contest on Calvert’s goal.

A short time after Calvert’s tally, Blades import centre Frantisek Dej, who was making his debut with the team, engaged in a short but spirited fight with Chyzowski. Dej landed a number of hard shots getting the edge in the bout.

At that point in time, the Blades were playing fairly even up with their Winterhawks foes. It appeared Saskatoon could potentially beat the Portland side for the first time since December 3, 2017, when the Blades blanked the Winterhawks 4-0 in Portland.

On Wednesday night, the Winterhawks found another gear for the duration of the contest after falling behind 3-1. Gardner had to put on the superhero cape in order to keep the Winterhawks at bay.

Tyson Jugnauth had the Winterhawks second goal on Wednesday.

In the third, Gardner made one of his best saves of the night making a sliding pad stop to deny Winterhawks 17-year-old centre Kyle McDonough at the left side of the Saskatoon net.

For the longest time, it looked like Gardner was going to steal the game. With 4:33 remaining in the third period, the Winterhawks struck on the power play on an outstanding individual effort by Jugnauth. Jugnauth blasted down the right wing on a rush into the Saskatoon zone, cut across the front of the Blades net and put a backhand shot between the legs of Gardner to trim the host side’s lead to 3-2.

Jugnauth’s tally came on his squad’s 40^th shot on goal in the contest. He also leads the WHL in defenceman scoring with 58 points coming off 11 goals and 47 assists to go with a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department.

Ryan Miller scored the equalizer for the Winterhawks.

With 2:42 remaining in the third, Chyzowski had the puck in the left corner of the Saskatoon zone. He put a backhand pass into the middle of the left faceoff circle to 17-year-old right-winger Ryan Miller.

Miller wired home a shot to even the score at 3-3 to force overtime. His tally came on the Winterhawks 42^nd shot on goal in the contest.

While the Winterhawks were carrying all the momentum, the Blades almost won the game in overtime. On a rush into the Portland zone with just over a minute remaining in the extra session, Calvert found himself alone at the left side of the Winterhawks net after receiving the puck on a backdoor pass.

Grayden Siepmann had a pair of assists for the Blades.

Calvert put a shot on net, but it was turned away by Winterhawks import netminder Ondrej Stebetak, who slid across the crease to make a blocker stop. That set the stage for the Winterhawks to take it in the tiebreaking shootout.

Stebetak stopped 22 shots over 65 minutes and both shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in net for the Winterhawks.

The victory allows the Winterhawks to head into their next game on a high note. They also get back at it on Friday when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the 10-25-4-2 Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

Now winless in three games, the Blades also return to action on Friday when they host the 15-21-3-2 Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Winterhawks are all smiles after their win on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, the Blades new look lineup showed flashes of potential. They will have better nights ahead.

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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Tigers’ Desjardins still at the top of his game

Bench boss surpasses 500 wins as WHL head coach

Willie Desjardins pictured in the 2007 Memorial Cup game program.

“You still got it!”

That cheer is popular in the performance art professional wrestling worlds of WWE and AEW when long time veterans like The Undertaker, Randy Orton, John Cena and Bobby Lashley put on great matches.

In the WHL, that cheer should rain down from the stands at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat for Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. Actually, any rink in the WHL could give that cheer for Desjardins as a sign of respect as one of the best to ever be on the major junior circuit.

This past weekend was a milestone one for Desjardins. On Friday, the Tigers downed the Red Deer Rebels 8-1 at Co-op Place. That was the 500^th career WHL head coaching regular season win for Desjardins, and he became just the 12^th coach in the history of the circuit to reach that plateau.

One of the most beautiful moments of that night was one most fans likely wouldn’t be able to see. Current Tigers play-by-play voice Will Bryant brought the Tigers first and iconic play-by-play voice Bob Ridley on for the post-game portion of the broadcast. Ridley, who called 4,022 games over 52 seasons as the Tigers play-by-play voice, offered congratulations to Desjardins and the two reminisced about great times from the past.

On Saturday, the Tigers travelled to Edmonton and dumped the host Oil Kings 6-1 at Rogers Place. That of course was Desjardins’ 501^st career WHL head coaching regular season win.

At age 67 close to turning age 68 in February, Desjardins has the Tigers tied for the lead in the WHL’s Central Division and Eastern Conference at 52 points with the Calgary Hitmen. The Tigers have a 25-15-2 mark, while the Hitmen are 24-11-3-1. For his time in the WHL, Desjardins has a career regular season record of 501 wins, 384 losses and 85 ties and extra time setbacks.

Willie Desjardins works the Tigers bench in March of 2024.

His win total includes 10 victories as a midseason replacement and interim head coach of the Saskatoon Blades in 1997-98. Desjardins has served as the Tigers head coach for two stints with the first coming from 2002 to 2010 and the second starting in 2019 and continuing to the present day. The Tigers won two WHL titles with Desjardins as head coach in 2004 and 2007.

One of the reasons Desjardins always had “it” as a coach was because he was way ahead of the curve when he started his career. When he became the Tigers head coach for the first time way back in 2002, most hockey teams were filled with old time shouter head coaches. It was still an era when a hockey coach wouldn’t think twice about utilizing “the bag skate” style punishment practice as a necessary evil last resort to break a slump.

For the non-hockey people out there, a bag skate practice involves the players on a team skating hard for a lengthy period of time as hard as they can, and the overall sessions can last for two hours. During these types of practices, a puck never touches the ice.

In the 1987 “The Boys on the Bus” documentary on the Wayne Gretzky-era Edmonton Oilers, cameras filmed the Oilers participating in a bag skate during a slump in the 1986-87 season. Some players were vomiting including “The Great One” himself. This often happens in a bag skate.

From 1997 to 2002, the storied Tigers fell on tough times and went five straight seasons missing the WHL Playoffs going through a series of old time coaches. The respective loss totals in those campaigns was 50, 56, 45, 40 and 36.

Then Tigers general manager Rick Carriere thought he needed an “outside the box” thinking head coach to turn things around. Desjardins arrived in Medicine Hat in the summer of 2002.

Willie Desjardins pictured in the Medicine Hat News.

One of most eye-opening experiences about how much things changed with the Tigers came from a phone interview I did shortly before Christmas of 2006 with late NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard. While Boogaard only played 27 regular season contests as a 20-year-old at the start of the 2002-03 campaign for Desjardins, the gentle giant on skates loved his final Tigers bench boss.

Boogaard, who stood 6-foot-7 and weighed 258 pounds, said the players used to do things to rebel against the Tigers coaches that were behind the bench before Desjardins came. When Desjardins arrived in town, Boogaard said he treated the players with so much respect. Boogaard said he felt comfortable enough that he could tell Desjardins everything that happened with the team before he arrived hoping the bench boss could use that information to help turn things around.

The good guy tough guy was ultimately released by the Tigers in order to allow the club to add players who had more scoring punch. Shortly after his release, Boogaard was signed by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and assigned to the ECHL affiliate at the time in the Louisiana IceGators, which started his journey in professional hockey.

I remember Desjardins telling me he wished he had Boogaard at age 19 as opposed to age 20. The likelihood would have been high Boogaard finished the 2002-03 campaign in Medicine Hat. Still, Boogaard made his way NHL debut three years later at the start of the 2005-06 campaign.

Desjardins always believed one of the best ways to help a player is to show a player respect. During one-on-one meetings, he will get to know the player and proceed to show genuine concern for all aspects of that player’s life.

Once the player understands the coach is legitimately going to be there for you, the player will play their butt off for the coach. That has always happened in all the years when Desjardins has coached the Tigers.

He knows when to allow the players to be themselves and when it is time to focus on work. Desjardins is comfortable enough to let players give him some light-hearted jabs and create some fun around the facility.

Willie Desjardins works the Tigers bench in December of 2019.

He has never been one of those coaches that took himself so seriously that something like this wouldn’t be allowed. Still when it was time to focus on the task at hand, he was able to get that message across and everyone went to work.

Desjardins, who as a player was captain of the 1982-83 University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team that won a U Sports championship, always pushed the idea that hockey is a great game and the rink is the best place to be. Even after games when the Tigers lost or if they were in a slump, the players always looked forward to coming to the rink. They knew it was still the best place to be and their head coach and his staff had the answers to help them play better.

Desjardins never used tactics like bag skates, because they were negative motivators that made players hate the coach and want to rebel.

That Tigers team Boogaard started the 2002-03 campaign with was a squad of highly talented players who liked to have a good time off the ice. They were characters with character.

When it came time to be on the ice, they were focused on the task at hand. When hockey was done, they were the guys you wanted to go have pops and socialize with even to this very day.

Most of the players on that 2002-03 Tigers team that snuck into the WHL Playoffs and fell in a heartbreaking seven game second round series to the Red Deer Rebels helped the Tigers breakout in 2003-04. In 2003-04, the Tigers topped the Eastern Conference with a record of 40 wins, 20 losses, nine ties and three overtime losses and advanced on to win the WHL championship.

Some of the players that were part of the Tigers in 2002-03 that helped them win the WHL title in 2003-04 included money goaltender Kevin Nastiuk, Chris St. Jacques, Darren Reid, Clarke MacArthur, Stefan Meyer, Cam Barker, Steven Regier, Ryan Hollweg, Dan Idema, Kieran Block, Steve Marr, Tommy Maxwell, Mark Vodden, Nathan Exner and Riley Day. It could be argued that the 2003-04 WHL champion winning Tigers were one of the best group of characters that had character that ever existed in the history of the circuit and I dare say the history of major junior hockey.

A picture of the Tigers 2004 WHL championship win.

It is common for the guys from the 2003-04 Tigers WHL championship team to joke that Desjardins liked the Tigers 2006-07 WHL Championship team that included money goaltender Matt Keetley and long time NHLers Kris Russell, Darren Helm, Derek Dorsett, David Schlemko, Tyler Ennis and Michael Sauer better because they were the more serious hockey team. It should be noted the 2006-07 Tigers knew how to have a good time on the social front too, but the 2003-04 Tigers were way ahead in that characteristic.

In truth, asking Desjardins to choose a favourite between the Tigers 2003-04 and 2006-07 WHL championship winning teams is like choosing a favourite child. Everybody was special.

Over his years as a coach, Desjardins has been so beloved by his players that in the off-season it is common for him and his wife, Rhonda Carlson, to find their calendars getting filled up with invites to weddings of players he once coached.

Because Desjardins was who he is, he got to be an associate coach with the NHL’s Dallas Stars for two seasons from 2010 to 2012. He guided the AHL’s Texas Stars for two seasons being named the AHL coach of the year in 2012-13 and navigating the Stars to a Calder Cup title as AHL champions in 2013-14.

Desjardins would serve as the head coach of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks for three seasons from 2014 to 2017. He also served as the interim coach of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings for part of the 2018-19 campaign.

Internationally, Desjardins was an assistant coach on Canada gold medal winner at world juniors in 2009 and was head coach of the silver medal winner at world juniors in 2010. In the 2017-18 season, he guided Canada’s national men’s team to a Spengler Cup title and a bronze medal win at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Over the years, other WHL teams has strived build the cultural aspects into their programs that Desjardins instilled with the Tigers. It is common for coaches to strive to emulate Desjardins as opposed to being the hard-butt coaches that were shouters from the old times.

A picture of the Tigers 2007 WHL championship win.

Since Desjardins was the trailblazer in being the connected players’ coach, he still has it when it comes to coaching players in the current day. As the years and decades have gone by, Desjardins has improved and evolved as a coach, but with that noted, it has felt like he always had all the right answers when it comes to helping players be better on the ice and in their lives away from the game.

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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Cristall, former Raiders captain Johnston part of final big WHL trade deadline moves

Eric Johnston in action for the Raiders last season.

Andrew Cristall departed the Kelowna Rockets as a rental, and former Prince Albert Raiders captain Eric Johnston was part of a three-team move.

Those were the two big deals that rounded out the transactions on Wednesday and Thursday leading to the WHL’s trade deadline, which passed at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time Thursday. Outside of those two deals, most of the other trades from Wednesday and Thursday involved usually moving a player to get a fresh start in a new centre for a WHL Prospects Draft pick.

The Cristall deal was the big move that was made on Wednesday. The Rockets sent the star 19-year-old right-winger to the Spokane Chiefs in exchange for 17-year-old centre Hayden Paupanekis, first and third round selections in the 2025 Prospects Draft, second and sixth round picks in the 2026 Prospects Draft, and a first round selection in the 2027 Prospects Draft.

Entering play on Friday, Cristall sat fifth in the WHL scoring race with 60 points coming off 26 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-22 rating in the plus-minus department. Entering play on Friday, Paupanekis appeared in all of the Chiefs 39 games recording 24 points coming off 11 goals and 13 assists.

Combined with the deal that saw the Rockets ship star 19-year-old defenceman Caden Price to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Monday for six assets that included standout 17-year-old defenceman William Sharpe, the Rockets will have two strong 17-year-olds in Paupanekis and Sharpe who will be 18-years-old in 2025-26, when Kelowna hosts the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

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

Kovacevic’s playoff experience will help Raiders

Rilen Kovacevic was traded to the Raiders on Tuesday.

The Prince Albert Raiders have landed the Moose Jaw Warriors’ top gun.

In a significant trade on Tuesday, the Raiders sent import 20-year-old left-winger Krzysztof Macias, 17-centre Luke Moroz and fourth round selection in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft to the Moose Jaw Warriors for 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic. At the time of the trade, Kovacevic, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 182 pounds, topped the Warriors in goals (21) and points (40).

Kovacevic brings sizable post-season experience to a Raiders team that still carries a number of younger players. In helping the Warriors win their first WHL championship last season, Kovacevic played a sizable role appearing in all of the club’s 20 games in the WHL Playoffs recording four goals, 11 assists and a plus-seven rating in the plus-minus department.

With the WHL’s Eastern Conference being wide open, the Raiders have the potential to make some noise in the post-season. Kovacevic can help the Raiders younger players navigate the highs and lows of the post-season, while appreciating the passionate support teams located in small Saskatchewan cities receive from their fans.

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

Wheat Kings’ Flamand flattens Blades with four-point night

First game after Lisowsky tough for Saskatoon

Nolan Flamand (#91) celebrates his second goal on Friday night.

As the Saskatoon Blades made a trade to help their future, it looks like they will deal with expected rough spots in the present.

On Thursday, the Blades completed a major trade with the Victoria Royals. In that deal, they sent one of their all-time greats in 20-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky and a fifth round selection in the 2028 WHL Prospects Draft to the Royals for 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott, a second round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a second round pick in the 2026 Prospects Draft.

In 29 games with the Blades this season, Lisowsky sat second in Blades team scoring with 43 points coming off 22 goals and 21 assists to go with a plus-13 rating in the plus-minus department. In 256 career regular season games with the Blades, Lisowsky recorded 143 goals and 125 assists for 268 points to go with a plus-68 rating. The Port Coquitlam, B.C., product sits inside the top five for career regular season goals in the history of the Blades.

Nolan Flamand had two goals and two assists on Friday night.

Scott appeared in 25 games with the Royals this season recording six goals and 10 assists for 16 points to go with a plus-four rating. In 245 career regular season games with Victoria, Scott recorded 54 goals and 88 assists for 142 points.

With the Blades having loaded up last season having topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and advancing to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in a heartbreaking seven-game set to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors, the trade of Lisowsky allowed Saskatoon to recover some draft capital.

This season, the Blades with the help of Lisowsky have been sitting first in the WHL’s East Division and have led the Eastern Conference for various stretches in what has been a relatively surprising campaign. At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, Saskatoon was expected to content for a spot in the post-season, and few expected the Blades to battle for first in their division or their conference.

Tanner Scott scored for the Blades on Friday.

On Friday night playing before 4,121 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades took the ice for the first time after the Lisowsky trade taking on the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings. The game was tight after two periods with the Wheat Kings holding a 3-2 lead on the scoreboard and a 20-19 edge in shots on goal.

The visitors stormed away in the third posting a 6-2 victory holding a 35-25 advantage in shots on goal. Wheat Kings standout 20-year-old centre Nolan Flamand, who is from Saskatoon, powered the Brandon side with two goals, two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

The loss was a second in a row for the Blades, who still lead the WHL’s East Division with a 20-12-2-2 mark. The Wheat Kings improved to 18-11-3-2 with the win, and they along with the 19-12-3 Prince Albert Raiders sit three points back of the Blades for the division lead. The Wheat Kings and Raiders each have a pair of games in hand on the Blades.

Tanner Scott (#29) celebrates his first goal with the Blades.

The Wheat Kings came out of the gate on fire outshooting the Blades 10-3. Just 5:13 into the opening frame, the visitors jumped in front 1-0 on a goal from 18-year-old defenceman Dylan Ronald. Ronald received a drop pass at the right point from 19-year-old centre Matteo Michels and put home a smart shot past Blades star netminder Evan Gardner.

The Blades got their legs going near the end of the first recording the last six shots on goal for the frame. Wheat Kings netminder Alex Garret came up with a big glove save on Blades right-winger Hudson Kibblewhite, and inside the final 20 seconds of the first, Garret robbed Blades right-winger Zach Olsen on a tip attempt in from of the Brandon net.

Grayden Siepmann had a goal for the Blades on Friday.

The Wheat Kings held a 10-9 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes.

Brandon would recapture the moment at the start of the second. Just 34 seconds into the frame, Wheat Kings 20-year-old right-winger Marcus Nguyen jetted through the Blades checkers and ripped home his 19^th of the season from the front of the Saskatoon net to give the visitors a 2-0 edge.

At the 9:10 mark of the second, Brandon jumped up 3-0 on Flamand’s first tally of the night. Flamand put a shot on net from just to the right of the Saskatoon goal. Gardner got a piece of the shot, but the puck just trickled over the goal line pushing the Wheat Kings advantage to 3-0.

Jaxon Jacobson (#9) shields off Cooper Williams (#25).

The officials checked that tally via video review, and it was quickly confirmed the puck from Flamand’s shot did cross the goal line for Brandon’s third marker.

Following that tally, the Blades coaches elected to pull Gardner for backup Ethan McCallum. Gardner turned away 14-of-17 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. McCallum turned aside 15-of-18 shots playing the rest of the way in relief.

The Blades proceeded to get some traction after the goaltending change. With 6:29 remaining in the second while working on the power play, Scott got the puck at the right side of the Brandon net and put a backhand shot into an empty cage for his first tally as a member of the Blades. That tally cut the Wheat Kings lead to 3-1.

Dylan Ronald had a pair of goals for the Wheat Kings.

Just 57 seconds later, 20-year-old Blades defenceman Grayden Siepmann put home a point shot through a screen to cut Brandon’s edge to 3-2. Breakout star centre Ben Riche picked up assists on both Saskatoon goals.

Brandon proceeded to wrestle back momentum early in the third and never looked back from there. Working on the power play at the 2:13 mark of the third, the rebound from a shot taken by Wheat Kings 18-year-old left-winger Caleb Hadland came out to Flamand at the right side of the Saskatoon net. Flamand potted his second of the contest into an empty cage to push the Wheat Kings lead out to 4-2.

Ronald picked up his second of the night and 17-year-old right-winger Joby Baumuller added a power-play goal to round out the scoring for the Wheat Kings the rest of the way. Nguyen had an assist to go along with his goal.

Marcus Nguyen had a goal and an assist for the Wheat Kings.

Garret stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wheat Kings.

Out in Victoria on Friday night, Lisowsky picked up an assist on the overtime winner as the host Royals slipped past the WHL leading Everett Silvertips 2-1. The Royals improved to 19-11-3-4 with the win and sit two points back of the B.C. Division leading Prince George Cougars (21-10-3-2). The Cougars have a game in hand on the Royals.

The Silvertips still lead the WHL’s overall standings as their record moved to 28-5-3-1.

As the WHL’s trade deadline on January 9 at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time approaches, one has to wonder if the Blades will get another trade offer or two that is too good to pass up in order to collect more draft assets. For those that have watched the WHL for an extended period of time, they know that is one of the realities with life on that circuit after a team has a season with a load up.

Joby Baumuller had a power-play goal for the Wheat Kings.

You can bet Blades general manager Colin Priestner and rest of the Blades brain trust do not want to go through a lengthy rebuild like what happened after the Saskatoon franchise hosted the 2013 CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. 

The Priestner family headed by Colin’s father, Mike Priestner, bought the Blades from Jack Brodsky after that event. Saskatoon would go on to miss the post-season for five straight campaigns before returning to the WHL Playoffs in 2018-19.

With Friday’s clash between the Wheat Kings and Blades in the books, the Wheat Kings return to action on Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to face the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Ben Riche had a pair of assists for the Blades on Friday.

The Blades get back it on Saturday when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

Coming into this season, Lisowsky, who was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and went unsigned, was the last remaining member on a Saskatoon line that included Trevor Wong at centre and import Egor Sidorov at right wing. That trio was the Blades top forward unit for most of three seasons spanning from 2021 to 2024.

Both Wong and Sidorov graduated from the Blades following the club’s elimination in last year’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. Wong now plays for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team in the U Sports ranks, and Sidorov skates for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, who are the affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

The Wheat Kings celebrate their win on Friday night.

Now that Lisowsky is no longer with the Blades, it feels like chapter on era in the franchise’s history has come that much more to a close. Still, the time that Lisowsky played with the Blades will always be something the team’s faithful can smile about because it happened.

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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