Five Riders named all CFLers, prepare for West Final
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A handful of Saskatchewan Roughriders have been named the CFL's best at their positions. Offensive guard Logan Ferland, ...
There was no shortage of sports stories in 2023 in Saskatchewan.
A lot of the Saskatchewan sports stories brought international attention as well. Here are the five biggest sports stories of the year:
Connor Bedard electrifies in final season with Regina Pats
If people had doubted Connor Bedard before his NHL draft year and the 2023 world junior hockey championship in Halifax, they were quickly silenced.
The 2022-23 season saw Bedard break junior hockey scoring records in the type of season not seen in the WHL in a long time.
At the world juniors in Halifax, Bedard recorded 23 points in seven games and was named tournament MVP.
His 23 points set a new Canadian world junior record for points in a single tournament. On top of that, he recorded the most assists ever in a single tournament (14) and surpassed Eric Lindros for the most points by a Canadian ever over the course of a world junior career with 36.
Bedard’s efforts led Canada to a gold medal.
Former Regina Pats forward Connor Bedard recorded a hat trick in the first game of the league’s Prospects Tournament on Saturday. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)
In Regina, he was almost unstoppable as he scored 71 goals and 153 points in only 57 games with the Pats. The excitement for Bedard only grew after he returned to the WHL. The Brandt Centre and other road buildings he went to were mostly sold out for the remainder of the season as people lined up for a glimpse of the promising star.
Bedard and the Pats faced the Saskatoon Blades in the first round of the WHL playoffs. While the Pats took a 2-0 lead in their series against Saskatoon, they went on to lose the series in seven.
The two captains, Regina Pats Connor Bedard and Saskatoon Blades Aidan De La Gorgendiere, shake hands at the end of the first round series. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)
The series loss to Saskatoon meant the Pats had to say goodbye to Bedard. He was selected first overall in the 2023 NHL entry draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Blades take big leap forward
After finishing the 2021-22 season with a record of 38-26-3-1, the Blades finished their 2022-23 campaign with a record of 48-15-4-1 – which was good enough for third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.
After knocking off the Pats in seven games, the Blades took on the second-seeded Red Deer Rebels and found themselves in a 3-0 series hole.
The Saskatoon Blades celebrate after a goal against the Regina Pats on April 10, 2023. (Saskatoon Blades/Twitter)
The Blades became just the third team in WHL history to come back from a three-game deficit to win a best-of-seven series. They joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs (who rallied against the Portland Winterhawks) and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets (who beat the Seattle Thunderbirds).
The comeback win over Red Deer saw the Blades reach the conference finals for the first time since 1994; there, they were swept by the Winnipeg Ice.
Despite being swept in the conference finals, the Blades appear to be hungry for a WHL championship. This season, the team has a record of 23-8-2-0, tied with the Prince George Cougars for the best record in the WHL.
Another disappointing season leads to Riders changing coaches
After a 2022 season that saw the Riders fail to make the playoffs in a year when the Grey Cup was played at Mosaic Stadium, 2023 was supposed to be different.
Out were Cody Fajardo and Jason Mass, and in came Trevor Harris and Kelly Jeffrey.
The Riders were 2-3 by Week 5, but Harris suffered a leg injury in their next game against Calgary which sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
While the quarterback play of Mason Fine and Jake Dolegala was able to get the team to a 6-5 record after a win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Labour Day, the Riders fell into the same downward spiral the club experienced in 2022.
The Riders went on to lose seven straight games and miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
That led to the Riders ultimately parting ways with head coach Craig Dickenson and his coaching staff.
Corey Mace is the 48th head coach in Roughriders franchise history. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)
Corey Mace was named the Riders’ new head coach in December, and he said he’s confident he can help turn the underachieving team around.
“Opportunities like this don’t really come up to be able to take over a team that I think has a pretty solid foundation, to be quite honest with you,” he said after taking over the job. “I certainly believe that I am the guy, but I’m certainly not going to do it by myself.”
North Regina Little League represents Canada at Williamsport
When you think of Canada and the Little League World Series, you most likely think the team came out of British Columbia.
While that is normally the case, it wasn’t this year as North Regina Little League stunned the baseball community in Canada by winning the national championship.
North Regina claimed the title with a 4-3 victory over Vancouver’s Little Mountain Baseball in the final game of the tournament.
The B.C. champions were 7-0 in the Canadian championship entering the final. North Regina was 4-3, with one of those losses a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Vancouver-based team on Aug. 1 – the first day of the tournament’s round-robin.
It wasn’t a straight road to win the championship, as Regina started the tournament 0-3.
The kids from the Queen City had to pull off three straight wins in round-robin play just to get into the semifinals. That road led them to a spot in the final and eventually the championship.
Players from North Regina Little League with their medals after their 4-3 victory over B.C. in the Canadian Little League final on Aug. 10, 2023. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
It was the first time since 2002 that a team from the North Regina Little League organization had won the Canadian title and made it to the Little League World Series tournament.
At the Little League World Series, North Regina finished with a 1-2 record.
Lang’s hockey cathedral draws attention from around the world
It was back in late January when a random rink in the middle of Saskatchewan drew the attention of the world.
The 95-year-old arena in Lang caught the attention of millions after someone posted online about just how unique the arena was.
I play here sometimes. https://t.co/U2lSkXDmkZ pic.twitter.com/ndSaGxg3br
— Mike Foley (@mikefoleyfarms1) January 30, 2023
The video raised eyebrows, and people were stunned by the fact the players had to take stairs from the top of the building to the ice surface. It’s something you almost never see in a hockey rink.
@sugarshane97 I got to go to the oldest hockey rink in Canada! #saskatchewan #hockey #WHL #NHL #SJHL #canada #canada🇨🇦 #historic #sports #regina #saskatoon #hockeytiktoks #hockeylife
Ray Beck is one of many people who has been involved with the Lang rink for pretty well his entire life. He first started skating on the ice in 1958. He also happens to be the father of Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck.
He said four generations of his family learned to skate on the famous sheet of ice.
“The rink was built in 1928. It was state of the art in 1928. My dad was 15, and he came in here for the official opening back on Jan. 1 of 1929. Our family has been skating in here every year since,” he explained.
In the time since the rink went viral, a GoFundMe page was able to raise over $28,000 to help keep it operating. The rink is dependent on grants and fundraising.